In 1997, the Canadian federal government faced a difficult policy problem. It wanted to make greater use of voluntary sector organizations to deliver government programs and to shape social policy. A first question for government was whom in the voluntary sector to engage. Unlike the United Kingdom, Canada does not have a tradition of national…

The introduction of citizenship education to schools in England (and Wales) in 2002 has generated interest and concern among religious educationalists, some of whom welcome the opportunities this new educational territory opens up for religious education and some of whom suspect it augurs religious education's demise. This article reports findings…

The purpose of this article is to outline a framework of explanation of the unique tradition of comprehensive schooling in Scandinavia. All the countries developed an all-through system of education from grade one to nine/ten with mixed ability classes for nearly all. This all-through system of education is a product of a long historical…

This article examines the scope for state intervention in the training and learning environment of young people in initial employment. It reports on the findings of a qualitative study of 11 teenagers entering full-time employment in New South Wales, Australia relating to the breadth and depth of the young people's learning in their jobs, and the…

This report presents findings from the second-year evaluation of the Governor's Educator Excellence Grant (GEEG) program. The GEEG program was federally- and state-funded and provided three-year grants to schools to design and implement performance pay plans from the 2005-06 to 2007-08 school years. GEEG was implemented in 99 high poverty, high…

Education names and classifies individuals. This result seems unavoidable. For example, some students will graduate, and some will not. Those who graduate will be "graduates"; those who do not graduate will be labeled otherwise. The only way to avoid such labeling is to fail to make distinctions of any kind. Yet education is rife with…

Influencing government policy in adult learning areas requires consistent efforts in having findings noticed by educational policymakers. Submissions by Adult Learning Australia and researchers have called for unified educational policies and practices across Australia. This paper argues that, whilst it is important to address macro issues of…

California policy makers and institutional leaders are making critical policy, programmatic, and budgetary decisions affecting segments of the state's population that lack sufficient levels of formal training and education. These decisions are occurring at a time when five critical trends are converging in the state. These trends are: (1)…

This report looks at the affordability of public 4-year post-secondary education in 50 US States and 10 Canadian provinces. Public 4-year post-secondary education was found to be more affordable in the United States on five of the six affordability measures in the report; on the sixth, the two countries were tied. In general, in the United States…

In this paper we examine the research literature on teacher performance pay. Evidence clearly suggests an upsurge of interest in many states and school districts, however, expanded use of merit pay has been controversial. We briefly review the history of teacher pay policy in the U.S. and earlier cycles of interest in merit or performance-based…

This qualitative study investigated the use of family-centered practices by graduates of two early childhood special education personnel preparation programs that embedded family-centered pedagogy and involvement in all coursework. Three cohorts, involving 19 graduates employed in 19 different programs located in six states, participated in…

The assessment and placement of children with dyslexia at appropriate schools has been regulated in the UK by a series of laws since 1944. Recent public policy developments such as the introduction of new duties and rights, and the development of law regarding educational negligence have sharpened the public policy debate on the effectiveness of…

As a result of the pressures of educational reform and high-stakes assessment, some schools run the risk of foregoing active, student-centered learning activities for building test-taking skills and the memorization of discrete facts (Gredler, 1999; Jackson & Davis, 2000). Coupled with the additional pressure to fulfill the expectations of…

The articles in this book examine the prominent elements of the Improving America's Schools Act, including the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). They describe how the large federal aid-to-education programs were brought into accord with the new agreement contained in Goals 2000. The book begins with a preface by…

This book surveys major trends in the politics of education over the last 25 years. Chapters synthesize political and policy developments at local, national, and state levels in the United States, as well as in the international arena. The chapters examine the emerging micropolitics of education and policy-analysis, cultural, and feminist studies.…