The customary perception is that students who drop out vanish from school enrollment rosters for good. This is an incomplete picture of the complex dropout story; dropping out is not necessarily a permanent high school outcome. Following the enrollment and course history of a district cohort of first-time 9th graders, this article documents the…

Children's education may be adversely impacted by external factors during their childhood. For example, learning to learn, critical reflection, experiential learning and self-direction may be permanently impaired. Many children in out-of-home residential care during the last century suffered ongoing child abuse and neglect, including sexual abuse,…

American community colleges are much like the nation that invented them. They offer an open door to opportunity to all who would come, are innovative and agile in meeting economic and workplace needs, and provide value and service to individuals and communities. Little wonder that they are increasingly emulated around the world and have become the…

Sorting students into different tracks within a school correlates strongly with student race and economic status and predicts and contributes to student outcomes. Students in higher-level classes typically experience better teachers, curriculum, and achievement levels than peers in lower-level classes. Creating classrooms that support equity of…

Many children raised in orphanages suffered ongoing child abuse and neglect including sexual abuse, and nearly all were denied an adequate education. This paper explores adult females' perceptions of the impacts on their education of child sexual abuse they suffered while living in orphanages in Australia. In-depth qualitative and anonymous…

In her teaching, research, and community activities in Canada, the author has repeatedly confronted questions regarding equality, diversity, and power. In this article, the author discusses diversity and equal opportunity to achieve excellence in education. Reflecting on these issues should help everyone to understand the complexities involved in…

The problem of low academic attainment for Latino/a students may be a result of the situation at the K-12 levels, a situation that is beyond the control of students or their families (Martinez, 2003). Analyses of school success must take into account the social and political hierarchies in schools, school systems, and communities, as well as the…

Literacy programs often target preschool children who are from minority groups, are from low socioeconomic backgrounds, and are second language learners, as they are deemed to be at risk for academic difficulties. The family literacy program described in this article is unique in that it focuses on families who have an additional risk…

A range of imperatives underpin university selection practices. These include demonstrating merit based on prior academic achievement and supporting successful graduate outcomes in the professions and in broader fields of endeavour. They also include improving diversity of participation and equality of educational opportunity. Selection for…

Innovation should be about procedures and methods. Little thought is given to proximate, much less ultimate aims. In this article, the authors invite educators to take a break and explore the educational enterprise to which they devote their life's work. They discuss two bits of excerpted writing, both over half a century old. One comes from Jack…

Lincoln University was founded in 1866 by the men of the 62nd and 65th United States Colored Infantries and their white officers for the special benefit of freed African Americans. Today, Lincoln University's role in the education of Missourians and others, and its service throughout the state, the nation, and across the globe, are…

The primary goal of performance pay for the past decade has been higher test scores, and the most prominent strategy has been to increase teacher performance through financial incentives. If teachers are rewarded for success, according to this logic, they will try harder. If they try harder, more children will achieve higher test scores. The…

Saudi student enrollment in U.S. colleges and universities has nearly tripled since 2009-2010, in large part due to the King Abdullah Scholarship Program. The representation of Saudi females is also increasing due to the loosening of Saudi Arabia's long-standing restrictions on women's travel and acceptable fields of study and careers. This…

Meritocracy is a powerful ideology that was used by the Chinese Communist Party during China's transition to a market economy. With the "Gaokao" in particular, higher education selection became an ideal vehicle for the Party to associate itself with the ideology of meritocracy. This article investigates the extent to which higher…

The Full-time Schools Program in Mexico ("Programa Escuelas de Tiempo Completo," PETC), began in the 2007-2008 school year with the aim of improving the learning opportunities of basic education students by extending the school day to eight hours a day, in order to offer an innovative and flexible pedagogical proposal that includes six…