Examines teacher empowerment as it appears in current educational reform by analyzing the concept against a template of democratic assumptions and conditions. Analyzes empowerment's meaning and workplace requirements and provides a democratic rationale for the existence of public education. Academic achievement is not the sole purpose of…

Too many college students seem conditioned (by authoritarian teaching styles) to serve as "clerks" to the decision makers and power holders. To help students learn to think critically and independently, this article advises faculty to create practica based on televotes and mediation training, creative projects (such as monopoly games and…

Suggests that music instruction include teaching ethics and values. Argues that performing ensembles are a powerful tool for imparting values such as integrity, self-esteem, cooperation, and tolerance. Includes charts for evaluating student behavior without including ethics and values as part of an academic grade. (DK)

Describes a research project conducted by twelfth grade students in American government classes. States that the project's objectives are to have students become aware of the approachability of legislators and to realize that input from informed citizens is central to the democratic process. (RDS)

Whereas democracy institutionalizes distrust, professionalism relies on trust. Responding to Berbules and Densmore, this article identifies strong normative reasons, grounded in the interests of children, for promoting teacher professionalism. Exorcising the evils of classic professionalism will eliminate neither equity nor quality problems.…

The only states forbidden to charge school fees are Idaho and Florida. School boards' right to assess student fees is rooted in each state's constitution, statutes, and court decisions. Student fees violate our nation's ideal of free public education, which has helped advance democracy. A table shows state-by-state fee policy comparisons. (MLH)

In contrast to "scientific" teacher evaluation methods, horizontal evaluation, and the critical approach to clinical supervision allow teachers to act autonomously in questioning and evaluating their teaching. These models are part of a growing democratic tradition of educative evaluation emphasizing active teacher involvement and a more…

Three women working together at Columbia University developed a teacher education knowledge base that was not dependent on theory, experiential learning, or research. Teacher education as university study was developed to support an ideology directed toward a vision of citizenship qualities and personal development considered essential for…

In developing a national curriculum, ways must be found to challenge students and teachers, preserve initiative, and maintain democratic control. President Bush's New American Achievement Tests will consist of a system of examinations to be administered by individual states or clusters of states. Conversion should embody a grand,…

Local school board, epitome of representative U.S. governance, is undergoing profound changes as to vision, focus, service approach, and structure. Local school boards can spark development of educational programs to prepare youngsters for increasingly competitive, technological, and dangerous world. To achieve needed reforms requires federal and…

A high school's abortive attempt to abolish ninth-grade honors English and math classes serves to illustrate some difficulties inherent in site-based management. The challenge is balancing the power of the people with that of selected representatives. Patience, tolerance, respect, and uncertainty are the four cornerstones of democracy, whether in…

Examines two ways of achieving social coordination: unilateral/hierarchical controls and multilateral controls. Discusses advantages of using mutual adjustment as an alternative to central coordination. Mutual adjustment occurs variously through language creation, moral codes, biological self-selection, market systems, and politics. Although…

This paper recommends a role for the history of science in democratic science education, suggesting a dialogical mode of science instruction that captures what John Dewey considered most crucial to democracy--completely open communication. (SM)

Argues that the heterogeneity of morals and aesthetics in contemporary pluralistic cultures, and the consequent concentration on individual self-interests, is a threat to democratic ways of life. Discusses people's problems appreciating the values of democratic forms of life and accessing public life under the condition of postmodern mass…

Examines liberatory pedagogy in the context of helping beginning teachers become open to liberatory ideas as they construct themselves as teachers and begin to develop their practice. The paper considers practice and prospective teachers as learners of practice, then examines what this suggests for the construction of opportunities for prospective…