The Political Dynamics of American Education - 4th

by Frederick M. Wirt, Michael W. Kirst

This new edition of The Political Dynamics of American Education is a major revision of the most widely used text in the politics of education. The authors have devised an original conceptual framework to organize and chart the increasingly complex political web of American education. These competing forces of challenge and steady state now affect all levels of policymaking and administration. Combined, these conflicting forces constitute the dynamic nature of American education.
The fourth edition of The Political Dynamics of American Education places more emphasis on school choice, reflecting the political conflict and stress evident in recent reform chal-lenges. The authors expand both on the current increase in local political activity and on the external context of local schools to analyze the political momentum behind education standards. At the same time, the limits of both deregulation and centralized strategies are stressed as academic standards policies confront complex local politics.
The most contemporary issues are treated: the 2008 election, politics of charter schools, mayoral control, and the evolutionary politics of NCLB. Each chapter covers the latest school politics research and reviews new political research dimensions and the current state of education politics scholarship.
This text is designed in part for practitioners involved in education administrators, teachers, state officials, and lay groups. It will also be valuable to scholars of educational administration, political science, and sociology because of its comprehensive framework and extensive synthesis of current research.

393 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1997

Reviews

[Steven Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a new, updated version of a classic textbook on educational policy. The authors are nor exquisite writers, but the substance of this work is impressive. Coverage includes what happens at the local level, state level, and national level--including the role of courts. The book ends by exploring current controversies, with some added focus on charter schools. Want to learn more about the dynamics of the politics of education? This is a pretty good place to begin that exploration. . . .

[Amanda Davenport]

Okay, so this is just a text book so how much can I say? But the thing is that it has a rediculous number of typos in it. It's embarrassing. So I assumed it was written by some losers, but then I started seeing Frederick Wirt''s name all over the place, so apparently he's a respected scholar. Seems like they could have afforded a better editor.