Background/Context: Although frequently associated with the United States, affirmative action is not a uniquely American social policy. Indeed, 2003 witnessed review and revision of affirmative action policies affecting higher education institutions in both France and the United States. Using critical race theory (CRT) as a theoretical lens, this…

Background/Context: Research on after-school programs has traditionally focused on those programs serving students in younger grades but found positive correlations between student participation in enriching after-school activities and school engagement. For older students, particularly teenagers, there tends to be lower participation. Research…

Background/Context: Studies of new teacher induction have typically examined the structural components of mentoring programs or documented the nature of support provided to beginning teachers. More recently, Susan Moore Johnson and her colleagues examined new teachers' induction experiences across multiple states and preparation routes. In…

This article provides an overview of a set of articles in this special issue that synthesize current research and provide future directions for research, both conceptually and methodologically, on gender, socioeconomic, and language-minority differences in college transitions, as well as a review of college transitions research in the discipline…

Background/Context: Literacy education has always been hotly contested, and in England the debate has recently intensified in controversies over synthetic phonics teaching and the National Literacy Strategy. This article brings together four theoretical and policy contexts in studying this debate: (1) the long-standing and on-going "reading…

Background/Context: Diane Ravitch has focused on the extensive censorship occurring within the publication of school textbook and testing materials in her book, "The Language Police" (2003). This book, indicative of conservative frustrations with minority special interest groups, raises several key issues echoed throughout the larger educational…

Context: Networks are seen as important vehicles for educators' professional development because they provide opportunities for educators to develop their teaching and leadership capacities and establish forums for educator resistance. Networks that also function as intermediary organizations provide spaces in which educators and network leaders…

The movement to subsume educational philosophy under the rubric of educational policy studies is questioned. (JMF)

This commentary commends the authors of Scientific Research in Education for addressing important questions for the field of education research and identifies six areas that might profit from further attention: 1) explicit factors that compromise the building of scholarly community, 2) introspective conversation on the role of the researcher in…

This article is a policy analysis that considers how the policy option of using federal programs to promote educational choice was proposed and debated in the 106th and 107th Congresses. This debate was part of the reauthorization of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) between 1999 and 2001. Over the past 20 years,…

Background/Context: Culturally authoritative texts such as Text Revision of the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual-IV [DSM-IV-TR](American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2004) describe literate impossibility for individuals with disability labels associated with severe developmental disabilities. Our qualitative research challenges the…

Background/Context: The main goal for vocational education at the secondary level has historically been the preparation of youth for the world of work. As a result, research, policy, and practice in this area have mostly focused on how to smooth this transition, address high costs, and ensure that there are positive economic returns to the…

In the midst of unprecedented knowledge generation in the field of education, the definition of learning disabilities and the methods used for its identification have essentially remained the same for nearly 30 years. Working from a sociohistorical perspective, the authors' distinct professional positions within education (university academic,…