Provides a thorough overview of the major pros and cons of school uniforms. Readable text, interesting sidebars, and illuminating infographics invite readers to jump in and join the debate.

This book represents the most thorough exposition on our present understanding of the impetuses, debates, legalities, and effectiveness of school uniform policies that have rapidly entered the discourse of school reform in the United States. In it, David Brunsma provides an antidote to the ungrounded, anecdotal components that define the contemporary conversation regarding policies of standardized dress in American K-12 districts and schools.

School uniform polices, often associated with private schools, are increasingly being adopted in public schools; but not without controversy. The often asserted reasons for mandating uniforms include improved student behavior, better attendance, less competition over clothing, and improved student learning because students would not be distracted by who was wearing what and could focus on their studies. Wishful thinking or empirically tested hypotheses? However, opponents assert that a mandated uniform seeks to homogenize the students, violates their free speech rights, and does not solve the problems the policy is intended to remedy. The Challenges of Mandating School Uniforms in the Public Schools: Free Speech, Research, and Policy explores the policy rationale, the constitutional rights of students, and the research on the impact of school uniforms. Educators, parents, and policymakers will find this book and its companion, Student Dress Codes and the First Amendment: Legal Challenges and Policy Issues, a must read when considering student attire issues.

This teacher's resource series is designed for teaching Primary Literacy and Numeracy in today's classroom setting. Structured around the blocked units of work, they provide everything teachers need to slot into their medium-term plan. The series consists of Literacy & Numeracy titles which provide a more comprehensive approach to lesson planning, and Literacy Text and Numeracy Practice books, full of great resources.

This edited volume brings together a new materialist approach to understanding the various legacies and controls being exercised through school uniforms. Through examining school uniform policies, the editors and their authors highlight the embodied choices that contribute to a socio-materialist understanding of democracy and social justice. Uniform policy plays a distinct role in setting the culture of compulsory school education and as such it constitutes a set of under-theorised school practices. This work thus brings together critical perspectives from education, sociology, cultural and postcolonial studies within an overarching analysis of how uniform imposes performances that have a formative effect on young people’s identities and economic positionality.

No topic sparks an argument faster among the American public, even with relatively apolitical people, than how their children are taught. In schools across the country, school boards, parents, teachers, and students themselves debate issues ranging from charter schools, to the first amendment rights of students, to the efficacy of the No Child Left Behind Act. School districts in Georgia and Pennsylvania have seen battles over the teaching of evolution; places as diverse as Colorado, Washington, and Kentucky have had debates over how best to protect children while at school. Battleground: Schools provides an in-depth, balanced overview of these controversial topics and enables teachers, students, and their parents to better understand the foundations of these conflicts.

This unique and ground-breaking book is the result of 15 years research and synthesises over 800 meta-analyses on the influences on achievement in school-aged students. It builds a story about the power of teachers, feedback, and a model of learning and understanding. The research involves many millions of students and represents the largest ever evidence based research into what actually works in schools to improve learning. Areas covered include the influence of the student, home, school, curricula, teacher, and teaching strategies. A model of teaching and learning is developed based on the notion of visible teaching and visible learning. A major message is that what works best for students is similar to what works best for teachers – an attention to setting challenging learning intentions, being clear about what success means, and an attention to learning strategies for developing conceptual understanding about what teachers and students know and understand. Although the current evidence based fad has turned into a debate about test scores, this book is about using evidence to build and defend a model of teaching and learning. A major contribution is a fascinating benchmark/dashboard for comparing many innovations in teaching and schools.

We've all been part of a clique, that exclusive group of individuals who are bonded together for various reasons. There's two sides to the existence of cliques; one is that it allows for important social bonds to form, the other is that group-think can be dangerous and harmful. This relevant edition examines the issue of cliques and their effects upon the people within and outside of them. Compelling examples and pertinent anecdotes teach readers about topics such as social cruelty, school violence, and the development of cliques.