The research objective is to explain evidence of structural racism, inequity, and inadequacy in the Michigan public school finance system related to the education of Black students or Black descendants of captive and enslaved Africans. This analysis stems from ongoing research that integrates transformative paradigms, critical race theory, and…

We provide an expanded environmental scan to assess the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) faced by education communities. Grounded in the literature, we identified 48 indicators and grouped them into 6 broad categories: (1) budget levels, (2) funding patterns, (3) community needs, (4) external economic conditions, (5)…

This paper reflects and supports the focus of my doctoral research that aims to identify, underscore and examine some of the key challenges and policy barriers that are shaped or hindered by socio-political, ethno-cultural and economic factors that subsequently impede immigrant students' transition and future academic and social success in their…

This paper presents the research design, rationale, and the results of a historical document-based research project to answer the following two-part question: How do popular and dominant political, social, and economic forces affect the creation and delivery of American history curriculum in public schools between 1890 and 1920 and how is this…

This Information Capsule is the third in a series of papers addressing factors contributing to low academic achievement. The two previous papers addressed issues relevant to class size reduction and teacher quality/preparation. The premise of this Information Capsule is that there is no single smoking gun relative to improving school performance.…

Over the past century, American public schools have changed according to educators' initiative to establish and refine a system of public schooling. Change has been driven by social and political influences, and most recently, by an ill-defined sense of economic progress. Educators seem dedicated to change without understanding what constitutes a…

This article examines the emergence of innovative policies in public postsecondary education systems and suggests that state postsecondary governance structures have influences on innovation that are independent of other social, educational, and economic factors. Policy implications are discussed. (SLD)

The costs of education have continued to rise at a rapid rate. Population growth, mobility, and the demand for increased education have caused school districts to issue bonds in support of new facilities and to raise taxes to meet daily operating expenditures. Year-round educational programs require thorough analysis from capital, operational, and…

Traces the demographic, economic, social, and political contexts of educational reform in Chicago (Illinois) resulting from its initiative to transfer power to elected councils. Argues that several key problems remain in the areas of minority participation, educator sense of ownership, and conflicts between local councils and the central…

This paper reviews the principal literature on schools and communities to find evidence that schools perform community-shaping functions. Section I discusses problems in the field of educational research that have led observers to neglect the school-neighborhood relationship. Sociological, anthropological, and political studies of communities that…