Research Guides: Education Policy for HKS Students: Home

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Education Literature

ERIC
ERIC provides access to approximately 900 journals and 13,000 reports and government publications about education published since 1966. ERIC includes references to research reports, curriculum guides, conference papers and program descriptions.
The ERIC Index is a major resource for research in all areas of education. ERIC contains approximately 1,000,000 references and abstracts; it annually indexes articles from over 800 journals as well as 13,000 documents (conference papers, research reports, state, federal, and local education documents, selected books, etc.) Produced by the US Department of Education. Of the approximately 500,000 ERIC documents available on fiche at Gutman Library, about 100,000 are also available online from ERIC.
Education Abstracts
Indexes and abstracts articles of at least one column length from more than 535 English-language journals and yearbooks published in the United States and elsewhere. Also includes full text from about 200 journals (availability varies by title and year). English-language books relating to education published in 1995 or later are also indexed. Try using the term "Legal Education" as a subject term, from within the Advanced Search screen.
Education Abstracts, produced by the H. W. Wilson Company, indexes and abstracts articles of at least one column length from more than 535 English-language journals and yearbooks published in the United States and elsewhere. Also includes full text from about 200 journals (availability varies by title and year). English-language books relating to education published in 1995 or later are also indexed. Subject coverage includes adult education, comparative education, continuing education, educational technology, elementary and secondary education, higher education, school administration, special education, teacher education, teacher evaluation, and vocational education.
JSTOR Education
Find full text articles from over 100 education journals. Most recent 3-5 years of journal issues are not included.
JSTOR (www.jstor.org) is a not-for-profit organization with a dual mission to create and maintain a trusted archive of important scholarly journals, and to provide access to these journals as widely as possible. Content in JSTOR spans many disciplines, primarily in the humanities and social sciences. For complete lists of titles and collections, please refer to http://www.jstor.org/about/collection.list.html.
PsycARTICLES
Although the primary content of this database is articles published in psychology journals published by the American Psychological Association and the Canadian Psychological Association, the articles in this database include a large number of education-related topics.
PsycARTICLES provides access to full text of articles for more than 50 journals published by the American Psychological Association and the Canadian Psychological Association. Articles from all journals are available in HTML format, more current articles are available in Acrobat portable document format (pdf).

Public Policy Databases

Browse our twenty five HKS Library Research Guides, which are organized by subject and include Harvard University article databases subscriptions that fall under that specific topic. This short list includes some popular databases subscriptions that are used by HKS students for policy research:

PAIS International (Harvard Login)
PAIS International indexes the public and social policy literature of public administration, political science, economics, finance, international relations, law, and health care. Includes abstracts of thousands of journal articles, books, directories, conference proceedings, government documents and statistical yearbooks.
PAIS International indexes the public and social policy literature of public administration, political science, economics, finance, international relations, law, and health care, International in scope, PAIS indexes publications in English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish. The database is comprised of abstracts of thousands of journal articles, books, directories, conference proceedings, government documents and statistical yearbooks.
PolicyFile (Harvard Login)
PolicyFile provides abstracts (more than half of the abstracts link to the full text documents) of domestic and international public policy issues. The public policy reports and studies are published by think tanks, university research programs, research organizations which include the OECD, IMF, World Bank, the Rand Corporation, and a number of federal agencies.
PolicyFile provides abstracts (more than half of the abstracts link to the full text documents) of domestic and international public policy issues. The public policy reports and studies are published by think tanks, university research programs, research organizations which include the OECD, IMF, World Bank, the Rand Corporation, and a number of federal agencies. The database search engine allows users to search by title, author, subject, organization and keyword.

Find Books

Why start with a handbook?

Get an overview of a new or complex topic
Find out the names of key authors in a given area
Locate a bibliography of sources to help you start your research

Most of the books listed in this section are located at Harvard School of Education's Gutman Library and are restricted to "in library use" only. The Gutman Library hours, description and a map is located here.

Handbook of the Economics of Education by Finis Welch (Editor); Eric Hanushek (Editor)
Call Number: Online e-book
ISBN: 9780444513991
Publication Date: 2006
The Handbooks in Economics series consists of four volumes and is available online.
Handbook of Research in Education Finance and Policy by Edward Fiske (Editor); Helen F. Ladd (Editor); Association for Education Finance and Policy Staff (Editor)
Call Number: HKS Library Reserve LB2824.H36 2008
ISBN: 9780805861440
Publication Date: 2007
Handbook on Education Policy Research by David N. Plank (Editor); Barbara Schneider (Editor); Gary Sykes (Editor)
Call Number: Gutman Library Ref. LC71.H363 2009
ISBN: 9780415989916
Publication Date: 2009
Handbook of Educational Data Mining by Cristobal Romero (Editor); Ryan Baker (Editor); Mykola Pechenizkiy (Editor); Sebastian Ventura (Editor)
Call Number: Gutman Library: Ref LB1028.43 .H355 2011
Publication Date: 2010
Handbook of Research on Educational Leadership for Equity and Diversity by Linda C. Tillman (Editor); James Joseph Scheurich (Editor)
Call Number: Gutman Library Ref. LB2805 .H2866 2013
ISBN: 9780415657457
Publication Date: 2013
Handbook of Special Education by James M. Kauffman (Editor); Daniel P. Hallahan (Editor)
Call Number: Gutman Library Ref LC3965.H26 2011
ISBN: 9780415800723
Publication Date: 2011
OECD handbook for internationally comparative education statistics : concepts, standards, definitions and classifications. by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Call Number: Gutman Ref LB2846 .O38 2004
Also, available online
SAGE Handbook of Educational Leadership by Fenwick W. English (Editor)
Call Number: Gutman Library Ref. LB2805 .S262 2011
ISBN: 9781412980029
Publication Date: 2011

US Statistics & Data

Major sources of statistical data for United States elementary, secondary, and higher education. Many are produced by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and draw from surveys done by the NCES, the U.S. Census Bureau, and other government and private agencies.

Condition of Education
(2000-) Indicators documenting recent trends and developments in American education.
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1975 to present available in print: Gutman Education L112.A39 Latest edition in Reference
Digest of Education Statistics
(1990-) A comprehensive annual statistical compilation covering prekindergarten through postsecondary education.
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1962 to present available in print: Gutman Education L11.D48 Latest edition in Reference (Note: title varies)
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
Provides periodic national assessments of achievement by subject area for various populations of students (e.g. fourth graders).
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Print publications available by subject area. Use HOLLIS Catalog to do an author search for: national assessment of educational progress
NCES Site Index
An overview of NCES surveys, studies, and publications.
Projections of Education Statistics
Projections of key K-12 and higher education indicators, including enrollment, graduation rates, number of teachers, and school expenditures.
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1975/76 to present available in print: Gutman Education LA210.A28 Latest edition in Reference

Education Datasets

Child Care & Early Education Research Connections
Provides links to data sets on child care and other early childhood indicators.
Common Core of Data (CCD)
Comprehensive annual statistics covering all U.S. public elementary and secondary schools and school districts. Includes a build-a-table feature.
Education Demographic and Geographic Estimates
Geographic and demographic data by school district. Can generate customized data tables, maps, and snapshot reports.
Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS)
Seven surveys conducted between 1987 - 2011 covering schools, teachers, principals, and school districts. SASS was redesigned and is now the National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS).

Other U.S. Statistics

120 Years of American Education: A Statistical Portrait
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Print edition: Gutman Education Ref LB2846.O54 1993
Historical Statistics of the United States
Published by the US Census Office, provides a broad range of historical U.S. demographic, political, and social statistics. 1789-
Print edition: HKS Library Ref: HA203 .H57 1993

ProQuest Statistical Abstract of the United States (Harvard Login)
Summary statistics on the social, political and economic organization of the United States. The only source for the current Statistical Abstract of the United States (2013 to present). Available in print for last five years. (HKS Ref HA202 .S73)
Summary statistics on the social, political and economic organization of the United States. Compiled from publications and records of various government and private agencies, it is designed to serve both as a convenient reference volume and as a guide to other statistical sources.

U.S. Census Bureau
Demographic and economic data from the U.S. Census. The data is updated at regular intervals throughout the decade.

International Research & Statistics

EdStats (World Bank)
Data and analysis for key topics in education.
Educational Attainment (World Bank)
Enrollment and attainment profiles for many developing countries.
Education Policy and Data Center
Eurostat
Statistics from and about the EU member states cover the economy, population, industry, trade, services, agriculture, environment, education, energy, science and technology.
EURYDICE (European Commission)
Descriptions of national education systems in 36 European countries, and comparative studies on various education topics.
OECD Education at a Glance
Education indicators for OECD countries. Available from 1998 to present.
Organización de Estados Iberoamericanos
Descriptions of national systems of education, education statistics, evaluations, and more (by country; in Spanish)

Country Overviews in Print

Please note that most of these books are available only at Harvard School of Education's Gutman Library and must be used in the library so plan to make photocopies or scans of relevant publications.

Education around the world by Colin Brock & Nafsika Alexiadou
Education Around the World provides a complete introduction to the field including: - The history of the study of comparative and international education and why it matters today- Issues of scale in conducting thorough comparative research with reference to the USA and the world of small states- National and International educational development with examples from Europe, the emergent powers of Brazil, Russia, India and China, and the problems and prospects of Sub-Saharan Africa
International education: an encyclopedia of contemporary issues and systems by Daniel Ness & Chia-ling Lin, editors
Part I consists of important issues and broad themes that affect the social and political structures of educational systems worldwide, such as gender, cultural issues, curriculum, and the impact of technology on education. Part II details approximately 180 educational systems throughout the world.
International encyclopedia of education by Penelope Peterson, Eva Baker, Barry McGaw, editors-in-chief
Volume 5 provides overviews of approximately 50 national systems of education.
International handbook of higher education by James J.F. Forest and Philip G. Altbach, editors
Call Number: Gutman Library Ref. LB2322.2 .I58 2007
Volume 2 includes chapters focusing on higher education in regions and selected countries worldwide.
World education encyclopedia: a survey of educational systems worldwide by Rebecca Marlow-Ferguson, editor
Each country entry includes: history & background; constitutional & legal foundations; educational system overview; pre-primary, secondary, and higher education; administration, finance & educational research; nonformal education; teaching & profession; and bibliography.

International Studies by Subject Area

Civic Education Study (CIVED)
Surveyed youth, teachers, and administrators internationally on: democracy, national identity, and social cohesion and diversity. The engagement of youth in civil society was also a focus. Data from 1999 and 2000.
International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS)
Reports on student achievement in a test of knowledge and conceptual understanding, as well as student dispositions and attitudes relating to civics and citizenship. Data from 2009 and 2016.
Program for International Student Assessment (PISA)
15-year-olds' capabilities in reading literacy, mathematics literacy, and science literacy. Data from 2003, 2006, 2009, 2012 and 2015.
Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS)
An international comparative assessment measuring student learning in reading.
Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)
Mathematics and science achievement of U.S. 4th- and 8th-grade students compared to that of students in other countries. Data from 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015.

UNESCO

UNESCO aims to improve literacy policies and practices through qualitative and quantitative research. This organization's website is a good starting point for locating educational policies by country, education resources portals, and other resources related to international education topics.

Fundamentals of Educational Planning (IIEP)
Global Monitoring Report
Assessments of the current status of basic education (by country, region, and theme) for over 180 countries.
Planipolis
A portal of education plans and policies from UNESCO member states.
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Comparative education data and more for over 200 countries.

Education Policy for HKS Students

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Research Consultations

Education Literature

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US Statistics & Data

US Statistics & Data

Education Datasets

Other U.S. Statistics

International Research & Statistics

International Research & Statistics

Country Overviews in Print

International Studies by Subject Area

UNESCO