Legislation

About: Legislation is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 62664 publications have been published within this topic receiving 585188 citations. The topic is also known as: law & act.

Environmental Methods Review: Retooling Impact Assessment for the New Century

Abstract: : During the 1960s, there was an upsurge of concern among advanced industrialized nations over Unforeseen adverse effects of technological innovation. The concern led to adoption of methods for estimating and forecasting the impacts of technology and development on public health and safety, social and economic stability, and the environment. Among these were technology assessment, risk assessment, cost benefit analysis, and environmental impact assessment. In the United States, the assessment of the effects of public projects or proposals having a major foreseeable impact on the environment became statutory law under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. This statute, and the methods it stimulated, has possibly had the greatest international impact of any American legislation.

Handbook of Data-Based Decision Making in Education

Abstract: Though data-based (evidence-based) decision making has long been normative in science-based professions, it has never been an essential benchmark for effective practice in education. This situation began to radically change with the passage of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation in 2001. At the heart of this legislation is the belief that educational decision making at all levels should be evidence based to the extent possible. NCLB had (and continues to have) bipartisan political support and, although modifications to the original legislation are sure to occur, the belief in evidence-based decision making isn't likely to fade away. Education has fought long and hard to gain acceptance as a profession and, since professionals by definition use data to shape the decisions they make, education has little choice but to continue moving in this direction. This 42-chapter handbook will be a major contribution to the literature of education. It will be a comprehensive, cross-disciplinary, research-based, and practice-based resource that all educators can turn to as a guide to data-based decision making.

Oil and water still: how No Child Left Behind limits and distorts environmental education in US schools

Abstract: This article explores the problematic tensions between schooling and environmental education in the United States, with a special focus on the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Today in the United States, this powerful federal legislation dominates the discourse and practice of schooling, and works against the aims of environmental education in many ways. The article is divided into three parts. First, it reviews the recent discourse of achievement and accountability in general education, as exemplified by the No Child Left Behind Act. Second, it describes the impact of achievement and accountability discourse on environmental education by outlining two responses from environmental educators to the general climate of schooling: 1) accommodation or ‘playing the achievement game’; and 2) resistance or ‘changing the rules’. Third, it explores how related tensions between nationalistic federal education policies and the sweeping global challenges suggested by the United Nation’s Decade of Education for Sustai...

Differential Responses to European Policies : A Comparison

Abstract: Community legislation is unquestionably a factor to be reckoned with in member-state policy making. But the extent and mode of its impact on domestic policies and administrative structures will depend on the existing policy practices and the political and institutional structures of the country in question. In cases where there is a mismatch between an established policy of a member state and a clearly specified European policy mandate, there will be an expectation to adjust, which in turn constitutes a precondition for change. Assuming the existence of a need for change, the ability to adapt will depend on the policy preferences of key actors, and the capacity of institutions to implement reform, realize policy change, and administratively adjust to European requirements. The policy preferences of key actors are influenced by the distributional consequences of the policies to be adopted (Milner 1996); the capacity to change depends on the degree of integrated political leadership, caused by a lack of formal veto points (Tsebelis 1995), or a decisional tradition capable of surmounting formal and factual veto points by way of consensual tripartite decision making. Where there is a divergence of mismatch between European and national policies, and the policy preferences of political leaders are defined by a willingness to adapt, the absence of formal veto points and a cooperative decisional tradition will enhance the capacity to change and to adjust administrative structures in compliance with European policy mandates. The most far-reaching consequence - tantamount to innovation - is the replacement of old administrative structures with a comprehensive set of new ones. A less far-reaching form of adjustment occurs by "tinkering at the edges of old structures" (Lanzara 1998, 40), whereby new administrative units are patched onto existing organizational structures in order to accommodate the Europe-imposed policies. Another important measure of change is whether public actors, public and private actors, or only private actors are engaged in administering the sector and whether administrative functions pass from one form to another. By contrast, the existence of a high number of formal or de facto veto points, which are not compensated by consensual decision-making patterns, makes adjustment to European policy demands more difficult and administrative change less probable because bids for change are blocked by veto players. This poses no problem as long as there is a basic congruence between the national policy, its administrative implementation structures, and European policy demands, one that allows the latter to be smoothly absorbed into current procedures and structures. If, however, there is a clear mismatch between national policiesand European policy demands, political structures ridden with formal and factual veto points and the absence of cooperative decisional traditions will lead to non-implementation and in consequence to no, or only marginal, change in administrative structures.

Building Teacher-Family Partnerships: The Role of Teacher Preparation Programs.

Abstract: Most people believe in and support the notion that all students should be given an opportunity to realize their full potential for success and that no child should fail and be left behind. Unfortunately, the emphasis on increasing student achievement, as determined by high-stakes test scores, has too often resulted in a focus on standardized test scores rather than a focus on overall quality education. Educators too frequently focus on small pieces of the testing problem instead of focusing on the big picture of school success. To bring about change and ensure that all children have the opportunity to reach their full potential, educators must look at broadening the circle; educating children must be studied and assessed in the context of family, school, community, and society. The adage "it takes a village to raise a child" is applicable to the educational system. If the goal is a highly educated population, educators must examine all aspects of society to bring about needed changes that will allow for the best possible education of all students. Undisputed evidence exists supporting the position that children are more apt to succeed not just in school, but throughout life, when schools and families work together to support learning (Henderson & Berla, 1994). One of the difficulties with addressing the issues surrounding family involvement is that it is defined in many different ways. Family involvement tends to be a generic term used to describe all types of family interaction with educators: policy-making, parent education, volunteer activities, fund raising, and the simple exchange of information. A common definition of effective family involvement has yet to be agreed upon. The primary educational legislation in the United States, The No Child Left Behind Act of 2002, defines parental involvement as "the participation of parents in regular, two-way, and meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school activities" (No Child Left Behind Act, 2002, Sec. 9101 [32]). The National Parent Teacher Association (PTA) is a national organization established over 100 years ago to better the lives of children. PTA developed a position statement that defined parent/family involvement as "the participation of parents in every facet of the education and development of children from birth to adulthood. Parent Involvement takes many forms including parents as first educators, as decision makers about children's education, health, and well being, as well as advocates for children's success." (Parent Teacher Association, n.d.). These definitions clearly articulate the need for families and schools to work collaboratively to improve the educational experiences of all children. Throughout this article, the words "parent" or "parents" are used interchangeably with "family" or "families". This is in recognition of the fact that a variety of family members--siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, foster parents, or friends, may have the primary responsibility for a child's education, care, and well-being (Ratcliff, 2008). Gaining this perspective on the "big picture" of total school success is especially critical for those educators working with schools having large populations of low socioeconomic status students. These children of poverty too often have a greater probability of school failure and poor standardized test performance than any other subgroup of the student population. In a study done to describe low performing schools in one section of the southeastern United States, it was determined that certain specific factors characterized many of the family's in low socioeconomic status, lower performing schools where students were struggling to pass state content examinations. Frequently, it was found that students from these low socioeconomic situations came from families where the mothers were in their early teenage years; as one school administrator said, "We have a case where children are having children. …