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This chapter discusses students' ways of using cultural tools in aural-based and notation-based instrumental music lessons. It examines two teachers' ways of working — one in a notation-based music environment, the other in an aural-based music environment — in order to illustrate the complex interplay between, and varying functions of, tools and artefacts such as notated (printed scores) and aural (performances) presentations of musical works. It considers the ways in which these teachers draw on their knowledge as culture bearers of the musical (Western classical music and Zimbabwean marimba ensemble respectively) and pedagogical (Suzuki piano instruction and aural-based group teaching) traditions within which they work, in order to use notated, aural, and embodied presentations of the music to prompt student thought and practical activity. In these environments, the teachers use student performances as cultural tools for reflection and understanding in their own learning as teachers, as well as that of their students. The chapter also illustrates the varying functions a musical instrument might play in students' learning, as, for example, a mechanical tool for practising or experiencing specific aspects of technique, or as a cultural tool for the expression of musical meaning.

The aim of this chapter is to investigate the relationship between tracking and migrant student performance and compare the results of native-born people, and first and second generation migrants. We combine two insights: the need to take into account school level variables when estimating the strength of the relationship between education systems and student performance and the need to include country of origin to correctly estimate models for migrant students. We use PISA 2009 data for 15 OECD countries, running analyses for native-born students, first and second generation migrants. We find that both first and second generation migrant students in educational systems with many tracks have equal or higher scores than students in systems with only one track. In an extended sample, the influence of the educational system on migrant students is absent, while for native-born students the influence remains substantial.

This chapter will analyze the efficacy of the four types of systems discussed in the previous chapter—private operation with public funding, public operation with private funding, substantial private operation and funding, and purely public operation and funding—in terms of student outcomes. While substantial performance differences are detected between the different forms of systems, the chapter reveals that a simple division between public operation and funding on the one side, and private operation and funding on the other, does not seem to be fundamentally decisive for student performance. It demonstrates that the more intricate combination of public and private involvement in the two forms of public–private partnership seems to have important consequences for students’ educational performance. Also, while the advantages of cross-country evidence are highlighted in the chapter, it is not without its shortcomings; both the advantages and disadvantages are discussed here.

Charter schools in New Orleans have been hailed as the silver lining to Hurricane Katrina. The state of Louisiana used the hurricane as an opportunity to rebuild the entire New Orleans public school system, which had been considered among the worst in the nation. They also launched the nation’s most extensive charter school experiment. The reorganization of the city’s schools has created an incredibly complex system of school authorities. The new system steers a minority of students, including virtually all of the city’s white students, into a set of selective, higher—performing schools and steers another group, including most of the city’s students of color, into a group of lower—performing schools. In order to guarantee equal educational opportunities to all of the city’s students, the school system must both look inward (limiting the selectivity system that favors a few schools and renewing its commitment to the city’s traditional public schools), and outward (taking a more balanced, regional approach to school choice by enhancing options for its students in the form of regional magnet schools and new interdistrict programs, which do not yet exist).

Analysis of current and historical data for all charter schools in the Twin Cities metropolitan area shows that charter schools have failed to deliver on the promises made by charter school proponents. Charter schools in the Twin Cities are far more segregated than traditional public schools, even in school districts where traditional public schools are already racially segregated. The data also show that, after almost two decades of experience, most charter schools still perform worse than comparable traditional public schools. The findings make it clear that most charter schools offer a poor choice to low—income students and students of color—one between low—performing public schools and charters that do even worse. Compared to charter schools, other public school choice programs in the region offer better options to low—income students and students of color. The means that regional charter schools use to compete with their traditional counterparts have also hurt public education by encouraging racial segregation in the traditional public school system.

This chapter examines the potential of a restorative justice model to prevent violence and resolve conflicts in public schools. Restorative justice is a principle-based method of responding to harmful behavior. It includes processes that seek to achieve justice by repairing harms. In the context of schools, these processes seek to empower students, parents, teachers, administrators, and community members. Restorative justice has three underlying principles: reparation of harm, stakeholder involvement, and transformation. Focusing on the restorative justice program at North High School in Denver, Colorado, this chapter highlights the ways restorative justice can improve school safety and promote student performance while increasing student engagement without a disproportionate reliance on suspensions and expulsions. It discusses the broader implications of the findings for more holistic educational reform.