Business-Inspired School Reform in the Era of Financialization: Not Business as Usual

2020 ◽  
pp. 089590482090473
Author(s):  
Michael Ian Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
School Reform ◽  
Social Institution ◽  
The United States ◽  
Multiple Stakeholders ◽  
Business World ◽  
Long Term Stability ◽  
Recent Trends ◽  
Business As Usual

Business-inspired school reform policies in the United States date back to the late 19th century. In the last four decades, however, while school reformers have continued to borrow policies and practices from the business world, the dominant business model itself has changed dramatically as part of the financialization of the economy. Once a bureaucratically governed social institution, focused on long-term stability and committed to multiple stakeholders, the corporation has become a destabilized network of temporary contracting relationships, singularly focused on maximizing shareholder value. This conceptual article explores what it means for schools, as public and democratic institutions, to emulate business in the era of financialization. Through analysis of several recent trends in business-inspired school reform policy, I demonstrate the diffusion of financialization logic and practices into public schools. I argue that while business may have historically been a problematic model for educational policy, business is now a uniquely unqualified model.

Business as Usual: Heroin Distribution in the United States

1983 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 147-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert B. McBride
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Normal Structure ◽  
The United States ◽  
Heroin Use ◽  
Distinctive Features ◽  
Long Term Stability ◽  
Business As Usual ◽  
Reduced Risk

This article criticizes the predominant analysis of heroin use as a social aberration and argues instead that the normal structure and functioning of U.S. capitalism generate both the market for the drug and the industry which supplies it. The structure of the distribution industry is much like those for comparable legal goods, but with distinctive features which provide reduced risk for dealers and long term stability for the industry as a whole. The expansionary dynamic of the industry and the key role of syndicates in it are analyzed. The heroin industry is deeply integrated into the economy, and far-reaching social and economic change will be necessary if heroin use is to be significantly reduced.

How Prevalent is Performance-Related Pay in the United States? Current Incidence and Recent Trends

2013 ◽  
Vol 226 ◽  
pp. R4-R16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maury Gittleman ◽  
Brooks Pierce
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
The United States ◽  
High Wage ◽  
Potential Explanation ◽  
Us Economy ◽  
The Us ◽  
Recent Trends ◽  
Current Incidence

We address basic questions about performance-related pay in the US. How widespread is it? What characteristics of employers and jobs are associated with it? What are recent trends in its incidence? What factors are responsible for these trends? Nearly two-fifths of hours worked in the US economy in 2013 were in jobs with performance-related pay, but this share has been declining. We consider several possible causes for this trend and find that they do not have much explanatory power. We do establish, however, that any potential explanation must also account for a long-term shift in the relative incidence of performance-related pay away from low-wage and toward high-wage jobs.

scholarly journals Preschool Mathematics Intervention Can Significantly Improve Student Learning Trajectories Through Elementary School

AERA Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 233285841987944 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denis Dumas ◽  
Daniel McNeish ◽  
Julie Sarama ◽  
Douglas Clements
Keyword(s):  
Elementary School ◽  
Growth Curves ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
The United States ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Mathematics Intervention ◽  
Mathematics Outcomes ◽  
Mathematical Skill ◽  
Business As Usual

Perhaps more than at any other time in history, the development of mathematical skill is critical for the long-term success of students. Unfortunately, on average, U.S. students lag behind their peers in other developed countries on mathematics outcomes, and within the United States, an entrenched mathematics achievement gap exists between students from more highly resourced and socially dominant groups, and minority students. To begin to remedy this situation, educational researchers have created instructional interventions designed to support the mathematical learning of young students, some of which have demonstrated efficacy at improving student mathematical skills in preschool, as compared with a business-as-usual control group. However, the degree to which these effects last or fade out in elementary school has been the subject of substantial research and debate, and differences in scholarly viewpoints have prevented researchers from making clear and consistent policy recommendations to educational decision makers and stakeholders. In this article, we use a relatively novel statistical framework, Dynamic Measurement Modeling, that takes both intra- and interindividual student differences across time into account, to demonstrate that while students who receive a short-term intervention in preschool may not differ from a control group in terms of their long-term mathematics outcomes at the end of elementary school, they do exhibit significantly steeper growth curves as they approach their eventual skill level. In addition, this significant improvement of learning rate in elementary school benefited minority (i.e., Black or Latinx) students most, highlighting the critical societal need for research-based mathematics curricula in preschool.

Reframing School Culture through Project-Based Assessment Tasks: Cultivating Transformative Agency and Humanizing Practices in NYC Public Schools

2021 ◽  
Vol 123 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-38
Author(s):  
Maria Hantzopoulos ◽  
Rosa L. Rivera-Mccutchen ◽  
Alia R. Tyner-Mullings
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
School Culture ◽  
School Reform ◽  
Research Question ◽  
The United States ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Historical Inquiry ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Assessment Tasks

Background/Context In the last two decades, high-stakes testing policies have proliferated exponentially, radically altering the broader educational landscape in the United States. Although these policies continue to dominate educational reform agendas, researchers argue that they have not improved educational outcomes for youth and have exacerbated inequities in schooling across racial, economic, geographic, and linguistic lines. Alternative project-based assessments, like ones used by the New York Performance Standards Consortium (Consortium) are one type of practice to have shown promise in aiding in the creation of humanizing and transformative educational spaces. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study This article examines how teachers and students make meaning of their experiences transitioning away from high-stakes standardized tests to project-based assessment tasks (PBATs) and specifically considers the role that PBATs might play in shaping school culture. Drawing from three years of data collection at 10 New York City public high schools new to the Consortium, we discern how students and teachers negotiate this shift, paying attention to the ways in which PBATs fostered transformative and humanizing pedagogies and practices. We raise the following questions: How can schools that use project-based assessment reinvigorate school culture to address enduring inequities that persist in schools? How might PBATs reframe schools to be more humanizing and transformative spaces? Research Design We used multiple methods to understand how project-based assessment shapes school culture and curriculum in these transitioning schools, and drew from qualitative and quantitative traditions. The research involved: (1) a historical inquiry into the role of the Consortium in school reform; (2) a broad investigation of the 10 schools transitioning into the Consortium (including three rounds of annual surveys with teachers and administrators); (3) three in-depth focal case studies of transitioning schools (including observations, interviews with teachers, and surveys with students); and (4) surveys with experienced teachers new to established Consortium schools. Conclusions PBATs are a useful tool to engage students and teachers more actively as participatory actors in the school environment, particularly when overall school structures collectively support its integration. Although there were inevitable challenges in the process of transition, our data suggest that the school actors mediated some of these tensions and ultimately felt that PBATs helped create more dignified spaces for youth. By anchoring the assessment process in the concept of transformative agency, we consider how the transition to PBATs might reinvigorate school culture, redress harmful systemic injustices, and serve as a necessary part of school reform and education policy.

scholarly journals I NTERNATIONAL WORK-TIME TRENDS: THE EMERGING GAP IN HOURS

Just Labour ◽  
1969 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anders Hayden
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Recent Work ◽  
Time Trends ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
The United States ◽  
Work Hours ◽  
Work Time ◽  
Recent Trends ◽  
Catch Up

This paper examines historical and recent trends in average annual work hours. The shared long-term decline in annual hours appears to be giving way to a growing divergence among OECD nations, with notable differences between several European nations and the United States. Significant differences among nations exist in annual vacation entitlements and are emerging with regard to the workweek. Competing notions of work-time flexibility held by employers and employees are an important new element in recent work-time debates, as is the related trend toward individualised forms of work-time reduction. Some European countries with pioneering work-time regimes are reviewed. The paper concludes by raising the question of how Canada can resist the American long-hours model and catch up with leading-edge practices.

Waiting for Peace

2020 ◽  
pp. 16-39
Author(s):  
Luke Patey
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
South Sudan ◽  
The United States ◽  
Economic Interests ◽  
Oil Companies ◽  
Long Term Stability ◽  
Chinese Business ◽  
Rebel Groups ◽  
United Nations Peacekeeping

China’s long-standing non-interference policy has been discarded in practice. In Libya, Iraq, Yemen, and elsewhere, China is working to safeguard its nationals and economic interests and make peace in overseas conflicts. South Sudan represents a pioneering case for China’s diplomats entering peace talks abroad, Chinese business managers to engage in corporate responsibility, and Chinese soldiers to join the Blue Helmets of United Nations peacekeeping. Despite the efforts of Chinese oilmen and diplomats in the African country, China has struggled to shape events on the ground. Beijing’s willingness to strike short-term, transactional deals with rebel groups undermines long-term stability. Chinese peacekeepers cannot overcome the inherent challengers of modern United Nations peacekeeping. Chinese actors in the country, from arms dealers to oil companies, often frustrate one another’s interests. Neither does China coordinate well with other foreign powers, as geopolitical tensions with the United States cloud mutual interests in building peace in South Sudan, Myanmar, and other overseas conflicts.

Railway Pooling in Britain before 1900: The Anglo-Scottish Traffic

1988 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey Channon
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Traffic Patterns ◽  
Viable Option ◽  
Railroad Industry ◽  
Long Term Stability ◽  
Regulate Competition ◽  
Political Uncertainties ◽  
Illustrative Material

In this study of a neglected topic, Dr. Channon examines the attempts of British railway leaders to regulate competition among routes. Drawing illustrative material from the management of Anglo-Scottish traffic and making comparisons with the American railroad industry, Dr. Channon concludes that pooling agreements did not provide the long-term stability and savings that railway managers sought. Changes in traffic patterns led to dissatisfaction with pool allocations, and competitive pressures from outside, as well as legal and political uncertainties, undermined cconfidence in the pools. In contrast to the United States, where railroads were able to turn to consolidation after pooling had failed, in Britain this strategy was not a politically viable option.

scholarly journals Long-term stability and efficacy of historic activated carbon (AC) deployments at diverse freshwater and marine remediation sites

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todd Bridges ◽  
Sandra Newell ◽  
Alan Kennedy ◽  
David Moore ◽  
Upal Ghosh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Activated Carbon ◽  
Research Effort ◽  
Field Performance ◽  
The United States ◽  
Pilot Scale ◽  
Long Term Stability ◽  
Core Samples ◽  
Physical Environments

A number of sites around the United States have used activated carbon (AC) amendments to remedy contaminated sediments. Variation in site-specific characteristics likely influences the long-term fate and efficacy of AC treatment. The long-term effectiveness of an AC amendment to sediment is largely unknown, as the field performance has not been monitored for more than three years. As a consequence, the focus of this research effort was to evaluate AC’s long-term (6–10 yr) performance. These assessments were performed at two pilot-scale demonstration sites, Grasse River, Massena, New York and Canal Creek, Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), Aberdeen, Maryland, representing two distinct physical environments. Sediment core samples were collected after 6 and 10 years of remedy implementation at APG and Grasse River, respectively. Core samples were collected and sectioned to determine the current vertical distribution and persistence of AC in the field. The concentration profile of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in sediment pore water with depth was measured using passive sampling. Sediment samples from the untreated and AC-treated zones were also assessed for bioaccumulation in benthic organisms. The data collected enabled comparison of AC distribution, PCB concentrations, and bioaccumulation measured over the short- and long-term (months to years).

scholarly journals Social Determinants of the Recent Decline in US Life Expectancy

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sam Harper ◽  
Corinne Riddell ◽  
Nicholas King
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Life Expectancy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Opioid Overdose ◽  
Recent Trends ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Gender Groups ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
Overdose Deaths

In recent years life expectancy has stagnated in the United States, followed by three consecutive years of decline. The decline is small in absolute terms, but is unprecedented and has generated considerable research interest and theorizing about potential causes. Recent trends show the decline has affected nearly all race-ethnic and gender groups, and the proximate causes of the decline are increases in opioid overdose deaths, suicide, homicide, and Alzheimer’s disease. A slowdown in the long-term decline in mortality from cardiovascular diseases has also prevented life expectancy from further improvements. Although a popular explanation for the decline is the cumulative decline in living standards across generations, recent trends suggest that distinct mechanisms for specific causes of death are more plausible explanations. Interventions to stem the increase in overdose deaths, reduce access to mechanisms that contribute to violent deaths, and decrease cardiovascular risk over the life course are urgently needed to improve mortality in the United States.

scholarly journals A Storable Mediatorless Electrochemical Biosensor for Herbicide Detection

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 630 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matteo Tucci ◽  
Paolo Bombelli ◽  
Christopher J. Howe ◽  
Silvia Vignolini ◽  
Stefano Bocchi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Photosynthetic Electron Transport ◽  
The United States ◽  
Inhibitory Effect ◽  
Cold Season ◽  
Initial Increase ◽  
Term Stability ◽  
Long Term Stability ◽  
Cyanobacterial Biofilm

A novel mediatorless photo-bioelectrochemical sensor operated with a biofilm of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC6803 wt. for herbicide detection with long term stability (>20 days) was successfully developed and tested. Photoanodic current generation was obtained in the absence of artificial mediators. The inhibitory effect on photocurrent of three commonly used herbicides (i.e., atrazine, diuron, and paraquat) was used as a means of measuring their concentrations in aqueous solution. The injection of atrazine and diuron into the algal medium caused an immediate photocurrent drop due to the inhibition of photosynthetic electron transport. The detected concentrations were suitable for environmental analysis, as revealed by a comparison with the freshwater quality benchmarks set by the Environmental Protection Agency of the United States (US EPA). In contrast, paraquat caused an initial increase (~2 h) of the photocurrent effect of about 200%, as this compound can act as a redox mediator between the cells and the anode. A relatively long-term stability of the biosensor was demonstrated, by keeping anodes colonized with cyanobacterial biofilm in the dark at 4 °C. After 22 days of storage, the performance in terms of the photocurrent was comparable with the freshly prepared biosensor. This result was confirmed by the measurement of chlorophyll content, which demonstrated preservation of the cyanobacterial biofilm. The capacity of this biosensor to recover after a cold season or other prolonged environmental stresses could be a key advantage in field applications, such as in water bodies and agriculture. This study is a step forward in the biotechnological development and implementation of storable mediatorless electrochemical biosensors for herbicide detection.

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