The Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben is known for his interest in the problem of "biopower," arguing that political political and philosophical questions of the moment concern the connections between life and power. He is diametrically opposed to Alain Badiou, a leading French intellectual, for whom the central question concerns not so much…

There are three notable aspects to the recent crisis discourse in Japanese education. First, it is highly questionable whether the current state of Japanese education is deserving of a sensationalist label. Japanese scholars who were dubious of the crisis claim pointed to its highly ideological nature and to the lack of reliable longitudinal data…

India's universities are suffering from an acute faculty shortage, with some institutions unable to fill as many as 35 percent of their positions. From the country's elite Indian Institutes of Technology to regional engineering colleges, the dearth of professors has led to overcrowded classrooms, student discontent, and deep concerns about how…

The restructuring of teachers' work in Scotland, under the reforms of both the New Right and the New Left, has not exhibited the starkness and radical edge evident in the history of reform in England. This paper argues that the professional context of Scotland's teachers has changed, if perhaps in a Caledonian form, under the action of the same…

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) has lost several of its most prominent leaders over the past decade. It has struggled with scandals at major locals. An internal survey showed low morale among its own employees. The union itself insists it is still very much on the path blazed by Albert Shanker, the AFT's late, legendary president, under…

This article presents the discussion between John Gravois and John B. Lee concerning the problems in measuring bias. John B. Lee is president and founder of JBL Associates, Inc., a prominent higher-education-research firm. He is retained by the American Federation of Teachers to assess the research that purports to find a liberal predominance and…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Congress Punts Education Funding Decision to 2009: Education and Other Domestic Priorities Frozen While Defense and Homeland…

This technical brief describes state-level policies and procedural requirements for guiding teacher evaluation practices at the district level in the seven states served by the Midwest Regional Educational Laboratory: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Building on the Issues & Answers report "Examining…

In November 1998, the Attorneys General of 46 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories signed an agreement with the five largest tobacco manufacturers, known as the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA). The MSA arose out of a number of separate state lawsuits against tobacco manufacturers seeking reimbursement for their Medicaid and…

Outlook is the monthly newsletter for the Council for American Private Education (CAPE). Each issue contains information relating to private education such as: new legislation and regulations, the most recent research, court rulings, national trends, federal initiatives, private school news briefs, and more. This issue contains the following…

When governments and pressure groups attend only to research that suits their political purposes, it makes a mockery of the idea of evidence-informed policy and practice. In this article, the author cites examples of research that picked up weak and misleading evidence for political purposes. The author argues that researchers are tied in to the…

A young person's energy and creativity can be unleashed on the world of politics by a high school government or current events class. In the case of Ray Zaccaro, all it took was a teacher's question. It was 1995, the spring of his senior year at North Babylon High School on New York's Long Island. Zaccaro was 17, riding high with plans to attend…

When reflecting critically on issues of education in society it is necessary to consider the following question: in what scientific paradigm should educational theory and practice be located in order to address issues of education in society in an educationally responsible manner? In this essay, I argue that for education theory and practice to…

Several months into a credit crunch that has led at least 20 lenders to leave the guaranteed loan program or suspend their lending operations, lawmakers have begun to respond with a sense of urgency, even as they seek to reassure students and parents that a crisis is unlikely and that federal student loans will still be available this fall. In the…

Every day, 14 retired teachers and other school employees arrive at the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers' headquarters and go to work for Hillary Rodham Clinton. The retirees--working with volunteers and union staff members from as far away as Alaska--are working to inform teachers' union members why the American Federation of Teachers (AFT)…