This qualitative case study examines the evolution of charter school policy in North Carolina. The study is theoretically grounded in Baumgartner and Jonesâ (1993) punctuated equilibrium theory. First, the study explores the evolution of charter school policy in North Carolina since the passage of charter school legislation in 1996. Second, it tests Lacireno-Paquet and Holyokeâs (2007) hypothesis of policy reversion following the enactment of dramatic new policies. The studyâs findings indicate that since the passage of charter school legislation, traditional public school interests in North Carolina, led by the North Carolina Association of Educators, have regained a position of dominance in education policy making. Traditional public school interestsâ access to Democratic legislators in the General Assembly has been instrumental in blocking amendments to charter school policy that would raise or remove the statewide cap of 100 charter schools. As such, the studyâs findings support Lacireno-Paquet and Holyokeâs hypothesis of policy reversion.

Eugenics has been variously described "as an ideal, as a doctrine, as a science (applied human genetics), as a set of practices (ranging from birth control to euthanasia), and as a social movement" (Paul 1998 p. 95). "Race suicide" (Roosevelt 1905) and the ensuing national phobia regarding the "children of worm eaten stock" (Bobbitt 1909) prefaced an era of eugenic ideology whose influence on education has been largely ignored until recently. Using the concept of collective memory, I examine the eugenics movement, its progressive context, and its influence on the aims, policy and practice of education. Specifically, this study examines the ideology of eugenics as a specific category and set of distinctions, and the role of rhetoric and collective memory in providing the mechanism whereby eugenic ideology has shaped and fashioned interpretation and action in current educational practice. The formation of education as a distinct academic discipline, the eugenics movement, and the Progressive era coalesced during the first decades of the twentieth century to form what has turned out to be a lasting alliance. This alliance has had a profound impact on public perception of the role of schools, how students are classified and sorted, degrees and definitions of intelligence, attitudes and beliefs surrounding multiculturalism and a host of heretofore unexplored ramifications. My research is primarily historical and theoretical and uses those material and media cultural artifacts generated by the eugenics movement to explore the relationship between eugenic ideology and the institution of education.

This case study investigates the social and political factors influencing House Bill 1183, a bill introduced in the North Carolina General Assembly in April 2005 to extend resident-tuition rates to undocumented students seeking a postsecondary education. The data indicates that House Bill 1183?s defeat was due to a combination of factors. These factors included social and economic concerns, changing demographics of the state and the time and context the bill was introduced, the media, and the public?s response. A combination of the other factors contributed and significantly influenced the context of the public?s response, which undoubtedly led to the defeat of the bill. Advocacy coalitions, to some extent, played an important role in this process, as the supporting organizations, were key in the conceptual development of the bill, and the opposing coalition, was actively involved in calling their constituents to action. However, these coalitions were not structured as the advocacy coalition framework would suggest. The bill?s defeat was not solely a result of the opposition?s efforts or any lack of planning or strategy on the part of supporters. Data suggest that the other factors primarily contributed to the bill?s defeat.

This is an educational leadership study based on the lives of five women who held the post of director or higher in a State Education Agency. While much has been written about women in school and district administration, less is known of women who fill the top posts in administration at the state level. This study examines five such women leaders? lives and careers in detail. The study is conducted from a feminist point of view, using a life history approach. The women who participated in this study shared stories of their childhood and upbringing; they described their early schooling experiences, and they talked about the significant relationships in their lives. They spoke of obstacles and opportunities, and of pivotal events that shaped them. The research resonates with their voices and focuses on the role of gender, diversity and gender equity in educational leadership. Findings reveal the values, perspectives, goals, and behaviors of a group of women who range in age from 45 to 60. The study explores their early perceptions of gender, race and class, and how each influenced their lives and careers. Each woman provides her input in defining a feminine leadership style. The study concludes with a discussion of post-heroic leadership, feminization of an organization, and a leadership primer for girls and boys and their parents, based on the findings from the life history research.

Identity is not a universally fixed term (Butler, 1990, p. 7); rather, it is complex construction produced and reproduced along the axes of gender, race, class, sexuality, education, and cultural context (Gauntlett, 2002, p. 13). As such, identity hinges on a combination of acts, (Sedgwick, 1990), hierarchical social categories (Butler, 1999), culture (Kellner, 1995, 2003), history, difference, representation, social institutions, and stories that define and shape the self through recursive and self-reflexive processes. This research investigates the impact of media culture, body image, relationships, and fairy tales on the identity formation of four young women. Specifically, I concentrate on key cultural models provided through electronic media, visual media culture, and schooling to follow the ways in which these women construct and co-construct their identities over the course of several interviews. Using discourse analysis as the primary tool of inquiry, this study investigates specific details in speech to identify key patterns in language, to interrogate the socioculturally-situated identities produced, and to illuminate relevant cultural models and context in an effort to better understand the ways in which girling and the institution of school inform female identity formation.

The purpose of the research presented here is to identify which factors school level practitioners consider in deciding whether to retain or promote a student and to ascertain their knowledge of and training in retention research. This research illuminates the process of determining which students are promoted and which are retained, and the results will generate a theory that school administrators may use to establish policies and guidelines to assist promotionâretention committees in better serving students below grade level.

This chapter investigates the motivational factors affecting retention rates of Black males at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). In particular, this research is focused on identifying factors that Black male HBCU attendees described as facilitating their continuation in college. Data from this study was derived from a sample of 109 Black male students attending the following institutions: North Carolina Central University, North Carolina A and T University and Winston-Salem State University.

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