Public education today is mired in controversy, fraught with well-orchestrated attacks on teachers at every level, from Head Start to higher education. As pointed out by leading educational theorists Henry Giroux (2009) and Diane Ravitch (2011), under the guise of fiscal responsibility, powerful interests in this country have been able to convince…

Navigating the world of government relations and public policy can be a little like predicting the weather. One can't always be sure what's in store or how it will affect him/her down the road. But there are common patterns and a few basic steps that can help one best prepare for a change in the forecast. Though the forecast is uncertain, early…

With the triumph of Tea Party candidates and other conservatives in 2010, many in the new Congress are pressing to get the federal government out of education. Eliminating or curtailing federal involvement in education would be a wrong-headed, simplistic move for several reasons: (1) It ignores the nation's history; (2) It would erode the state…

Until the global financial crisis, neo-liberalism had appeared invincible. This article examines the global rise of neo-liberalism and its impact on education, particularly its treatment of the social democratic ideal of equality. Drawing on examples from education and other socio-political factors, it considers whether the financial crisis is…

The frenetic legislative season now finished or wrapping up in many states has brought big changes to education policy, some forged through bipartisan compromise, others only after hyperpartisan battles. From teacher issues to vouchers, the 2011 state legislative season saw widespread action on education. Republican leaders who swept into office…

In response to public pressure, urban districts in the USA have initiated reforms that aim at redrawing the boundaries between the school system and other major local institutions. More specifically, this article focuses on two emerging reform strategies. We will examine an emerging model of governance that enables big-city mayors to establish…

Rioting usually achieves nothing in itself, but it can tell the people a lot about their society. For anyone interested in adult learning, the experience of the public debate has been salutary, with any attempt to explain the events being dismissed as "condoning" the looters. While it would be arrogant to assume that everyone now knows…

The social, economic, and political regulation of Canada's First Nations was codified in the Indian Act. Rooted in colonialism and paternalism, the Indian Act was created by the government of Canada to fulfill three functions: (1) to define who was and was not an Indian; (2) to civilize the Indian; and (3) to manage the Indian people and their…

The author discusses how an assignment plan intended to keep schools socioeconomically balanced spurs a bitter debate in suburban Eden Prairie. The boundary debate in the 9,700-student Eden Prairie, Minnesota, district has been bruising. Eden Prairie adopted new school attendance boundaries this year based on socioeconomic balance, ensuring for…

Government responses to globalisation include developing educational leaders as reformers for workforce competitiveness in the knowledge economy. Qualitative research tracked interventions involving national leadership development bodies to acculturate leaders in secondary schools and universities. Acculturating leaders as reformers was mediated…

In this article, the authors argue for examining more deeply the ways that youth from Muslim transnational communities are defining and engaging (or not engaging) in active citizenship practices, articulating a sense of belonging within and across national borders, and frequently developing and acting on critical perspectives on the politics of…

In this article we offer analysis of the intersection between what is theorized as the "knowledge economy," US schools, and identity politics through our examination of a sample of print media advertisements. The thematic thread we use to tie these pieces together is the concept of smartness, which we frame as a metanarrative of truth reflected in…

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries a group of intellectuals and Spanish scientists found it necessary to resume cultural relations with Latin American countries that had been Spanish colonies in the past. In order to do this, they promoted a school of thought called "Hispano-Americanism", which aimed to create a…

Set within the socio-political context of standards-based education reform, this article explores the constitutive role of teaching standards in the production of the practice and identity of the "accomplished" teacher. It contrasts two idioms for thinking about and studying these standards, the representational and the performative. Utilising the…

This paper situates the philosophy and politics of partnership in educational development cooperation in the context of wider epistemological and axiological shifts in contemporary social theory. Partnerships in development cooperation are also considered in the light of the alleged failure of international development assistance, a claim that has…