This study sought to learn about African American community members' perceptions regarding their satisfaction with local elementary schools in predominantly white, rural school districts in Maryland. The research was conducted in rural counties because much of the attention about the achievement gap has focused on urban areas, where necessary…

A particular trait of the educational system under socialist reign was accountability at the input side--appropriate facilities, centrally decided curriculum, approved text-books, and uniformly trained teachers--but no control on the output. It was simply assumed that it met the agreed standards, which was, in turn, proven by the statistics…

Schools and universities throughout the United States now appear to be embracing green roofs as one of many environmentally friendly initiatives. However, once a green roof is in place, school managers soon realize they are not the same as typical landscaping. Although they tend to be relatively low-maintenance, the location and highly specialized…

In this testimony, Patricia K. Whitefoot talks on behalf of the National Indian Education Association with regard to the President Obama's Fiscal Year 2011 budget request. She notes that Native education still faces enormous challenges, including severe underfunding. Far too many students and schools continue to experience abject failure. Under…

"Space, like language, is socially constructed; and like the syntax of language, the spatial arrangements of our buildings and communities reflect and reinforce the nature of gender, race, and class relations in society" (Weisman, 1992, p. 2). While institutions of higher education have granted physical access to African-American women over the…

Each day over 53 million school children and 6 million adults--20 percent of the entire U.S. population--enter the nation's 120,000 school buildings to teach and learn. Unfortunately, in too many cases, they enter "unhealthy" school buildings," that undermine learning and health. In a recent five-state survey, more than 1,100 public schools were…

In 2003, a few years after the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation began implementing its small schools reform agenda, the Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education (DOE) announced a plan to replace large failing high schools in New York City with 200 small schools. In short order, the foundation and the Chancellor became partners…

In 2003, a few years after the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation began implementing its small schools reform agenda, the Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education (DOE) announced a plan to replace large failing high schools in New York City with 200 small schools. In short order, the foundation and the Chancellor became partners with…

The article concerns itself with the struggles that are prompted by the question, "What is my position as a teacher who whilst wanting to pursue emancipatory practices nevertheless is fearful of finding herself supporting and perpetuating normalizing structures?" An extract drawn from a journal entry serves as a base on which a series of…

Prestolee School, at Kearsley, near Bolton in Lancashire, UK, was the site of an experiment in education between 1919 and 1952 under the leadership of head teacher, Edward Francis O'Neill (1890-1975). The school attracted much national and international attention over three decades owing to the unorthodox methods practised by O'Neill and the…

This paper examines the disclosure and reporting of expenditure under the UK government's "Building Schools for the Future" programme. The study finds that there is little detailed and useful financial reporting, and the public's right to know under Freedom of Information Act 2000 is very limited. The lack of such information makes it…

Being environmentally responsible is a hot topic and critical issue. Many in the scientific community estimate we are slowly destroying the Earth's climate and landscape as we know it today. However, not all scientists agree with this theory, as a significant number of people have been environmentally responsible for a long time, recognizing…

Changes in the way education is delivered has contributed to the evolution of school architecture in Zurich, Switzerland. The City of Zurich has revised its guidelines for designing school buildings, both new and old. Adapting older buildings to today's needs presents a particular challenge. The authors explain what makes up a good school building…

This paper presents the conclusions of a study, carried out in collaboration with schools in six European countries, which focused on tomorrow's physical learning environments. The study, which stemmed from a project entitled Forum for the Future and which was funded by the Finnish National Board of Education (FNBE), was designed to contribute to…

This article features new library designs that offer flexible, people-centric, tech-driven environments that reflect the increasingly synergetic nature of today's campuses. Among these new library designs is the University of Calgary's Taylor Family Digital Library, a 265,000-square-foot building scheduled to open in fall 2010 and touted as the…