The U.S. Senate will soon render its advice and consent to the nomination of Chicago Public Schools Chief Arne Duncan to be secretary of education. The word "education" is not mentioned in the Constitution, and the federal government has historically played a limited role in funding and regulating public education across the country. The…

A response to the precarious state of the public education system in South Africa, the Education Roadmap and its 10 Point Programme is a multi-layered policy intervention intended to galvanise educational policymakers and practitioners into action, get schools the support they need, get teachers teaching and learners learning, and ultimately…

This is the second evaluation of the Donors' Education Collaborative's (DEC) grant making since its founding in 1995. The first evaluation was a cross-case study of three projects that embodied DEC's theory of action: lasting systemic school reform demands sustained funding to build organizational collaboration that simultaneously broadens and…

This article draws on exploratory qualitative interviews with German education policy experts. We ask whether, as Germany faces new challenges, changes have occurred in respect of the education ideal of the democratic citizen; perceived implications for civic education and schooling are also drawn out. Interviews were conducted with senior…

Regardless of how voters cast their ballots in the 2010 elections, the nation will witness a sea change in state leadership--and, potentially, big changes in the direction of education policymaking. At least 20 governors will step down as of January 2011, based on those who are facing term limits or have decided to leave voluntarily. In all,…

Across the nation, policymakers are paying increasing attention to the latest research on early childhood development--from brain development to cost-benefit analyses to longitudinal studies--and they are coming away with one conclusion: high-quality pre-kindergarten programs make the most of young children's immense learning potential and give…

A number of dimensions of the democratic political process are important for understanding civic communities and civic engagement. While many of these aspects have been examined at the federal level, less is known about how these dynamics operate at the local level, especially in rural communities, and that, moreover, involve a specific issue. In…

The Business-Higher Education Forum's (BHEF's) Securing America's Leadership in STEM Initiative has broken new ground in addressing one of the nation's most critical challenges--increasing the number of students who are interested in and pursue careers in science, technology, engineering or mathematics, the so-called "STEM" fields. The…

This study develops and documents a new methodology that uses the Lexile Framework[R] for Reading to determine the proportion of grade 11 Texas public school students whose scores on the exit-level Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills for English language arts and reading (TAKS-ELAR) or the TAKS-ELAR Accommodated indicate the ability to read…

This study develops and documents a new methodology that uses the Lexile Framework[R] for Reading to determine the proportion of grade 11 Texas public school students whose scores on the exit-level Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills for English language arts and reading (TAKS-ELAR) or the TAKS-ELAR Accommodated indicate the ability to read…

This paper presents a community-school-higher education partnership approach to the prevention of childhood obesity. Public elementary school personnel, primarily teachers, participated in the design and delivery of a curriculum targeting primary caregivers of 8-9-year-old children. Theoretical framework and methodological approaches guided the…

This study investigated how two Israeli Druze high schools shape the identity and citizenship of adolescents through curriculum, teaching, discourse, social activities and national ceremonies. Data were collected through interviews with teachers, the two school principals, policymakers for Druze education in the Ministry of Education, and…

For increasing numbers of Americans, a fundamental element of the American Dream appears to be at risk. A solid majority consider a college degree an indispensable ticket to the middle class, while even more people believe college is financially out-of-reach for many qualified students. The authors of this report advocate that findings have…

Background: In England, the promotion of "national values" within the history curriculum has become an increasingly topical issue in the wake of recent debates about "Britishness" and community cohesion. However, despite the swathe of policy statements and pronouncements, there is little empirical evidence linking young…

In nearly two decades as a community-college leader, Martha J. Kanter has earned acclaim for a strong record helping disabled and low-income students graduate from college and for her bold efforts to overhaul curricula to help more students master basic skills. After working for more than 30 years at nearly every level of the California community…