Research universities make enormous social contributions in areas like medicine and science, but many habits (racism, sexism, funding old projects) must change to encourage social research and reform. Public education needs restructuring with a commitment to disadvantaged students to ensure the country's future. (SM)

Based on interviews with state-level policy makers in six states, examines the policies of charter-school reform, arguing that the bipartisan support for these schools masks often-opposing viewpoints regarding the purpose of the reform. Identifies three salient and conflicting themes that emerge from the policy makers' explanations of their…

Current education policy is increasingly controlled by partisan politicians and the corporate interests that speak through them. Attacking American education and blaming economic troubles on failing schools and low standardized test scores coalesces the rhetoric of the right and draws attention away from fundamental social and economic problems.…

Background/Context: Although prior research shows that the nature and extent of private tutoring practices vary significantly from country to country, differences between Eastern and Western countries in terms of their cultural and institutional aspects of private tutoring choice have not been closely examined. We need to bridge the gap by…

Discusses the differences between formal education and a newer educational age, in which pluralistic models of schooling will be thoughtfully matched with pluralistic models of evaluation. (Author/RK)

Beginning with the assumption that schools change reforms as much as reforms change schools, this paper argues that the judgment of a reform's success depends heavily on the criteria used to make the judgment. Criteria used by policymakers (effectiveness, popularity, and fidelity) and practitioners (adaptability and longevity) are identified and…

In this article, we present profiles of two high school English teachers and their classrooms as the teachers responded to mandated high-stakes test accountability. Both teachers accepted targeted professional development, strong accountability measures, vigilant specialist support, and school site leadership; both believed tests were permanent…

Background/Context: Although increasing numbers of scholars have begun to focus on student experiences, research on the history of underrepresented populations' transition to college is still in its formative stage. The classic histories of higher education have tended to focus on university infrastructure and intellectual life rather than on…

Teachers have come to be viewed as agents of change in the educational reform movement of the late 1980s. The term "teacher's voice" is introduced to describe both the right to have a say in policy and the content of what is taught. The conceptual roots of the term are discussed. (JL)

Issues raised in the World Bank's Education Sector Working Paper are examined within the framework of other recent policy papers of donor agencies. (MM)

Drawing on memoranda and other materials in the federal archives, and interviews with more than a score of officials in the Johnson and Nixon administrations, this essay attempts to trace the development of the policy impact of the Coleman Report from its origins in 1964 to the end of Nixon's first term. (Author)

Three major classes of issues are raised in Thomas Green's book. Commented upon are: (1) "explanation," which relates to logic, cause, beliefs, and reification; (2) "wholes and parts," which considers whether it is appropriate to treat the educational system apart from the total environment; and (3) "normative and…

Examined policy mechanisms and processes that districts used to provide high quality inservice professional development to teachers. Data from a national probability sample of professional development coordinators in districts that received federal funding for professional development highlighted specific management and implementation strategies…

Uses data from a survey of California elementary teachers and from student California Learning Assessment System scores to examine the influence of assessment, curriculum, and professional development on teacher practice and student achievement, proposing that successful instructional policies are themselves instructional: teachers' opportunities…