In response to more than two decades of criticism that American students exit high school lacking the skills and knowledge necessary for a productive citizenry, states have implemented graduation policies intended to raise academic standards for all students. Such policies have included state and local district testing, development of exit…

In Australia and internationally, government policies aim to increase the supply of early childhood teachers and thus improve the quality of early childhood education and care services. In this paper, we suggest that such a policy-quality trajectory in Australia is not as straightforward as policy discourses suggest. From industrial relations and…

In 2006 the author was contracted to research possible approaches to a UK indicator of education for sustainable development (ESD). This article describes and seeks to explain the response of government advisers and influential members of the UK ESD community to the approaches he proposed. While the UK strategy for sustainable development called…

The number of students enrolled in alternative settings for youth at risk of school failure has increased significantly in recent years. Students with disabilities, primarily students with emotional/behavioral disabilities and learning disabilities, are included in the population of students who are being educated in these settings. This article…

This article examines recent educational reforms in Tanzania by looking at the cultural politics of pedagogical change in secondary and teacher education. It presents an ethnography of a teachers college founded on the principles of social constructivism in a country where formalistic, teacher-centered pedagogy is the norm. Using data collected…

We utilize the 2000 Equal Employment Opportunity file of the U.S. Census and various secondary resources to determine if party control, union density and states' anti-discrimination and family leave policy legacies affect levels of occupational sex segregation across large counties. Our findings offer a puzzle to political sociologists because two…

In this paper, I examine and critique the construction of "learning disabilities" at an Ivy League university in the USA. Drawn from a study of the experiences of learning disabled labelled Ivy undergraduates, this paper focuses on the language practices, assumptions, and power relationships that characterize the University discourse within and…

Governing processes in Europe and within Europeanization are often opaque and appearances can deceive. The normative practices of improvement in education, and the connected growth in performance measurement, have been largely understood in their own terms. However, the management of flows of information through quality assurance can be examined…

In this paper, the author has attempted to analyze and assess the progress of education for all (EFA) in India from 1985/1986 to 2005/2006. A similar analysis by the same author on this subject, for the period 1950-1986, was published in this journal in 1990. During that period of 35 years the development of EFA was apparently impressive, but…

There are recent indications regarding the use of online public services that force the government to focus on the more refined conceptualizations digital divide research has produced. This paper addresses one of the factors that appears to be important in several conceptualizations of how to approach the digital divide; the differential…

Access to the baccalaureate and higher education in France has become more democratic. The introduction of the vocational baccalaureate has been part of this process, but remains a modest step forward given the very low take-up of vocational baccalaureate courses. If vocational education pathways in France are to become true gateways to higher…

In this article, the author discusses the issue surrounding the blanket rejection of career-school credits by traditional schools. Whether they attend a career college, community college, online college, or brick-and-mortar university, many Americans find that higher education has become a "grab and go" proposition. To them, attending multiple…

In this position article, we explore what happens when school district policies regarding desegregation, accountability, and foreign language immersion education collide. Specifically, we contrast 2 immersion programs that experienced distinct outcomes as a result of the conflicting agendas underlying these 3 policies. One program, originally…

Will the digital-learning movement repeat the mistakes of the charter-school movement? How much more successful might today's charter universe look if yesterday's proponents had focused on the policies and practices needed to ensure its quality, freedom, and resources over the long term? What mistakes might have been avoided? Damaging scandals…

The book is entitled History Wars in the Classroom: Global Perspectives and examines how ten separate countries have experienced debates and disputes over the contested nature of the subject, for example the "Black Armband" and "Whitewash" factions in Australia who adopt opposingly celebratory or denigratory views of Australian…