Education is a thoroughly political enterprise. The process of determining the purpose of education has always been highly controversial. It has resulted in disputes that have not only divided people philosophically, but also on the basis of religion, region, class, race, and ethnicity. As a result, education provides us with a spectacular arena in which to explore the tensions inherent in European and North American societies, as well as an understanding of how current politics shape education policy. This book focuses on the politics of education, relating to the formation of national identities as affected by globalization and multiculturalism. It assesses the ways in which governance institutions, political ideologies and competing interests, both within and outside of the education community, influence the content, form, and functioning of education. As a collection of studies of the political aspects of education and educational policy-making, this book reaffirms that educational phenomena reflect and inevitably serve specific political agendas. Political scientists, sociologists and education scholars will find this to be an important and valuable text.

This book provides new evidence on teachers unions and their political activities across nations, and offers a foundation for a comparative politics of education.

What can schools do to eliminate sexism and racism? By the 1990's with shifting demographics, disillusionment with conventional liberal policies and new political coalitions, the politics of race and gender requires new analyses. The chapters in this book demonstrate how the politics of race and gender enter into proposals for parental choice, business involvement in schools, definitions of good leadership, special schools for minority children, curriculum debates, and debates about testing and accountability. Catherine Marshall provides the political historical context of race and gender politics in schools, and the following eighteen chapters provide a greater in-depth analysis. The chapters include work of scholars and policy analysts focusing on policy and policy implementation at all levels of school politics in the US, Australia and Israel. The book ends with critical policy analysis, raising deep theoretical questions and pulling out the chronic race and gender issues in education politics.

This is an assessment of the reluctance of American education institutions to undergo change and reform at a time when it is considered necessary. The lack of public confidence in educational institutions is discussed along with the subsequent consequences.

The principal goal of the dissertation is to explain the political nature and effect of cultural characterizations on the development of student assignment policy. Cultural characterizations are socially constructed portrayals that become influential when stakeholders mobilize to bring about change. In education, as the professional authority of school boards and superintendents diminishes, community stakeholders are increasingly prominent. They serve as critical producers and providers of cultural characterizations of public education and its beneficiaries. As such, the engagement of community stakeholders with public sector institutions, organizations, and individuals can significantly amplify, modify, or blunt education policy. The dissertation traces the history of community mobilization in San Francisco from 1971 to 2005, during which the federal district court supervised all aspects of the school district's student assignment policy. Cultural characterizations of student assignment were structured by three distinct logics of action: integration, choice, and neighborhood. These logics were stable but not fixed. Changes in the institutional environment coupled with how stakeholders framed, understood, and shaped these logics led to transformations in student assignment policy that ultimately altered the educational experience of multiple generations of public school students. Data are drawn primarily from archival documents from the federal district court, the school district, and community organizations; mainstream and community newspaper articles, letters to the editor, and editorials; and, retrospective interviews with key stakeholders.

Turning his distinctive analytical lens to the politics of American education, Joel Spring looks at contemporary educational policy issues from theoretical, practical, and historical perspectives. This comprehensive overview documents and explains who influences educational policy and how, bringing to life the realities of schooling in the 21st century and revealing the ongoing ideological struggles at play. Coverage includes the influence of global organizations on American school policies and the impact of emerging open source and other forms of electronic textbooks. Thought-provoking, lucid, original in its conceptual framework and rich with engaging examples from the real world, this text is timely and useful for understanding the big picture and the micro-level intricacies of the multiple forces at work in controlling U.S. public schools . It is the text of choice for any course that covers or addresses the politics of American education. Companion Website: The interactive Companion Website accompanying this text includes relevant data, public domain documents, YouTube links, and links to websites representing political organizations and interest groups involved in education.

This revised edition of the Handbook of Education Politics and Policy presents the latest research and theory on the most important topics within the field of the politics of education. Well-known scholars in the fields of school leadership, politics, policy, law, finance, and educational reform examine the institutional backdrop to our educational system, the political behaviors and cultural influences operating within schools, and the ideological and philosophical positions that frame discussions of educational equity and reform. In its second edition, this comprehensive handbook has been updated to capture recent developments in the politics of education, including Race to the Top and the Common Core State Standards, and to address the changing role politics play in shaping and influencing school policy and reform. Detailed discussions of key topics touch upon important themes in educational politics, helping leaders understand issues of innovation, teacher evaluation, tensions between state and federal lawmakers over new reforms and testing, and how to increase student achievement. Chapter authors also provide suggestions for improving the political behaviors of key educational groups and individuals with the hope that an understanding of political goals, governance processes, and policy outcomes may contribute to ongoing school reform.

Despite their clarity and sophistication, most judicial process texts currently available have two significant limitations. First, they understate the effects of legal factors such as stare decisis on judicial decision-making and second, they fail to convey the human emotions involved in litigation. Reflecting the author’s experience as a political scientist, law student, judicial clerk, practicing attorney, and law professor, May It Please the Court: Judicial Processes and Politics in America, Second Edition redresses this imbalance by giving well-deserved attention to legal influences on judicial decisions and to the human drama of litigation. Each chapter reflects the book’s premise that the judicial process operates at the intersection of law and politics, and this theme guides the discussions. The coverage in the book is far-reaching, exploring numerous topics, including the structure of federal and state courts, the selection and removal of judges, and the legal profession’s history and culture. It discusses two hypothetical cases, outlining their trial and appellate proceedings. It also presents an engaging debate about the legitimacy and the utility of judicial policy making. New to this edition: Expanded appendices, including a discussion of computerized legal research New illustrative cases, documents, and web references All chapters updated to reflect changes since the first publication in 2001 The final chapter summarizes the theme of the book, noting that courts not only enforce norms and resolve disputes, but also, as a coequal branch of government, shape the fundamental power relationships that drive American politics. The chapter ends by observing that the judicial process offers a window on the entire American political system. This book clarifies the view from that window.