Childhood in the United States, and in the American South more particularly, has several well-known and popularized constructions, typically divided by social class and ethnic identity. More specifically, Southern childhood is constructed as an either white or black experience, with one's social world being extremely ethnically segregated in…

This study aimed to understand administrators' data leadership influenced by multiple contexts by analyzing interviews with 24 administrators from three Midwestern districts. Findings highlight ways that the accountability movement narrowed administrators' data leadership. At the same time, the accountability movement was not totalizing, as…

The National Research Center for Career and Technical Education (NRCCTE) had a unique status among federally funded research and development center in education. Its funding was authorized by the federal legislation for career and technical and administered by the Office of Vocational and Adult Education, not the Institute for Education Sciences.…

This article describes the author's personal view of the secondary special education and transition field, its shortcomings, and its future within the context of our modern society.

A review of education reform policies reveals a shift from an input guarantee approach aimed at providing funds to level the playing field for all students to an output guarantee approach based on the expectation of achieving standardized results regardless of inputs. The shift reflects a belief that where a child starts his or her cognitive,…

Federal legislation has driven and been receptive to the vision of a rigorous, relevant career and technical education (CTE) system integrated with academics and aligned across middle school, secondary school, and postsecondary education. This article uses a social policy analysis approach to trace the history of federal CTE policy throughout the…

Nearly 3,000 career and technical educators from across the country converged upon St. Louis, Missouri, for the premier professional development event in career and technical education (CTE). The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) held its Annual Convention and Career Tech Expo November 17-19, bringing together teachers,…

Research indicates that the social and emotional well being of students impacts academic outcomes; however, due to a limited amount of class time, the counseling core curriculum that addresses these needs often takes a back seat to academic learning. This article proposes a paradigm shift where teachers and school counselors collaborate to…

Paul Leather is New Hampshire's deputy commissioner of education. In this article he writes that he believes education policymakers over the past few decades have made two critical decisions that have had deep, deleterious effects on the overall public education system. First, by demanding that each school be evaluated based on a single externally…

This article briefly reviews the evolving role of major institutions thought to form, reproduce and transform individual as well as collective identities and values, with an emphasis on the impact of state vs market forces via educational systems. This is accompanied by a discussion of various pressures against the state to exert social control on…

The purpose of this study was to investigate teachers' perceptions about the viability and benefit of using a digital music curriculum in the elementary music classroom. A survey was created that focused on three leading digital curricula providers: PK-5/8: "Quaver's Marvelous World of Music®", "MusicPlay Online®" by Themes and…

Secondary English as a second language (ESL) curricula that address four levels of ESL proficiency and prepare students for the English language arts (ELA) curricula and state-mandated ELA tests are not common. A curriculum jointly developed by two districts is even rarer. Yet two urban districts in Rhode Island undertook such a curriculum…

Math achievement is critically important to the changing global economy. In order to be successful, students must develop a strong foundation in mathematics early in their school careers. But the training elementary teachers receive doesn't always prepare them to teach math well, and math anxiety can keep both students and teachers from reaching…

Too many students spend their days in buildings with unhealthy air, have limited opportunities for physical activity, and have inadequate access to fresh water, nutritious food or a school nurse. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) recognizes the need for schools to support the whole child and specifically acknowledges the importance of health…

The purpose of this study was to examine and compare key elements of the actions that states in the USA and Australia took to implement the Common Core State Standards or Phase One of the Australian Curriculum, and what processes and products they used to facilitate implementation of these innovations. A rubric adapted from a diagnostic tool,…