This article presents, through a critical analysis, a reflection on a noticeable change that focuses on some aspects related to the assessment of different parts of the educational system. In particular, it concentrates on the assessment of teaching institutions which has been considered by authorities that are distant from the school life and…

Although considerable work has been done around the supposed successes and failures of education reform in post-Katrina New Orleans, concerns about the public/private qualities of new policies are often not discussed explicitly. In kind, this article serves to investigate theoretical conceptions of the public as they relate to education while…

The mishandling of pre- and post-Hurricane Katrina rescue and recovery is stunningly similar to the mishandling by those who have been in charge of Louisiana public education over the past seven years. This includes the devaluing of the teaching profession, the rise of the marketization of education, and the minimizing of the common good. In this…

This article examines the so-called new school reform movement led by a host of right-wing ideologues, billionaires, and foundations. It argues that instead of being reformers, the latter are part of a counter-revolution in American education to dismantle public schools not because they are failing but because they are public and make a claim,…

Taking the latest reform of Swedish teacher education as a point of departure, the aim of this article is to analyse the way Swedish teacher unions construct a knowledge base for teaching as a strategy of professionalisation. The analysis shows that the unions construct such a knowledge base from opposing points of departure. Their professional…

From a human capital perspective, schooling has long represented an engine of economic growth, individual advancement, and competitiveness in the global market. In recent years, this theorization of schooling has become linked with articulations of national security in both the Global North and South, as policymakers, private sector actors, and…

The main goal of this article is to provide conceptual guidelines to move the pedagogical debate in the field of citizenship education beyond idealistically narrow models. We begin by providing an overview of key shortcomings presented in most citizenship education programs, specifically in the United States of America. The second section presents…

In the post-Katrina education landscape in New Orleans, teachers in charter schools and district-run schools in the Recovery School District are uniquely situated to provide a direct eyewitness account of the successes and failures of the city's new direction in public education. This narrative presents the opinions of teachers in a critical…

Sustainable development in education for future economic growth has always been a global focal point for non-governmental agencies across the world. This article highlights the extensive work the Organisation for Economic Co-operation Development (OECD) has achieved over time, constructing contemporary society as we know it today, continually…

In the almost two decades that have passed since the Swedish parliament declared that Sweden is a multicultural society, debates about immigrants, about multiculturalism and about different ways of being a citizen have raged. So far there has been no stepping away from the declaration. In the rhetorical arena multiculturalism is still a word with…

What explains the crisis of the Eastern European universities, and how can they overcome it? This article tries to find the causes of such a crisis in the communist tradition and the lingering communitarian systems of thought in Eastern Europe. The current state-controlled academic systems in the region continue to reproduce such a culture.…

In England, social choice in education faces trade-offs between equity and efficiency. The scope of these trade-offs ranges from the introduction of choice to correcting "market failures" to reduce inequalities and restrict social injustices. The article analyses the English school education system and its relationship with social…

Nearly ten years after Katrina and the implementation of a host of new and radical education reforms in New Orleans, there remains little evidence about whether the changes have improved school performance. Despite this lack of evidence, the New Orleans model is held up as a reform success, and is being adopted by other cities. In this article the…

Changes in the education system following Hurricane Katrina have received considerable attention from scholars in recent years. However, the role of Catholic schools is often overlooked in such discussions of school reform, which most often concentrate on the dramatic changes in the public school sector. This oversight is significant given that…

Despite over forty years of research on theories of educational change, little is known of the change theories-in-use of school-based administrators, often tasked with implementing externally imposed reform mandates. Capitalizing on the unique case of post-Katrina schooling, this qualitative study examines the ways in which ten principals spoke…