It has been claimed that homework is an effective means of developing good study habits (Cooper, 1994) and fostering positive attitudes (Marzano & Pickering, 2007) and self-responsibility (Brown, in Plato, 2000). If we are to believe this, then we need to ensure that all learners have equal or at least similar opportunities to gain these…

Policy makers and educators in the U.S. have recently shown considerable interest in the concept of weighted student funding (WSF) as a means of financing primary and secondary schools. WSF appeals both to conservatives, who see it as a way to promote parental choice and school autonomy, and to progressives, who are attracted by the call of extra…

A qualitative case study design was used to investigate the extent that special education program serves the student or serves the organization. If special education serves the student, then a researcher should be able to identify resulting agency and emancipation among the students. However, if special education is serving the organization, then…

It is 40 years since Coombs (1967) first drew attention to the World Education Crisis, and specifically problems in the educational systems of countries in the developing world. Today, many of these problems remain, and are most visible in the educational systems of countries in sub-Saharan Africa. A large number of children remain out of school…

"The Routledge Companion to Education" presents the most comprehensive, up-to-date guide available to the key theories, themes and topics in education. Forty specially commissioned chapters, covering all aspects of education, introduce you to the ideas, research and issues that have shaped this most diverse, dynamic and fluid field. Part one…

The Scheduled Castes (SCs, also known as Dalits) and Scheduled Tribes (STs, also known as Adivasis) are among the most socially and educationally disadvantaged groups in India. This paper examines issues concerning school access and equity for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities and also highlights their unique problems, which may…

Although English Language Learners (ELLs) quickly acquire basic interpersonal communication skills, most struggle for several years with reading and writing academic content in English. In particular, in English-only mathematics classes, children are likely to have difficulty reading and comprehending text, reading word problems, and giving…

The 2017 edition of the "Digest of Education Statistics" is the 53rd in a series of publications initiated in 1962. The "Digest" has been issued annually except for combined editions for the years 1977-78, 1983-84, and 1985-86. Its primary purpose is to provide a compilation of statistical information covering the broad field…

The 54th in a series of publications initiated in 1962, the purpose of the "Digest" is to provide a compilation of statistical information covering the broad field of education from prekindergarten through graduate school. It contains data on a variety of topics, including the number of schools and colleges, teachers, enrollments, and…

The author was startled by the carelessness and selectivity of Robert Slavin's comments, which give his words the ring of a promotional release rather than of intellectual reflection. He agrees that Slavin is accurate in saying that the scores on reading tests at P.S. 65 in the South Bronx improved during a period in which, among a number of other…

This article explores and analyses the context of school-based teacher development in Sub-Saharan Africa. The argument is made that many aspects of the teacher problem in these regions mirror those in the rest of the world, but the size and scale of the need makes the challenge of providing schools and teachers to achieve "Education for…

This study details the enactment of attendance laws for black pupils in Missouri and describes their effect by citing examples from two counties: St. Louis County and Polk County. The study is based on a review of primary sources yielding quantitative and qualitative data reported during the first 40 years of the attendance laws. A study of…

The purpose of this article is to answer the question of how teachers could better understand and respond to differences among their pupils. It is based on the authors' belief that inclusively oriented schooling is the most efficient tool in the fight against discrimination and in providing education for all. We can examine how these ideas are put…

The "Burakumin," a culturally defined minority group among ethnic Japanese, face continued discrimination even as effective national policies and programs offering educational and social equity are terminated. Based on interviews and conversations in Japan with activist educators, teachers and administrators, the schooling for children…

The struggle, or interrelationship, between [authoritative and internally persuasive] discourses, determine the history of an individual's "ideological consciousness." (Bakhtin, 1981, p. 348) The "ideological consciousness" of 11 elementary schoolteachers in a linguistically and culturally heterogeneous school about meanings of social…