research studies on education policies

What education policy experts are watching for in 2022

Subscribe to the brown center on education policy newsletter, daphna bassok , daphna bassok nonresident senior fellow - governance studies , brown center on education policy @daphnabassok stephanie riegg cellini , stephanie riegg cellini nonresident senior fellow - governance studies , brown center on education policy michael hansen , michael hansen senior fellow - brown center on education policy , the herman and george r. brown chair - governance studies @drmikehansen douglas n. harris , douglas n. harris nonresident senior fellow - governance studies , brown center on education policy , professor and chair, department of economics - tulane university @douglasharris99 jon valant , and jon valant director - brown center on education policy , senior fellow - governance studies @jonvalant kenneth k. wong kenneth k. wong nonresident senior fellow - governance studies , brown center on education policy.

January 7, 2022

Entering 2022, the world of education policy and practice is at a turning point. The ongoing coronavirus pandemic continues to disrupt the day-to-day learning for children across the nation, bringing anxiety and uncertainty to yet another year. Contentious school-board meetings attract headlines as controversy swirls around critical race theory and transgender students’ rights. The looming midterm elections threaten to upend the balance of power in Washington, with serious implications for the federal education landscape. All of these issues—and many more—will have a tremendous impact on students, teachers, families, and American society as a whole; whether that impact is positive or negative remains to be seen.

Below, experts from the Brown Center on Education Policy identify the education stories that they’ll be following in 2022, providing analysis on how these issues could shape the learning landscape for the next 12 months—and possibly well into the future.

I will also be watching the Department of Education’s negotiated rulemaking sessions and following any subsequent regulatory changes to federal student-aid programs. I expect to see changes to income-driven repayment plans and will be monitoring debates over regulations governing institutional and programmatic eligibility for federal student-loan programs. Notably, the Department of Education will be re-evaluating Gainful Employment regulations—put in place by the Obama administration and rescinded by the Trump administration—which tied eligibility for federal funding to graduates’ earnings and debt.

But the biggest and most concerning hole has been in the  substitute teacher force —and the ripple effects on school communities have been broad and deep. Based on personal communications with Nicola Soares, president of  Kelly Education , the largest education staffing provider in the country, the pandemic is exacerbating several problematic trends that have been quietly simmering for years. These are: (1) a growing reliance on long-term substitutes to fill permanent teacher positions; (2) a shrinking supply of qualified individuals willing to fill short-term substitute vacancies; and, (3) steadily declining fill rates for schools’ substitute requests. Many schools in high-need settings have long faced challenges with adequate, reliable substitutes, and the pandemic has turned these localized trouble spots into a widespread catastrophe. Though federal pandemic-relief funds could be used to meet the short-term weakness in the substitute labor market (and mainline teacher compensation, too ), this is an area where we sorely need more research and policy solutions for a permanent fix.

First, what’s to come of the vaccine for ages 0-4? This is now the main impediment to resuming in-person activity. This is the only large group that currently cannot be vaccinated. Also, outbreaks are triggering day-care closures, which has a significant impact on parents (especially mothers), including teachers and other school staff.

Second, will schools (and day cares) require the vaccine for the fall of 2022? Kudos to my hometown of New Orleans, which still appears to be the nation’s only district to require vaccination. Schools normally require a wide variety of other vaccines, and the COVID-19 vaccines are very effective. However, this issue is unfortunately going to trigger a new round of intense political conflict and opposition that will likely delay the end of the pandemic.

Third, will we start to see signs of permanent changes in schooling a result of COVID-19? In a previous post on this blog, I proposed some possibilities. There are some real opportunities before us, but whether we can take advantage of them depends on the first two questions. We can’t know about these long-term effects on schooling until we address the COVID-19 crisis so that people get beyond survival mode and start planning and looking ahead again. I’m hopeful, though not especially optimistic, that we’ll start to see this during 2022.

The CTC and universal pre-K top my list for 2022, but it’s a long list. I’ll also be watching the Supreme Court’s ruling on vouchers in Carson v. Makin , how issues like critical race theory and detracking play into the 2022 elections, and whether we start to see more signs of school/district innovation in response to COVID-19 and the recovery funds that followed.

Electoral dynamics will affect several important issues: the selection of state superintendents; the use of American Rescue Plan funds; the management of safe return to in-person learning for students; the integration of racial justice and diversity into curriculum; the growth of charter schools; and, above all, the extent to which education issues are leveraged to polarize rather than heal the growing divisions among the American public.

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In This Article Expand or collapse the "in this article" section Education Policy in the United States

Introduction, classic works, textbooks and general overviews, data sources, pedagogical reform, school system–wide reforms, politics of education, early childhood education, elementary and secondary education, higher education, school choice, international perspectives, social resources, school funding and finance, family and community, race and ethnicity, social class, special education, related articles expand or collapse the "related articles" section about, about related articles close popup.

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Education Policy in the United States by Lindsey Young , Justina Judy Spicer , Barbara Schneider LAST REVIEWED: 03 December 2019 LAST MODIFIED: 24 May 2018 DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199756384-0098

Examining educational policy through a sociological lens allows for a deeper understanding of the educational process—both of the individual and of the organization. Sociologists study the provision of education, including policies created at various levels of government, the implementation of these policies, and the outcomes for the individual and organization. Policies in education affect a broad range of the population, spanning from birth to adult learning. Educational policy is influenced by the historical context in which the policy is shaped; the social forces and consequences that extend beyond the walls of schools; and the political setting of reform. Although educational policymaking in the United States has historically been relegated to local and state entities, since the 1960s the federal role in education has been increasing, changing the conditions in which the education system functions and how it is studied. Specifically, the federal government has greatly emphasized increased accountability through testing, teacher evaluation, and school rankings. Policies in this vein have been fluid and bipartisan; recently, accountability measures increased through the No Child Left Behind Act, and continued through the Every Student Succeeds Act. While the focus of this article is on educational policy in the United States, sources that feature other nations and regions are included to allow opportunities for a comparative analysis and to provide a global context to policies worldwide.

These selected works demonstrate a foundation for understanding motivations behind educational policy and come from a diverse range of disciplines, but they by no means represent an exhaustive list. Although a vast quantity of text has been written, these pieces reflect significant contributions to the field and their influence on educational policy in the United States. John Dewey was one of the early voices to explore the role of the school as well as the learner in his book, The School and Society . The release of Equality of Educational Opportunity (commonly referred to as the “Coleman Report”) in 1966 fundamentally challenged what was understood about equality of education and how educational outcomes were studied. Twenty years later, Hallinan 1988 revisited inequality and reviewed the then-current body of research on this issue. Bourdieu 1973 and Bowles and Gintis 2011 provide frameworks for understanding the relationship between schools and society. Findings from Edmonds 1979 reinforce the importance of institutional factors for improving student performance. National Commission on Excellence in Education 1983 highlights problems with the US education system and offers recommendations for new curricular standards, instruction, and assessments. Coleman and Hoffer 1987 analyzes data from public and private high schools to understand the role of community factors and access to social capital for enhancing educational outcomes. Elmore 2004 provides a critique of accountability and high-stakes testing policies from the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

Bourdieu, Pierre. 1973. Cultural reproduction and social reproduction. In Knowledge, education and cultural change: Papers in the sociology of education . Edited by Richard Brown, 71–112. Explorations in Sociology 2. London: Tavistock.

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In this chapter, Bourdieu extends the idea of capital to include social and cultural capital as a framework for understanding behavior. He argues that those who are richest in cultural capital are more likely to invest in their children’s education.

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Bowles, Samuel, and Herbert Gintis. 2011. Schooling in capitalist America: Educational reform and the contradictions of economic life . Chicago: Haymarket.

Originally published in 1976 (New York: Basic Books). Bowles and Gintis argue in this book that the education system in America is geared toward producing laborers for a capitalist workforce. They assert that schools function not to teach content but rather to shape the aspirations, behaviors, and values of students according to their social and economic class.

Coleman, James S., Ernest Q. Campbell, Carol J. Hobson, et al. 1966. Equality of educational opportunity . Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.

The “Coleman Report” was commissioned by the US government to evaluate the equality of education across elementary and secondary schools in the United States. The analysis included more than 150,000 students and measured the equality of educational outcomes for students across different schools.

Coleman, James S., and Thomas Hoffer. 1987. Public and private high schools: The impact of communities . New York: Basic Books.

This book reports findings from a large-scale comparison of sophomores and seniors in public, Catholic, and other private schools. The authors argue that students in private schools showed higher academic performance, were less likely to drop out, and were more likely to enroll in college compared to students in public schools.

Dewey, John. 1900. The school and society . 3d ed. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.

The text of this book comes from three lectures that Dewey delivered on the rationale behind the University Elementary School, and where he also introduced his pedagogic approach to education.

Edmonds, Ronald. 1979. Effective schools for the urban poor. Educational Leadership 37.1: 15–24.

In this article, the author argues that children in low-achieving schools should have the same opportunities for achievement in reading as children in high-achieving schools. The findings from this study reinforce the influence of institutional leadership, expectations, and atmosphere for student performance.

Elmore, Richard. 2004. School reform from the inside out: Policy, practice, and performance . Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.

This book provides a critique of the accountability and high-stakes testing policies that are part of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Elmore argues that successful school reform begins from “the inside out,” suggesting that change should begin with the teachers, administrators, and school staff as opposed to external mandates and policies.

Hallinan, Maureen T. 1988. Equality of educational opportunity. Annual Review of Sociology 14:249–268.

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This article discusses the relationship between the field of sociology of education and the persistent subject of the equality of educational opportunity.

National Commission on Excellence in Education. 1983. A nation at risk: The imperative for educational reform . Washington, DC: US Department of Education.

Written at a time when there were serious questions about the competitiveness of US students compared to students in other countries, this report called for a series of reforms to the educational system. These reforms included a more rigorous curriculum, improvements to instruction and assessments, and other structural changes as a way of maintaining global economic competitiveness for the United States.

Several texts provide an overview of the research in sociology of education. Select samples of these texts are listed in this section. Hallinan 2006 includes contributions that provide a foundation of theoretical approaches and analyses of previous research in the sociology of education. Ballantine and Spade 2011 and Sadovnik 2011 include a wide range of topics and relevant research in the sociology of education. Midgley and Livermore 2009 provides a comprehensive policy view of education, focusing on the relationship between social policy and social services. Kirst and Wirt 2009 provides a framework for organizing the politics of American education. Buchmann 2011 offers a comparative perspective of educational policy in the United States and the study of international sociology of education. Finally, Schneider and Saw 2018 investigates the relationship between the individual and the social systems they operate within, such as schools.

Ballantine, Jeanne H., and Joan Z. Spade, eds. 2011. Schools and society: A sociological approach to education . 4th ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge.

This fourth edition includes original work and article excerpts from leading contributors in the area of sociology of education. Ballantine and Spade include discussions of theory and methodology, as well as classical and early-21st-century issues of educational systems.

Buchmann, Claudia. 2011. Frontiers in comparative and international sociology of education: American distinctiveness and global diversity. In Frontiers in sociology of education . Edited by Maureen T. Hallinan, 35–51. Frontiers in Sociology and Social Research 1. New York: Springer.

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In this chapter, Buchmann discusses the role of international sociological research and advocates for a greater integration of more comparative streams of research on issues central to the sociology of education.

Hallinan, Maureen T., ed. 2006. Handbook of the sociology of education . Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research. New York: Springer.

This handbook includes several contributions that present research and analyses on a range of educational issues, including the social processes that involve schooling, the role of schools, and the impact of education on society. This book is organized based on themes such as the theoretical background of education, development and expansion of education, access to schooling, schools as organizations, educational policy, and research.

Kirst, Michael W., and Frederick M. Wirt. 2009. The political dynamics of American education . 4th ed. Richmond, CA: McCutchan.

DOI: 10.12698/cpre.2009.PoliticalDynamics.KirstBk Save Citation » Export Citation » Share Citation »

This politics of education textbook creates an original conceptual framework to organize the politics of American education, focusing on school choice, the 2008 presidential election, and the politics of charter schools and No Child Left Behind.

Midgley, James, and Michelle Livermore, eds. 2009. The handbook of social policy . 2d ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

In this handbook, Midgley and Livermore attempt to document a body of knowledge about government social policies. The areas of focus include the nature, history, and political economy of social policy; the relationship between social policy and social services; and the future implications of social policy.

Sadovnik, Alan, ed. 2011. Sociology of education: A critical reader . 2d ed. New York: Routledge.

This reader provides examples of both research and theory in the fields of sociology and education. The editor includes classic and early-21st-century scholarship that represents a diverse selection of research. Topics include international education, higher education, and inequality in education.

Schneider, Barbara, and Guan Saw, eds. 2018. Handbook of sociology of education in the 21st century . New York: Springer.

This handbook investigates the relationship between the individual and the social systems the individual interacts with and through, while also examining how social systems are shaped by their environment. Topics in this volume include families and schools, the social organization of school and learning opportunities, the demographics of social inequality, the transition into adulthood, and sociological perspectives on accountability and evaluation.

As education policy is multidisciplinary in its nature, research can be found in a variety of general and specialty journals throughout education and the social sciences. Several journals specifically focus on education policy. The American Educational Research Association sponsors the flagship education policy journal— Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis —as well as the American Educational Research Journal , the Educational Researcher , and the Review of Educational Research . The Harvard Educational Review promotes dialogue between education scholars and educators. The American Journal of Sociology is the oldest academic journal of sociology in the United States, contributing to national understanding of sociological theory and methods. The American Sociological Association (ASA) sponsors the American Sociological Review as well as Sociology of Education , which include articles on education policy, although their missions are more diverse. The Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness covers a range of topics that apply to classrooms and schools. Policy work can also be found in the Social Science Quarterly , which includes research across a broad range of social sciences, including sociology, political science, and economics. The Review of Educational Research reviews education-related articles from a variety of fields, such as psychology, sociology, and anthropology. Sociological Forum is a journal representing innovative sociological research, Sociological Perspectives includes research regarding social processes related to issues such as economics and politics, and the British Journal of Sociology represents mainstream sociological research.

American Educational Research Journal . 1964–.

This American Educational Research Association journal publishes six issues a year and includes theoretical and empirical studies in education. The journal is organized into two sections: social and institutional analysis—focused on political, cultural, social, economic, and organizational issues; and a section on teaching, learning, and human development—focused on the processes and outcomes of teaching, learning, and development.

American Journal of Sociology . 1895–.

This journal is attached to the University of Chicago’s sociology department, and it is published bimonthly by the University of Chicago Press. This journal is the oldest academic journal of sociology in the United States, contributing to a national understanding of the theory, methods, practice, and history of sociology.

American Sociological Review . 1936–.

The flagship journal of the ASA, this bimonthly publication includes research in sociology that contributes to the understanding of fundamental social processes, new theoretical developments, and important methodological innovations.

British Journal of Sociology . 1950–.

The British Journal of Sociology , representing the mainstream of sociological thinking and research, has been considered to be among “the highest-status journals.”

Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis . 1979–.

This multidisciplinary journal largely focuses on research and scholarly work related to policy. Published four times a year, its target audience is those engaged in educational policy analysis, evaluation, and decision making.

Educational Researcher . 2009–.

This journal, published nine times a year, includes scholarly articles from a broad range of areas of education research. This journal is published in association with the American Educational Research Association.

Harvard Educational Review . 1930–.

This journal, published by the Harvard Graduate School of Education, is a prestigious journal that is distributed to policymakers, teachers, researchers, and administrators. Published quarterly, this journal aims to provide a forum for debate about education’s major issues.

Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness . 2009–.

The flagship publication of the Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness, this journal is published annually and focuses on classrooms and schools. Publications within this journal focus on reading, mathematics education, and science education, cognitive functions, and social processes.

Review of Educational Research . 1931–.

A quarterly journal that publishes critical reviews of education-related research literature, not original empirical research. Reviews of research submitted to this journal include work from disciplines such as psychology, sociology, economics, anthropology, and others.

Social Science Quarterly . 1919–.

A quarterly journal that publishes research on a broad range of topics in the social sciences. The official journal of the Southwestern Social Science Association and includes a special annual issue on important—and sometimes controversial—topics.

Sociological Forum . 1986–.

Sociological Forum is the flagship journal of the Eastern Sociological Society. This quarterly publication covers substantive issues of fundamental importance to the study of society, emphasizing innovative direction in sociological research.

Sociological Perspectives . 1957–.

Sociological Perspectives is the official publication of the Pacific Sociological Association. This quarterly publication covers social processes related to economic, political, anthropological, and historical issues.

Sociology of Education . 2004–.

A quarterly journal of the ASA that publishes works largely focused on the relationships among individuals and social institutions, including schools and other educational institutions. The journal also includes international work as well as advances in methodology for studying social networks.

Researchers in the field of education have access to a variety of cross-sectional and longitudinal data sets that include several different sampling designs and methods of data collection. This is not a complete list, but these sources include data on educational characteristics of individuals, student achievement, educational and occupational attainment, demographic trends, and other topics. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the primary federal agency responsible for collecting and analyzing these data in the United States. From the NCES website, several national longitudinal studies (such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress) can be accessed and publicly available data can be downloaded. Two additional surveys listed below study American students’ transition into adulthood: the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health , which investigates the experiences related to adolescent development, and the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System , which collects data on enrollment in postsecondary institutions. Data collected by the United States Census Bureau and the American Community Survey can be used to examine demographic information nationally, as it relates to educational and occupational attainment, and can also be linked to the data collected by NCES. The UNESCO Institute for Statistics obtains data on education trends internationally. The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study is an international data set, which includes the United States, that collects information on math and science achievement. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development publishes data that compares the academic achievement of its member countries (most notably, the Programme for International Student Assessment). Finally, the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study collects information on reading achievement across several participating countries. It should also be noted that many states in the United States are developing their own databases of information that are not listed below but can be located through the Department of Education of individual states.

American Community Survey .

The US Census Bureau collects data more frequently with the American Community Survey that is administered to a sample of the population every year. Data collected include a range of information, such as education and occupation.

Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System .

This data set is comprised of survey data collected annually in the United States by the NCES and includes data, such as student enrollment and expenditures, from every college, university, and technical and vocational institution that participates in the federal student financial aid programs.

National Center for Education Statistics .

The NCES is the primary federal agency that collects and analyzes data related to US education. Several data sources are available through NCES that cover the spectrum of education from birth to adulthood, including students, teachers, and families. Many of the studies employ nationally representative longitudinal samples.

National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health .

This study follows a panel of adolescents in the United States as they transition from adolescence to adulthood. It includes four waves of data collection from 1994 to 2008 and contains data related to the experiences of adolescents and young adults.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) .

The OECD, established in 1961, publishes reports and promotes policies for its thirty-five member countries and additional emerging economies. OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment compares the test performance of fifteen-year-old students in participating countries and provides recommendations for scholastic improvement.

Progress in International Reading Literacy Study .

The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study began in 2001 and reports every five years, focusing on the reading achievement of fourth-grade students.

Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study .

This international study was first conducted in 1995 and reports every four years on the mathematics and science achievement of fourth- and eighth-grade students.

UNESCO Institute for Statistics .

The UNESCO Institute for Statistics is the primary source for cross-nationally comparable statistics on several topics, including education, science and technology, culture, and communication. Data from more than two hundred countries and territories are included.

United States Census Bureau .

Census data are collected every ten years in the United States, with the most recent collection occurring in 2010. The census collects demographic information from all households in the United States, including a range of data from educational attainment and household income.

The works listed below explore various historical dimensions of education, but they largely focus on the development of education in the United States. Rury 2013 begins at the time of the common school era in the United States and analyzes this policy history through the No Child Left Behind era. A four-part documentary, Mondale and Patton 2004 chronicles the history of education in the United States with contributions from several scholars in the field. Ravitch 2000 and Ravitch 2011 offer contrasting analyses of educational policies in the United States. Vinovskis 2009 focuses on the last thirty years in education policy, allowing a more detailed analysis of history leading up to the early-21st-century policies and criticisms of education in the United States. Providing a broader view, Reese 2005 traces educational reforms from the 19th century through the 21st century. Cremin 1990 discusses the history of education and how the United States uses educational policy as a vehicle for social change. Hess 2010 describes the features of the American education system that have remained constant since its conception. Lastly, Boli, et al. 1985 explores the rise and spread of mass education throughout the globe.

Boli, John, Francisco O. Ramirez, and John W. Meyer. 1985. Explaining the origins and expansion of mass education. Comparative Education Review 29.2: 145–170.

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In the first part of this article, the authors discuss explanations of the creation and rise of mass education. The second part analyzes the general themes of mass education, and, based on these analyses, the third part presents the hypotheses that the expansion of mass education in both developed and developing countries is characterized by traditional social organization, social inequality, and lack of autonomy.

Cremin, Lawrence A. 1990. Popular education and its discontents . New York: Harper & Row.

Organized into three essays—“Popularization,” “Multitudinousness,” and “Politicization”—Cremin explores achievements and problems of educational policy. This book begins with a discussion of rising dissatisfaction during the 1800s and continues through educational reforms of the post–World War II years, concluding with an examination of how US citizens tend to remedy certain social issues indirectly through education policy.

Hess, Fredrick M. 2010. The same thing over and over: How school reformers get stuck in yesterday’s ideas . Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.

In this book, the director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) provides an overview of major school reform debates, highlighting the features of the American education system that have remained constant over time. Hess argues for a change in the structure of the current system’s taken-for-granted structure to meet the needs of the 21st century.

Mondale, Sarah, dir. and prod., and Sarah Patton, prod. 2004. School: The story of American public education . DVD. Princeton, NJ: Films for the Humanities & Sciences.

This four-part documentary originally aired on PBS in 2001 follows the development of US public education beginning in the late 1770s up to the 21st century. It details the romanticism of early public education proponents and examines the challenges that have influenced educational reform over time. See companion website .

Ravitch, Diane. 2000. Left back: A century of failed school reforms . New York: Simon & Schuster.

Educational historian Diane Ravitch explores commonly held myths about how the educational system in the United States developed. Ravitch argues for a more liberal education and that progressive education has undermined not only the intellectual development of students, but also the democratic principles of American society.

Ravitch, Diane. 2011. The death and life of the great American school system: How testing and choice are undermining education . New York: Basic Books.

In this revised and expanded edition of the book first published in 2010, Ravitch reveals the radical change of heart she experienced as she examines her career and contributions in education reform through previously published works. This work draws on Ravitch’s forty years of experience in education.

Reese, William. 2005. America’s public schools: From the common school to “No Child Left Behind.” Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Univ. Press.

William J. Reese, professor of educational policy studies, examines the practices and theories that have impacted and transformed US public schools from the 19th century onward. This book is framed as a means to observe the ways education reforms society and explores reform within schools, highlighting pedagogical, race, and academic standard reforms.

Rury, John L. 2013. Education and social change: Themes in the history of American schooling . 4th ed. New York: Routledge.

This book provides a brief and interpretive history of schooling, focusing on the relationship between education and social change. Rury discusses the influence of important historical movements, such as industrialization, urbanization, and immigration. The book also explores how schools have contributed to the history of social change.

Vinovskis, Maris A. 2009. From A Nation at Risk to No Child Left Behind: National education goals and the creation of federal education policy . New York: Teachers College Press.

Vinovskis discusses late-20th- and early-21st-century policies beginning with the National Education Goals, America 2000, Goals 2000, and finally No Child Left Behind. He also highlights key policy debates and addresses the practical considerations of policy implementation and evaluation.

Policy and Practice

As educational reforms are developed and implemented, they do not occur in a vacuum. Policies are shaped from their original forms to schools and classrooms in which current reforms and policies already exist. The works below discuss policymaking, governance as it relates to education reform, and changes in education policy over time, and they provide recommendations for collaborative partnerships between policymakers and educators. Cooper, et al. 2004 documents the process of policymaking, providing a framework for policy development. Manna and McGuinn 2013 analyzes governance structures and provides recommendations for improving student educational outcomes. Penuel and Gallagher 2017 contributes suggestions for policymakers as they work to collaborate with educators. Finally, Mitchell, et al. 2018 documents changes in education policy from the mid-20th century to today.

Cooper, Bruce S., Lance D. Fusarelli, and E. Vance Randall. 2004. Better policies, better schools : Theories and applications . Boston: Pearson.

This book provides a general overview of the theories of policymaking, the policymaking process, and examples of how the theories apply to school improvement policies. Key components include discussion of policy definition, agenda setting, policy formulation, and implementation.

Manna, Paul, and Patrick McGuinn, eds. 2013. Education governance for the twenty-first century: Overcoming the structural barriers to school reform . Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.

This book, containing contributions from education scholars, analysts, and practitioners, provides analysis of education governance structures, and suggests how governing structures may be changed to improve educational outcomes for students.

Mitchell, Douglas E., Dorothy Shipps, and Robert L. Crowson, eds. 2018. Shaping education policy: Power and process . 2d ed. New York: Routledge.

This book is sponsored by the Politics of Education Association. Chapters within this book examine changes in education policy from 1950 to today, and they cover topics that have influenced education, such as the civil rights movement, the accountability movement, family choice, and globalization.

Penuel, William R., and Daniel Gallagher. 2017. Creating research-practice partnerships in education . Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.

This book aims to serve as a resource for researchers and educators to use as they pursue working relationships with one another. The authors describe the purposes of such partnerships, strategies for problem-solving conflicts, and tools for collaboration.

Cuban 1993 and Lortie 2002 provide a portrait of the teacher profession, including the various demands placed on teachers by reforms. Coburn 2001 examines the relationship between policy and practice through a model of sense-making theory. Lipsky 2010 explores the role of teachers as “street-level bureaucrats” who face multiple demands and ambiguous goals in the classroom, possibly influencing the implementation of policy.

Coburn, Cynthia E. 2001. Collective sensemaking about reading: How teachers mediate reading policy in their professional communities. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 23.2: 145–170.

DOI: 10.3102/01623737023002145 Save Citation » Export Citation » Share Citation »

Using an in-depth case study, Coburn examines the processes of teachers as they construct their understanding of a new reading policy and the role of collective sense making in this process. Sense making, the act of simultaneously shaping and reacting to policy reforms, suggests that teachers interpret, adapt, and change policies as they put them into practice.

Cuban, Larry. 1993. How teachers taught: Constancy and change in American classrooms, 1890–1990 . 2d ed. New York: Teachers College Press.

In this updated text, Larry Cuban, professor of education at Stanford University, furthers his previous research into the history of teaching practice in the United States, highlighting teaching practices in segments of ten to twenty years and concluding his volume by offering recommendations for policymakers.

Lipsky, Michael. 2010. Street-level bureaucracy: Dilemmas of the individual in public services . Updated ed. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

In this expanded edition of his text originally published in 1980, Lipsky argues that policy is best understood through the daily encounters of those closest to the ground—teachers, in the educational context. He argues that these “street-level bureaucrats” carry out policies by establishing routines and devices to cope with the uncertainties and increasing pressures of their jobs.

Lortie, Dan C. 2002. Schoolteacher: A sociological study . 2d ed. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.

This book discusses how teachers manage mandated reforms in their classrooms, with a focus on how teachers’ individual practices may influence policy implementation. Lortie’s in-depth study examines the behaviors of teachers and the various ways in which they respond to educational reforms.

Weiss 1995 provides a framework for understanding the relationship among teachers, administrators, and reforms. Tyack and Cuban 1995 discusses the relationship between schools and reforms, drawing on a century of changes in education in the United States. Additional resources on school system–wide reforms include Borman, et al. 1996 ; Sadovnik, et al. 2007 ; Hubbard, et al. 2006 ; Downey, et al. 2008 ; Zavadsky 2009 ; Chenoweth 2009 ; Smerdon and Borman 2009 ; O’Day, et al. 2011 ; Grant 2011 ; and Cuban 2010 .

Borman, Kathryn, Peter Cookson Jr., Alan Sadovnik, and Joan Spade, eds. 1996. Implementing educational reform: Sociological perspectives on educational policy . Social and Policy Issues in Education. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.

Using a sociological perspective, the contributors describe and analyze the Goals 2000 legislation, intended to improve equality and increase achievement in the US school system. The book summarizes the standards and assessments; expectations for schools, parents, students, and community members; instructional support and professional development; and implications of this reform.

Chenoweth, Karin. 2009. How it’s being done: Urgent lessons from unexpected schools . Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.

Building on earlier work, Chenoweth provides educators information on how some schools with high-poverty and high-minority populations have improved student outcomes and closed achievement gaps. Analyzing data from eight schools, the author argues that teachers and schools can implement policies that support effective instruction and reduce ineffective practices.

Cuban, Larry. 2010. As good as it gets: What school reform brought to Austin . Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.

Cuban explores whether school policies and practices can equalize student achievement and if schools can overcome differences in achievement associated with race and the socioeconomic status of students. Analyzing data from Austin, Texas, Cuban argues that despite overall improvement in the district, schools with high-poverty and high-minority student populations continued to struggle while predominantly affluent schools improve.

Downey, Douglas, Paul von Hippel, and Melanie Hughes. 2008. Are “failing” schools really failing? Using seasonal comparison to evaluate school effectiveness. Sociology of Education 81.3: 242–270.

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This study evaluates whether impact-based evaluation methods alter the identification of failing schools using the data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study of 1998–1999. The authors argue that for schools that are labeled as “failing” in terms of achievement levels, less than half are actually failing with respect to learning or impact.

Grant, Gerald. 2011. Hope and despair in the American city: Why there are no bad schools in Raleigh . Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.

This book examines two US cities—Raleigh, North Carolina, and Syracuse, New York—to understand how educational reforms and inequalities have evolved over the last few decades. Grant demonstrates that these two reform contexts offer a window into the challenges and the potential opportunities faced by urban districts that confront growing racial and socioeconomic achievement gaps.

Hubbard, Lea, Hugh Mehan, and Mary Kay Stein. 2006. Reform as learning: School reform, organizational culture, and community politics in San Diego . New York: Routledge.

The authors use four years of ethnographic data from San Diego to understand how teachers, administrators, and district staff were influenced by a systematic school reform initiative. This study uses a sociological perspective to examine the challenges to reform implementation and provides insights into why this reform failed to achieve its purposes.

O’Day, Jennifer, Catherine Bitter, and Louis Gomez, eds. 2011. Education reform in New York City: Ambitious change in the nation’s most complex school system . Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.

This edited volume provides analyses of several different reforms in the largest school district in the United States—New York City. The analyses of reforms include those targeting governance, community engagement, finance, accountability, and instruction. The contributors describe the scope of educational reform while highlighting interrelated factors, challenges in implementation, and how these reforms target improved outcomes for all students.

Sadovnik, Alan, Jennifer O’Day, George Bohrnstedt, and Kathryn Borman, eds. 2007. No Child Left Behind and the reduction of the achievement gap: Sociological perspectives on federal educational policy . New York: Routledge.

Using a sociological lens, and similar to Borman, et al. 1996 on Goals 2000, this book analyzes the effects of No Child Left Behind on children, teachers, parents, and schools. The contributors examine the implications of this policy for schools and subgroups of students, and they explore the possibilities for decreasing achievement gaps in education.

Smerdon, Becky, and Kathryn Borman. 2009. Saving America’s high schools . Washington, DC: Urban Institute.

The authors examine multiple reforms across several cities to look at how US high schools can be improved. Smerdon and Borman outline steps teachers and administrators, faced with more diverse student populations and increased standards, can do to improve schools, including the use of formative and summative student assessments and the increase of administrator support for good teachers.

Tyack, David, and Larry Cuban. 1995. Tinkering toward utopia: A century of public school reform . Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.

This book details the history of public school reform in the United States and posits that reforms are never implemented as they were originally envisioned. Tyack and Cuban also discuss how teachers and reforms act upon each other as reforms become assimilated into the school environment.

Weiss, Carol H. 1995. The four “I’s” of school reform: How interests, ideology, information, and institution affect teachers and principals. Harvard Educational Review 65.4: 571–592.

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Weiss examines how teachers and principals respond to a school reform with a case study focused on shared decision making. Using the “4-I” analysis, the author explains how interests, ideology, information, and the institution shape actors’ responses to and implementation of school reform.

Zavadsky, Heather. 2009. Bringing school reform to scale: Five award-winning urban districts . Educational Innovations. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.

This book provides a detailed analysis of five high-performing urban districts’ efforts to improve teaching and learning, align district goals with instructional practices, and narrow gaps in student achievement. Zavadsky explores the divergent approaches these districts took and argues that diverse perspectives can contribute to understanding how reforms influence improved outcomes.

Education in the United States is a shared process among all citizens, influencing their own socialization and learning as well as schooling experiences of their family, community, and nation. Because education is an integral part of all individuals’ development, educational attainment, occupational outcome, and future economic status—educational policy is subject to significant political action. Hess 1999 and Payne 2008 explore the politics surrounding urban school reform. Berliner and Biddle 1996 discusses the politics of reform and the role media plays in perpetuating misguided information about the successes and failures of education reform. Apple 2006 takes a closer look at the evolving conservative shift in education. Feigenbaum, et al. 1999 comparatively analyzes data from three countries to understand the influence of privatization in education on the state and economy. Henig 2013 documents the increased involvement of the US federal government in local education. Maryl 2016 examines how political structures have shaped religious education in the United States and Australia.

Apple, Michael. 2006. Educating the “right” way: Markets, standards, God, and inequality . 2d ed. New York: Routledge.

The author examines the early-21st-century conservative shift in US education with reforms such as voucher policies, charter schools, and standardized testing. Apple argues that a coalition of strange bedfellows has pushed for these policies and discusses how educators and policymakers can respond by creating a more democratic school system.

Berliner, David, and Bruce Biddle. 1996. The manufactured crisis: Myths, fraud, and the attack on America’s public schools . Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

Berliner and Biddle use comprehensive evidence from ACT scores, educational reports, and achievement results to dispute the commonly held myth that American schools are failing. The authors demonstrate how educational data and information have been misunderstood and misused, arguing that many of the problems students and schools face are based on societal and economic conditions.

Feigenbaum, Harvey, Jeffrey R. Henig, and Chris Hamnett. 1999. Shrinking the state: The political underpinnings of privatization . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press.

This book describes how privatization in education across many countries has reshaped the balance between the state and the market. Utilizing a comparative political analysis in the United States, the United Kingdom, and France, the authors argue that these policies benefit some students and adversely affect others.

Henig, Jeffery R. 2013. The end of exceptionalism in American education . Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.

This book discusses the transfer of American education system decision-making power from the level of local and state school board control to that of higher levels of government.

Hess, Frederick. 1999. Spinning wheels: The politics of urban school reform . Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.

In this book, Hess argues that many of the problems in urban education are the result of fragmented reform—or reforms that continually cycle through school systems, often with different incentives for various stakeholders. To combat this policy churn, Hess recommends institutional changes that allow schools to develop expertise in specific instructional approaches.

Maryl, Damon. 2016. Secular conversion: Political institutions and religious education in the United States and Australia, 1800–2000 . New York: Cambridge Univ. Press.

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In this book, Maryl investigates how the institutional structure of the state shapes secularization. Maryl analyzes the United States and Australia to explain how political structures have shaped religious education, specifically through their administrative structures, electoral systems, and legal procedures.

Payne, Charles. 2008. So much reform, so little change: The persistence of failure in urban schools . Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.

Payne argues that the majority of policy discussions are disconnected from what occurs in most urban neighborhoods and that neither the Democratic nor the Republican parties have improved educational reform. Both of these parties exhaust their resources pursuing educational reforms that are not practical for urban districts. This book includes an examination of successes and failures of urban school reforms.

• Institutions

School organization varies widely across settings and institutions. The institution can play an important role in the educational experiences and outcomes of students. The works included here offer a broad insight into the predominant educational institutions (for a discussion of private schools and homeschooling, see School Choice ). Bidwell 1965 provides a conceptual foundation for analyzing schools as a unique type of formal organization that influences the education process. In Ramirez and Boli 1987 , the authors provide an exploration of the construction of mass schooling in Europe and worldwide. Baker and LeTedre 2005 discusses the similarities and differences between schooling in the United States and in other countries. Bryk and Schneider 2002 looks within the schools and articulates the role of trust relationships in school institutions. Baker 2014 argues that the US education system is a primary institution that greatly influences the economy, politics, religion, and other aspects of society. See also Bryk, et al. 2010 and Bulkley, et al. 2010 .

Baker, David. 2014. The schooled society: The educational transformation of global culture . Stanford, CA: Stanford Univ. Press.

In this book, Baker argues that education is a primary institution that has transformed, influenced, and defined society. Baker argues the effects of school on aspects of society, such as the economy, politics, and religion.

Baker, David, and Gerald K. LeTedre. 2005. National differences, global similarities: World culture and the future of schooling . Stanford, CA: Stanford Social Sciences.

This book uses US schools as a reference point for providing a description of school as a global institution. Drawing on a four-year investigation in forty-seven countries, Baker and LeTedre show the implications of current trends in student achievement, school curriculum, and teaching practice.

Bidwell, Charles E. 1965. The school as a formal organization. In Handbook of organizations . Edited by James G. March, 972–1022. Rand McNally Sociology Series. Chicago: Rand McNally.

In this essay, Bidwell argues that teaching practice is resistant to new organizational routines, largely because teaching is idiosyncratic and highly autonomous. Although most schools have a set curriculum and other formal structures, Bidwell argues that schools are more likely to have relatively weak organizational ties between teachers and classrooms.

Bryk, Anthony S., and Barbara Schneider. 2002. Trust in schools: A core resource for improvement . Rose Series in Sociology. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

Bryk and Schneider examine the role of relational trust in schools using quantitative and qualitative longitudinal data. They argue that the extent of trust and effective social relationships among teachers, principals, and parents are an important influence on the dynamics of school improvement.

Bryk, Anthony S., Penny Bender Sebring, Elaine Allensworth, Stuart Luppescu, and John Q. Easton. 2010. Organizing schools for improvement: Lessons from Chicago . Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.

Analyzing seven years of comprehensive data from elementary schools in the Chicago Public Schools, the authors identify effective practices and conditions necessary for school improvement. These factors include school leadership, professional capacity of faculty and staff, and a student-centered learning climate.

Bulkley, Katrina E., Jeffrey R. Henig, and Henry M. Levin. 2010. Between public and private: Politics, governance, and the new portfolio models for urban school reform . Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.

The authors examine the utilization of a “portfolio management model” in school district reform, wherein a central office oversees disparate organizational and curricular structures within a district, such as traditional schools and charter schools. The authors discuss the strengths and limitations of this type of reform.

Ramirez, Francisco O., and John Boli. 1987. The political construction of mass schooling: European origins and worldwide institutionalization. Sociology of Education 60.1: 2–17.

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This article explores the origins of large-scale educational systems in Europe and the subsequent institutionalization of mass education around the world. Ramirez and Boli argue that the political, economic, and cultural development of Europe in the 19th century led to a highly institutionalized society and educative process.

Historically, education in the United States has focused on primary and secondary education. Since the 1970s, however, there has been an increased focus on the role of early childhood education (prior to the age of seven) for student success. Early childhood policies are often targeted as a means to improve educational equality. Magnuson and Waldfogel 2005 explores the gaps in school readiness among children of different racial and ethnic backgrounds in the United States. Vinovskis 2005 traces the history of early childhood programs in the United States, from the first program to early-21st-century policy, and discusses the implications of early childhood policies. Barnett 1995 examines several early childhood care and educational programs—highlighting their positive influence on child outcomes and future policy considerations. Hart and Risley 2003 offers data on the development of a child’s vocabulary and the inequality of development in children from different family backgrounds.

Barnett, W. Steven. 1995. Long-term effects of early childhood programs on cognitive and school outcomes. The Future of Children 5.3: 25–50.

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This article reviews thirty-six studies that examine the effects of model projects and public programs for children from low-income families. The findings suggest that early childhood programs can provide considerable short-term benefits in addition to long-term advantages, concluding with policy recommendations.

Hart, Betty, and Todd R. Risley. 2003. The early catastrophe: The 30 million word gap by age 3. American Educator 27.1: 4–9.

This longitudinal study of forty-two families found different rates of vocabulary development for children of varying socioeconomic backgrounds. By age three, children from advantaged families have heard, on average, thirty million more words than children from disadvantaged families. Exposure to high-quality language was predictive of children’s vocabulary and reading performance in elementary school.

Magnuson, Katherine A., and Jane Waldfogel. 2005. Early childhood care and education: Effects on ethnic and racial gaps in school readiness. The Future of Children 15.1: 169–196.

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This article examines differences among the experiences of children of various racial and ethnic backgrounds regarding early childhood care and education. Magnuson and Waldfogel argue that incremental changes in enrollment or quality of care and education will do little to narrow school readiness gaps. However, they argue that policies should focus on improving the experiences of black, Hispanic, racial and ethnic heritage, and low-income children.

Vinovskis, Maris A. 2005. The birth of head start: Preschool education policies in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations . Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.

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This book provides a historical perspective of early childhood policies, beginning with Project Head Start in 1964. Since the creation of this policy, a number of programs have appeared that support the development of young children. Vinovskis discusses the political implications and future of this policy area.

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act passed in 1965, a part of the “War on Poverty,” creating a national formal organization for primary and secondary schools in the United States. The early-21st-century reauthorization of the law is called the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 , which was the eighth such reauthorization. Its ninth revision was the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 , maintaining the high accountability standards of No Child Left Behind while offering more control to states. Although primary and secondary school is universally offered in the United States, this is not necessarily the case internationally; Heyneman and Loxley 1983 and Alexander 2001 describe and examine the importance of primary education in the United States and internationally. Lucas 1999 explores how high schools can produce inequality of education through differential access to curriculum and student tracking. Frank, et al. 2008 studies social contexts of high school students using their math course–taking behavior and how student’s “local positions,” or the clusters of students within the high school, influence social norms and academic effort. Crosnoe 2011 examines how adolescents navigate the complex social dynamics of American high schools. See also Oakes 2005 , Oakes and Saunders 2008 , and Rumberger 2011 .

Alexander, Robin J. 2001. Culture and pedagogy: International comparisons in primary education . Malden, MA: Blackwell.

This book provides a comparison of primary and secondary elementary schooling in England, France, India, Russia, and the United States. Alexander explores how the teacher, school values and organization, local pressures, national policy, and political tension shape teaching and learning.

Crosnoe, Robert. 2011. Fitting in, standing out: Navigating the social challenges of high school to get an education . New York: Cambridge Univ. Press.

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Crosnoe explores the complex environment of American high schools from a sociological perspective. Drawing on national statistics, interviews, and observations within a single school, this book examines how teenagers navigate the social dynamics of high school while transitioning into adulthood.

Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Pub. L. No. 889–10, 79 Stat. 27 (1965).

This legislation, signed in 1965 as a foundation of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s “War on Poverty,” provided funding for primary and secondary education in an attempt to create equal access to quality education, promoting high standards for academic achievement and accountability. This act has been renewed, with modifications, every five years after its adoption, under various names such as the No Child Left Behind Act and the Every Student Succeeds Act.

Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, Pub. L. No. 114–95, 114 Stat. 1177 (2015–2016).

The Every Student Succeeds Act replaced the No Child Left Behind Act by shifting public education from national to local and state control. Accountability measures resulting from this act expanded from test scores to include needs assessments for schools and learning communities, plans for federal funding, program implementation, and monitoring protocols.

Frank, Kenneth A., Chandra Muller, Kathryn S. Schiller, et al. 2008. The social dynamics of mathematics coursetaking in high school. American Journal of Sociology 113.6: 1645–1696.

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Using data from the Adolescent Health and Academic Achievement Study, Frank and his colleagues examine how peers within a similar social network contribute to differences in academic effort. The authors argue that adolescents’ social contexts are defined, in part, by clusters of students, and females are highly responsive to the norms of these student clusters.

Heyneman, Stephen P., and William A. Loxley. 1983. The effect of primary-school quality on academic achievement across twenty-nine high- and low-income countries. American Journal of Sociology 88.6: 1162–1194.

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Heyneman and Loxley challenge the belief that student and family background characteristics are the biggest contributors to student achievement. Using student achievement data from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East, the authors assert that school and teacher quality are more salient, particularly for students in low-income countries.

Lucas, Samuel Roundfield. 1999. Tracking inequality: Stratification and mobility in American high schools . Sociology of Education Series. New York: Teachers College Press.

In this book, Lucas explores formal academic tracking in US high schools. Using nationally representative data, he examines the curriculum structure, the location of students within this structure, and the consequences of tracking for an individual’s postsecondary and career path.

Mittleman, Joel, and Jennifer L. Jennings. 2018. Accountability, achievement, and inequality in American public schools: A review of the literature. In Handbook of the sociology of education in the 21st century . Edited by Barbara Schneider and Guan Saw, 510–529. New York: Springer.

In this chapter, Mittleman and Jennings review accountability systems in US schools by reviewing the social science literature. The authors document the history of accountability in schools and review the impacts of the systems in terms of instruction, student outcomes, and policy feedback.

No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 , Pub. L. No. 107-110, 115 Stat. 1425 (2002).

This legislation is a standards-based education reform that significantly increased the accountability of schools. These federal statutes included guidelines for states to create rigorous curriculum standards and benchmarks for their students, in addition to standardized ways of measuring student achievement.

Oakes, Jeannie. 2005. Keeping track: How schools structure inequality . 2d ed. New Haven, CT: Yale Univ. Press.

Oakes examines the role schools play in reproducing inequalities through the sorting of students into different academic tracks. This second edition includes an updated discussion of the “tracking wars” in schools and provides an examination of the assumptions and implications of continued tracking practices in secondary schools.

Oakes, Jeannie, and Marisa Saunders. 2008. Beyond tracking: Multiple pathways to college, career, and civic participation . Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.

Continuing the discussion of tracking in high school, Oakes and coauthor Saunders offer an innovative alternative to tracking—a multiple pathways approach. This approach is built on the notion that American high schools should provide both academic and real-world foundations for all students. The four main components of the multiple pathways system include college-preparatory core, professional/technical core, field-based learning and realistic workplace simulations, and additional support services.

Rumberger, Russell W. 2011. Dropping out: Why students drop out of high school and what can be done about it . Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.

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This book asks the straightforward yet critical questions: Who drops out? Why? And what happens after they drop out? Vulnerable students can often be targeted early in their school careers and Rumberger argues for interventions that can keep students in school and away from a potential future of poverty, crime, and increased health problems.

Literature on higher education includes the structure and policies of varying higher education institutions as well as examines the influence of higher education on outcomes later in life. MacLeod 2009 provides an ethnographic study of how teenagers from a housing project in the United States develop and attain their future aspirations. Schneider and Stevenson 1999 studies the educational and occupational ambitions of adolescents and argues that many lack support in planning and reaching their desired goals. Armstrong and Hamilton 2015 investigates how young women’s college experiences lead to their academic outcomes, social lives, and labor-market opportunities. Karabel 2005 explores how an administrative regime evolved in three leading organizations (e.g., Harvard, Princeton, and Yale) in one field. Espenshade and Radford 2009 explores persistent inequality in education at colleges and universities in the United States. Arum and Roksa 2011 investigates what students are learning in college and argues that a sizable number of students are not learning essential knowledge and skills. Arum, et al. 2018 examines the college experiences of students from different socioeconomic and racial backgrounds. Finally, Rosenbaum 2001 describes the relationships between employers and high school, and preparing students for careers. See also Bowen, et al. 2009 and Attewell and Lavin 2007 .

Armstrong, Elizabeth, and Laura Hamilton. 2015. Paying for the party: How college maintains inequality . Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.

The authors investigate how young women’s college experience lead to their academics, social lives, and labor-market participation. This book provides a longitudinal qualitative study that includes extensive ethnographic observation and interviews. The authors also question current policymakers on whether our higher education provides a path to social mobility for all who wish for such mobility.

Arum, Richard, and Josipa Roksa. 2011. Academically adrift: Limited learning on college campuses . Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.

Arum and Roksa investigate students’ learning in college. Using data from more than twenty-three hundred undergraduates at twenty-four institutions, the authors found differences in academic learning, time on studies, and social activities among the students at different types of universities.

Arum, Richard, Josipa Roksa, Jacqueline Cruz, and Blake Silver. 2018. Student experiences in college. In Handbook of sociology of education in the 21st century . Edited by Barbara Schneider and Guan Saw, 421–441. New York: Springer.

In this book chapter, Arum and colleagues argue for a broader view of college student academic and social experiences—one couched in historical and institutional contexts. These authors focus on the various college experiences of students from different demographic backgrounds, such as socioeconomic and racial groups.

Attewell, Paul, and David E. Lavin. 2007. Passing the torch: Does higher education for the disadvantaged pay off across the generations? Rose Series in Sociology. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

Examining evidence from multiple cohorts of women who enrolled at the City University of New York after the start of the university’s “open admissions” policy, Attewell and Lavin examine the idea that education can support upward social mobility. Following these women over thirty years, this study analyzes the impact of higher educational attainment on the achievement of the women’s children.

Bowen, William, Matthew Chingos, and Michael McPherson. 2009. Crossing the finish line: Completing college at America’s public universities . Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press.

This book attempts to understand the college dropout crisis in the United States. Using data from twenty-one state universities and four statewide higher education systems, the authors identify challenges that low-income and minority students face regarding the costs of college, lower graduation rates, and longer time-to-degree, and they describe several reforms that policymakers could adopt to improve these outcomes.

Espenshade, Thomas J., and Alexandria Walton Radford. 2009. No longer separate, not yet equal: Race and class in elite college admission and campus life . Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press.

This book raises the research question: are US elite colleges admitting and successfully educating a diverse student body? Using data from more than nine thousand students who applied to selective institutions, the authors investigate admission advantages for minorities as well as race- and class-related gaps in academic achievements, tuition costs, and satisfaction with college experiences.

Karabel, Jerome. 2005. The chosen: The hidden history of admission and exclusion at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton . Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

The author studies the history of college admissions at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton from 1900 to 2005 and provides both a view of institutional power and of the evolution of gatekeeping tools across organizations. This book also reveals the changing dynamics of power and privilege in America over the past century.

MacLeod, Jay. 2009. Ain’t no makin’ it: Aspirations and attainment in a low-income neighborhood . 3d ed. Boulder, CO: Westview.

This urban ethnography follows a group of low-income teenagers through school and into adulthood, exploring how social inequality is reproduced from one generation to the next. MacLeod uses this study to argue how inequality is created, sustained, and legitimized in the United States.

Rosenbaum, James E. 2001. Beyond college for all: Career paths for the forgotten half . Rose Series in Sociology. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

This book focuses on this crisis in the American labor market. Rosenbaum describes findings from survey and interview data and argues that alignment in the perception and actions between students, educators, and employers is absent. In contrast to countries such as Germany and Japan, misinformation, student disengagement, and lack of trust between schools and employers poses challenges to young adults in the United States.

Schneider, Barbara, and David Stevenson. 1999. The ambitious generation: America’s teenagers, motivated but directionless . New Haven, CT: Yale Univ. Press.

Schneider and Stevenson argue that American teenagers have ambitious educational and occupational expectations, yet often lack the ability to achieve their goals. The study includes seven thousand teenagers and offers specific guidance based on their findings for how parents and teachers can better support adolescents in their efforts to achieve their ambitions.

School choice policy is largely built on the economic theory of choice and free markets, where individuals choose their educational institution. A classic essay, Friedman 2002 proposes choice theory in education and discusses a free market system for schools. Hirschman 1970 further explores choice theory and the responses individuals have to their choices. Chubb and Moe 1990 argues for increased school choice and competition as a means to increase student achievement. McEwan and Carnoy 2000 evaluates the use of voucher systems in Chile. Bryk, et al. 1993 analyzes the effect of attending Catholic schools compared to public schools. Carnoy, et al. 2005 uses student gain scores to more accurately compare charter and public school effectiveness. Bettinger 2005 evaluates the effects of charter schools, both on within-school student achievement and on the achievement of neighboring public schools. Cooper and Sureau 2007 discusses the politics of homeschooling in the United States, an increasingly popular educational choice for families. Lubienski and Lubienski 2013 uses demographic information to claim public schools as more effective than private schools for creating gains in student achievement. See also Lubienski and Weitzel 2010 and Fabricant and Fine 2012 .

Bettinger, Eric P. 2005. The effect of charter schools on charter students and public schools. Economics of Education Review 24.2: 133–147.

DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2004.04.009 Save Citation » Export Citation » Share Citation »

This article evaluates the changes in test scores of students attending charter schools as well as the effects of charter schools on students at neighboring public schools. Bettinger argues that there were no significant effects on test scores for neighboring public schools when charters were introduced.

Bryk, Anthony, Valerie Lee, and Peter Holland. 1993. Catholic schools and the common good . Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.

This book examines US Catholic high schools to understand if students are better educated there or in public schools. The authors argue that Catholic schools have a positive effect on student achievement, particularly in reducing disparities between disadvantaged students and their privileged counterparts. They cite Catholic schools’ moral imperative as a key factor in driving educational quality.

Carnoy, Martin, Rebecca Jacobsen, Lawrence Mishel, and Richard Rothstein. 2005. The charter school dust-up: Examining the evidence on enrollment and achievement . Washington, DC: Economic Policy Institute.

Carnoy and colleagues employ student achievement data to compare charter schools with traditional public schools. Using achievement gains, as opposed to static test scores, the authors determine that contrary to much public discourse, charter schools in New York City performed worse than comparable public schools.

Chubb, John, and Terry Moe. 1990. Politics, markets, and America’s schools . Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.

Chubb and Moe, in this book, argue that reforms for educational change in the 1980s did not address the core of the problem they aimed to solve. Chubb and Moe recommend a dramatic change; that school choice and competition should be the basis for school improvement and increased student achievement.

Cooper, Bruce S., and John Sureau. 2007. The politics of homeschooling: New developments, new challenges. Educational Policy 21.1: 110–131.

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In this article, Cooper and Sureau describe the rapid growth of the homeschooling movement in the United States. They describe how homeschooling families are organized and the families’ relationships with public institutions.

Fabricant, Michael, and Michelle Fine. 2012. Charter schools and the corporate makeover of public education: What’s at stake? New York: Teachers College Press.

The authors analyze empirical data to determine whether charter schools are an authentic alternative to public schools. Fabricant and Fine discuss the history, politics, and economic motivation behind the charter school movement and its effects on student outcomes.

Friedman, Milton. 2002. Capitalism and freedom . Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.

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In this classic economics text, Friedman argues that competitive capitalism serves as a mechanism for economic choice and as a necessary condition for political freedom. He outlines a free market system for schools, using vouchers as a means to exercise choice and competition with the primary goal of enhancing school quality. Originally published in 1962.

Hirschman, Albert O. 1970. Exit, voice, and loyalty: Responses to decline in firms, organizations, and states . Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.

Hirschman describes several ways dissatisfaction is expressed in firms—through exit (leaving the organization) and voice (exerting influence for change from within the organization). This argument can be applied to school choice, where schools are firms and students and their families represent members.

Lubienski, Christopher, and Sarah Lubienski. 2013. The public school advantage: Why public school outperform private schools . Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.

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Influenced by recent debates regarding market-based school solutions such as school choice and increased privatization of schools, Lubienski and Lubienski argue against the belief that private schools are superior to public schools, offering evidence that public schools are better-performing. These authors argue that superior performance by private school students is attributable to demographics, and they correct for demographic measures to show that gains in student achievement are higher in public schools.

Lubienski, Christopher, and Peter Weitzel. 2010. The charter school experiment: Expectations, evidence, and implications . Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.

This book examines the unintended impacts of charter schools over the last twenty years. In this comprehensive exploration, the authors discuss how the purpose of charter schools evolved from their original goals of introducing competition into the education system to encouraging innovation and providing more equitable access to quality education.

McEwan, Patrick J., and Martin Carnoy. 2000. The effectiveness and efficiency of private schools in Chile’s voucher system. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 22.3: 213–239.

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This article evaluates the comparative effectiveness and efficiency of private and public schools in Chile. Findings show that nonreligious voucher schools are marginally less effective than public schools in the fourth grade. When assessing student achievement, Catholic voucher schools are somewhat more effective than public ones.

Educational reform presents similar challenges in the United States as in many developed and developing countries. A comparative perspective in educational research highlights shared patterns and diverse solutions, and can lead to an enhanced understanding of how to improve education. Carnoy 2000 introduces the relationship between globalization and education, examining how globalization influences the quality and financing of education, in addition to labor market outcomes. In Levin and Lockheed 2012 , the authors analyze case studies from eight different countries to inform strategies that can improve education for children in low-income communities. McPherson and Willms 1987 examines the effects of a comprehensive reorganization initiative on reducing social class inequalities in Scotland. Comparing the Finnish educational system to other developed countries, Sahlberg 2011 provides a detailed description of the success of educational reform in Finland. The authors of Schmidt, et al. 1997 use a comparative analysis of fifty different countries to reveal the splintered nature of curriculum and instruction in the United States. Torney-Purta, et al. 1999 examines case studies from twenty-four countries to understand how different educational policies and practices influence civic education and knowledge. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 2011 provides synopses of country profiles, recommending improvements to the US education system based on features of high-scoring countries’ systems. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization 2015 highlights success and challenges of the international effort to provide education for all.

Carnoy, Martin. 2000. Globalization and educational reform. In Globalization and education: Integration and contestation across cultures . Edited by Nelly P. Stromquist and Karen Monkman, 43–61. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

Carnoy discusses how globalization influences education, in particular globalization’s impact on the financing of education, labor market outcomes, and the quality of national education systems. This chapter also highlights the role of comparative research that uses international assessments (e.g., Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) in understanding the differences among countries.

Levin, Henry, and Marlaine E. Lockheed, eds. 2012. Effective schools in developing countries . Routledge Library Editions: Education 8. New York: Routledge.

This volume contains eight case studies describing educational initiatives for children in poverty in nations including Brazil, Burundi, Colombia, Ghana, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and the United States. These independent initiatives can collectively inform the future development of effective strategies for children in low-income communities.

McPherson, Andrew, and J. Douglas Willms. 1987. Equalisation and improvement: Some effects of comprehensive reorganisation in Scotland. Sociology 21.4: 509–539.

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McPherson and Willms examine a policy initiative that required schools to transition from a two- or three-tier selective system—whereby pupils were channeled into grammar, technical, or secondary modern schools—to a “comprehensive” system that served all pupils. Results show that this comprehensive reorganization had a small positive effect on students’ attainment and reduced social class inequalities in attainment.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. 2011. Lessons from PISA for the United States . Paris: OECD.

This report on student performance on the Programme for International Student Assessment has been greatly influential for curriculum reform in science, serving to analyze US PISA results while describing practices of the highest-scoring education systems.

Sahlberg, Pasi. 2011. Finnish lessons: What can the world learn from educational change in Finland? Series on School Reform. New York: Teachers College Press.

Chronicling the changes in the Finnish educational system over the past three decades, Sahlberg traces how educational reform evolved in Finland. Contrasting the Finnish system to the United States and other developed countries, this book provides a detailed account of education in Finland—a system focused on the professionalization of teachers, effective instructional leadership, and enhanced trust in schools.

Schmidt, William H., Curtis McKnight, and Senta Raizen. 1997. A splintered vision: An investigation of U.S. science and mathematics education . Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic.

This study analyzes data from curriculum guides and textbooks from about fifty countries to examine differences in curricula, instructional practices, school factors, and social conditions. Schmidt and colleagues argue that the mathematics and science curriculum in the United States is splintered because there is no unified vision of how to educate students. Because of this splintered vision, the curricula, textbooks, and teaching in the United States are often overly broad in topic but lack depth in content.

Torney-Purta, Judith, John Schwille, and Jo-Ann Amadeo, eds. 1999. Civic education across countries: Twenty-four national case studies from the IEA Civic Education Project . Amsterdam: International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement.

This volume reports the results from qualitative case studies in twenty-four countries examining the circumstances, contents, and processes of civic education. Each chapter within this volume provides a thorough summary of these national case studies, highlighting important issues or themes within civic education.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. 2015. EFA Global Monitoring Report – Education for All 2000–2015: Achievements and Challenges . Paris: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

This influential report analyzed the progress of over 160 governments to reach the Dakar Framework goal of providing education for all individuals and provided recommendations for the 2015 global sustainable development agenda. The report takes stock of countries’ successes and challenges in meeting this goal, while identifying remaining concerns with regards to gender and racial disparity, the effect of income inequality on schooling, and the poor quality of learning at a primary level.

Access to resources outside of school can influence the educational experiences and outcomes of students, both domestically and globally. Stevenson and Baker 1992 and Baker, et al. 2001 explore the phenomenon of shadow education internationally. Cheng and Powell 2007 examines the transmission of resources across generations in biracial families. Fuller and Clarke 1994 considers the role of culture in understanding the effects of school. Putnam 2015 offers policy solutions to improve the outcomes of low-income students who are subject to the educational opportunity gap.

Baker, David P., Motoko Akiba, Gerald K. LeTendre, and Alexander W. Wiseman. 2001. Worldwide shadow education: Outside-school learning, institutional quality of schooling, and cross-national mathematics achievement. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 23.1: 1–17.

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In this study, the phenomenon of shadow education is explored using cross-national data from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. The authors argue that institutional factors of education, including limited access and lower levels of funding, drive the use of shadow education.

Cheng, Simon, and Brian Powell. 2007. Under and beyond constraints: Resource allocation to young children from biracial families. American Journal of Sociology 112.4: 1044–1094.

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This study uses data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study to examine the differences in biracial families and monoracial families in the transmission of resources to young children in the United States. Cheng and Powell demonstrate the utility of using refined measures of biracial families (e.g., white father/Asian mother) to examine stratification practices in school.

Fuller, Bruce, and Prema Clarke. 1994. Raising school effects while ignoring culture? Local conditions and the influence of classroom tools, rules, and pedagogy. Review of Educational Research 64.1: 119–157.

DOI: 10.3102/00346543064001119 Save Citation » Export Citation » Share Citation »

In this article, Fuller and Clarke review how research on the effects of schooling is informed by research in developing countries. The authors discuss the aggregate effect of the school, review findings from developing countries on school inputs, and argue the importance for policy to consider cultural conditions in education.

Putnam, Robert. 2015. Our kids: The American dream in crisis . New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks.

In this book, Putnam argues the presence of an opportunity gap preventing students from obtaining upward mobility. Putnam discusses differential outcomes for students with varying incomes, family backgrounds, and communities, arguing for policy solutions that benefit the disadvantaged.

Stevenson, David L., and David P. Baker. 1992. Shadow education and allocation in formal schooling: Transition to university in Japan. American Journal of Sociology 97.6: 1639–1657.

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This article describes “shadow education,” which is described as educational activities that occur outside of formal schooling but enhance a student’s education. Stevenson and Baker explore how shadow education and social advantages of students in Japan are transferred from one generation to the next.

Variation in school funding can introduce additional inequalities in education. Odden and Picus 2008 provides an overview of school finance and the implications for policy. Levin 1998 examines the cost of voucher programs and their effects on socioeconomic and racial segregation. Rebell 2009 and Yaffe 2007 describe the judicial influence and political debate over educational equity.

Levin, Henry. 1998. Educational vouchers: Effectiveness, choice, and costs. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 17.3: 373–392.

DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1520-6688(199822)17:3%3C373::AID-PAM1%3E3.0.CO;2-D Save Citation » Export Citation » Share Citation »

This article analyzes a substantial body of empirical data and demonstrates that private schools offer only a small advantage over public schools, particularly for graduation and postsecondary matriculation. In addition, school choice leads to greater socioeconomic and racial segregation of students. Relative costs of a voucher system appear to exceed those of the present system.

Odden, Allan, and Lawrence Picus. 2008. School finance: A policy perspective . 4th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill.

This book offers a comprehensive discussion of the history, law, and role of research in school finance, resource allocation, site-based management, and teacher compensation. Odden and Picus offer practical implications of how these different factors may impact the funding of schools in the United States.

Rebell, Michael A. 2009. Courts and kids: Pursuing educational equity through the state courts . Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.

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Rebell analyzes how and why state courts advocate for school desegregation and discusses the success of their efforts. He argues that courts have the authority and responsibility to pursue the goal of educational equity and offers recommendations for how courts can collaborate with policymakers to reach this goal.

Yaffe, Deborah. 2007. Other people’s children: The battle for justice and equality in New Jersey’s schools . New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers Univ. Press.

Chronicling decades of funding debates in New Jersey, this book examines the legal and political battle for equitable school financing for all students. Yaffe discusses the responsibility that the United States has for its poor and the implications for the role of public schools in providing equal opportunities for students of all backgrounds.

Research on this topic considers the effects of the family and neighborhood on educational outcomes. Astone and McLanahan 1991 explores the effects of family structure and parenting on high school completion. Duncan and Brooks-Gunn 1997 includes research on children growing up in low socioeconomic environments. In Tate 2012 , contributors explore the relationships among health, geography, and human development in education. Buchmann and DiPrete 2006 explores the impact of parental resources on gender gaps between female and male students in higher education. Schneider and Waite 2005 examines dual-career families to evaluate their approaches to work-life balance.

Astone, Nan Marie, and Sara S. McLanahan. 1991. Family structure, parental practices and high school completion. American Sociological Review 56.3: 309–320.

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This study uses data from the High School and Beyond study in the United States to examine the relationship between family structure and academic achievement. Astone and McLanahan’s work demonstrates that the effects of parental involvement on achievement and engagement vary by single-parent households, step-parent households, and biological-parent households.

Buchmann, Claudia, and Thomas A. DiPrete. 2006. The growing female advantage in college completion: The role of family background and academic achievement. American Sociological Review 71.4: 515–541.

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This article examines the causes related to the growing female advantage in college completion. Buchmann and DiPrete argue that parental education levels, presence of a father at home, academic performance, and declining gender discrimination influence female-favorable patterns in college completion.

Duncan, Greg, and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, eds. 1997. Consequences of growing up poor . New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

This interdisciplinary text includes contributions from social scientists that examine the influence of economic deprivation on child development. Through the consideration of heterogeneous life experiences within low-income settings, the contributors posited several solutions. These policy considerations focus on child welfare, income supplements, and childcare subsidies.

Schneider, Barbara, and Linda J. Waite, eds. 2005. Being together, working apart: Dual-career families and the work-life balance . New York: Cambridge Univ. Press.

This book, targeted toward academics, policymakers, and working parents, examines how families attempt to attain work-life balance by examining 500 dual-career families in eight communities across the United States.

Tate, William F., ed. 2012. Research on schools, neighborhoods, and communities: Toward civic responsibility . Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

This book includes empirical and theoretical contributions from a diverse set of scholars who consider structural effects on schools. More specifically, the authors emphasize the relationship between geography and location on the social contexts of schools and the potential issues that students face, such as racial segregation, immigration, and college readiness.

At the frontline of education, teachers are a critical component in the educative process. As such, they have been the focal point of education research and policy. Cochran-Smith, et al. 2008 addresses big questions in teacher education, such as the purposes of teacher education. Goldstein 2014 documents the history of the teaching profession. Darling-Hammond 2000 provides a review of teacher policies in the United States and encourages investment in policies that improve teacher quality. Rivkin, et al. 2005 examines the impact of teacher quality on student achievement. Lankford, et al. 2002 explores the distribution of teacher quality across schools over time and finds that low-income and low-achieving schools often have the least-qualified teachers. Konstantopoulos and Chung 2011 examines the persistence of teacher effects and argues that cumulative effects of teaching are an important consideration in developing teacher policy. McKenzie and Santiago 2005 comparatively analyzes international data, documents the importance of teachers in education, and provides positive examples of teacher policy across different countries. Ingersoll 2001 reveals that, contrary to the notion, there is a shortage of qualified teachers and that teacher turnover and retention are due to an excess quantity of teachers. See also Ingersoll 2003 and the Carnegie Knowledge Network .

Carnegie Knowledge Network .

This website brings together statistical research and information on improving teacher quality through value-added systems. Its mission is to funnel and translate the research that is being conducted and to provide a community where these findings can be incorporated into policies and teacher evaluation systems that can improve student learning.

Cochran-Smith, Marilyn, Sharon Feiman-Nemser, D. John McIntyre, and Kelly E. Demers., eds. 2008. Handbook of research on teacher education: Enduring questions in changing contexts . 3d ed. New York: Routledge.

This handbook features texts that address the purposes of teacher education, what teachers should be taught, how teachers learn to teach effectively, and other questions prominent in the scope of teacher education and teacher training. This handbook is composed of framing chapters, commentaries, and artifacts, such as essays, speeches, and articles.

Darling-Hammond, Linda. 2000. Teacher quality and student achievement: A review of state policy evidence. Education Policy Analysis Archives 8.1: 1–44.

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This article examines how teacher qualifications and other school inputs are associated with student achievement in the United States. Using the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), the National Assessment of Education Progress, a state survey of policies, and case studies, the author obtains findings that suggest that policy investments in teacher quality may improve student performance.

Goldstein, Dana. 2014. The teacher wars: A history of America’s most embattled profession . New York: Penguin Random House.

Covering 175 years of American education, Goldstein traces the progression of the teaching profession from the 19th century onward. Goldstein’s work begins with the Common School Movement and ends with the data-driven approach of the new Millennium, highlighting policies that include the feminization of the teaching force, the rise of unions, and increased teacher accountability.

Ingersoll, Richard. 2001. Teacher turnover and teacher shortages: An organizational analysis. American Educational Research Journal 38.3: 499–534.

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Ingersoll analyzes data from the SASS to understand factors related to the supply and retention of qualified teachers. Results show that staffing problems in schools are not related to a shortage of teachers. Data reveal that the demand for new teachers is driven by an excess of teachers leaving the profession, but not for retirement—creating a “revolving door” in and out of the classroom.

Ingersoll, Richard. 2003. Who controls teachers’ work? Power and accountability in America’s schools . Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.

This book describes the profession of teaching, examining if teachers are more similar to professionals or to factory workers in their autonomy, and if this influences their work. Ingersoll demonstrates that because of the nested nature of classrooms within schools, this influences the decision-making powers of the administration, district, and state—allowing teachers a certain degree of autonomy, but new federal and state policies could limit this autonomy.

Konstantopoulos, Spyros, and Vicki Chung. 2011. The persistence of teacher effects in elementary grades. American Educational Research Journal 48.2: 361–386.

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The authors use data from Project STAR (Project Student/Teacher Achievement Ratio) to understand the persistence of teacher effects in elementary schools in the United States. The authors find that the effects of a teacher persist through sixth grade in mathematics, reading, and science. This suggests that cumulative effects of teachers may seriously impact student achievement.

Lankford, Hamilton, Susanna Loeb, and James Wyckoff. 2002. Teacher sorting and the plight of urban schools: A descriptive analysis. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 24.1: 37–62.

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Using New York State data, the authors first examine the variation in the average attributes of teachers across schools, identify schools with the least-qualified teachers, and assess the teacher distribution changes over time. The authors find that low-income, low-achieving New York City schools with high populations of nonwhite students often have the least-skilled teachers.

McKenzie, Phillip, and Paulo Santiago. 2005. Teachers matter: Attracting, developing and retaining effective teachers . Education and Training Policy. Paris: OECD.

This report was conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in 2002–2004 and examines the role of teachers across twenty-five countries. The project illuminates concerns about teachers, teaching, and teacher policy. It also highlights positive policy examples that were shown to make a difference. Available online for purchase or by subscription.

Rivkin, Steven G., Eric A. Hanushek, and John F. Kain. 2005. Teachers, schools, and academic achievement. Econometrica 73.2: 417–458.

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Using multiple measurements over time, the authors explore the impact of schools and teachers on student achievement in the United States. They argue that a higher-quality teacher can have a greater influence on achievement as opposed to a significant reduction in class size, underscoring the importance of teacher effectiveness.

Equity and Equality

The ideals of equity and equality in education are often the aim of social policies and educational reforms—providing access to a quality education for all students in the United States. However, gaps in educational achievement and attainment persist, particularly for children of color and for students from low-income families. To understand the struggles over the structure and effectiveness of the educational system in the United States, Labaree 1997 discusses the tensions surrounding the competing goals of the American education system. Rothstein 2004 explores the various causes of the achievement gaps in education. Duncan and Murnane 2011 investigates a range of research and policies in the United States that contribute to inequalities in education. Buchmann and Hannum 2001 reviews the literature on stratification in education in developing countries. Jencks 1972 examines the social composition of schools in America and argues that the social composition of a school is associated with student achievement. Grubb and Lazerson 2007 discusses how social forces and policies produce advantages and privileges that contribute to growing inequalities in the workforce. Darling-Hammond 2010 argues that academic gaps are the result of opportunity gaps experienced by low-income and minority students. DiPrete and Buchmann 2013 discusses the gender gap in higher education. See also the Education Trust and The Equality of Opportunity Project .

Buchmann, Claudia, and Emily Hannum. 2001. Education and stratification in developing countries: A review of theories and research. Annual Review of Sociology 27:77–102.

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This article is a review of the research on inequality in education in developing regions of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Through their examination of cross-national studies, Buchmann and Hannum discuss the use of new data sources in research and the opportunities for researchers to collaborate on similar studies across fields.

Darling-Hammond, Linda. 2010. The flat world and education: How America’s commitment to equity will determine our future . Multicultural Education Series. New York: Teachers College Press.

With increasingly diverse student populations in the United States, schools are challenged to educate growing numbers of ethnic minorities and immigrants. This book describes how academic gaps are influenced by growing inequalities, particularly opportunity gaps experienced by low-income and minority students. Darling-Hammond discusses policy implications and reforms aimed at providing all students a more equitable education.

DiPrete, Thomas A., and Claudia Buchmann. 2013. The rise of women: The growing gender gap in education and what it means for American schools . New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

The authors provide useful explanations of changes in the school environment to understand the causes and the extent of the gender gap in higher education.

Duncan, Greg J., and Richard J. Murnane, eds. 2011. Whither opportunity? Rising inequality, schools, and children’s life chances . New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

In this edited volume, a team of researchers from multiple disciplines examines the factors related to inequality in education in the United States, including family resources, neighborhoods, and school conditions—from birth to primary and secondary school experiences through college completion. The contributors suggest that rising inequality may compromise how schools function in America.

Education Trust .

The mission of this organization is to “ensure students of color and low-income students, pre-K through college, have an equitable chance at a good education.” The organization’s website contains research summaries and policy reports on reforms for all age groups. The organization’s core values support effectively using student data, improving teaching practices, drafting policy recommendations, and improving access and persistence in higher education.

The Equality of Opportunity Project .

This project, led by a group of economists and other social scientists, aims to find the most effective ways to address chronic poverty through data analysis. Specifically, this project aims to address declining upward income mobility, and improve the ability of children to have a higher standard to living than their parents.

Grubb, W. Norton, and Marvin Lazerson. 2007. The education gospel: The economic power of schooling . Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.

Grubb and Lazerson challenge the notion that more schooling for more people is the solution to our social and economic problems. The book describes a mismatch between academic preparation provided in schools and the skills required for the workforce, suggesting that reforms should be targeted at providing more meaningful alignment between high school and postsecondary goals.

Jencks, Christopher. 1972. Inequality: A reassessment of the effect of family and schooling in America . New York: Basic Books.

This book examines the impact that schools have on reducing inequality among students. Multiple analyses of a myriad of factors related to academic achievement suggest that educational reform is limited in its capacity to address these larger social issues. Jencks argues that fundamental economic reform is necessary to address social inequality.

Labaree, David F. 1997. Public goods, private goods: The American struggle over educational goals. American Educational Research Journal 34.1: 39–81.

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In this article, the author presents three ideals of the American education system that have been the source of educational conflicts: democratic equality, social efficiency, and social mobility. Labaree posits that because there is no consensus among these competing goals of education, the structure and effectiveness of the education system has been adversely affected.

Rothstein, Richard. 2004. Class and schools: Using social, economic, and educational reform to close the black-white achievement gap . Washington, DC: Economic Policy Institute.

In this book, Rothstein analyzes various causes of the achievement gap, examining a broad range of research and literature on equality in education. This volume explores school factors as well as the impacts of health care, nutrition, parents, home, and community. The author also expands his arguments by including cognitive and soft skills (e.g., behavior) in his analysis.

The study of racial and ethnic diversity in education life focuses on understanding demographic trends for students and the experiences of the individual student. Carter 2013 argues that the cultural mismatch between teachers and students increases the achievement gap between majority and minority groups. Alexander, et al. 2011 examines the racial composition of schools and what happens to students over winter and summer breaks from school. The Brown v. Board of Education ruling declared separate but equal education unconstitutional. Cronin 2011 examines Boston Public Schools, with implications for urban school reform. Pattillo-McCoy 1999 explores the experiences of black middle-class families and how the black and white middle classes remain separate but unequal. Rumbaut and Portes 2001 , Gonzales 2016 , and Callahan and Muller 2013 describe the experiences and educational trajectories of the children of immigrants in the United States. Lastly, Kao and Tienda 1995 analyzes achievement differences between immigrant and native students in the United States and finds behavioral differences in parents that may explain variations in student achievement. See also Ferguson 2007 , Tyson 2011 , and Cronin 2011 .

Alexander, Karl, Entwisle, Doris, and Olson, Linda. 2011. The long shadow family background, disadvantaged urban youth, and the transition to adulthood . New York: Russell Sage Foundation Press.

Using a longitudinal sample of elementary students in Baltimore, Maryland, the researchers examine reading comprehension growth during winter (in school) and summer (out of school) for black and white students across segregated and mixed-race schools. They find that white and black students across all schools make less than expected growth during the school year. In the summer, however, black students in segregated schools made significantly less reading growth during the summer compared to their counterparts in mixed-race schools, thus compounding during-school gaps in reading comprehension.

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas , 347 U.S. 483 (1954).

This landmark US Supreme Court case overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 to declare segregation, the separate schooling of black and white students, unconstitutional. The decision declared separate educational facilities as “inherently unequal,” but it did not set a protocol in place for the desegregation of schools.

Callahan, Rebecca, and Chandra Muller. 2013. Coming of political age: American schools and the civic development of immigrant youth . New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

In this book, Callahan and Muller examine how high schools play a role in integrating immigrant students’ civic participation using two large national surveys of adolescents and interviews data with social science teachers. The authors also expand their concerns to the high school civics curriculum and social science preparation of immigrant youth.

Carter, Prudence. 2013. Closing the opportunity gap: What America must do to give all children an even chance . Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.

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Prudence Carter discusses how schools’ sociocultural environments and practices matter to student engagement and achievement. Carter posits that the cultural mismatch between students and educators hinders educators’ capacity to engage students’ effective learning, which increases the achievement gap between majority group and other minority groups (e.g., black, Latino, and Native American).

Cronin, Joseph. 2011. Reforming Boston schools, 1930 to the present: Overcoming corruption and racial segregation . Palgrave Studies in Urban Education. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

DOI: 10.1057/9780230340978 Save Citation » Export Citation » Share Citation »

This book provides a comprehensive history of reforms, politics, protests, and racial conflict in the Boston Public Schools. Examining segregation, busing, and white flight, Cronin explores what compels some parents to keep their students in their schools while others choose to leave. This analysis provides implications for the future of urban school reform.

Ferguson, Ronald F. 2007. Toward excellence with equity: An emerging vision for closing the achievement gap . Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.

This book summarizes fifteen years of research on the black-white achievement gap, looking at multiple factors and policies impacting racial disparities. Ferguson argues for a comprehensive, holistic approach, involving parents as key stakeholders in educational reforms to narrow gaps between black and white students.

Gonzales, Roberto G. 2016. Lives in limbo: Undocumented and coming of age in America . Oakland: Univ. of California Press.

Using ethnographic fieldwork and participant observation of 150 immigrants between the ages of twenty-one and thirty-one, Gonzales investigates undocumented youths and their families in the K-12 system, as well as their job market participation. Gonzales also uncovers the aspirational differences between “college-goers” and “early exiters.” While different educational opportunities and aspirations were evident, ultimately, documentation status still determines younger people’s life chances from adolescence to adulthood.

Kao, Grace, and Marta Tienda. 1995. Optimism and achievement: The educational performance of immigrant youth. Social Science Quarterly 76.1: 1–19.

This study uses the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 to examine the impact of generational status on achievement and college aspirations of eighth graders. Kao and Tienda find that behavioral differences between native and immigrant parents help to explain variations in academic performance between these student groups.

Pattillo-McCoy, Mary. 1999. Black picket fences: Privilege and peril among the black middle class . Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.

This book explores the black middle class in the United States, examining the advantages and boundaries that exist for this group, drawing on a three-year ethnographic study in a Southside Chicago neighborhood. Pattillo-McCoy demonstrates how the black and white middle classes remain separate and unequal.

Rosenbaum, J. E. 2001. Beyond college-for-all: Career paths for the forgotten half . ASA Rose Monograph Series. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

This book focuses on this crisis in the American labor market. Rosenbaum describes findings from survey and interview data and argues that the absence of alignment in the perception and actions among students, educators, and employers is a problem in the United States. In contrast to countries such as Germany and Japan, misinformation, student disengagement, and lack of trust between schools and employers pose challenges to young adults in the society.

Rumbaut, Rubén G., and Alejandro Portes, eds. 2001. Ethnicities: Children of immigrants in America . Berkeley: Univ. of California Press.

This volume includes contributions by leading scholars of immigration and ethnicity who examine the lives and trajectories of the children of immigrants. The authors explore the rising second generation of immigrants growing up in the United States by focusing on youth of diverse national origins.

Tyson, Karolyn. 2011. Integration interrupted: Tracking, black students, and acting white after Brown. New York: Oxford Univ. Press.

DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199736447.001.0001 Save Citation » Export Citation » Share Citation »

This book draws on ten years of ethnographic data to explore the role of the school in creating the oppositional culture observed among black students in their efforts to avoid “acting white.” The author argues that school practices since desegregation, particularly regarding within-school curriculum tracking among black students, have served to perpetuate anti-academic behavior among black students.

Research on class-based variation in education examines how the social constraints of students and the structural opportunities available in education are related to the educational experiences and outcomes. One classic text that explores social class in education is Lareau 2000 , in which the author uses ethnographic data to understand social class differences in parenting in the United States. The author of Anyon 1981 uses several case studies to examine differences in social class across school settings. Reardon 2011 describes increasing income inequalities and how this growing gap contributes to differences in educational outcomes. Lastly, Baker, et al. 2002 explores differences in socioeconomic status, school quality, and economic development across developing countries.

Anyon, Jean. 1981. Social class and school knowledge. Curriculum Inquiry 11.1: 3–42.

DOI: 10.2307/1179509 Save Citation » Export Citation » Share Citation »

In this article, Anyon analyzes data collected from case studies in five elementary schools in New Jersey and examines different social class settings. He argues that although the curriculum and materials were similar among the schools, their data suggest the social stratification of knowledge.

Baker, David P., Gerald K. LeTendre, and Brian Goesling. 2002. Socioeconomic status, school quality, and national economic development: A cross-national analysis of the “Heyneman-Loxley effect” on mathematics and science achievement. Comparative Education Review 46.3: 291–312.

DOI: 10.1086/341159 Save Citation » Export Citation » Share Citation »

Using 1990s Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study data, the authors examine the “Heyneman-Loxley (HL) effect” that suggested that school factors were more important than family socioeconomic status in determining student achievement in developing countries. This reassessment found the association between student achievement and family background to be similar across countries in the study, regardless of national income, which suggests that the HL effect has been reduced as access to schooling has increased.

Lareau, Annette. 2000. Home advantage: Social class and parental intervention in elementary education . 2d ed. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

This book discusses an ethnographic study that compares two elementary schools—one considered a working-class school and the other an upper-middle-class school, both in California. Lareau argues that parents from the working class are just as interested in their children’s education when compared to their counterparts; however, working-class parents are more likely to yield to the advice of teachers, guidance counselors, and other school professionals, who they regard as having special skills and insights.

Reardon, Sean F. 2011. The widening academic achievement gap between the rich and the poor: New evidence and possible explanations. In Whither opportunity? Rising inequality, schools, and children’s life chances . Edited by Greg J. Duncan and Richard J. Murnane, 91–116. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

In this chapter, Reardon explores the achievement gap among students from different socioeconomic backgrounds. This study investigates several explanations for this widening gap among students from varying income levels by analyzing several different national longitudinal data sources.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 established that students requiring special education are exposed to the least restrictive educational environment in US schools. Osgood 2008 chronicles over 120 years of the history of special education. Lastly, Carroll and Muller 2018 discusses the history and outcomes of formal and informal curricular differentiation.

Carroll, Jamie, and Chandra Muller. 2018. Curricular differentiation and its impact on different status groups including immigrants and students with disabilities. In Handbook of sociology of education in the 21st century . Edited by Barbara Schneider and Guan Saw, 285–309. New York: Springer.

This chapter discusses the history of formal and informal curricular differentiation in US schools, highlighting the school outcomes (such as skill development and educational expectations) and non-school outcomes (such as health outcomes). Specifically, the chapter reports key findings on course-taking by race/ethnicity, gender, disability status, and immigrant status.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004, Pub. L. No. 101-476, 104 Stat. 1142 (2004).

This legislation ensures that students with a disability are provided with the least restrictive environment that meets their needs, determining how states and agencies provide early education, and special education services. IDEA includes procedures for determining who receives special education services, parental rights, and individualized education programs (IEPs).

Osgood, Robert. 2008. The history of special education: A struggle for equality in American public schools . Westport, CT: Praeger.

In this book, Robert L. Osgood documents the history of formal and informal special education settings in US public education by defining and characterizing special education, tracing the emergence of special education as a distinct department of public education, and discussing the status of children with disabilities as compared to their nondisabled peers.

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Education Policy

Stories, faculty specialties, degree offerings, and professional development programs on topics of broad interest to education leaders and policymakers, including ramifications for the practice of education

Filter Results

Reshaping Teacher Licensure: Lessons from the Pandemic

Olivia Chi, Ed.M.'17, Ph.D.'20, discusses the ongoing efforts to ensure the quality and stability of the teaching workforce

‘Unique’ Opportunity Ahead for CEPR

Christina Grant outlines her vision for the Center for Educational Policy Research at Harvard as she joins as its executive director this spring

Askwith Education Forum Targets Pandemic Learning Loss

A panel of experts discuss new findings from the Education Recovery Scorecard in an Askwith Education Forum on COVID-era learning loss

Discipline in Schools: Why is Hitting Still an Option?

A pediatrician discusses the prevalence and effects of corporal punishment in schools, and what it might take to end it for good

Can School Counselors Help Students with "FAFSA Fiasco"?

Support for low-income prospective college students and their families more crucial than ever during troubled federal financial aid rollout   

The Movements Making Change in Public Schools

The current influence of mom groups could shape the future of education

Lost Learning = Lost Earning, an Equation that Could Cost the U.S. $31 Trillion

"The U.S. is a society in which skills really do matter for economic success. What that means is that the impact of learning loss on individual students through their earnings is going to be larger in the U.S. than it might be in a society like Sweden."

Tackling Unhealed Trauma in Communities and Schools

An exploration of healing-centered engagement, a social-emotional learning approach that promotes self-esteem and offers a holistic view of recovery for young people of color managing trauma while also creating positive conditions for academic achievement.

Students Are Making a ‘Surprising’ Rebound From Pandemic Closures. But Some May Never Catch Up.

"Professor Kane, one of the researchers, advised schools to notify the parents of all children who are behind, in time to sign up for summer school. Despite setbacks on standardized tests, report card grades have remained stable, and polling indicates most parents believe their children are on track."

Despite Progress, Achievement Gaps Persist During Recovery from Pandemic

New research finds achievement gaps in math and reading, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, remain and have grown in some states, calls for action before federal relief funds run out

A Fragmented Non-System: Highlighting the Lack of Sustainable Funding for ECE in America

"For children from birth to age five ... we invest less in education than we do at any other stage of life, including not just K-12 but also higher education. Yet these children are going through the most important and fastest period of brain development that they’ll ever experience, a time when high-quality early education and care can significantly boost their chances for success both in school and in life."

New York Joins the ‘Science of Reading’ Movement, Offering Guidance — Not Mandates

"Somehow, we got caught up in thinking that kids would pick up that sound-symbol correspondence … and the science is very, very, very clear. That instruction needs to be explicit and intentional."

Strategies for Leveling the Educational Playing Field

New research on SAT/ACT test scores reveals stark inequalities in academic achievement based on wealth   

Teaching in the Face of Book Bans

Creative ways educators can adjust their curriculum during "treacherous" times

Navigating Book Bans

A guide for educators as efforts intensify to censor books

New Study Finds Wide Gap in SAT/ACT Test Scores Between Wealthy, Lower-Income Kids

"My worry is that if we get rid of the SAT, you’re getting rid of the only way that a low-income student who’s academically talented has to distinguish themselves. Getting rid of the SAT means those people don’t have the opportunity to be noticed. I don’t think the SAT is perfect, but I think the problem isn’t the test. The problem is everything that happens before the test."

Book Bans and the Librarians Who Won't Be Hushed

How educators are speaking out in response to recent — and increasing — book bans

Making Math “Almost Fun”

Alum develops curriculum to entice reluctant math learners

Strengthening Teen Digital Well-Being

Tips for talking with teens about social media and thinking traps

What It Takes to Change a School

Allowing teachers to take a central role is a key step toward meaningful school transformation

Florida Approved an SAT Alternative, but Experts Say the Test Is Unproven

“They don’t currently have sufficient evidence to support high-stakes college admissions decisions. They have a lot of research they need to do and publish transparently.”

Building Diverse College Communities

How higher education has reacted to the end of affirmative action and the path forward for equity

Navigator Tool Announced By Saul Zaentz Early Education Initiative

The new tool will help policymakers and leaders improve early education through shared strategies and innovations

How Did Schools Spend COVID-19 Emergency Funds?

Professor Thomas Kane joined CBS News to discuss why schools have struggled to get a handle on COVID recovery.

Transforming Place Through Neighborhood Leadership

Community-based leaders from around the country gathered at HGSE to share new ideas and guidance around closing the opportunity gap

U.S. Students’ Progress Stagnated Last School Year, Study Finds

"The recovery effort has been undersized from the very beginning. We have seen examples of programs that were making a difference for students, but none have been at the scale or intensity required."

YOU Belong in STEM

New Data Show How the Pandemic Affected Learning Across Whole Communities

HGSE Students Tackle Pandemic-Related Issues in Education

Teaching Improves When Tenure Is Linked to Performance

Higher Ed. at Harvard Event Addresses Looming End of Affirmative Action

Where have all the students gone.

How We Talk About Climate Change with Kids

What Do Immigrant Students Need? It Isn't Just ELL

Parental Rights or Politics?

The Impact of Geography and Policy on Students

City of Boston Joins EdRedesign’s By All Means Community of Practice

To Get Kids Back on Track After COVID: Shoot for the Moon

New Research Provides the First Clear Picture of Learning Loss at Local Level

Education and Climate Action

Beyond Recovery

Reimers Testifies Before House Committee on Learning Loss in Latin America and the Caribbean

Neighborhoods Matter

Figuring Out What Works, One Step at a Time

Road to COVID Recovery

Exploring the Effects of Desegregation

Working for Wu

Recent alum heads up DEI in a historic Boston administration

Equitable Recovery: Addressing Learning Challenges after COVID

• IPR Intranet

INSTITUTE FOR POLICY RESEARCH

• What We Study

Education Policy

Focus areas.

• School spending and student outcomes
• Improving academic achievement
• Evaluations of education interventions and programs
• College transitions and persistence

What are the effects of increasing private school choice vouchers on public school students? What is the role of social-emotional development in students’ lives? How do high school counselors work and understand their role? Which education interventions are most effective in terms of costs and achievement? These are just some of the issues that IPR education policy researchers address in their quest to create a larger pool of rigorous research and policy-relevant solutions for the pressing problems in education faced by teachers, students, parents, taxpayers, and policymakers.

A Message From Jonathan Guryan, Program Chair

Struggling schools, declining school funding, persistent achievement gaps, and recruiting and retaining effective teachers are just a few of the critical issues that school districts across the nation face every day. More rigorous research is needed to understand the issues facing schools and educators and to create effective solutions to address them. IPR’s Education Policy program groups fellows from a variety of disciplines and aligns with others, including those on Quantitative Methods.

Working Papers

Recently published articles and working papers in this program area include:

Julia Behrman, Emily Marshall, and Florian Keusch. 2024. A Conjoint Survey Experiment on Childbearing Preferences in the United States (WP-24-08).

Sarah Collier Villaume, Aurelie Ouss, Jonathan Guryan, and Emma Adam. 2024. A Meditation on Multidisciplinarity, in the Context of a School-Based Meditation Intervention (WP-24-04).

Paulo Bastos, Julian Cristia, Beomsoo Kim, and Ofer Malamud. 2023. Good Schools or Good Students? Evidence on School Effects From Universal Random Assignment of Students to High Schools (WP-23-45).

Faculty Experts

View all experts

Documenting Access to Universal Pre-K in Chicago

Research training institute on cluster-randomized trials.

Faculty Organizers: Larry Hedges and Elizabeth Tipton

This two-week, in-depth training institute covers a range of specific topics in the design, implementation, and analysis of data for use in cluster-randomized trials, allowing researchers to account for the group effects of teachers and classrooms when measuring an intervention’s effects on individual student achievement. Support comes from the National Center for Education Research , housed in the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences.

Improving Evaluations of R&D in STEM Education 2024 Summer Institute

Northwestern University, with support from the National Science Foundation  is providing support for the 2024 Summer Research Training Institute on Improving Evaluations of Research and Development projects in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education.

Promoting Ethnic-Racial Identity Exploration in School-Based Settings: Opportunities, Challenges, and Initial Results from a Randomized-Controlled Trial

Emma Adam , Edwina S. Tarry Professor of Human Development and Social Policy and IPR Fellow

Policy Study: Linking Social-Emotional Learning to Long-Term Success

View published study

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Master's in Education Policy Studies

Create change on a broader scale.

Leading students on a path to a brighter and more successful future through a positive impact in the classroom starts with education policy analysis and reform. Today’s education systems face a wide range of complex problems that pose daunting challenges for policymakers and researchers, including closing the achievement gap, increasing access to higher education for marginalized communities, the equity of school funding, and improving the quality of instruction.

These are just some of the most critical issues that faculty, students and alumni of our Education Policy Studies master’s program are working to solve. Join us to develop your skills in analyzing the political, social, and organizational environments affecting the education landscape. Learn to develop, analyze, implement, and evaluate policy options to tackle these key education problems.

Learn more about the role of education policy experts in shaping the future of education >

Request Information    

How to Apply    

Upcoming Info Sessions    

Hands-On Analysis Our interdisciplinary program goes beyond the textbook to provide engaging, hands-on research and analysis experiences in the design, implementation, advocacy, and impact of educational policies.

Small + Diverse Our students come together from around the world, bringing a wide range of professional experience and viewpoints that result in dynamic dialogue. The small class size ensures individualized learning and mentorship from faculty, as well as substantive engagement.

Convenient Schedule Courses are scheduled once a week in late afternoons and evenings (Monday-Thursday) to accommodate the schedules of working professionals, and for internship experiences.

Leading Faculty Learn from nationally recognized researchers and practitioners with extensive experience leading research and professional organizations in education policy.

Our Location is Your Advantage

Uniquely situated in the heart of Washington, D.C.—with proximity and connections to several think tanks, policy organizations, federal agencies, and professional associations—students are provided unparalleled access to gain experience in the field through internship and career opportunities.

Tap into the rich GW scholarly community to hone your research skills, and benefit by examining education reform in the policymaking capital of the world.

Jump to Section:   Curriculum   |  Admissions   |  Fees & Aid   |  Careers   |  Faculty   |  Events   |  Request Info

 Program at a Glance

Degree awarded:.

Master of Arts in Education and Human Development in the Field of Education Policy Studies

Department:

Course delivery:.

Main Campus

Program Entry:

We aim to provide program graduates with the necessary skills to carefully assess and analytically examine education problems in complex settings that interact with their broader social environments, at the international, national, state, and local levels.

Analytical skills are developed through curriculum and applied research experiences that include core policy analysis designs/approaches, techniques of applied research methods, and hands-on experience in analysis of contemporary education problems.

The following requirements must be fulfilled: 36 credits, including 24 credits in required courses and 12 credits in elective courses.

  The flexibility to choose 1 / 3 of the courses as electives provides students with the opportunity to develop skills in a specific area of expertise and applied research.

• Evaluate contemporary education policies and programs, as well as their intended and unintended consequences
• Conduct research in the field of education policy
• Analyze the factors that shape policy decisions, such as political and social environments, and the link between research and policy decisions
• Understand the policy process and the context in which policies mature
• Develop policy options, analyze their potential, and select the most promising
• Implement policies effectively and evaluate their impacts
• Inform better practice
• Advocate on behalf of policies
• Analyze the implementation of policies and assess their impacts
• Understand the technical, political, and managerial aspects of education policy

The following are examples of extensively analyzed education policy problems:

• Do standards-based reforms like NCLB and ESSA reduce or exacerbate the achievement gap in school systems?
• Do charter schools educate students better?
• Should pre-schooling be universally provided and funded by governments?
• Are teachers adequately paid?
• Does reducing class size lead to better student outcomes?
• Do affirmative action policies lead to better access and success in college?

To help them understand the complexities of such questions and seek answers to them, policymakers rely on a cadre of analysts who possess the necessary skills to systematically and carefully provide potential answers to such questions and assess the conditions in which the answers may differ so that decision-makers are best informed while constructing policies that often have lasting impacts.

GSEHD's Education Policy program prepares students to develop those skills and to attain positions at various policy organizations.

• Guide to Applying
• Admission Requirements
• Application Deadlines

GSEHD’s Office of Admissions invites you to apply for a spot in our program. Please review the following admission and financial information.

Ready to take the next step in your career? Review our step-by-step guide to applying to GSEHD >

To learn more about the program, admission process, and upcoming events, please connect with the GSEHD Admissions Team at [email protected] or 202-994-9283.

To be considered for admission, applicants must submit the online application form as well as the following required supporting documents. There is no application fee.

Prerequisite: Bachelor's Degree

Resume (Educational Attainment, Job Skills, Experiences)

Statement of Purpose : State your purpose in undertaking graduate study in Education Policy at GW (describe academic objectives, research interests, career plans- in relation to your qualifications, and accomplishments.

Two Letters of Recommendation from an academic instructor/advisor or someone who can speak to your academic capabilities.

Transcripts from all previously attended colleges or universities

*Additional application requirements may exist for international applicants .

View more details about requirements  

Applications are now being accepted for Fall 2024. We encourage you to apply as early as possible.

 For more information or to inquire about the next admissions cycle, contact the GSEHD Admissions Team at [email protected] or 202-994-9283.

 Tuition & Financial Aid

• Tuition Overview

We know embarking upon graduate school is a big decision. At GW, we understand the time and thought behind making graduate school work for you. Please take a moment to learn more about the options and opportunities available to help fund your graduate education.

Learn more about financing your education  

Graduate tuition is charged per credit hour, unless otherwise noted. Rates vary by program and location.

The tuition rate* for the Master's in Education Policy Studies program is $1,870 per credit hour .

This program requires 36 credits .

Please note: Additional fees may apply for international students, late fees, etc. Current tuition rates may be updated during the year.

*Summer 2023, Fall 2023 and Spring 2024

View the current fee chart  

Scholarships are available to eligible admitted students. Review eligibility requirements and learn more about funding your education >

My program and time at GSEHD has impacted my goals by showing me the many options that exist for future career paths. One of my professors does consulting work for districts, and another does research on the history of policy reform - both careers that I had not previously considered or even been aware of, but that are interesting options for me to consider as I continue my education.

SAMANTHA KAPLAN (Current Student) Master’s in Education Policy Studies

 Career Outlook

Graduates assume positions at think tanks, non-profit national organizations, government agencies, and international organizations providing support and analysis for education-related decision-making. They are involved in developing, analyzing, implementing, and evaluating education policies.

For example, alumni of the program have assumed the following positions:

Director and Research Fellow, Fordham Foundation

Senior Policy Analyst, National Governors Association

Director and Principal Researcher, American Institutes for Research

Deputy Director, Learning First Alliance

Senior Policy Associate, Alliance for Excellent Education

Research Analyst, Institute for Public Research-CNA

Assistant Director, Institute for Education and Social Policy, New York University

Director of Development, Bellwether Education Partners

Vice President , After-School All-Stars

In addition to the organizations above, graduates have assumed positions at various agencies providing support for education, including:

• Congressional Research Services
• U.S. Department of Education
• U.S. Congress
• U.S. Department of Labor
• The American Council on Education
• The Aspen Institute
• Annie E. Casey Foundation
• Center on Education Policy
• Council of Great City Schools
• Council of Chief State School Officers
• Maryland Department of Education
• SRI International
• The Urban Institute
• Washington State Legislature
• Inter-American Development Bank

Education Policy Studies Faculty  

Dean, Graduate School of Education and Human Development; Professor, Education Policy

Associate Professor, Education Policy

Research Professor, Education Policy

Affiliated Faculty

Dr. Matthew Shirrell

Associate Professor, Educational Leadership and Administration, GWU

Dr. James Williams

UNESCO Chair in International Education for Development; Program Director and Professor, International Education and International Affairs, GWU

Dr. Scott Joftus

Adjunct Faculty of Education Policy, GWU; Co-Founder and President, FourPoint Education Partners

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Elements of the educational policy model in schools (a systematic review)

Azar sarghini.

1 Department of Educational Administration, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz Branch, Tabriz, Iran

Behnam Talebi

Omidali hoseinzade.

2 Department of Educational Administration, Islamic Azad University, Shabstar Branch, Shabestsr, Iran

Educational policymaking is a kind of public policy that is done in order to achieve the goals of the educational system in fields areas such as education and students' health. The purpose of this study was to determine the components of educational policymaking model in education. The method of the present study is systematic review. This is done using the SPIDER framework. The statistical population of the study included all related Persian and English articles published in the years 2010–2021 consisting of 98 articles that are indexed in ScienceDirect, Sage, Springer, Wiley, Eric, and PMC English language databases and SID, Irandoc, and Magiran Persian language databases. The research sample included 52 articles selected in the article screening stage. The number of Persian language references was 12 and English language references was 40. Sterberg thematic analysis was used for coding the selected texts of articles. Results of coding the selected texts of the articles showed that the components of the educational policymaking model are included in 11 themes: quiddity of policy and public policy, educational policy's necessity, quiddity of educational policy, process of educational policy, consequences, factors, obstacles, stakeholders, evaluation criteria, and change in educational policies. Paying attention to all the dimensions and factors interacting in educational policy can lead to better education and improve the quality of education in all dimensions, especially in the field of health education.

Policy analysis can help clarify the issue, select the available policy, the effectiveness, and efficiency of a policy, and ultimately can help in the selection and preference of policymakers and the populace.[ 1 ] In fact, policymaking is a political activity that reconciles the opposing dialectics of order and disorder.[ 2 ] Policymaking involves political programs aimed at achieving social goals. In fact, policymaking reflects the activities and intentions of the government.[ 3 ] Public policy is a goal-oriented process that tries to identify the general problem and put it on the policy agenda to achieve the desired goal by applying continuous monitoring and evaluation operations.[ 4 ] Policymaking has three characteristics, which are being multidisciplinary, seeking to solve problems, and being normative.[ 1 ] The policymaking process is a set of rational actions that have been performed in a process consisting of necessarily political actions[ 5 ] and, in general, it has four main stages of problem definition, policy formulation, implementation, and evaluation.[ 1 ] In discussing the position of policy, in the first stage, an unambiguous definition should be provided for each policy element and policymaking institution.[ 4 ] Education is not only one of the most important social institutions, but also has a significant impact on the performance and quality of work of other organs and sectors of any society.[ 6 ] Creating new capacities and producing knowledge and information and communication technologies in the global economy require education to have a system of planning, development, evaluation, and accreditation in order to continuously improve quality.[ 7 ] On the other hand, the centralized management of education in the country and the lack of proper participation of principals, staff, parents, and students in decisions related to how the school is run have overshadowed the country's education system for years and reduced effectiveness in schools.[ 8 ] In today's knowledge-based societies, quality and equal education is one of the fundamental rights of citizens and one of the basic duties of the modern government. Governments try to respond to this demand and task through an educational policymaking process. A look at the performance of governments in Iran indicates the weakness and inefficiency of educational policy. Accordingly, policymaking in education is considered one of the most vital areas of public policymaking by the governments.[ 9 ] Principles of policymaking in education are formed according to endogenous development in a holistic model of policymaking.[ 10 ] Chichekchi,[ 11 ] in a study on reform policy, law, and problems in education policy in Turkey, concluded that educational policy in the republican era (including the contemporary era) is a priority and occurs with modern techniques. A study by Adel Kiss in Romania also reported new challenges and opportunities for national education policy.[ 12 ] Darvishi, while reporting the existing shortcomings of the policymaking system, has identified and prioritized the factors affecting the shortcomings of the regional development policymaking system in Iran.[ 13 ] Ghaedi reviewed the problems of scientific policy in the country. These problems are considered in six stages of the policy process, including problem definition, ordering, formation and preparation, legitimacy, implementation, and evaluation.[ 14 ] Heidari dealt with the need to make the policymaking process more effective in education.[ 9 ] Foruzandeh realized the need for the capacity of politics in public administration.[ 15 ] Akbari studied the proposed systematic model for policymaking in education.[ 16 ] Talebi et al .[ 17 ] examined and presented a perceptual model of policymaking in Iranian education. Research in the field of providing an appropriate model of educational policymaking in Iran has not been able to provide a comprehensive model based on regular field research or provide the necessary comprehensiveness of the literature, and there is a huge information gap in this issue. Focusing on the existing issues of education[ 8 ] and the need to address optimal policymaking in government systems such as public education,[ 5 ] this study seeks to ask whether the components of the educational policy model in education can be categorized by a systematic review of the existing research and theoretical literature?

Materials and Methods

The method of this research was a systematic review of studies on policymaking in education, and education and health promotion in the educational system. In the present study, the SPIDER (Sample, Phenomenon of Interest, Design, Evaluation, Research type) framework was used to develop the components of the educational policymaking model, with emphasis on education and health promotion in schools. Selecting documents in this method is an important step.. In conducting this study, the author referred to Sage, PMC, Springer, Wiley, Eric, and ScienceDirect English language databases and SID, Irandoc, and Magiran Persian language databases. Key search words included policy, educational policy, health education policy, educational policy making. Articles published in Persian and English languages from 2010 to 2021 were included in the study. Criterion for including the analyzed articles was that they provide a description and analysis of policymaking and its approaches in the field of education. The purpose of this study was not to provide a comprehensive review of all sources, but the authors sought to provide a coherent picture of the studies conducted. With this explanation, the main purpose of this research is to present the components of the policymaking model in education in the research done and to combine and analyze the results and formulate these components in a conceptual framework. In the selection of articles, out of 98 studies identified at the beginning of the work, 46 studies were omitted based on title or abstract and 52 full-text articles were selected as a statistical population for further review as well as a sample. The number of Persian language references is 12 and English language references is 40. Thematic analysis of Sterberg was used for analyzing the texts of the articles, and codes and themes are extracted and categorized. Sterberg's method consists of five steps: 1. data management, 2. conflict with data, 3. data mapping, 4. development of analysis, and 5. typology.[ 18 ] We went through these steps. In this research, ethical considerations including observing the fidelity and documenting the material quoted from other authors have been considered. As this article is a review, ethical considerations include fidelity in the use of citations by previous authors, which has been of interest to scholars. The research steps are summarized in Figure 1 .

Steps in selecting articles for research

This article is extracted from the research of a doctoral dissertation with ethical code SSRI.REC.2106-1067, and ethical considerations include observance of fiduciary duty and documentation quoted from other authors.

Table 1 shows the themes and codes extracted from the studied research references, which are presented in 74 codes and 11 categories. Each of the codes has been compiled from one or more research references based on the inference from the studied texts and according to its meaning in the form of concepts.

Codes and themes describing the elements of the educational policy model

For example, the code “Policy entry into the education system” including “Politics has significantly entered the terminology and decision-making performance in education” has been derived from Chichekchi.[ 11 ]

The code “learning political leadership” is derived from Carter's article and the phrase “Political leaders are everywhere, but it is not a theory-based model specifically designed for political leaders.[ 22 ]

The code “For the progress and modernization of society” including “Education policy gives credence to the development and modernization of society” has been inferred from Ekpiken.[ 19 ]

“Educational equality” code including “Education for all, creating equality through appropriate education for students to learn, effectively provide the government to run schools” has been derived from Benson.[ 30 ]

The “Teacher” code including “Teachers' experience and expertise may influence participation in the policy process” has been taken from Derrington.[ 40 ]

The code “students” is derived from Adam and the phrase “Students a wide range of actors try to create policy and challenges against it in a constructed way”.[ 43 ]

The code of non-involvement of teachers in policymaking, including “Barriers to policy making that teachers are not used in political opportunities, especially in government leadership” has been derived from Annalee.[ 35 ]

The code “Quality education” including “To achieve quality education, guidelines for fostering sustainable policies” has been inferred from Atenas.[ 20 ]

The code “Policy sharing” including “Policy dialogues are dialogues of interest, which are policy-makers and stakeholders who gather across disciplines to discuss issues of mutual interest” has been inferred from Sienkiewicz et al .[ 21 ]

The code “Strategic school unity” including “Schools are one of the most strategic places” has been inferred from Saito et al .[ 34 ]

The code “Lack of sight” including “Institutionalized monitoring systems prevent the implementation of national school health policy” has been inferred from Reeve et al .[ 39 ]

Semantic commonalities of the codes have been used to extract the themes based on the codes and the basic concepts. Accordingly, codes that had semantic commonality and explained a single structure were classified under a theme. Table 1 shows the extracted themes.

The results of this systematic review study, which was conducted using the SPIDER framework, showed that the educational policy model in schools emphasizing health education could be classified into 11 categoriesIn other words, the educational policy model with emphasis on health education in schools includes the following elements: the nature of politics and policymaking, necessity for educational policy, the nature of educational policy, policymaking process, consequences of educational policy, factors influencing policy, barriers of educational policy, stakeholders and participants, evaluation criteria, and changing educational policies.

The categories from 1 to 11, respectively, justify the nature of the policy or public policy. The codes of state and public policy, value of public policy, effectiveness of public policy participation in democracy, pluralism in policymaking, negotiation to resolve conflict, citizen-centric, and democratic nature of public policy process explain this categorization. Given that each of these codes in some way refers to the nature and characteristics of policy and public policy, the first category has been formed. Regarding the nature of politics and public policy, the results of this study are consistent with the studies of Hesby,[ 26 ] Atenas,[ 20 ] and Ekpiken,[ 19 ] which showed that politics is a governmental and valuable matter. In order to form the necessity of educational policy, the direct code that explains this category is only one code that has been mentioned in four research articles. Due to the high importance of this code based on the need for educational policy, this code is classified as a separate theme. Concurrent research on the need for educational policy has been presented in the studies of Atenas,[ 20 ] Colwell,[ 29 ] and Chichekchi,[ 11 ] which have emphasized the necessity for educational policy. The next theme contains codes that explain the nature of educational policy. Codes of application of social sciences, formality of educational policy, in line with the survival of society and its progress and modernization, explain this theme. Given that each of these codes has somehow referred to the nature of educational policy, the third category has been formed. Also, the results of this study regarding the nature of educational policy that educational policy is the application of social sciences and a formal intention for the survival of society are consistent with the studies of Ebro[ 32 ] and Kiki.[ 31 ] The next theme deals with educational policy and its nature. Accordingly, educational policy-making is a fluid, participatory, solution-oriented, goal-oriented, multifaceted and information-based process. Educational policy is formed according to public opinion within the organization and its main motivation is the democratization of society. This process is faced with high ambiguity and low certainty in educational decisions, which is formed by a logical process and is not explicitly distinguishable from education. The studies of Kelsey,[ 28 ] Conaway,[ 36 ] and Yemini[ 33 ] are remarkable in the nature of educational and research policies that are consistent with the results of this research. Most of the researchers who initiated the policymaking process referred to policymaking as an independent step or in addition to setting the agenda to policymaking. Researchers also see policy evaluation as a separate part of the policymaking process, while some researchers have not mentioned the separate nature of this stage. The results related to the educational policymaking process are also consistent with the results of research by Kelsey.[ 28 ] The next theme according to the research reports of quality education, educational efficiency, accumulation of human, social, and cultural capital, and promotion of educational justice is the key consequences of educational policy. Regarding the consequences of educational policy, the results of Heidari,[ 9 ] Atenas,[ 20 ] and Talebi et al .[ 17 ] are consistent with the results of the present study. The most important factors influencing educational policymaking are the following: ideology, economics, international relations, domestic political relations, government educational measures, civic groups, social networks, and the prevailing cultural discourse. Various researchers have pointed to the existence of barriers in the areas of administration, resources, problems arising from the nature of policy, as well as the policymaking process, which include the following: lack of teachers' participation in policymaking, limited understanding of the educational policy process, insufficient training on policymaking, high administrative focus, lack of funding, and specific problems of public policy design. The effective factors and obstacles in educational policymaking as reported by Benson,[ 30 ] Annalee,[ 35 ] Saito et al .,[ 34 ] and Meemar[ 25 ] are consistent with the results of the present study. Researchers have pointed to the role of various actors at the macro and micro levels of the education system. Stakeholders such as the government, macro-level political actors, managers, and local government agencies in the education system, as well as managers, parents, students, and teachers at the micro-level are considered. Also, experts as one of the policy stakeholders can have a high participatory role at all three levels. Participants in educational policy have also been considered in various studies. Yemini[ 42 ] refers to the role of the national government and the local branches of government. Stosich & Bae[ 48 ] has mentioned the role of students, and Khelifi[ 45 ] has mentioned the role of specialists. The results of this research are in line with the results of Adam,[ 43 ] Heidari,[ 9 ] and Talebi et al .[ 17 ] Researchers reported quality, innovation, performance, compatibility of specific policy components, coordination between different educational policies, achievement of goals (effectiveness), key frameworks, evidence, and media response as the criteria for evaluating educational policy. Policy evaluation criteria are also consistent with the results of studies by Adam[ 43 ] and Sue.[ 38 ] According to the extracted codes, policy changes can be due to changes in societies, pressures from social networks, expectations from social discourses, teachers' expectations, or from policy implementation challenges that are constantly being considered. Policy change is also consistent with the reports of Chichakchi[ 11 ] and Berger.[ 46 , 51 ]

Conclusions

According to the results of the present study, elements of educational policy in education can be categorized in the context of interactive relationships between the nature of policy and public policynecessity for educational policy, nature of educational policy, nature and process of educational policy, consequences of educational policy, factors affecting educational policy, barriers of educational policy, stakeholders, participants in educational policy, educational policy evaluation criteria can be categorized. The results of this review study have been separately considered and reported in previous studies. The main limitation of this research is the systematic review of previous studies and the lack of use of other data collection tools. Consistent with the results of the present study, it is suggested to policymakers in education to pay attention to all the elements of the policy model in policymaking and to consider the share of each in policymaking. It is also suggested to future researchers that the findings of this study be examined through a qualitative study based on interviews with experts.

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Conflicts of interest.

There are no conflicts of interest.

Acknowledgments

This article is the result of researching a doctoral dissertation at the Islamic Azad University of Tabriz. The authors consider it necessary to express their sincere gratitude to the officials of the Islamic Azad University of Tabriz, who helped them to carry out the study and improve the quality of this research.

Self-Study and Education Policy

Toward Understanding the Presence of Absences

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• Renée T. Clift 8 &
• Carl Liaupsin 8  

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Self-studies of policy are the nexus between what was transmitted concerning desirable practice; how that transmission was understood, accepted, rejected, or modified; the actions and reactions that preceded, accompanied, or followed; and any change that occurred either to those affected by the policy or any modification, revision, or abandonment of the policy itself. In this chapter, we examined the direct and indirect effects of policy at the national, state, and local levels, based on peer-reviewed articles from 1999 to 2017. We found that the studies documented the way in which policy directly or indirectly affected teaching, but not how self-study researchers affected policy. We also found that policy effects often (and sometimes negatively) engaged teacher educators’ emotions. We call for greater attention by self-study researchers to examining the links between teacher education and teacher education policy, particularly the ways in which teacher educators can participate in creating or modifying education policies.

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Faculté d’éducation, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada

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Clift, R.T., Liaupsin, C. (2020). Self-Study and Education Policy. In: Kitchen, J., et al. International Handbook of Self-Study of Teaching and Teacher Education Practices. Springer International Handbooks of Education. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-6880-6_7

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UT’s Excellence and Impact On Display in Latest Graduate School Rankings

AUSTIN, Texas — The University of Texas at Austin continues to be one of the premier schools for graduate studies, according to U.S. News & World Report’s partial release of its most recent “Best Graduate Schools.” UT made gains in several disciplines, including the College of Education’s jump into the top 10.

U.S. News has delayed release of its engineering, medicine and clinical psychology rankings, areas in which the University has historically achieved No. 1 and top 10 rankings.

Even with the partial release of the graduate rankings, UT maintained its top 10 spot for five colleges and schools: the College of Education (No. 8); the School of Information (No. 5); the Steve Hicks School of Social Work (No. 8); the College of Pharmacy (No. 6); and the Jackson School of Geosciences (No. 7), ranked under Earth Sciences. Three specialties ranked No. 1 in the country: Accounting, Latin American History and Sociology of Population. Overall, the University has 42 graduate schools and specialty programs ranked in the top 10 when combined with previous years.

“These rankings are striking and reflect our ability to continue to attract exceptional faculty and students. Our excellence is evident in our set of more than 40 schools, programs and specialties ranked in the top-10 in this partial release alone, including several that are the best in the country, if not the world,” said President Jay Hartzell. “Our talent is what puts UT at the leading edge of discovery in AI and robotics, life sciences, population research, and many other disciplines that are at the forefront of solving many of the world’s most pressing problems and bettering society.”

Among the highlights in this year’s rankings:

• The College of Education is now ranked in the top 10, moving up eight spots to No. 8.
• The McCombs School of Business moved up four ranks to No. 16 overall.
• The Information Systems MBA program in the McCombs School of Business is ranked No. 4 this year, marking 31 years that it has ranked in the top 5. Accounting has been ranked No. 1 for 18 years.
• The College of Pharmacy moved up one spot to No. 6. Computer Science moved up one rank to No. 7.
• The Nursing master’s program rose six spots to No. 14.

U.S. News & World Report’s graduate rankings, which are published separately from the yearly ranking of undergraduate programs, are considered the gold standard of graduate and professional rankings. They are based on surveys of academic leaders and, for select programs, additional quantitative measures including placement test scores, student/faculty ratios, research expenditures, salary by profession and job placement success.

The publication updates some of its specialty rankings each year and republishes the most recent rankings in other areas. The rankings for engineering, medicine and psychology will be released at a later date, according to U.S. News.

Graduate schools, programs and specialties that U.S. News ranked in the top 25 are listed below.

Business – 16

• Accounting – 1
• Business Analytics – 8
• Entrepreneurship – 10
• Finance – 13
• Information Systems – 4
• Management – 11
• Marketing – 11
• Production/Operations – 15
• Project Management – 4
• Real Estate – 8
• Supply Chain/Logistics – 16
• Executive MBA – 15
• Part-Time MBA – 7

Education – 8

• Counseling – 15
• Curriculum/Instruction – 12
• Education Policy – 9
• Educational Administration/Supervision – 5
• Educational Psychology – 6
• Elementary Teacher Education – 10
• Higher Education Administration – 14
• Secondary Teacher Education – 10
• Special Education – 7

Health Disciplines (other than Nursing)

• Audiology – 12
• Pharmacy (College of Pharmacy) – 6
• Social Work (Steve Hicks School of Social Work) – 8
• Speech-Language Pathology – 14
• Business/Corporate Law – 17
• Constitutional Law – 11
• Contracts/Commercial Law – 15
• Criminal Law – 20
• Intellectual Property Law – 15
• International Law – 25
• Tax Law – 13

Library and Information Studies Schools (School of Information) – 5*

• Archives and Preservation – 4*
• Digital Librarianship – 7*
• Information Systems – 8*
• Master’s – 14

Public Affairs – 13

• Public Policy Analysis – 15

The Sciences

Biological Sciences – 25*

• Ecology/Evolutionary Biology – 8*

Chemistry – 16*

• Analytical – 4*
• Inorganic – 14*
• Organic – 20*
• Physical – 14*

Computer Science – 7

• Artificial Intelligence – 9
• Programming Language – 7
• Systems – 10

Earth Sciences (Jackson School of Geosciences) – 7*

• Geochemistry – 13*
• Geology – 2*
• Geophysics and Seismology – 5*
• Paleontology – 3*

Mathematics – 13*

• Algebra – 19*
• Analysis – 8*
• Applied Math – 7*
• Topology – 8*

Physics – 13*

• Cosmology/Relativity/Gravity – 10*
• Condensed Matter – 22*

Statistics – 27* 

Social Sciences and Humanities

Economics – 22*

English – 17*

• American Literature After 1865 – 18*

History – 11*

• African American History – 10*
• Latin American History – 1*
• Modern U.S. History – 16*

Political Science – 19*

• American Politics – 20*
• Comparative Politics – 18*

Psychology – 23*

• Behavioral Neuroscience – 8*
• Social Psychology – 9*

Sociology – 11*

• Sociology of Population – 1*
• Sex and Gender – 6*
• Social Stratification – 13*

Fine Arts – 23*

• Sculpture – 6*

*Ranking not revised for 2024-25. Based on latest available ranking.

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• Shinn leads new study of cash payments and peer support to reduce homelessness

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Infancy is the age at which someone is most likely to live in a homeless shelter. If that sounds surprising, consider that poverty is the main reason families with young children become homeless. Given the high costs of childcare across the country, often parents leave the workforce to care for their young children. That loss of income plus the cost of housing can sometimes leave families without a home.

To help reduce homelessness among young families, Beth Shinn is beginning a new study to test whether unconditional direct cash payments and peer support to families who are homeless will help reduce the length of shelter stays and improve other aspects of their lives.

“This study was essentially designed by lived-expertise consultants, a team of mothers who had stayed in New York City shelters with their young children. When we asked them what would help families leave a shelter most rapidly and promote family well-being, the consultants said cash and peer support,” said Shinn, Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair and professor of human and organizational development at Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development .

For decades Shinn has studied how to prevent and end homelessness, including in the Family Options Study , the first large-scale analysis of housing program options to end homelessness, now in its 13 th year. Supported by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, this study found that housing vouchers were effective in stabilizing long-term housing.

The success of housing vouchers in the Family Options study informs Shinn’s rationale for testing the efficacy of unconditional direct cash payments, guided by the assumption that families, when given the funds, will know how to best spend the money to ensure they are able to leave and stay out of homeless shelters.

Shinn is collaborating with the Women in Need shelter system, the largest non-profit family shelter system in New York City. An anonymous family foundation is supporting the study with a $785,050 grant. One hundred families with a child two years old or younger at the start of the study will receive $17,000 per year (paid twice per month) and volunteer peer support for two years. Peers are women who have also gone through the shelter system as well as the numerous processes to establish housing and secure additional resources, such as opening a bank account and finding employment.

The study will include a comparison sample of 100 additional families at the WIN shelter who will only receive $600 per year without specialized peer support.  Both groups will get the usual care of the shelter system. Families who could have qualified for the study but aren’t in either the active or comparison groups will make up a larger passive group.

The primary outcome of the study will be to see whether recipients of the larger cash payments have shorter stays in the homeless shelters compared to the other two groups.

“We expect not only shorter stays in homeless shelters, but based on the findings from the Family Options Study, we also expect reductions in distress, domestic violence, substance abuse, and food insecurity, as well as better outcomes for children,” Shinn said.

Beth Shinn teaches in the Community Development and Action M.Ed. program and the Community Research and Action Ph.D. program .

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Harvard Researchers Say Jail Educational Programs Reduce Recidivism, Violence

An education program at a county jail in Flint, Michigan significantly reduced recidivism, misconduct, and the harms of incarceration, according to a new study co-authored by Harvard Law School professor Crystal S. Yang ’08 and Harvard Kennedy School professor Marcella Alsan ’99.

The Inmate Growth Naturally and Intentionally Through Education program, started by Genesee County Sheriff Christopher R. Swanson in 2020, has correctional officers provide daily, personal education to incarcerated people in Genesee County Jail in Flint.

The study found that one month of program participation decreased recidivism after release by 18 percent over three months and 23 percent over a year, and that participants’ reading and math scores improved a full grade level. The program also decreased violence and improved perceptions of law enforcement officers, even while the participants remained incarcerated.

“The results are really striking,” said Brown University economics professor Peter Hull, one of the study’s co-authors.

Alsan first learned about the program when she met Meghan Beal, the project manager at the National Sheriffs Association, according to an emailed statement by the study’s co-authors. Beal, who is working to scale IGNITE to jails across the country, agreed to let Alsan and the other researchers examine the program in Flint.

“This was an opportunity for academics to take our cues from people on the ground doing the work and asking for our help in evaluation,” the authors wrote. “As social scientists, our ‘constituents’ include people like Sheriffs and incarcerated individuals.”

The study had a “dream team of academics” to evaluate the IGNITE program, according to the statement, including Arkey Barnett — an economics Ph.D. student at the University of Michigan who has relatives experiencing incarceration and systemic discrimination.

In an interview, Hull said that the United States’ approach to incarceration is focused on punitive efforts, rather than the rehabilitative model favored by countries like Norway. He said the study’s findings reinforce the idea that a rehabilitative approach should be brought to the American criminal justice system.

“I’ve been very heartened by the work in Flint,” Hull said.

All in all, the researchers said IGNITE spells improvements for society, reducing the “social cost” of crime post-release by $5,600 per year per person through just one additional month of participation in the program.

Hull said the study suggested that IGNITE could be effective for individuals of different educational backgrounds.

“A surprising finding to come out of our evaluation of IGNITE was how it seemed to work broadly among many different populations,” the researchers wrote.

The researchers said the study found promise in leveraging education to implement rehabilitative practices in the carceral system.

“Education is used as a vehicle to change the job description of custody staff and to provide hope and dignity to those who are incarcerated,” the researchers wrote.

“Our first study was a proof of concept and we are looking forward to hopefully digging in deeper very soon,” they added.

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Changing partisan coalitions in a politically divided nation, party identification among registered voters, 1994-2023.

Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to explore partisan identification among U.S. registered voters across major demographic groups and how voters’ partisan affiliation has shifted over time. It also explores the changing composition of voters overall and the partisan coalitions.

For this analysis, we used annual totals of data from Pew Research Center telephone surveys (1994-2018) and online surveys (2019-2023) among registered voters. All telephone survey data was adjusted to account for differences in how people respond to surveys on the telephone compared with online surveys (refer to Appendix A for details).

All online survey data is from the Center’s nationally representative American Trends Panel . The surveys were conducted in both English and Spanish. Each survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, age, education, race and ethnicity and other categories. Read more about the ATP’s methodology , as well as how Pew Research Center measures many of the demographic categories used in this report .

The contours of the 2024 political landscape are the result of long-standing patterns of partisanship, combined with the profound demographic changes that have reshaped the United States over the past three decades.

Many of the factors long associated with voters’ partisanship remain firmly in place. For decades, gender, race and ethnicity, and religious affiliation have been important dividing lines in politics. This continues to be the case today.

Yet there also have been profound changes – in some cases as a result of demographic change, in others because of dramatic shifts in the partisan allegiances of key groups.

The combined effects of change and continuity have left the country’s two major parties at virtual parity: About half of registered voters (49%) identify as Democrats or lean toward the Democratic Party, while 48% identify as Republicans or lean Republican.

In recent decades, neither party has had a sizable advantage, but the Democratic Party has lost the edge it maintained from 2017 to 2021. (Explore this further in Chapter 1 . )

Pew Research Center’s comprehensive analysis of party identification among registered voters – based on hundreds of thousands of interviews conducted over the past three decades – tracks the changes in the country and the parties since 1994. Among the major findings:

The partisan coalitions are increasingly different. Both parties are more racially and ethnically diverse than in the past. However, this has had a far greater impact on the composition of the Democratic Party than the Republican Party.

The share of voters who are Hispanic has roughly tripled since the mid-1990s; the share who are Asian has increased sixfold over the same period. Today, 44% of Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters are Hispanic, Black, Asian, another race or multiracial, compared with 20% of Republicans and Republican leaners. However, the Democratic Party’s advantages among Black and Hispanic voters, in particular, have narrowed somewhat in recent years. (Explore this further in Chapter 8 .)

Education and partisanship: The share of voters with a four-year bachelor’s degree keeps increasing, reaching 40% in 2023. And the gap in partisanship between voters with and without a college degree continues to grow, especially among White voters. More than six-in-ten White voters who do not have a four-year degree (63%) associate with the Republican Party, which is up substantially over the past 15 years. White college graduates are closely divided; this was not the case in the 1990s and early 2000s, when they mostly aligned with the GOP. (Explore this further in Chapter 2 .)

Beyond the gender gap: By a modest margin, women voters continue to align with the Democratic Party (by 51% to 44%), while nearly the reverse is true among men (52% align with the Republican Party, 46% with the Democratic Party). The gender gap is about as wide among married men and women. The gap is wider among men and women who have never married; while both groups are majority Democratic, 37% of never-married men identify as Republicans or lean toward the GOP, compared with 24% of never-married women. (Explore this further in Chapter 3 .)

A divide between old and young: Today, each younger age cohort is somewhat more Democratic-oriented than the one before it. The youngest voters (those ages 18 to 24) align with the Democrats by nearly two-to-one (66% to 34% Republican or lean GOP); majorities of older voters (those in their mid-60s and older) identify as Republicans or lean Republican. While there have been wide age divides in American politics over the last two decades, this wasn’t always the case; in the 1990s there were only very modest age differences in partisanship. (Explore this further in Chapter 4 .)

Education and family income: Voters without a college degree differ substantially by income in their party affiliation. Those with middle, upper-middle and upper family incomes tend to align with the GOP. A majority with lower and lower-middle incomes identify as Democrats or lean Democratic. There are no meaningful differences in partisanship among voters with at least a four-year bachelor’s degree; across income categories, majorities of college graduate voters align with the Democratic Party. (Explore this further in Chapter 6 .)

Rural voters move toward the GOP, while the suburbs remain divided: In 2008, when Barack Obama sought his first term as president, voters in rural counties were evenly split in their partisan loyalties. Today, Republicans hold a 25 percentage point advantage among rural residents (60% to 35%). There has been less change among voters in urban counties, who are mostly Democratic by a nearly identical margin (60% to 37%). The suburbs – perennially a political battleground – remain about evenly divided. (Explore this further in Chapter 7 . )

Growing differences among religious groups: Mirroring movement in the population overall, the share of voters who are religiously unaffiliated has grown dramatically over the past 15 years. These voters, who have long aligned with the Democratic Party, have become even more Democratic over time: Today 70% identify as Democrats or lean Democratic. In contrast, Republicans have made gains among several groups of religiously affiliated voters, particularly White Catholics and White evangelical Protestants. White evangelical Protestants now align with the Republican Party by about a 70-point margin (85% to 14%). (Explore this further in Chapter 5 .)

What this report tells us – and what it doesn’t

In most cases, the partisan allegiances of voters do not change a great deal from year to year. Yet as this study shows, the long-term shifts in party identification are substantial and say a great deal about how the country – and its political parties – have changed since the 1990s.

The steadily growing alignment between demographics and partisanship reveals an important aspect of steadily growing partisan polarization. Republicans and Democrats do not just hold different beliefs and opinions about major issues , they are much more different racially, ethnically, geographically and in educational attainment than they used to be.

Yet over this period, there have been only modest shifts in overall partisan identification. Voters remain evenly divided, even as the two parties have grown further apart. The continuing close division in partisan identification among voters is consistent with the relatively narrow margins in the popular votes in most national elections over the past three decades.

Partisan identification provides a broad portrait of voters’ affinities and loyalties. But while it is indicative of voters’ preferences, it does not perfectly predict how people intend to vote in elections, or whether they will vote. In the coming months, Pew Research Center will release reports analyzing voters’ preferences in the presidential election, their engagement with the election and the factors behind candidate support.

Next year, we will release a detailed study of the 2024 election, based on validated voters from the Center’s American Trends Panel. It will examine the demographic composition and vote choices of the 2024 electorate and will provide comparisons to the 2020 and 2016 validated voter studies.

The partisan identification study is based on annual totals from surveys conducted on the Center’s American Trends Panel from 2019 to 2023 and telephone surveys conducted from 1994 to 2018. The survey data was adjusted to account for differences in how the surveys were conducted. For more information, refer to Appendix A .

Previous Pew Research Center analyses of voters’ party identification relied on telephone survey data. This report, for the first time, combines data collected in telephone surveys with data from online surveys conducted on the Center’s nationally representative American Trends Panel.

Directly comparing answers from online and telephone surveys is complex because there are differences in how questions are asked of respondents and in how respondents answer those questions. Together these differences are known as “mode effects.”

As a result of mode effects, it was necessary to adjust telephone trends for leaned party identification in order to allow for direct comparisons over time.

In this report, telephone survey data from 1994 to 2018 is adjusted to align it with online survey responses. In 2014, Pew Research Center randomly assigned respondents to answer a survey by telephone or online. The party identification data from this survey was used to calculate an adjustment for differences between survey mode, which is applied to all telephone survey data in this report.

Please refer to Appendix A for more details.

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Table of contents, behind biden’s 2020 victory, a voter data resource: detailed demographic tables about verified voters in 2016, 2018, what the 2020 electorate looks like by party, race and ethnicity, age, education and religion, interactive map: the changing racial and ethnic makeup of the u.s. electorate, in changing u.s. electorate, race and education remain stark dividing lines, most popular.

About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts .