Education Sociology

A review of Joanne W. Golann’s ethnography of ’no-excuses’ charter schools, examining how scripted behavioral systems both promise and undermine social mobility for disadvantaged students.

A review of Le Lin’s study of China’s Supplementary Education Industry, arguing that the sector’s meteoric rise under legal ambiguity is best explained by a theory of opportunism, while raising underexplored questions about what the industry’s instrumental approach implies for the future of the teaching profession.

A review of Zachary Howlett’s ethnography of China’s Gaokao, arguing that the exam’s meritocratic promise conceals deep structural inequality while its remarkable social endurance demands more explanation than the book provides.

A review of Franziska Fay’s ethnography on the cultural and religious logic of corporal punishment in Zanzibar schools.