In this article, the author comments on Peter Roos's article (this issue). The author sees a strong need to clarify whether the horse that is to be remounted is more and better English-as-a-second-language (ESL) programs or the goal of promoting bilingual education as a positive practice in the nation's schools or something else altogether. If the…

The number of staff members serving American higher education institutions has more than doubled in the past twenty years, as occupations in technology, development, government relations, and even athletic administration have grown as never before in the history of the academy. As the number, variety, and importance of these positions have grown,…

Contemporary education theory (and official South African policy) underwrites learner-centredness. I analyse learner-centredness as a possible piece of the puzzle about why it is proving so difficult to improve academic achievement. Learner-centred ideas are grounded in the belief that cognitive abilities develop spontaneously in accordance with a…

Background: National curriculum assessment (NCA) in England has been in place for nearly 20 years. It has its origins in a political desire to regulate education, holding schools accountable. However, its form and nature also reflect educational and curriculum concerns and technical assessment issues. Purpose: The aim of the article is to provide…

Background/Context: Literacy education has always been hotly contested, and in England the debate has recently intensified in controversies over synthetic phonics teaching and the National Literacy Strategy. This article brings together four theoretical and policy contexts in studying this debate: (1) the long-standing and on-going "reading…

Analyzes President Clinton's actions on higher education during his eight years in office. Notes progress on issues such as funding for middle-class students, biomedical research, and technology. Points out possible missed opportunities, including issues surrounding affirmative action. Concludes that Clinton helped make higher education a…

The purpose of this article is to consider the evidence base for some of the proposals in the Education White Paper, Higher Standards: better schools for all. In particular, the article challenges the assertion by the Secretary of State for Education and Skills that the White Paper is based on knowledge of "what works." Using the issue…

In this article, the emerging discourse of "emotional intelligence" is discussed in relation to mentoring in pre-service teacher education. Possible reasons for the neglect of emotion and affect in pre-service teacher education, and in education more broadly, are discussed. The emerging focus on emotion in these fields is also examined…

This article has two chief purposes. It presents a substantive reappraisal of a decade of school choice research in the UK. This reappraisal is used as a case study illustrating the elasticity of the notion of social science "evidence", when wielded by academics in an area where strong ideological preconceptions struggle with the lack of…

This article analyses current educational reform documents pertaining to the role, nature and scope of tertiary education in New Zealand. The argument posited here is that these reform proposals, while signaling a welcome paradigm shift in the values that underpin higher education policy, risk marginalizing the notion and the pursuit of higher…

What can postmodernism do for, or to, educational research? The article discusses its potential for resisting closure and simplification. Developing a "preposterous", anachronistic postmodern method that is caught up with surrealism and the baroque, the article plays with "trompel'oeil" paintings and outmoded popular entertainments such as magic…

This bibliography represents a tentative, subjective judgment of the literature relevant to the future of American education. The scope covers how and why we look at the future, what is happening now, and what might and ought to happen in the future. The material is organized into five sections: (1) introduction, (2) highly recommended reading…

Explores implications of paying attention to the body, literally and figuratively, in policy analysis and policy theory. Building from recent critical, feminist, and post-structural work in policy studies, develops what is termed a feminist genealogy to aid in an analysis of policy studies. Provides example of feminist genealogical analysis…

Kauffman indicts the President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education (PCESE) for sometimes implying the opposite of its stated aim of helping children in special education, including students with EBD, as he believes does the No Child Left Behind act (NCLB, 2002). This response addresses (a) two pivotal, but implied aspects the PCESE and…

This study is a review and a critique of the 2008 U.S. "National Report on the Development and State of the Art of Adult Learning and Education" (ALE) prepared by the U.S. Commission for UNESCO and the U.S. Department of Education as a preparatory document for CONFINTEA VI, the 6th International Conference on Adult Education. The study…