Theoretical approaches to policy have started considering the ontological dimensions of policy. Concern for the ontological work performed by policy has introduced questions about what policy is apart from its instrumentality. There exists some research in policy studies proposing the possibility of non-instrumental and ontological features of…

This article summarizes and assesses federal K-12 compensatory education policies during the past six decades. It focuses on the centerpiece of that effort, Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Related programs such as America 2000, Goals 2000, No Child Left Behind, and Every Student Succeeds Act are discussed. It…

While policy formation frameworks are commonly used to understand public policy developments, scholars rarely have used them to reflect on arts education policies. Such analysis is important because it can assist both in identifying the genesis of past policies, including who the important actors are, how issues are framed and problematized, and…

This article is the third of three on "Sources of Authority in Education." All use the work of Amy Gutmann as a heuristic device to describe and explain the prevalence of market-based models of education reform in the US and the business-influenced Global Education Reform Movement. The other two are "Negating Amy Gutmann:…

This article presents both sides of the debate as to whether urban teachers need structure or freedom, and then takes a stand on urban teaching in the current high-stakes assessment climate. First, we trace the 30-year development of American educational policy in the area of structuring teaching. Then, we present research from proponents of…

This article reviews the political and empirical record within music education surrounding the Goals 2000: Educate America Act and reports a new study evaluating the effects of the law on music and arts education policies in U.S. high schools. School-level data (N = 670 schools) from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 and the…

In the United States, as public demands for quality teachers have escalated, there has been a corresponding increase in national policy efforts to tie the standards of student success to teacher preparation, licensing, and evaluation. This conceptual paper examines how national authorities used specific policy tools to usurp the state's…

Policy can be a useful tool for effecting change, but policy analysis, which shapes policy development, has been underused in music education research. This paper demonstrates how Bardach's (2000) Eightfold Path can be used to develop solutions to problems in music education. Some have argued that school music programs do not prepare students to…

Congress's role in defining and promoting equality of educational opportunity has evolved over the past 55 years since "Brown v. Board of Education." Most recently, all three branches of the federal government have focused more on equality of educational opportunity for "individual" students rather than for protected classes.…

Key legislative objectives for the US Federal educational policy over the past several decades relied heavily on quasi-market strategies (such as school rating, school closure, the contracting out of schools) as central levers in "reforming" public schools. Using financial data on 11 national for-profit firms contracting with schools and…

The call for American students to meet world-class standards in the federal Goals 2000: Education America Act (1994) and No Child Left Behind legislation, as well as state standards and accountability legislation, has been explicitly inclusive: All students must be held to these high standards. Litigation offers the potential to leverage…

In the past decade of educational reform, there has been one astounding accomplishment: The federal and state governments and the private sector have recommended and adopted policies to advance the visual and performing arts as essential to a comprehensive education. The goals created by the president and the governors of all 50 states for…

Reviews national policy initiatives that have supported local efforts for school improvement. These include the reauthorized Title I program (Improving America's Schools Act of 1994) and the enactment of the Goals 2000 Act. Discusses the five themes identified by the U.S. Department of Education as essential for comprehensive educational…

Discusses seven of the most common myths and misconceptions about students at risk, and argues that the Goals 2000 educational reform movement could result in negative consequences for this group unless policymakers and practitioners develop a more accurate and comprehensive understanding of this population. (SLD)

Reviews the impact of federal education reform measures, particularly Goals 2000, on Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) schools. The Office of Indian Education Programs organized a school support team process to assist BIA-responsible schools with the development of consolidated school reform plans, curriculum content standards, opportunity-to-learn…