Won't Back Down Misfires on Parent Trigger, but Gets the Politics, Organizations Right

Public Voices ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Maranto
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Education Policy ◽  
Social Science ◽  
School Boards ◽  
Policy Instrument ◽  
After School ◽  
Work Of Art ◽  
American Films ◽  
Union Leaders ◽  
Educational Establishment

This essay briefly discusses recent American films about urban public schools, citingresearch to suggest that the genre accurately captures the dysfunctions of many schools as bureaucracies. This sets up a lengthy review of the most talked about education drama of 2012, Won’t Back Down. On its artistic merits, Won’t Back Down is something of an after school special, with great acting wasted in the service of a melodramatic script. The education policy instrument portrayed, the “parent trigger” enabling parents to take over dysfunctional schools, has questionable utility. That said, the movie captures nonresponsive bureaucracies, school boards indifferent to the interests of children, how bureaucrats can make activist parents and teachers pay a heavy price, and the sort of organizing tactics that can outlast the educational establishment. Most notably, the film excels at explaining the tactics and motivations of union leaders and members. In short, while it fails as a work of art, Won’t Back Down works as work of social science, exploring dilemmas of bureaucracy and democracy.

scholarly journals The System of Qualification Examination at Public Schools in Eastern Siberia at the turn of the 19th – 20th Centuries as a Result of Education Policy of the Russian Autocracy

2021 ◽  
Vol 37 ◽  
pp. 27-37
Author(s):  
N. N. Lebedeva ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Education Policy ◽  
The State ◽  
Eastern Siberia ◽  
National Education

The article deals with peculiarities of the organization of end-of-year and final examinations at public schools in Eastern Siberia at the turn of 19th – 20th centuries in connection with the problems of formation and development of the content and mechanisms of realization of the State Final Certification in the practice of modern national education.

scholarly journals The Myth of Teacher Shortage in India

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandip Datta ◽  
Geeta Gandhi Kingdon
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Education Policy ◽  
Teacher Shortage ◽  
Allocation Rule ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
National Education ◽  
Public Elementary Schools ◽  
Median Size ◽  
National Education Policy ◽  
The Individual

This paper examines the widespread perception in India that the country has an acute teacher shortage of about one million teachers in public elementary schools, a view repeated in India’s National Education Policy 2020. Using official DISE data, we show that there is hardly any net teacher deficit in the country since there is roughly the same number of surplus teachers as the number of teacher vacancies. Secondly, we show that measuring teacher requirements after removing the estimated fake students from enrolment data greatly reduces the required number of teachers and increases the number of surplus teachers, yielding an estimated net surplus of about 342,000 teachers. Thirdly, we show that if we both remove fake enrolment and also make a suggested hypothetical change to the teacher allocation rule to adjust for the phenomenon of emptying public schools (which has slashed the national median size of public schools to a mere 64 students, and rendered many schools ‘tiny’), the estimated net teacher surplus is about 764,000 teachers. Fourthly, we highlight that if government does fresh recruitment to fill the supposed nearly one-million vacancies as promised in the National Education Policy 2020, the already modest national mean pupil-teacher-ratio of 22.8 would fall to 15.9, at a permanent fiscal cost of nearly Rupees 480 billion (USD 6.6 billion) per year in 2017-18 prices, which is higher than the individual GDPs of 56 countries in that year. The paper highlights the major economic efficiencies that can result from an evidence-based approach to teacher recruitment and deployment policies.

scholarly journals Processos de autoavaliação de escolas ou avaliação interna do sistema?

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
pp. 115
Author(s):  
Anabela Barros Pinto Sousa ◽  
Manuela Terrasêca
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Education Policy ◽  
Document Analysis ◽  
The Self ◽  
Process Models ◽  
External Evaluation ◽  
Framework Analysis ◽  
Self Evaluation ◽  
Current Context ◽  
New Form

Evaluation, in the current context of education policy, is an instrument of regulation of action. In Portugal, public schools evaluation focuses on the dimensions of self-evaluation and external evaluation, the articulation of both being normatively imposed and also encouraged in various evaluation, benchmarking, and monitoring initiatives. Based on document analysis of background documents and reports of evaluation of schools initiatives, this article presents the various concepts of school self-evaluation in those documents and reflects on the "self" dimension of this self-evaluation in Portuguese public schools as an exercise of autonomy and accountability. Since 2002, the guidelines for self-evaluating schools are known. Although the administrations continue to say that it is not intended to induce the process, models and tools for evaluating schools, particularly the External Evaluation of Schools (EES), have been carrying a soft orientation / regulation, since they call for the school to produce a discourse built around the analysis of dimensions that they impose. This "new form of governance", assuming itself as a form of regulation of this action, can become a form of self-evaluation as a discourse, more or less standardized, which is a part of (self)-evaluationt of the system, rather than a process of construction of negotiated and shared references in school. We aim to characterize this self-evaluation, from the EES's conceptual framework analysis, and study the dimensions in which it is applied, as well as to clarify its place in the evolution of the EES model.

The Myth and Reality of Teacher Shortage in India: An Investigation Using 2019-20 Data

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandip Datta ◽  
Geeta Gandhi Kingdon
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Education Policy ◽  
Teacher Shortage ◽  
Allocation Rule ◽  
Teacher Shortages ◽  
National Education ◽  
Public Elementary Schools ◽  
Median Size ◽  
National Education Policy ◽  
The Individual

This paper examines the widespread perception in India that the country has an acute teacher shortage of about one million teachers in public elementary schools, a view repeated in India’s National Education Policy 2020. Using official DISE data, we show that teacher vacancies cannot be equated with teacher shortages: while the number of teacher vacancies (in teacher-deficit schools) is 766,487, the number of teacher surpluses (in surplus-teacher schools) is 520,141, giving a net deficit of only 246,346 teachers in the country. Secondly, removing estimated fake student numbers from enrolment data greatly reduces the required number of teachers and raises the number of surplus teachers, converting the net deficit of 246,346 teachers into an estimated net surplus of 98,371 teachers. Thirdly, if we both remove estimated fake enrolment and also make a hypothetical change to the teacher allocation rule to adjust for the phenomenon of emptying public schools (which has slashed the national median size of public schools to a mere 63 students, and rendered many schools ‘tiny’), the estimated net teacher surplus rises to 239,800 teachers. Fourthly, we show that if government does fresh recruitment to fill the supposed approximately one-million vacancies as promised in National Education Policy 2020, the already modest national mean pupil-teacher-ratio of 25.1 would fall to 19.9, at a permanently increased fiscal cost of nearly Rupees 637 billion (USD 8.7 billion) per year in 2019-20 prices, which is higher than the individual GDPs of 50 countries that year. The paper highlights the major efficiencies that can result from evidence-based policy on minimum viable school-size, teacher allocation norms, permissible maximum pupil teacher ratios, and teacher deployment.

Origins and History of The Satanic Temple

2020 ◽  
pp. 27-60
Author(s):  
Joseph P. Laycock
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
Corporal Punishment ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Military Veterans ◽  
The United States ◽  
After School ◽  
National Council ◽  
Historical Overview ◽  
History Of

This chapter provides a historical overview of The Satanic Temple from its foundation as a political action held in Tallahassee, Florida, in 2013 to the formation of a National Council with a physical headquarters and a system of chapters throughout the United States and abroad. The chapter describes the formation of the religion’s creed (The Seven Tenets), its campaign to prevent corporal punishment in public schools, its campaign to implement an After School Satan Club (ASSC) in schools throughout the United States, and its attempt to install a Satanic monument to honor military veterans at a park in Belle Plaine, Minnesota.

The 49th Annual PDK Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools

2017 ◽  
Vol 99 (1) ◽  
pp. NP1-NP32 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
School Quality ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Academic Preparation ◽  
After School ◽  
The Public ◽  
Annual Survey ◽  
Public Money ◽  
Landline Telephone

The 2017 PDK Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools finds that Americans overwhelmingly want schools to do more than educate students in academic subjects. While they value traditional academic preparation, Americans say they want schools to substantially help position students for their working lives after school, which means both more direct career preparation and efforts to develop students’ interpersonal skills. In addition, as in past years, the 2017 poll also shows little public support for using public money to send children to private schools. The more Americans know about how voucher programs work, the less likely they are to support them or to say they’d participate in them. The poll also asked Americans about valuing diversity in schools, measuring school quality, wrapping support around students, grading the public schools, and expecting students to attend college. The 2017 poll is PDK’s 49th annual survey. It is based on a random, representative, 50-state sample of 1,588 adults interviewed by cell or landline telephone, in English or Spanish, in May 2017. For the first time, this year’s study also includes a pair of statewide samples — focusing on Georgia and New York — which are covered in separate reports that were not published in the magazine but are available at the organization’s poll web site. Langer Research Associates of New York, N.Y., produced this year’s poll.

scholarly journals Education Policy for Migrant Children in Thailand and How It Really Happens; A Case Study of Ranong Province, Thailand

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Titiporn Tuangratananon ◽  
Rapeepong Suphanchaimat ◽  
Sataporn Julchoo ◽  
Pigunkaew Sinam ◽  
Weerasak Putthasri
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Education Policy ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
School Health ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Culturally Sensitive ◽  
Migrant Children ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Thai Government

Health and education are interrelated, and it is for this reason that we studied the education of migrant children. The Thai Government has ratified ‘rights’ to education for all children in Thailand since 2005. However, there are gaps in knowledge concerning the implementation of education policy for migrants, such as whether and to what extent migrant children receive education services according to policy intentions. The objective of this study is to explore the implementation of education policy for migrants and the factors that determine education choices among them. A cross-sectional qualitative design was applied. The main data collection technique was in-depth interviews with 34 key informants. Thematic analysis with an intersectionality approach was used. Ranong province was selected as the main study site. Results found that Migrant Learning Centers (MLCs) were the preferable choice for most migrant children instead of Thai Public Schools (TPSs), even though MLCs were not recognized as formal education sites. The main reason for choosing MLCs was because MLCs provided a more culturally sensitive service. Teaching in MLCs was done in Myanmar’s language and the MLCs offer a better chance to pursue higher education in Myanmar if migrants migrate back to their homeland. However, MLCs still face budget and human resources inadequacies. School health promotion was underserviced in MLCs compared to TPSs. Dental service was underserviced in most MLCs and TPSs. Implicit discrimination against migrant children was noted. The Thai Government should view MLCs as allies in expanding education coverage to all children in the Thai territory. A participatory public policy process that engages all stakeholders, including education officials, health care providers, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), MLCs’ representatives, and migrants themselves is needed to improve the education standards of MLCs, keeping their culturally-sensitive strengths.

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