“Jana Noel’s book explicates the forces that have shaped California’s educational system–and in turn California itself–in profound ways. She illustrates how the beliefs and actions of people and policymakers in communities and in the courts play out in materially important ways, from the earliest days of Statehood with its nascent public school system, to its 19th and 20th century struggles and strivings to expand educational opportunities to non-white children, right through the more recent days of A Nation at Risk, NCLB, the ESSA act, and including current issues related to school choice and privatization. The scope of the book is sweeping: she clarifies how policies arise and are shaped by subsequent legal decisions, tackling big-ticket issues such as how schools are funded, who controls budgets, who decides what gets taught (and what gets left out), what gets assessed, who gets certified to teach, and how all of these issues relate to equity and social justice in a state that has seen more change demographically, socially, and economically than any other state in the union. Any serious student of the history of education in California – and indeed the history of California more generally – will find this work illuminating.”

“I enjoyed how accessible and useful this is for teacher candidates and even faculty. This text is critical to the work we do to prepare socially- and politically-aware educators. Noel succinctly captures the historical and contemporary foundations of K12 education in California that weaves in pertinent issues of race/ethnicity, culture, and language. The use of reflective and action-based discussion questions make this an essential read for K12 educators and teacher education faculty.”

Patricia D. López, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, California State University, Fresno

“California Foundations of Education is an outstanding effort to provide a clear, competent, well-organized history of schooling and education in California, with particular attention to the evolution of politics and policies that has shaped and re-shaped formal public education throughout the state’s history. The book is an essentially significant contribution to those preparing teaching professionals for work in California schools. It is a critical analysis of the evolution of educational policies that frame teachers’ and students’ roles and responsibilities in the historical and contemporary context of public education. Dr. Noel’s book would be an invaluable resource in teacher education/credentialing courses, as well as graduate courses in foundations/history/politics of education in California. I could see where this book might be considered an adopted foundational text in schools of education. Required reading.”

Thomas G. Nelson, Professor of Curriculum Studies and Teacher Education, University of the Pacific