The education of young people is a vital task in a democracy with significant implications for both for young people themselves and for the state. How authority over schooling should be shared and organized is, therefore, a vital question in a democracy. This dissertation takes on that question and ultimately defends a broadly democratic account…

School choice has influenced several educational reforms in the US and across the world in the last decades. These reforms have often promoted school autonomy, parental choice, and competition between schools to improve quality and equity. Whether those reforms work in practice is well examined, but the roles of policy design such as the extent to…

Under the Individual with Disabilities Education Act Part C state administrators have reported data for compliance since the inception of the program in 1986. Recently, Results Driven Accountability (RDA) introduced a shift to use data for continuous improvement at the state and local levels. The researcher used a multiple case study to…

Trying to adequately and equally educate the at-risk populace has been and is still a challenge for school administrators and teachers. Students considered at-risk of academic failure is of overwhelming concern to educators who are accountable for ensuring the academic success of the at-risk populace. Considerable interests of educators connect…

As school district revenues are reduced by state allocating agencies, local school district administrators and school boards frequently evaluate alternative sources of possible revenue. One emerging source of revenue that many school districts explore is a local education foundation. Local education foundations are 501(c)(3) nonprofit…

Treating education as a socially transformative and morally conscious enterprise calls for educators to expose and improve social conditions related to oppression. These beliefs herald a different kind of practice for teachers and administrators in public schools, a practice that deals directly with dilemmas of equity and pluralism. Limited…

Public-private partnerships are being increasingly supported and advocated for, ideologically and financially, as an approach to educational reform in many countries across the world. Proponents suggest that non-state involvement in the education sector has the potential to bolster international Education for All efforts, improve school…