A critique of both homogenizing and vertical power runs through the Zapatista social project in Chiapas, Mexico, lending a distinctive character to both Zapatismo's political vision of self-governance and to the educational vision of its community schools. Zapatismo's critical practices may thus offer valuable contributions to antifascist praxis…

Mexico's implementation of mandatory teacher assessments in 2013 was part of a group of federal reforms aimed at enhancing the quality of state-run education. The reforms elicited strong opposition from key stakeholders. Building on the idea that policy capacities are the set of capabilities necessary to perform policy functions, we examine the…

On the basis of ethnographic and historical material this article makes a comparative analysis of the relationship between public events, ceremonies and academic rituals, institutional identity, and processes of transition and power at two universities, one in Mexico and the other in South Africa. The public events examined here play a major role…

As detailed in the articles throughout this issue, the U.S. education system experienced a number of structural developments throughout the 20th century. These changes served to shift the landscape of decision-making authority in multiple areas of primary and secondary schooling. This article provides an international perspective on the changes…

This article critiques the evolution of higher education in Mexico in light of the political "change" that led to the establishment of Intercultural Universities (IUs) for Indigenous communities. We argue that the "change" touted by the post-2000 regime isn't as profound or beneficial as claimed. Although IUs embody valuable…

In the early 1980s, public school teachers in Chiapas, Mexico, organized themselves in a dissident mass movement aimed at democratizing their participation in union affairs and restructuring the relations of domination and subordination affecting their work lives. Macro-level analysis focuses on union corruption situated within an authoritarian…

A government is a complex system of competing factions that adopts a decentralization policy when the dominant group sees current government structures or procedures as an obstacle to the realization of group interests. Case studies of educational decentralization in Peru, Chile, and Mexico demonstrate that the "state" tends to share…

Obstacles to reform at the National Autonomous University of Mexico are examined, including established power relations, bureaucracy, culturally based patterns, and resistance to external influence. The problems are viewed in the context of the university's history through the 20th century. Redefinition of the relationship between the university…

Since the 1950s, ethnic relations in Tenejapa (Chiapas, Mexico) have shifted toward greater equality and less antagonism between formerly dominant mestizos and formerly dominated "indigenas" (Maya Indians). An important cause is the long-term promotion of indigenous education by a national agency, Instituto Nacional Indigenista,…

Evaluates public education's contributions to Mexico's economic development from 1952-1982. Finds education's principal contribution has not been to improve human capital or government competence; education has instead been a vital source of political capital that has helped to maintain the political system as an "inclusionary…

How can teachers make sound pedagogical decisions and advocate for educational policies that best serve the needs of students in today's diverse classrooms? What is the pedagogical value of providing culturally and linguistically diverse students greater access to their own language and cultural orientations? This landmark volume responds to the…