While the remarkable accomplishments of Benjamin Franklin are unparalleled, the means of their attainment can be considered more accessible to ordinary people and not necessarily attributable to a special genius. The steady development of Franklin's knowledge and skills is traced in light of a new model of "dynamic learning," which is a method…

This book is directed to academics, educators, and government policy-makers who are concerned about addressing emerging cyber-bullying and anti-authority student expressions through the use of cell phone and Internet technologies. There is a current policy vacuum relating to the extent of educators' legal responsibilities to intervene when such…

The U.S. secretary of education's call to "turn around" the nation's 5,000 worst-performing schools has found a warm welcome among educators and policymakers who see that focus as long overdue. But it has also sparked debate about how--and whether--such an enormous leadership and management challenge can be accomplished. Secretary of…

A federal official gained significant financial benefit from a commercial reading program he wrote, which he actively promoted while serving as a high-level adviser to states during the implementation of the Reading First program, a Senate report said last week. The official, Edward J. Kame'enui, may have misrepresented those details when he…

This study examines and chronicles the change in public funding for postsecondary education in Colorado from 1970 to 2010. Colorado was ranked sixth among states in per capita funding for public higher education in 1970 and declined to 48th in 2010. The study analyzed state appropriations over this time period in five broad categories of spending:…

Questions about whether states play a role in ensuring access to high-quality teaching talent in local communities have ceased. Increasingly, states are encouraging and requiring more robust preparation programs; more efficient human resources departments that identify, recruit, place, and support the most effective educators; and more continuous…

Gender equity is one of the foundational principles of the national Department of Education, but there is not a shared understanding of its meaning. Based on interviews conducted in 2008 with officials in the Department of Education, we argue that there are two basic approaches to gender equity. The first, which we term "gender blind",…

Following World War II, fear rooted in Communist paranoia gripped America. This distress seeped into all aspects of American culture, including education. The American people became increasingly worried that Communist influences would infiltrate the schools and pervert the minds of children. At the forefront of this quagmire was Dr. Earl James…

Given the strong union support for the Obama presidency, there was great speculation within education circles throughout the fall as to whether the new president would turn out to be a reformer--willing to challenge existing practices and the teachers unions in order to achieve dramatic changes in schools--or play it politically safe by backing…

Big-city school systems face many problems, including high dropout rates, low academic achievement, and achievement gaps between middle-class and low-income children. Many big-city systems are also losing enrollment and facing financial deficits. These problems inevitably lead to criticism of the boards that govern urban school districts, and…

Corruption is a problem that continues to plague developed and developing countries worldwide. Previous studies have explored the negative implications of corruption on several aspects of human development, but, despite its serious and long-lasting consequences, the impact of corruption on educational outcomes has started to receive attention only…

Tony Blair's period as Head of the Labour Government from 1997 until 2007 has been heralded as a period of increased parental power and growing choice within education. However, beneath the rhetoric, Blair's legacy has been one of consolidating and re-inforcing previous Conservative policies that stressed parental responsibilities whilst operating…

President-elect Barack Obama and his team started work this week on a transition that includes searching for the people who will bring to life his agenda of expanding preschool, improving the quality of teachers, and fixing the major federal law in K-12 education. Within 24 hours of his election, the Illinois Democrat assigned a team of campaign…

The news media have extensively documented how many college applicants receive rejection letters from the country's most-elite higher-education institutions. The coverage has focused on the effort and expense that students and their parents put forth, only to be turned away. While many private colleges and universities have always been highly…

There are now nearly four million children born in the United States who have undocumented immigrant parents. In the current debates around immigration reform, policymakers often view immigrants as an economic or labor market problem to be solved, but the issue has a very real human dimension. Immigrant parents without legal status are raising…