This paper argues that under the influence of neoliberalism the role of schooling has been narrowly redefined as helping students to gain the knowledge and skills to "get a job". Drawing on the recent policy pronouncements of the new Rudd Labor Government in Australia, the paper examines how the advocates of human capital theory have…

This paper describes the ways in which administrative structures of the state, techniques of self-government, and practices of social relations exist within HIV/AIDS curricular discourses, a critique enabled by a Foucauldian analytical frame. We argue that youth have been singled out as a particularly risky lot and are therefore prime candidates…

In 2005, the School Leadership Society, later renamed the British Columbia Educational Leadership Council (BCELC), was launched with the assistance of the British Columbia Ministry of Education to transform the goals and objectives of educational leadership and management in the Province of British Columbia (BC), Canada. In this paper the authors…

The eagerly awaited federal guidelines on some $100 billion in stimulus funding for public education aim to pump money out quickly, while giving the U.S. Department of Education leverage to demand improvements from states and districts. But those same states and districts are also warned not to expect the hefty sums for K-12 programs in the…

The suggestion that teaching is a political act has been a divisive issue among educators. However, there has been little analysis of the ways that teachers draw on their political experiences as pedagogical resources. Using a case study of seven teachers in Porto Alegre, Brazil who were involved in politics, this article explores the relationship…

The 2009 Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) National Policy Seminar (NPS) was one of the most energetic and highly attended advocacy meetings in ACTE's history. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, congressional staffers and policy experts gave insightful presentations during the three-day event held in Arlington, Virginia. Stanley…

In the United States, where technological progress is portrayed as humanistic progress, computer technologies often are hailed as the great equalizers. Even within progressive education movements, such as multicultural education, the conversation about instructional technology tends to center more on this or that wonderful Web site or piece of…

In the large and complex landscape of pedagogy, the focus seems to have turned away from the concept of teaching and towards a stronger emphasis on learning, probably supported by neo-liberal ideology. The teacher is presented more as part of the force of production than as an autonomous performer of a mandate given to him/her by society. He/she…

Many scholars in the area of citizenship education take deliberative approaches to democracy, especially as put forward by John Rawls, as their point of departure. From there, they explore how students' capacity for political and/or moral reasoning can be fostered. Recent work by political theorist Chantal Mouffe, however, questions some of the…

This dissertation examines the impact and significance of the New Left on the conservative campus and community of California State College, Fullerton (CSF) during the 1960s and early 1970s. Built to meet the demands of the Baby Boom after World War II, CSF became the latest in a series of California State campus expansions in 1959-1960.…

Scholarship programs authored by state legislatures may conflict with a state's constitution. In the case of "Locke v. Davey" 540 U.S. 807 (2003), Joshua Davey challenged the State of Washington's withdrawal of his Promise Scholarship claiming violation of his First Amendment rights under the United States Constitution. This…

Race to the Top represented a new paradigm in federal education. Instead of spreading relatively modest dollars evenly across all jurisdictions through funding formulas--as virtually all federal education funding has been and continues to be spent--a small number of successful states received all of the available funding, and in turn made it…

This dissertation examines the historical background of federal regulations that have expanded over the past thirty years, and their impact on state legislative resistance to No Child Left Behind (NCLB). The federal government's involvement in public education offers an instructive opportunity for inquiry into cooperative federalism. State…

In light of the recent bans on affirmative action in higher education, this paper provides new evidence on the effects of alternative admissions policies on the persistence and college completion of minority students. I find that the change from affirmative action to the Top 10% Plan in Texas decreased both retention and graduation rates of…

Joel Klein, chancellor of the New York City public school system, and Michelle Rhee, who resigned October 13 as Washington, D.C. chancellor, published a "manifesto" in the "Washington Post" claiming that the difficulty of removing incompetent teachers "has left our school districts impotent and, worse, has robbed millions…