Research Guides: POLS 217: Education Reform in America: Politics and Policy (HC): Background Information

Finding Background Information about Education

Annennberg Institute for School Reform (Brown University)
This research center focuses on improving educational opportunities for children. Its core concerns are reducing educational inequality and promoting educational excellence. See working papers, databases, tools and other resources.

Congressional Quarterly (CQ) Researcher
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Timely and original reporting and analysis on issues in the news, focusing on education, tthe economy, the environment, health, international affairs, social trends, and technology. See the Education topic list for the most pertinent reports. Published weekly, 1991-present.
Congressional Quarterly (CQ) Magazine
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Formerly known as "CQ Weekly" this magazine provides full-text news and analysis on all U.S. federal legislative activity and related political issues. Includes floor votes, bill status, analysis, and more. Covers 1983-present.

Education Writers Association
See material by Topic as well as News and Reporter's Toolbox under Resources. "Making Sense of Education Research" provides a good overview of issues.
Journalist's Resource: Research on Today's News Topics
The Harvard Shorenstein Center makes resources available on many current issues in the news. See the pages devoted to education These include:
"Raising public school teacher pay: What the research says"
Resources also address tools for research, "The 2020 census and Title I funding for schools: Interactive maps to localize your state’s stakes" and provide suggestions for thinking about issues "Covering multicultural education: 7 tips for journalists".
National Conference of State Legislatures
"The National Conference of State Legislatures is a bipartisan organization that serves the legislators and staffs of the nation's 50 states, its commonwealths and territories. NCSL provides research, technical assistance and opportunities for policymakers to exchange ideas on the most pressing state issues." See the webpage devoted to resources on education
Princeton Encyclopedia of American Political History
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Online access to a 2010 reference work on American politics. Scholars were commissioned to write the 190 articles on a wide range of political topics including aspects of religion, popular culture, and education.
Public Agenda Online
Public Agenda is a nonpartisan, nonprofit public opinion research and citizen education organization helping leaders better understand the public's point of view on major policy issues and helping citizens better understand critical policy issues. See the website page on K-12 education.

Handbooks and Companions

These kinds of reference books provide overviews that address major issues and topics within a field of study. The authors not only discuss key content but they also provide a more sophisticated level of analysis and contextualization than you might find in a textbook or introductory study. The authors are chosen for their research in specific areas and deliver authoritative essays. The material they choose to include in their bibliographies are good points of departure for further research.

Handbook of Research on Teaching
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Covers many topics ranging from the history of teaching to technological and literacy issues. In each chapter, the authors summarize the state of the field while providing conceptual overviews of critical topics related to research on teaching.
Handbook of Urban Educational Leadership
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Examines the community, district, and teacher leadership roles that affect urban schools. Covers pedagogical and educational leadership practices that foster social justice, equity, and advocacy for those who have been traditionally and historically underserved in education.
Handbook of Research on Educational Leadership for Equity and Diversity
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Addresses the broad diversity in U.S. schools by race, ethnicity, culture, language, gender, disability, sexual identity, and class from a research perspective.
Handbook of Education Politics and Policy
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Well-known scholars in the fields of school leadership, politics, policy, law, finance, and educational reform examine the institutional backdrop to our educational system, the political behaviors and cultural influences operating within schools, and the ideological and philosophical positions that frame discussions of educational equity and reform. See the table of contents.
Oxford Handbook of Poverty and Child Development
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Essays about education include:
"Child care and early education for low-income families : choices and consequences"
"Evidence-based school interventions to reduce achievement inequality"
"Poverty, the development of effortful control, and children's academic, social, and emotional adjustment"