Review of four articles on nonmetropolitan trends suggests that (1) access to adequate education and other services should be ensured regardless of locale; (2) urban-rural dichotomies are politically useless; and (3) rural schools and communities should pursue locally defined goals. A coherent comprehensive rural policy is needed that values…

The value of local control of school systems is discussed. Local control is defined, and its connection with justice explored. Implications for school finance based on personal and participatory liberty rules for distributing costs are given. Robert K. Winpelberg offers comments on this article. (DF)

The author argues that direct citizen participation cannot influence educational policy or restore the power of lay boards in public education. Asserting that more can be accomplished by a technically trained organization working within the bureaucracy, he cites the accomplishments of the Education Clearinghouse, a nonprofit group of…

Supports the conversion of federal schools to band controlled schools, arguing that education patterns of federal schools are either inadequate or unsuitable to provide the education Indian students need. Outlines development of Indian education from 1600-1933, provides rationale for Indian control, and discusses four problems with band control.…

Empowering grassroots efforts in literacy is paramount in the literacy education movement. Six issues face literacy work, research, and policy in the United States today: (1) although there are many exciting and innovative literacy projects being conducted, their lessons are unexamined and they are not part of a larger organizing strategy; (2)…

Argues for local control of education by Native Canadians. Position based on benefits of parent responsibility, rather than on criticism of Canadian Indian policy or treaties. Examines Indian education history, noting positive examples of Native communities taking educational responsibility. Concludes local control makes good educational policy.…

This paper examines the determinants of systemic education reform in the American states. Socioeconomic, political, and cultural variables are all found to affect the level of systemic education policy in each state. Unlike many studies of policy determinants, urbanization is negatively associated with this particular policy. The political factors…

This article closes off a debate in this journal between the author and James D. Kaminsky concerning the latter's philosophical analysis of a "Freedom and Authority Memorandum" delivered to South Australian public schools in the early 1970s by then Director-General of Education, A. W. Jones. (TE)

An on-line symposium on January 13, 1999, brought together policymakers, educators, parents, students, and local community reformers to discuss rural perspectives on academic standards. As part of an on-line dialogue extending from November 1998 to March 1999, the symposium linked on-line participants to panelists and participants in Burlington,…

An assessment of current practices in citizenship education in Canada is followed by a proposal for decentralization of educational control and community involvement for students at all levels. In response to research which indicated that Canadian students were virtually ignorant of their government and its political issues and to the demand for…

Argues that the centralized, bureaucratic model of education management has created more problems than solutions. Contrasts the current situation with an earlier model defined by local autonomy and personal commitment. Explores a broad set of issues and approaches designed to make arts education more autonomous and less divisive. (MJP)

Despite the proliferation of indigenous higher education programs and institutions in Australia, Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders are concerned about continuing forms of imposition and domination. The central challenge is to understand that continuing forms of colonialism are responsible for the insidious and embedded features of hegemonic…

On November 14, 1984, the Navajo Tribal Council approved a new set of educational policies (the "Mission Statement") intended to improve the quality of education for all Navajos, specifically some 56,810 students in 223 schools on or near the Navajo reservation. The Mission Statement asserts that the Navajo Tribe, as a sovereign nation,…

Previously ignored, lifelong learning became a governing principle of Irish educational policy in 2000. Participation trends in education were assessed including early school leaving by males, poor educational levels of older adults, low literacy levels throughout the population, and educational barriers experienced by women. Resulting government…