Drawing from ethnographic research in two sites in California, we examine how school boards' deficit practices create barriers for mothers. We analyze how school boards acted as gatekeepers to educational opportunities and maternal involvement. Our analysis reveals that mothers activated their agency as parents to foster civic capacity and create…

This study examines how the discourse of the crisis and failing of public education creates space for the legitimization and deployment of neoliberal logic of education reform based on free market principles specifically in Los Angeles. It utilizes Critical Discourse Analysis to examine how these discourses and logic of neoliberal reform are…

In Illinois, Senate Bill 100 was known in the statutes as Public Act 99-0456, took effect September, 15, 2016. Illinois State Senator Kimberly Lightford and Illinois State Representative William Davis both sponsored Senate Bill 100. Senator Lightford said, "We're moving toward a disciplinary system that prioritizes educating students by…

This paper presents states and districts with guidelines and recommendations for improving systems that support instructional practices. Because the quality of teaching is the most important school-based factor for student learning, a focus on instruction is essential for turning around struggling schools and districts and cultivating conditions…

In early 2017, Congress rescinded two education regulations passed late in the Obama administration. The first regulation, which attempted to define and implement the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), received most of attention since states were busy planning how to implement the new law in the 2017-2018 school year. However the second regulation…

The primary aim of engagement in this phase was to gain input from a wide range of stakeholders that represented the diversity of the state. A multi-pronged approach was developed to structure engagement for the strategic planning process to ensure flexible, responsive and iterative communication with stakeholders. A combination of virtual and…

This article presents a review of the development of platform network models that rely on partnership contracts to implement comprehensive school reform. The literature from the previous three decades of development of school networks, emerging largely from the United States of America, is reviewed. The recent development of similar network models…

Catalyst: Another newspaper article ("Ranks of School Librarians Dwindle in HISD, Statewide" in the October 7, 2013, "Houston Chronicle") detailing another decision by a Houston Independent School District (HISD) campus principal to eliminate the librarian (Mellon 2013). In response to this article, Dorcas Hand, an experienced…

The Kentucky Board of Education is currently considering changes to Kentucky's high school graduation requirement policy to address concerns that Kentucky students are not graduating with the skills necessary to ensure their success after high school. A key component of this policy change would require students to pass a high school exit exam…

This paper discusses the prospects technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in Nigeria through bridging the gap between the policy document and practice. At the 1969 National Curriculum Conference and the eventual emergence of the National Policy on Education (NPE) in 1977, TVET was given prominence but, unfortunately, in theory…

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed long-standing systemic inequities in education with resulting gaps in opportunity and academic achievement. In addition, many affected students have experienced additional trauma as the pandemic has cost lives and livelihoods in families already vulnerable and on the edge. School staff have also experienced…

Context: Given the growing popularity of the portfolio management model (PMM) as a method of improving education, it is important to examine how these market-based reforms are sustained over time and how the politics of sustaining this model have substantial policy implications. Purpose of Study: The purpose of this article is to examine important…

In March 2020, school districts across California closed their doors, rapidly adapting operations and instruction in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Efforts to understand the immediate impact of the unprecedented closure of schools prompted grave concerns about meeting students' needs, particularly for the most vulnerable. This report details…

Present-day educational inequities are the result of systemic racism rooted in longstanding policies and practices. The move to achieve equity is not a new phenomenon; however, the desire to achieve educational equity has become more prevalent in national conversations. Conversations about educational equity have trickled down to the school…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore a formative intervention project that was developed for the Municipal Secretariat of Education in São Paulo, Brazil for the broad development of all levels of educational management (teacher educators, coordinators, principals, teachers and students). Thus, the creative chain of activities is a key…