Purpose: Regulation and privatization of education systems has led to a "league standing" mentality regarding school achievements. The purpose of this paper is to examine how school principals deal with the pressures of competition and achievements while aspiring to imbue pupils with values and a broad education.…

Corporate school reform is a global movement that is gaining a growing momentum. Central to this reform agenda is "personalized learning," presented by its advocates as a better alternative to the traditional model of schooling. In spite of its appealing possibilities for education and society, scholars in countries such as the United…

This essay critiques the ideological assertions of corporate school reform and discusses how these logics perpetuate failure in urban education. Drawing on theories of neoliberal urbanism, the right to the city, and the commons, the essay argues that educational researchers and advocates need to reframe the values of urban education in line with a…

A field enquiry in French distance education allows us to analyze the evolution of a specific institution towards new public management: Parallel to a trend of free courseware and open education, there is a paradoxical reality of distance education monetization. Whereas history shows how traditional French education is a state controlled public…

In this commentary, Andy Kaplan discusses with Lois Weiner, Diane Ravitch's latest book "The Reign of Error," which combines scholarly argument and scrupulous research in defense of democratic education. Weiner notes, the book will prove an important resource in the ongoing struggle for the survival of public schooling. Weiner adds,…

The economic growth of a nation depends greatly on the improvement in education. Human development to a great extent depends on the improvement in Education. Among various levels of education, higher education has a pervasive and influential impact on development. Higher education empowers the individual with necessary skills and competence for…

Kathleen Riley begins this article by providing quotes from James H. Lytle, and Anissa Weinraub, which were published in "Perspectives on Urban Education" in the summer of 2013. While they hold different professional positions (Lytle is a retired administrator and professor; Weinraub is a teacher and organizer), both wrote as…

Managerial changes to Australian universities have had considerable impact on employees. In this article, we consider some of these changes and apply a theory known as the democratic deficit to them. This theory was developed from the democratic critique of managerialism, as it has been applied in the public sector in countries with…

This essay is an excerpt from a keynote speech delivered by Benjamin Barber at the 2nd Annual Summer Research Institute on the "Future of Community Engagement in Higher Education." The speech focuses on six conditions that will impact community service-learning and voluntarism efforts in the years ahead: the ideology of neo-liberalism and…

This article presents the author's critiques on Jim Garrison's essay and focuses on Garrison's concerns about the affronts posed to democracy by the standardization and accountability regimes in education. He rightfully highlights a few critical ways by which standardization and accountability in education reflect and reinforce antidemocratic…

"Principled Resistance: How Teachers Resolve Ethical Dilemmas" brings together senior scholars and activist teachers to explore the concept of resistance as a necessary response to mandates that conflict with their understanding of quality teaching. The book provides vivid examples of the pedagogical, professional, and democratic…

Public education is becoming increasingly privatized as private philanthropic organizations, such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and corporations, such as Pearson, dominate the policy-making process, and more students enroll in publicly funded but privately administered charter schools. The privatization of education results from the…

The American experiment with charter schools advanced on dual impulses of increasing opportunities for disadvantaged students and unleashing market competition. While critics see these independently managed schools as a form of privatisation, proponents contend that they are public schools because of funding and accountability arrangements and…

More and more nations are losing the ability to control their education systems. OECD is an important premise provider for educational policymaking championing a neoliberal agenda. With the aim to investigate the impact the OECD may have on national policymaking, this paper compares their recent teacher education policies with those of Norway. The…

After two centuries of public higher education in the United States, the covenant between public colleges and universities and the public that created and funded them is under strain. In a time of scarce resources and changing policy in many corners of the country and around the globe, privatization has emerged as a possible replacement for the…