This study focuses on the evolving ethical claims and empirical evidence being advanced within U.S. media relating to voucher-style programs. As such, the research seeks to better understand how and why these policies proliferate, despite scant evidence recommending them. Our specific media focus reflects the recognition that issues, problems, and…

In recent decades, policymakers around the globe have adopted market mechanisms such as consumer-style choice, provider autonomy and competition. Such policies may improve educational equity since families can choose options outside of their assigned local school. Yet research from multiple countries is finding a link between greater use of such…

While think tanks are a global phenomenon, their role in shaping US policy offers an instructive example of think tank influence on policymaking due to the immensity of resources directed towards those ends, with education policy serving as a prime example. Focusing on a distinct set of "incentivist" education policies, this analysis…

This paper addresses the rise and consequences of an emerging global education industry (GEI), which represents new forms of private, for profit involvement in education across the globe. The paper explores the emergence within the GEI of new and varied, largely transnational, markets in education by focusing on three examples of the GEI at work.…

Current trends indicate declining distinctions between "public" and "private" sectors in education. Reformers see sector barriers as unnecessary impediments to innovation, distracting attention and effort from "what works". This analysis questions whether trends in education policy are simply a natural evolution away…