Discusses liberal and conservative foreign policy contributions to the end of the Cold War, as marked by the rapid liberalization of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. Emphasizes that the collapse of the Soviet empire occurred at the end of a decade of sustained conservative government in every major country of the Western world. (FMW)

A study investigated whether political interest was a factor in differences in political knowledge between television and newspaper reliant individuals. Data were collected through 353 hour-long interviews with adults in a midwestern city. Subjects supplied information about their media use and preferences, political preferences, education level,…

Discussion of the use of simulation games to teach political strategy focuses on the relationship between honesty and expediency (winning). Three models of competition are developed, each involving a different relationship between truth and success, and the outcomes of a course on social situations and gaming are discussed. (16 references) (LRW)

Academic freedom for precollegiate teachers in the United States is less clear than that expressed and confirmed in law and custom for college faculties. The question studied was how academic freedom is perceived in theory and practice by secondary school teachers outside of the United States. The interview schedule was modeled after schedules…

A study tested the cumulative acquisition model proposed by S. H. Chaffee and A. R. Tims to explain the development of adolescent patterns of news media use. The Guttman scale procedure was used to analyze patterns of news media use across a three-wave panel survey of 366 parent-child pairs over a 2-year period. In each wave, interviewers talked…

Identifies, depicts, and interprets the common ground between Australian radical education movements of the late 1960s and the present preoccupation with competency-based reform known as "the new vocationalism." Contends that both movements contain elements of historical nostalgia and progressive social reform. (MJP)

If one counts both the mid-term and presidential elections, the United States has had the lowest voter turnout of any democracy in the world. In the 1986 election, only 16.6% of the eligible 18-24 year olds voted, and although final census surveys for that year are not yet published, it is unlikely that the turnout for that age group would have…

To generate a theoretical model for future interpretation, this study analyzed the 1985 Indiana Legislature concerning educational policymaking in public school funding. Previous research indicates that the classical rational actor model of policymaking inadequately addresses multidimensional pressures at work in state legislatures. A model is…

The dissatisfaction theory of school governance predicts that, when community dissatisfaction with schools is great enough, the following events occur: (1) public demand increases for new policies and procedures; (2) the number of split votes by the school board increases; (3) the rate of school board member turnover increases; and (4) involuntary…

Argues forcefully for increasing and improving citizenship education and civics in the public schools. Maintains that many individuals' disparaging of the political process rises from a lack of experience with assessing an argument on behalf of a political position. Fully documents young people's lack of political participation. (MJP)

Maintains that reunification allowed teacher unions of the former West Germany to move into the former East Germany, filling a structural void left by the dissolution of the Communist Party. Specifically examines the reactions of newly elected teacher union leaders from the former East Germany to subsequent events in the education and political…

Discusses the use of role models as a means of political socialization and moral education in China. Asserts that Chinese children in post-Liberation China actually were learning a set of core virtues that have roots in Confucian tradition. Predicts that newer role models will be used to perpetuate values such as benevolence. (CFR)

Contends that conservative critiques of education and proposals for reform are similar in Canada, Great Britain, and the United States. Describes and analyzes New Right criticisms of education and conservative efforts to promote business values and market-based economics. (CFR)

This study of incumbent British Columbia school board members prior to election analyzes relationships between individual members' feelings of political efficacy and trust and their decisions to seek or not seek reelection. The 60 subjects, from 24 districts, represented candidates (those members seeking reelection) and retirees (members not…

Presents a thoughtful and balanced analysis of the effects of public opinion polling on elections and the political power structure. Generally refutes the revisionist criticism that polling acts as a preemptive strike curtailing political expression in favor of the power elite. Considers issues related to the tyranny of the majority. (MJP)