In education decentralization policy may be beneficial in terms of overcoming an overly cumbersome bureaucracy in educational systems. However, it can also have adverse effects in terms of competition, yielding new kinds of inequalities. This is true in Quebec, where the division of educational labor and the emergence of technical work were…

Pakistani children and education face continuous challenges as a result of human callousness and natural forces. These ordeals are more extreme than in many other parts of the world; however, the disadvantages do not end there. An additional, less explored, issue is the effect of class distinction in the Pakistan school system. The majority of…

In this interview conducted by educator Arnold Dodge, education historian Diane Ravitch discusses what's wrong with the agenda of the "corporate reform movement." She notes that a current obsession with testing and a persistent blaming of teachers is subverting learning for students. The emphasis on competition, entrepreneurship, and…

Examining work and community relations in one Texas school district, this study explores intensifying managerialism under performance accountability (PA) pressures. Reports, press releases, and media accounts are combined with ethnographic study from one elementary school to explore the enactment of school district reforms. Locating PA within a…

This book is a roadmap for developing collaborative strategies that integrate the knowledge, ideas, expertise, resources, networks, and systems of the nonprofit, private, public, and religious sectors in the transformation of elementary and secondary schools. While most books on school reform focus on micro issues such as curricula,…

Since the election of the Campbell government in 2001, teachers have experienced heightened conflict with the provincial government. An analysis of the discourse and power relations between the BC Teachers' Federation (BCTF) and government reveals a neo-liberal agenda on the part of government and anti-neo-liberalism on the part of the BCTF.…

This comprehensive volume will spur and strengthen public debate over the role of teachers unions in education reform for years to come. Collective bargaining shapes the way public schools are organized, financed, staffed, and operated. Understanding collective bargaining in education and its impact on the day-to-day life of schools is critical to…

The educational reform movement produced only incremental improvements in student achievement, prompting a need for greater focus on structural and cultural aspects of school organization. Parental choice is the necessary element for successful school reform in the future. The public educational system that has evolved in America is widely…

Describes the role and successes of locally-based public education funds. These nonprofit public/private partnerships, linked by the Public Education Fund Network in Washington, DC, are active in more than 60 U.S. cities, having moved beyond their initial efforts to whole-school change and involvement in critical policy questions. (SLD)