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In most countries in the world, school education is the business of the state. Even if forms and functions differ, the imparting of elementary knowledge is universally regarded as a public function. Yet this is neither self-evident nor self-explanatory. The degree of involvement of state agencies in the supervision, financing and organization of the school system sometimes varies so much that the usual assumption of a common understanding of 'the state' seems to be an illusion.Making international comparisons and focusing strongly on the historical conditions of the current form of state educa

How do governments in Africa make decisions about language? What does language have to do with state-building, and what impact might it have on democracy? This manuscript provides a longue durée explanation for policies toward language in Africa, taking the reader through colonial, independence, and contemporary periods. It explains the growing trend toward the use of multiple languages in education as a result of new opportunities and incentives. The opportunities incorporate ideational relationships with former colonizers as well as the work of language NGOs on the ground. The incentives relate to the current requirements of democratic institutions, and the strategies leaders devise to win elections within these constraints. By contrasting the environment faced by African leaders with that faced by European state-builders, it explains the weakness of education and limited spread of standard languages on the continent. The work combines constructivist understanding about changing preferences with realist insights about the strategies leaders employ to maintain power

Creating a truly national school system has, over the past fifty years, reconfigured local expectations and practices in American public education. Through a 50-year examination of Alexandria, Virginia, this book reveals how the 'education state' is nonetheless shaped by the commitments of local political regimes and their leaders and constituents

WCC staff reviewed state and national law, board rules, and policy decisions related to Indian education in Arizona, Nevada, and Utah. National and state based resources were consulted to inform this effort. WCC also identified prominent organizations that are concerned with improving Indian education in each of the states. In addition, interviews were conducted with state education agency lead staff in the area of Indian education. This report represents a summary of what has been learned from these sources. A brief overview of federal laws and pertinent research is provided as background, followed by highlights from state-level reviews and interviews. The appendix contains detailed summaries of state laws, board rules, and other policy decisions that informed this effort, as well as a list of national resources. ; West Comprehensive Center

Roles, Rights, and Responsibilities in UK Education is an exploration of the complex education systems in the UK in relation to roles, rights and responsibilities that teases out contemporary dilemmas for all those involved in the structures and processes of learning. The UK education system, in spite of political rhetoric and changes in policy and reams of research, continues to a large extent to produce and reproduce social inequalities. McQueen explains some of the tensions and inequalities that are an inevitable part of any system, which vary in the degree of impetus for change or the benefit or harm that they cause to individuals, communities and society. She offers a philosophical perspective on the tensions and inequalities found throughout the book, and shows the reader how they are bound up with the possibilities and demands for institutional, social and individual recognition that continue to dominate education systems in the United Kingdom

This article introduces a collection of empirical work that examines the role of state policy in promoting students' progression into and through higher education. We provide an overview of U.S. state policy innovations that have occurred in recent years and we identify both the challenges and opportunities associated with studying public policy and higher education attainment in the states. The article concludes by outlining the perspectives of the articles included in this collection and provides a synopsis of each.

The State of Developmental Education is the first book to provide a thorough, comparative picture of how developmental education is carried out at higher education institutions and investigate how different state-level policies and priorities change the availability, types, and quality of developmental education available

This book addresses the notion that education reform must be tied to issues of community inequality which are the principal contributors to low achievement. Bluntly put, education is not the way out of poverty, but reducing poverty is crucial to education.

This book investigates and discusses the phenomenon of internationalization of education policy and its consequences for national policymaking processes. By comparing educational outcomes and actors' reactions in different countries, it provides detailed insights into a highly contested policy field

The methodology researching of educational policy is the subject of this book. It takes a "behind the scenes" look at the conducting, the analysis and the interpretation of research carried out into educational policy issues revolving around the 1988 Education Reform Act.; The contributors draw on their project research experience to demonstrate the breadth of issues lionked with such policy research, and cover the gender and power balance between interviewer and interviewee, the difficulties resulting from different ideological stances of researchers and researched, and difficulties in finding links between research and policy