Sound and Fury Signifying Something: The Political Consequences of the Opt-Out Movement

Background and Context Grassroots activism is on the rise in American education, leading some scholars to announce the arrival of a “New Politics of Education” in which political elites and grassroots actors clash over foundational questions of policy and power. However, little research has examined just how consequential grassroots education activism might actually be in this new era. This study takes up this area of inquiry by examining the political consequences of the opt-out movement, arguably the largest and most high-profile grassroots education movement in recent history. Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the political consequences of the opt-out movement in four New York school districts. Specifically, this study addresses the following research questions: What impact has the opt-out movement had on local education politics and policies, and do these effects vary across communities with different levels of opt-out activism? Research Design This study takes the form of a mixed methods, comparative case study analysis of the opt-out movement in four New York school districts purposefully sampled to exploit variation in district opt-out rates and racial demographics. Within each district, five sources of original data were collected, including a survey of Grade 3–8 parents, focus groups with opt-out parents and non-opt-out parents, interviews with district elites, interviews with key activists, and documentary sources. Data analysis was both quantitative (descriptive statistics) and qualitative (inductive simultaneous pattern coding). Findings Results suggest that while the opt-out movement has not yet produced many substantive changes in state or local test-based accountability policies, it has significantly increased and transformed parent engagement with education politics in the four case districts. These engagement effects were particularly pronounced in the high-opt-out districts. Conclusions and Recommendations This study concludes by offering a tempered view of the opt-out movement's impact on education policymaking while simultaneously indicating potentially significant changes in the way parents participate in education politics. In doing so, it produces implications for the study of education politics, policy, and activism more broadly. Principal among these are the importance for grassroots movements to build alliances with institutional actors in order to effect meaningful policy change, and the value of considering alternative definitions of movement “success” in future research on education politics and activism.

An Update on Recent Geriatric Education Advocacy Efforts

The National Association for Geriatric Education (NAGE) has maintained consistent education and advocacy efforts since 2006. In recent years NAGE has implemented formal and grassroots advocacy strategies. At the federal level NAGE has increased collaboration with other aging advocacy organizations and coalitions. At the request of Congress, NAGE leadership and stakeholders have testified before Congress and regularly submit testimony to the House and Senate. NAGE staff maintain strong working relationships with congressional staff. Strategies for effective grassroots education and advocacy have been taught to members, and membership has mobilized to educate elected officials about the essential work of the Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Programs across the country. This presentation will provide a thorough review of NAGE’s advocacy work over the past 4 years.

Assessing the Implementation of one of the Principles of Child Friendly School Model in Public Primary and Secondary Schools in Enugu State.

Child Friendly School Model is an innovative strategy developed in United Nations level to enhance grassroots education for all children irrespective of race, nationality, gender, or physical disabilities. This model was developed to meet the requirements of trendy education practices in schools especially in developing countries including Nigeria. The purpose is to help salvage the salient lapses in some areas in basic educational system, such as poor enrolment and increase in school dropouts in public schools. To meet the objectives of enhancing grassroots education, Child Friendly School Model follows fundamental principles that guide its system and management. One of these principles is that schools must have healthy and health-seeking environments. Unfortunately, many public schools in Enugu State do not implement this principle. Survey design guided this study. The population of this study was the entire teachers and school heads in primary and Secondary Public Schools in Enugu State. 600 respondents were sampled, using stratified random sampling technique. Out of this, 300 respondents each were drawn from both Primary and Secondary Schools. A structured questionnaire containing 14 items was used for data collection. Data collected were analyzed using mean scores with standard deviations, derived from a 4-point rating scale. The results revealed that public schools in Enugu State do not have healthy and health-seeking environments. School children do not receive medical attention in the school, there are no adequate first Aid supplies, and sick-bays are not available in the school among other problems.

BODHISATTVA COMES OUT OF CLOSET: CITY, SURVEILLANCE, AND DOING RELIGION

The author is interested in looking at religious groups as a location for discussion and critique in a censorial society in China. This paper will take the approach of the “ecological model” in field research in a highly censorial and increasingly pluralistic city, Shanghai. Shanghai has experienced large scale social changes since the late 1980s. It is critical to understand how socio-structural challenges, such as immigration, affect faith-based groups within the frame of urban aspirations. In this paper, the adaptation of faith-based groups to their political environments will be the primarily focus. Due to governmental restriction in province-level municipalities, religious practices are invisible in public spaces but are revitalizing in private spaces in major Chinese cities. The roles urban religious institutions play in adapting to city regulations are especially pressing for faith groups. My research discovered, first, under the political surveillance in city, religious groups are not passively enduring the impact of political control, but also actively engaging in organizational development. Secondly, religious groups can be considered a location which creates a social space for grassroots education and, therefore, develops a more creative and fluid “popular politics” in society, which offers a critique to a highly regulated society