In this essay, Yuli Tamir argues that the growing interest in public education in the developed world in general and in the United States in particular is grounded in a fear of losing global hegemony. The most rational approach to slowing down these hegemonic shifts is to empower public education and allow the neglected human capital vested in…

Dewey's notion of applying the method of social intelligence to the solution of social problems is critically reviewed with special emphasis on his failure to come to terms with the question of concentrated social power in America. Theoretical ambiguities as well as unclear ideas on the practical agencies of social change are pointed out. (DS)

Two perspectives on the sociology of education were identified and related to general sociological perspectives. The theme of constraint and construction was considered in relation to the institution of education and its role in capitalist society. (JN)

The relationship between power and knowledge is discussed, as it concerns the professoriate in higher education. Power and knowledge, it is argued, can vary independently. Although economic power influences faculty, they still possess considerable autonomy to shape education and to develop humanistic capacities of students. (PP)