In this article, Murphy, Strothers, and Lugg, focus on one urban center, Newark, as an illustrative case study of how New Jersey's brand of neoliberal politics has shaped the political agency of those who live in the communities served by New Jersey's public schools. The city, like other New Jersey locales, has had a long history of political…

Contemporary educational leaders should realize that America's political system of governance is not particularly democratic in the sense that the people rule. While popular elections occur in the U.S., participation rates by citizens are notoriously low, particularly at the local level. In very practical terms, the U.S. is less of a democratic…

Purpose: This paper aims to discuss how public school administrators with a social justice perspective have an obligation to permeate society beyond their schools and how they might address the perilous politics associated with advocating social change. Using George Counts' landmark 1932 speech, Dare the School Build a New Social Order? as the…

This paper analyzes the rise of "PRolicy" (Public Relations public policy) by examining the first Reagan Administration and its use of media manipulation. The paper also explores how PRolicy influences educational policy. It draws on a two-pronged methodological approach that involved media analysis and historical policy analysis with a…

In this article, the authors explore issues of identity, sexual orientation, gender identity, educational leadership and leadership preparation. We discuss professional norms, including attire, and in turn how professional norms might construct panopticons, identity and US public school leadership. We conclude by exploring a consciously queer…

For American public schools, the interplay between religion and public policy has been rather volatile, thanks to both state and federal constitutions mandating an ever shifting degree of separation between church and state, yet permitting free religious expression. Some of the most intense political disputes in the past 40 years have involved…

The election of Ronald Reagan to President in 1980 marked the political zenith of modern American conservative ideology in the 20th century. This book presents a historical analysis of conservative ideology and its influence on federal school policies during Reagan's first administration, 1981-1984. It examines various conservative social agendas…