The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) offers states increased flexibility in how they identify, rank, label, and support underperforming schools. Initial reviews of state ESSA plans, however, suggest that identification and labeling policies have remained relatively unchanged. In this study, we analyze all state ESSA plans to systematically…

With growing evidence that human capital investment is more efficiently spent on younger children coupled with wide variation in preschool access across states, this article uses a neoliberal approach to examine the potential social costs and benefits that could accrue should the United States decide to implement a centralized preschool…

The documentary "Waiting for Superman" has become one of those rare things, a (supposed) documentary that generates a wider audience. It also is one of the more recent embodiments of what Nancy Fraser (1989) labels as the "politics of needs and needs discourses." Dominant groups listen carefully to the language and issues that…

This article explores the legacies of the 1954 "Brown v. Board of Education" Supreme Court decision within the historical context of race relations in the United States. The pursuit by African Americans to exercise their rights of citizenship is described as influenced by the changing face of fear. The Supreme Court decisions that…

Over the past decade, Great Britain has experienced various education policy changes geared toward giving parents greater school choice. However, the main purpose of movement toward greater choice is not to build a fairer, more generous educational system, but to end egalitarianism and rebuild a differentiated system more closely aiding social…

Discusses social justice in education, specifically gender issues. Explores how rightist governments in advanced industrialized societies have tried to implement an agenda of parental choice and standards, in contrast to earlier liberal administrations' efforts to reduce differences between families and involve mothers in children's education.…