The idea of emancipation plays a central role in modern educational theories and practices. The emancipatory impetus is particularly prominent in critical traditions and approaches where the aim of education is conceived as that of emancipating students from oppressive structures in the name of social justice and human freedom. What is needed to…

Assuming the strength of small by design schools for poor urban students of color to be a settled question, this project attempts to analyze the sustainability of small by design schools in a large, complex urban district. Asking what causes small schools to converge toward or diverge from the small by design model, I analyze three sets of design…

This study examines the "1916 Report on Social Studies" in order to determine how it has been interpreted and regarded over time. The underlying question involved is "Which interpretation, or interpretations, most embodies the intent, goals, and purpose of the 1916 Committee"? Key members of the 1916 committee have been identified for extended…

This piece concerns the relationship between Ireland and the United Kingdom over the course of some 170-180 years from the early/mid-1800s to the present. It is argued that, despite the expectations of nationalists such as Timothy Corcoran, writing in the immediate aftermath of independence, to whom it seemed both desirable and inevitable that…

Brian Simon's "Studies in the History of Education", 1780-1870, published in 1960, set out to counter nearly all work previously produced on the history of education in Britain in this period, and to direct the field towards a new course. It provided a Marxist perspective that drew upon Simon's involvement in campaigns for educational…

This article explores Thomas Popkewitz's and Kwame Appiah's discussion of cosmopolitanism by looking at practices, spaces and subjectivities in the work of three little-known women, Amelie Arato, Amni Hallsten-Kallia and Rachel Gampert. It examines cosmopolitanism through systems of knowledge, unpacks cosmopolitanism and gender at particular…

This article begins by outlining the historical and political context of "parent partnership" within the UK. It locates the perspectives of early years' practitioners within this context, drawing on data from an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)-funded study of eighteen English early years settings, including interviews and…

Purpose: In this essay, we examine the racial politics of education in the six decades after "Brown". We consider the state of educational policy in an era in which market reform advocates often invoke the spirit of the "Brown" decision even as the Supreme Court has largely vacated the legal framework provided by…

Here, at "FORUM's" invitation, is the text of the 2014 Godfrey Thomson Trust public lecture at the University of Edinburgh. Its backdrop is the centralisation of educational decision-making in England since 1988 and the power and patronage exercised by the Secretary of State. Taking as examples recent policies on childhood, curriculum…

This article analyzes one intermediary organization. It draws on critical policy studies to frame the agency's behaviors amid a discourse of managerialism in the public sector, and critical studies of education markets to explain the relationships between its reforms and education policy. Findings illustrate how the intermediary enacted…

This article presents a debate over the Common Core State Standards Initiative as it has rocketed to the forefront of education policy discussions around the country. The author contends that there is value in having clear cross state standards that will clarify the new online and blended learning that the growing use of technology has provided…

In this article, we explore how partisanship affects state higher education policy priorities and expenditures. We assume that party coalitions are heterogeneous and policy preferences/priorities differ via mediating factors. We find that Democratic Party strength positively affects state funding for higher education but that the effect diminishes…

Despite increasing policy focus on individual leadership effectiveness, the literature offers limited guidance regarding how organizational leadership might address persistent opportunity and outcome disparities by student race, class, ethnicity, home language, and/or ability. We propose a conceptual framework of equitable leadership practice,…

During the last two decades the intensity and complexity of educational reform in the United States of America have heightened interest among policymakers, practitioners, and professors in large-scale, systemic change. As a consequence, superintendents are being viewed as pivotal actors in the complex algorithm for managing districts and leading…

The discourse on the internationalization of higher education emphasizes revenue generation while neglecting other diverse rationales pursued by governments and institutions. For countries that are seeking to venture into a knowledge economy or accrue greater competitive advantages under globalization, many policymakers view cross-border higher…