Re-Framing Educational Politics for Social Justice

by Catherine Marshall, Cynthia Gerstl-Pepin

This book challenges leaders, educators and researchers to grapple with the realities of education politics and to act as positive advocates for social justice. This text offers strategies for educators to understand and take charge of education politics and includes a range of new approaches to study politics. Each chapter is organized to provide frameworks and findings from tradtional as well as new theories and methodologies and political strategies. The whole book is oriented toward building critiquing skills, modeling successful political strategies, and doing politics differently to empower educators and researchers.

336 pages, Paperback

First published October 8, 2004

About the author

Catherine^^Marshall

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marshall and Gerstl-Pepin critiques state education policy formation by discussing accountability, state cultures, unfair funding, and how hierarchies of power determine everything. They provide examples of the challenges facing state policy-makers. They also highlight problems with current educational policies including threatening teachers with their jobs unless the teacher can improve their students' scores. Usually, the schools begin to force marginalized students and those with special needs to leave the school in order for test scores to improve. Teachers feel that they have to cut creative lesson plans in order to focus on the test. This creates a standardized and restrictive curriculum.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read for those trying to understand how education politics work and who want to make a difference.

[Sarah]

The book begins by identifying power and policy and suggests that studies heretofore ignore the impotent.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned that I really like policy.

And this makes me a nerd.