You may not have heard of it, but students from across Europe have been studying at The European University Institute (EUI) since 1976. Situated in the Tuscan hills overlooking Florence, the idyllic setting plays home to a unique institution dedicated to training PhD students and enhancing Europe’s research capacity in economics, history, law, and social sciences. Although […] … learn more→

For the past few years I’ve been studying teacher unions and teachers strikes throughout the Americas. My research has taken me from the Mexican state of Oaxaca – where teacher protests in 2006 led to both violent repression and a broad-based social movement for direct democracy – to the streets of São Paulo, Brazil, to coal-mining towns in West Virginia. I’ve […] … learn more→

It’s normal to experience some anxiety when speaking a second language. When paired with large class sizes and limited opportunities for practice during class time, however, this anxiety can limit a person’s ability to perform in the language classroom. In order to become proficient in a second language, learners require extensive practice with the language such as with new vocabulary […] … learn more→

Government stupidity clearly knows no bounds. We have tens of millions of people now with student loan debt, a debt which is often too large to pay back thanks to government interference, and cannot be cleared via bankruptcy. But the government wants “its” money, and gets to create the laws. We’re already seeing students loans […] … learn more→

While critics charge that charter schools are siphoning money away from public schools, a more fundamental issue frequently flies under the radar: the questionable business practices that allow people who own and run charter schools to make large profits. Charter school supporters are reluctant to acknowledge, much less stop, these practices. Given that charter schools are growing rapidly – from 1 […] … learn more→

Most people are entirely unaware of how serious the student loan problem is, so allow me to put it in context. Smoking tobacco is universally agreed to be a very bad thing to do. We have almost 38 million smokers in this country, and over 80% of smokers regret taking up the habit. We have […] … learn more→

As health care improves and more people live healthier and longer lives, the elderly population of Earth will balloon. There were 66m people in the UK in mid-2017, and nearly 12m – or 18.2% – of them were aged 65 years and over. By 2040, that number is expected to rise to 24.2%. Many of these […] … learn more→

Nathan Favero, an education policy expert at American University, answers three questions about the effectiveness of performance-based pay and how its elimination will impact education in Denver. How did performance affect teachers’ pay? While teachers’ base salaries were mostly determined by their education levels and teaching experience, in Denver public schools, teachers also got substantial […] … learn more→

At a time when obesity is a real public health problem and where agri-food marketing promotes quick and easy consumption, based on ready-made meals and ultra-processed products, it is crucial to encourage young people. to adopt good eating habits. Repeated at school or during information campaigns, the messages of the National Program Nutrition Health (PNNS) gives them some […] … learn more→

When parents and educators discuss school discipline, one of the things that comes up most are “zero tolerance” policies. This term is often misused and misunderstood, according to new research I published recently. Zero tolerance policies are also thought to be widespread. But, my work and a recent report show they are actually less common than frequently thought. Zero […] … learn more→