Politics of Education Association

On April 8, 2011April 8, 2011 By Kevin R. KosarIn Organizations

The Politics of Education Association (PEA) is a group of mostly academics who study education policy in the United States. Unlike this website, PEA’s does not focus solely on the federal government’s role in schooling. PEA’s scholars study education policy and politics at the state and local levels too.

PEA’s membership includes many renown experts, and it publishes newsletter, a year book, and a biannual issue of the Peabody Education Journal.

You can learn more about PEA at http://www.fsu.edu/~pea/

Federal Aid for School Construction (1955)

On April 8, 2011February 13, 2023 By Kevin R. KosarIn Studies

federal-aid-to-school-construction-1955 Download

This study was written by Charles Quattlebaum of the Legislative Reference Service, the predecessor to the Congressional Research Service, and it was published by Congress in February 1955. It reviews the history of federal funding for school buildings, but spends the bulk of its pages on legislative proposals of the day and their justifications (e.g., states lack of funds, population growth, etc.)

Andrew Rotherham, Toward Performance-Based Federal Education Funding (1999)

On April 5, 2011February 13, 2023 By Kevin R. KosarIn StudiesLeave a comment

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This April 1999 study was written by Andrew Rotherham for the Progressive Policy Institute. Rotherham served as Special Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy during the Clinton administration. He went on to found Education Sector, a thinktank, and Bellwether Education Partners.

This study is significant because it was made by a Democrat who argued in favor of restructuring the Title I program of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. (republicans long had criticized Title I as wasteful and ineffective.)

In short, Rotherham argued for reducing federal red tape and mandates (which states favored) in exchange for states testing their students. The logic was potent and became dominant in federal education policy—if states received education funding, they ought to show how effectively they are utilizing it. This thinking is part and parcel of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

Research Libraries and Repositories

On April 4, 2011 By Kevin R. KosarIn Research Libraries and RepositoriesLeave a comment

The U.S. Department of Education’s National Education Library in Washington, DC has a wealth of resources on federal education policy history:

So too does the Library of Congress (also in Washington, DC). It is a particularly good place to go for copies of congressional hearings, prints, and other legislative documents.

Google Books also is a place where one can find old studies of the federal role in education.

University Microfilms International has copies of dissertations completed at U.S. colleges and universities since 1860. Many, many dissertations have focused on federal education policy and politics. You can search them online through Proquest, provided you have a subscription or are at a research library.