Contemporary campaigns for public education rest upon an assumption that public schools are fundamental to an equitable and inclusive society. In this paper, I reflect on this presumption by exploring the inherent tensions of the meaning and practice of 'public' education, especially when the 'public' in public schooling is linked to political…

Despite more than 25 years of existence of Kazakhstan in a new political reality after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the government and society are still afraid of religious institutions and alternatives in many areas of social life, including education. This article reviews the reasons for such an attitude and the issues that arise with…

Many have argued that English classrooms have an important role to play in supporting students' development of critical consciousness and civic engagement (Kirkland 406; Lyiscott 48). Recently, Monique Cherry-McDaniel called for English teachers to design "woke" learning opportunities that would support students' critical consciousness…

"Terrorist," "son of bin Laden," "camel jockey," "raghead," "towel-head"--variations of the same epithets resurface in each generation with the same painful impact. While Muslim students in public schools were objects of derision and harassment long before 9/11, the situation in the past decade has become markedly worse. Bullying and harassment…

This report presents information provided by New Jersey public schools for the 2016-17 school year on incidents of violence; vandalism; weapon offenses; substance offenses; and harassment, intimidation, and bullying (HIB). The information is presented annually by the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) to the Governor and Legislature to…

This article explores the processes of racialization imposed on Sa'moan youth through policy and practice in one urban, US school district and at one high school in particular. Specifically, I use the methodological practices of defamiliarization and counter-storytelling to examine the contradictory practices of racialization and the…

This report presents information provided by New Jersey public schools for the 2015-16 school year on incidents of violence; vandalism; weapon offenses; substance offenses; and harassment, intimidation, and bullying (HIB). The information is presented annually by the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) to the Governor and Legislature to…

In the wake of institutionalized homophobia afflicting public schools, the nation faces a unique opportunity to acknowledge and transform the assumption that all people are or should be heterosexual and gender-conforming. In this article, the author examines how people, as a nation, can reform schools to be more inclusive of diverse student…

Evidence about the role that "soft factors" like student engagement and school environment play in influencing whether high school students go on to enroll in college is hard to come by. Over the past two years, the Center for Labor Market Studies (CLMS) of Northeastern University, with support from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation…

In Chicago's public school system, LGBT students were three times more likely than straight peers to miss school because of threats to their safety, according to 2003 districtwide survey; and students who face regular harassment were more like to drop out. In this article, the author shares her thoughts on the move of Chicago school officials to…

This report presents information provided by New Jersey public schools for the 2014-15 school year on incidents of violence; vandalism; weapon offenses; substance offenses; and harassment, intimidation, and bullying (HIB). The information is presented annually by the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) to the Governor and Legislature to…

Adolescence is an important time in human development. Teenagers spend much time questioning their core belief structures and developing the foundations of their identity. For students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT), this path of development is difficult in American schools because of strongly held homophobic…

This article focuses on how public schools have functioned in the ideological production of race in America and their critical role in shaping the way Americans understand specific definitions of race as well as the muted rules of racial etiquette. The author analyzes American schools as racializing institutions, that is institutions with the…

Jesse Buttrick Davis is considered to be the 1st school counselor in the United States because he was the 1st to implement a systematic guidance program in the schools. Through his work in the Michigan public schools, he became an important leader in the development of vocational guidance in the late 1800s and early 1900s. His pioneering work in…

In 2008, the Florida state legislature, by a nearly unanimous vote, rushed passage on a statute that allowed sex segregation in public school classrooms. According to the version of the bill that passed through the Florida House, sex-segregated public school classrooms would be an expansion of school choice and would be implemented only…