This article uses Chicago public school closings as a case study for the rise of mayoral control and the decline of democratic participation -- two common responses to stiff competition from global markets -- in urban public schools in the United States. In response to the 2013 Chicago decision to close 50 schools and move 30,000 students, this…

Cites studies that show that environmental effects on ability test scores and school attainment are welcomed, while ability is regarded as a social construct. Asserts that an account of cognitive socialization based on the work of Bernstein and Vygotsky would represent an advance in explaining social differences in educational attainment.…

Draws on data from schools in Scotland (n=25) to consider how teachers talk about sex education and look at the factors that shape provision at the school and teacher levels. Finds that four interrelated factors are important in understanding the provision of sex education in the classroom. Provides references. (Author/PAL)

Discusses Logo, an education philosophy and accompanying family of programming languages. Explores Logo in the institutional and organizational cultures of United States and United Kingdom mainstream schools after its introduction in the early 1980s. Addresses how Logo was received in the educational arena and implicated in the politics of…

Explores the rapid growth of academic examinations in physical education (PE) and sports studies. Considers if such growth represents a new orthodoxy rather than merely a consensus of thought and practice among PE teachers. Concludes that the increase results from the academicization and professionalism of PE and qualifies as an orthodoxy. (PAL)

Focuses on two general groups of methods that can be used to calculate achievement gaps between groups of students. States that the methods produce radically different results. Considers both of these methods and related problems in the calculation of achievement gaps in solving the contradiction between the two methods. Includes references. (CMK)

Explores the situation of the Israeli-Jewish education system in Israel that has developed educational streams according to religious differences. Highlights the changes in the status of cultural stands of secular and religious Jewish groups throughout the twentieth century. Includes references. (CMK)

Considers the impact of superhighways technology in the United Kingdom schools. Explores the effects of new information and communication technologies on traditional boundaries, such as boundaries among curriculum, subjects, pupils, and teachers. Concludes that effects on boundaries are mixed. Includes references. (CMK)

Explores the emphasis on parental involvement in education from the perspectives of children and young people. Draws on data from a study about children's perceptions of home-school relations to develop a typology on the ways children and young people talk about parent involvement in their education. Includes references. (CMK)

Explores the debate in Great Britain, centered on whether schools are racist, on how to account for ethnic differentials in educational achievement. This debate is part of a wider debate on the purposes of educational research. Argues for caution in viewing racial discrimination as the major factor for ethnic differences. (CMK)

Highlights the centrality of women to social reproduction through a focus on the sociocultural processes of parental involvement. Argues that, although most mothers help children with school work, only middle-class mothers have resources to shape effectively the curriculum offered. Concludes that the market system of education favors the middle…

Discusses ways in which the structuring of home-school relations around power leads to particular complexities. Looks at the notion of powerlessness as a way of understanding relationships between schools and parents. Suggests that understanding these relationships can help explain the failure of many attempts to improve parental involvement in…

Observes that poststructuralist and earlier sociological accounts of children's literature neglect the relationship between their fantasies and preferred literature. Uses Freudian arguments to study British comics aimed at boys and girls. Suggests a need for descriptive accounts and theoretical work to better understand the hold of "sexist"…

Adopts a genealogical approach to a small-scale study of Black supplementary schools, extra schooling organized by the African-Caribbean community in the United Kingdom. Finds evidence of a new female-centered social movement in the organization of the schools and of the effectiveness of parental involvement among the Black working class. (DSK)

Argues that the use of Total Quality Management, School Development Planning and Office for Standards in Education Inspections intensifies teachers' work and encourages schools and teachers to "fabricate" themselves for the purposes of evaluation. Uses data from a secondary school to illustrate these points. (DSK)