The Changing Face of Corporate Ownership


Book Description

This book examines the shareholder activism of institutional investors, and the effect of this activism on portfolio performance. By focusing on 118 institutional investors headquartered in the United States, the book is unique in addressing the shareholder activism of a large sample. Institutional shareholder activism is defined to include both traditional mechanisms of influence (i.e. filing shareholder proposals) and relationship investing. Institutional owners included private and public pension funds, mutual funds, bank trusts, insurance companies, endowments, and foundations. These institutional owners differ substantially, and these differences lead institutions to use their ownership power to pursue different philosophies and actions. Some institutions follow a passive governance policy, While others adopt an activist role. This book seeks to answer four questions: (1) Are institutional owners actively involved in the strategic affairs of companies in their portfolios? (2)Which forms of activism do institutional owners employ (either confrontational mechanisms, such as filing shareholder proposals, or relationship building mechanisms)? (3)Which forms of activism employed are most effective? and (4) Does the institutional type affect its pursuit of shareholder activism? In answering these questions the author suggests new important results that in many cases are contrary to what prior reports of the activities by a small number of institutional owners may intimate.




The Choice We Face


Book Description

A comprehensive history of school choice in the US, from its birth in the 1950s as the most effective weapon to oppose integration to its lasting impact in reshaping the public education system today. Most Americans today see school choice as their inalienable right. In The Choice We Face, scholar Jon Hale reveals what most fail to see: school choice is grounded in a complex history of race, exclusion, and inequality. Through evaluating historic and contemporary education policies, Hale demonstrates how reframing the way we see school choice represents an opportunity to evolve from complicity to action. The idea of school choice, which emerged in the 1950s during the civil rights movement, was disguised by American rhetoric as a symbol of freedom and individualism. Shaped by the ideas of conservative economist Milton Friedman, the school choice movement was a weapon used to oppose integration and maintain racist and classist inequalities. Still supported by Democrats and Republicans alike, this policy continues to shape American education in nuanced ways, Hale shows—from the expansion of for-profit charter schools and civil rights–based reform efforts to the appointment of Betsy DeVos. Exposing the origins of a movement that continues to privilege middle- to upper-class whites while depleting the resources for students left behind, The Choice We Face is a bold, definitive new history that promises to challenge long-held assumptions on education and redefines our moment as an opportunity to save it—a choice we will not have for much longer.




Religion in the Classroom


Book Description

An indispensable resource for understanding religion's place in American schools and in matters concerning the separation of church and state in the United States. The framers of the American Constitution, in drafting the so-called "Establishment Clause" of the First Amendment-Congress shall not establish nor prohibit the practice of religion-intentionally juxtaposed two seemingly contrasting articles, understanding that we would grapple with these questions anew each day. And, indeed, we have. This book treats the Constitution, and the First Amendment in particular, as a living document, one that requires interpretation and re-interpretation on a regular basis as our nation and its people evolve. The book begins with an overview essay discussing the background of the contemporary debate over religion in schools. A timeline then highlights key events related to religion and education. Approximately 50 alphabetically arranged reference entries follow. These focus on contemporary concerns and provide objective, fundamental information about events, legislation, people, and other topics. The entries provide cross-references and suggestions for further reading, and the volume closes with an annotated bibliography.







Circular


Book Description




The Enduring Promise of America’s Great City Schools


Book Description

A sober yet encouraging look at how urban public schools have confronted challenges, defied expectations, and continued to improve