There is an ongoing tension within educational policy worldwide between countries that seek to reduce the opportunities for teachers to exert judgement and control over their own work, and those who seek to promote it. Some see teacher agency as a weakness within the operation of schools and seek to replace it with evidence-based and data-driven…

In reform-based science curricula, students' discursive participation is highly encouraged as a means of science learning as well as a goal of science education. However, Asian immigrant students are perceived to be quiet and passive in classroom discursive situations, and this reticence implies that they may face challenges in discourse-rich…

Drawing on interviews with 33 young people between the ages of 14 to 17 attending three English schools we examine their experiences of a personalised education system. The policy climate in England has for some time been one of intense and persistent reforms. The Labour Party took office in 1997 and advanced "personalised learning" as a…

The Australian school context has been something of a failed test case of trying to organise schooling around the tenets of the market as a regulating mechanism. The result has been an intensification of social stratification as the already "disadvantaged" miss out yet again in education. This short paper argues that what is needed to…

Education experts and political leaders frequently agree that in spite of many changes, American schools continue to remain in need of reforms that will expand the circle of opportunity for all children. Few such leaders, however, recognize young people themselves as a critical leadership constituency in effecting the needed reforms. Special…

At a time when "trust" is argued by many to be on the wane within post-industrial societies this article examines a case study of pupil voice brought about through collaboration between a secondary school (for pupils aged 11-16) and a university located in a large conurbation in southern England. Building on data from focus groups and…

This article describes how parent communication across an urban school district was improved through student-led, teacher-supported conferences. According to "This We Believe," student-led, teacher-supported conferences empower young adolescents to accept responsibility for their own learning. Such conferences invite parents into the…

The structure and admission policy of secondary and postsecondary education in Egypt constitutes a culture of great prestige in general school and university education, as opposed to vocational school and technical education. Youth mainly from rural and underdeveloped urban areas enroll in technical education. Because of poverty, many girls and…

This 5-year ethnographic study examines the issue of educational opportunity at Russell High School, a multiethnic school in Eastown (school and city both pseudonyms). Focusing on the beliefs and values of students, teachers, and administrators, this study reveals how prevailing cultural beliefs, the collective nature of the student population,…

This report examines the condition of America's young adolescents and how well middle grade schools, health institutions, and community organizations serve them. In its plan for action, the Task Force on Education of Young Adolescents of the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development makes recommendations for new structures for middle grade…

A broader view of literacy has emerged as part of the larger debate about educational reform across the globe. Many now argue that availing children with additional skills in technological and media literacy will foster creativity, motivate youth, and improve their economic opportunities while increasing the core of high skilled labourers…

This document contains 14 papers that examine recent changes in the definition, principles, and delivery of population education throughout the world. The paper titles are as follows: "Introduction" (Linda King); "Reaching Men for Health and Development" (Benno de Keijzer); "Boys, Men and Questions of Masculinity in South Africa" (Robert Morrell);…