Education Reform in Florida

Education Reform in Florida
Author: Kathryn M. Borman
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Total Pages: 304
Release: 2012-02-01
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0791480658

In Education Reform in Florida, sociologists and historians evaluate Governor Jeb Bush's nation-leading school reform policies since 1999. They examine the startlingly broad range of education policy changes enacted in Florida during Bush's first term, including moves toward privatization with a voucher system, more government control of public education institutions with centralized accountability mechanisms, and a "superboard" for all public education. The contributors arrive at a mixed conclusion regarding Bush's first-term education policies: while he deserves credit for holding students to higher standards, his policies have, unfortunately, pushed for equality in a very narrow way. The contributors remain skeptical about seeing significant and sweeping improvement in how well Florida schools work for all students.

Lost Kids

Lost Kids
Author: Mona Gleason
Publisher: UBC Press
Total Pages: 275
Release: 2010-07-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0774859016

Children and youth occupy important social and political roles, even as they sleep in cribs or hang out on street corners. Conceptualized as either harbingers or saboteurs of a bright, secure tomorrow, they have motivated many adult-driven schemes to effect a positive future. But have all children benefited from these programs and initiatives? Lost Kids examines adults' misgivings about, and the inadequate care of, vulnerable children. From explorations of interracial adoption and the treatment of children with disabilities to discussions of the cultural construction of the hopeless child, this multifaceted collection rejects the essentialism of the "priceless child" or "lost youth" � simplistic categories that continue to shape the treatment of those who deviate from the so-called norm.

Economization of Education

Economization of Education
Author: Joel Spring
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 168
Release: 2015-03-27
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1317548310

In this timely, cogent analysis of trends and powerful forces shaping global educational policy today, Joel Spring focuses on how economization is making economic growth and increased productivity the main goals of schools, and the ways these goals are achieved—including measuring educational policies by their costs and economic benefits, shaping family life to ensure productive workers and high-achieving students, introducing entrepreneurship education into curricula from preschool through higher education, and increasing the involvement of economists in educational policy analysis. Close attention is given to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the World Bank, the World Economic Forum, and multinational corporations, which, as advocates of economization, want schools to focus on teaching hard and soft skills needed by the global labor market. Economization raises questions about the effects of economically driven agendas for schools: Will education policies advocated by global organizations and multinational businesses corporatize and standardize human personalities and families? What type of global worker is being sought by global organizations and multinational corporations? What education programs are supported to educate the ideal global worker? What is the ideal family life for economic growth and development? Detailing and analyzing the politics and motivations driving economization, the book concludes with an assessment of the impacts of the confluence of business interests, economic theories, governments, and educators.

Playing Favorites

Playing Favorites
Author: Mara Sapon-Shevin
Publisher: SUNY Press
Total Pages: 312
Release: 1994-04-12
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9780791419809

Playing Favorites examines the ways in which gifted education disrupts the classroom community, deskills regular classroom teachers, limits their ability and willingness to meet individual needs, and impairs the creation of a climate of inclusion and acceptance of difference. Sapon-Shevin shows here that current models of gifted education are elitist and meritocratic, treating some children, not just differently than others, but better; and that in large urban districts, gifted education programs are often racist as well. By creating and funding gifted programs, the author contends, schools engage in a form of “educational triage,” serving those children for whom inadequate programming and educational failure would not be acceptable while maintaining the status quo for the majority of the school population. This book provides support for teachers, parents, and administrators who have found themselves caught in the struggle of insuring an appropriate education for some children without sacrificing the good of all. Incorporating the words of teachers, parents, and students, as well as related research and theory, this book analyzes the relationship between diversity, community, and social justice. Sapon-Shevin challenges the reader to reconsider ways in which schools can meet individual educational needs while preserving communities of learners as well as the commitment to the education of all children. Finally, the book extends the challenge and assurance that we need not choose between quality education for some and mediocre education for all.

Rethinking Intelligence

Rethinking Intelligence
Author: Joe L. Kincheloe
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 270
Release: 2013-08-21
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1135962030

Arguing that a comprehensive theoretical overhaul of mainstream educational psychology is long overdue, Rethinking Intelligence suggests criteria upon which new models can be developed. The contributors reconceptualize educational psychology through a democratic vision of inclusivity that takes into account the culturally inscribed nature of research. They offer a theoretical and historical critique of how intelligence is measured in ways that exclude or ignore other criteria. By doing so, they hope to encourage educators and researchers to imagine new forms of intelligence, education, and life.

Social Justice and Educational Measurement

Social Justice and Educational Measurement
Author: Zachary Stein
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2016-03-31
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1317366913

Social Justice and Educational Measurement addresses foundational concerns at the interface of standardized testing and social justice in American schools. Following John Rawls’s philosophical methods, Stein builds and justifies an ethical framework for guiding practices involving educational measurement. This framework demonstrates that educational measurement can both inhibit and ensure just educational arrangements. It also clarifies a principled distinction between efficiency-oriented testing and justice-oriented testing. Through analysis of several historical case studies that exemplify ethical issues related to testing, this book explores and propounds speculative design principles and arguments in favour of radically democratic school reforms, which address how the future of testing might be shaped to ensure justice for all. These case studies cover the widespread use of IQ-style testing in schools during the early decades of the 20th century; the founding of the Educational Testing Service; and the recent history of test-based accountability associated with No Child Left Behind. Social Justice and Educational Measurement will be essential reading for academics, researchers and postgraduate students in education, testing and assessment, and the philosophy of education. It will also be of interest to policymakers and educational administrators.

What Mothers Say about Special Education

What Mothers Say about Special Education
Author: J. Valle
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2009-03-16
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0230619738

This book is an alternative account of special education from the cross-generational perspective of 15 mothers whose children labelled learning dis/abled (LD) attended public schools during the last four decades.

American Education

American Education
Author: Wayne J. Urban
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 401
Release: 2019-01-22
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0429760183

American Education: A History, Sixth Edition is a comprehensive, highly regarded history of American education from precolonial times to the present. Chronologically organized, it provides an objective overview of each major period in the development of American education, setting the discussion against the broader backdrop of national and world events. In addition to its in-depth exploration of Native American traditions (including education) prior to colonization, it also offers strong, ongoing coverage of minorities and women. This much-anticipated sixth edition brings heightened attention to the history of education of individuals with disabilities, of classroom pedagogy and technology, of teachers and teacher leaders, and of educational developments and controversies of the twenty-first century.

Contemporary Readings in Curriculum

Contemporary Readings in Curriculum
Author: Barbara Slater Stern
Publisher: SAGE
Total Pages: 417
Release: 2008-03-20
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1412944724

Contemporary Readings in Curriculum provides beginning teachers and educational leaders with a series of articles that can help them build their curriculum knowledge base. [This book] provides a historical context of the curriculum field, giving educators a solid foundation for curriculum knowledge; describes the political nature of curriculum and how we must be attentive to the increasingly diverse populations found in our schools; connects the readings to traditional course goals, providing practical applications of curriculum topics; covers cocurricular issues, which have become a major contemporary topic within school systems; enhances the articles with a strong pedagogical framework, including detailed Internet references, questions for each article, topic guides tying each article to course topics, and article abstracts for the instructor. --Publisher description.

Women of Color in Higher Education

Women of Color in Higher Education
Author: Gaëtane Jean-Marie
Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing
Total Pages: 420
Release: 2011-08-18
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1780521693

Focuses on African American, Hispanic American, Native American, and Asian-Pacific American women whose increased presence in senior level administrative and academic positions in higher education is transforming the political climate to be more inclusive of women of color.