The role of political factors, specifically of public opinion, in the relatively low penetration of charter schools into rural America remains unclear. We use eight years of national survey data to demonstrate that rural residents express less support for charter schools than residents of other locales do. We attribute this gap to differences in…

This commentary discusses reasons that lead scholars to feel entitled to make judgements in areas where they have little or no expertise. Three current reports about the future of online learning are considered, issued by the Global Learning Council, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Gates Foundation. Two of these publications contain…

Utilizing data from an original survey of public school parents, I examine the depth and distribution of parents' knowledge of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). A close exploration of parents' NCLB knowledge, policy-based experiences, and policy evaluations suggests that a superficial policy understanding may contribute to low uptake of policy-related…

The aim of this study was to explore physics teachers' ramification of theory and practices as a result of physics content and pedagogical changes in the Further Education and Training (FET) phase. The researchers adopted the mixed method research approach. The quantitative aspect involved 109 physics teachers and the qualitative approach used ten…

This article draws on a doctoral study which investigated the legal and management frameworks required for establishing private universities in Swaziland. The focus is particularly on the legal framework for establishing the Southern Africa Nazarene University (SANU). Managers involved in establishing SANU encountered a lack of both specific…

While policies at all levels affect music educators, and music education researchers have called for increased attention to policy issues, few have explored preservice music teacher educators' beliefs about policy. This study examined music teacher educators' (N = 81) familiarity with and attitudes toward contemporary education and music education…

This study examines how United States (US) teachers' experiences and beliefs may be predictive of their intervention in anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) bullying and harassment using a US national sample of teachers (N?=?726) who completed an online survey. Results from regression analysis indicated that knowing LGBT people,…

The purpose of this mixed research study was to investigate early assessment and identification for dyslexia in kindergarten through second grade, and to examine whether teachers' knowledge and beliefs lead to the practice of retaining students in grade rather than recommending formal dyslexia assessment. This study investigated both kindergarten…

The economic benefits of staying on in education have been well established. But do students know this? One of the reasons why students might drop out of education too soon is because they are not well informed about the costs and benefits of staying on in education at an appropriate time of their educational career. Indeed, the fact that…

In this study we analysed the familiarity and understanding of 10 environmental concepts amongst Mexican and English school children (aged 7 to 9). The investigation considered the impact of the educational system and the school ethos on the formation of environmental concepts. Results reveal that in general, children of this age have a low to…