Educational Policy current issue

Education Policy as a Practice of Power: Theoretical Tools, Ethnographic Methods, Democratic Options

Levinson, B. A. U., Sutton, M., Winstead, T. — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 01:36:18 PDT

This article outlines some theoretical and methodological parameters of a critical practice approach to policy. The article discusses the origins of this approach, how it can be uniquely adapted to educational analysis, and why it matters—not only for scholarly interpretation but also for the democratization of policy processes as well. Key to the exposition is the concept of appropriation as a form of creative interpretive practice necessarily engaged in by different people involved in the policy process. Another crucial distinction is made between authorized policy and unauthorized or informal policy; it is argued that when nonauthorized policy actors appropriate policy they are in effect often making new policy in situated locales and communities of practice.

Turning Around Failing Schools: Policy Insights From the Corporate, Government, and Nonprofit Sectors

Murphy, J. — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 01:36:18 PDT

In this article, the author reviews research from the organizational sciences to develop turnaround policy guidelines that may prove useful for policy makers and educators. The approach is an integrative review of the literature. The author employs a comprehensive process to unpack and make sense of the turnaround literature from the organizational sciences. Strategies appropriate for document analysis and interview data are employed. Insights are captured from the five major research pathways for studying organizational turnaround. Research findings are blended into three policy dimensions, namely, leadership, efficiency, and focus. It is argued that the literature on turning around failing organizations in sectors outside of education provides potential blueprints for recovery activity in failing schools. This is the first systematic effort to mine research in the corporate, not-for-profit, and public sectors to develop policy insights for shaping efforts to turn around failing schools.

Social-Emotional and Character Development and Academics as a Dual Focus of Educational Policy

Elias, M. J. — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 01:36:18 PDT

There is a missing piece to America’s education agenda, and children will continue to be left behind until that piece is addressed. Furthermore, children are not being systematically prepared for their complex roles as citizens in our democracy. A growing body of evidence from research and practice suggests reconceptualizing education as an integration of social-emotional and character development (SECD) and academic learning. This article reviews skills children need for effective social and academic participation, characteristics of schools that effectively integrate these forms of learning, and key reasons to adopt this integration. It concludes with examples of, and suggestions for, bringing SECD to prominence in educational policy making.

Are School Uniforms a Good Fit?: Results From the ECLS-K and the NELS

Yeung, R. — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 01:36:18 PDT

One of the most common proposals put forth for reform of the American system of education is to require school uniforms. Proponents argue that uniforms can make schools safer and also improve school attendance and increase student achievement. Opponents contend that uniforms have not been proven to work and may be an infringement on the freedom of speech of young people. Within an econometric framework, this study examines the effect of school uniforms on student achievement. It tackles methodological challenges through the use of a value-added functional form and the use of multiple data sets. The results do not suggest any significant association between school uniform policies and achievement. Although the results do not definitely support or reject either side of the uniform argument, they do strongly intimate that uniforms are not the solution to all of American education’s ills.