Based on a review of literature by proponents and opponents of the back to basics movements, the authors contend that the movement will contribute to the continued existence of a stratified society in which the school reproduces existing power relationships. A summary of the literature of proponents presents varying ideas of what constitutes…

Among the most crucial economic cutbacks were those directed at the minimal gains Asians, Blacks, Chicanos, and Native American communities had attained in an intensive ten-year struggle for education, particularly the Ethnic Studies programs. Consisting of three panels, the symposium critically examined the common base that Ethnic Studies…

The governance of community colleges in western Canada is increasingly influenced by the activities of federal and regional agencies, provincial legislatures, professional and trade associations, and advisory committees. Decision-making is increasingly centralized so that programs are standardized, procedures are routinized, and colleges lack…

Elementary and secondary schools in the United States lack a singular pattern of organization. Each of the separate school districts can, and often does, introduce different types of changes at different times. Yet a piecemeal description of an educational system unduly complicates the task of understanding that system. As the number of changes…

Data generated from three studies in twenty-two urban secondary schools indicate that the role of the secondary school administrator has been and is undergoing a steady attrition in terms of domain and scope of influence, sources of organizational power, and bases of authority to effectively lead a professionalized organization. One series of…

The Latin American countries have an immense overall task in providing formal education for more than half the population and in coping with the accumulated deficits of the adult population who did not have access to formal education or who left it prematurely. Latin America's economic capacity to correct this situation is limited. Higher…

Contains 11 articles, including first-person accounts, on the work and work environment of teachers. Discusses the factors that make teaching satisfying or frustrating and offers suggestions for change in both the policy and organizational framework of the schools and the roles, relationships, and ethos knitting together individuals in particular…

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…

Research shows that small schools and schools within schools can yield positive outcomes for students and improved satisfaction and effectiveness among school staff. Small schools can be less costly than larger ones if judged by expenditure per graduate instead of cost per pupil enrolled. Examination of the policy environments of urban schools in…

A study used the frameworks of Rogers (1977) and Giddens (1977, 1979, 1995) to study the experiences of 10 adult distance learners enrolled in one or both of two online undergraduate business management courses. Rogers proposed that, when viewed through perspectives on power relationships, freedom and choice suggest that power is not just a matter…

A study explored downsizing from the perspective of the person separated from the job and its connection to violence and peace studies. Literature on downsizing, violence, peace studies, and organizational studies was reviewed. Participants were 28 white-collar employees, including the researcher, separated from the same organization. Data were…

The controversies in adoption have extended across a spectrum of policy and practice issues, and although the issues have become clear, resolution has not been achieved nor has consensus developed regarding a framework on which to improve the quality of adoption policy and practice. This book is the second in a series to use an ethics-based…

This conference proceedings compiles papers presented at the Institute of Early Childhood in July 2000, the fifth in a series examining the challenges which the schools of Reggio Emilia, Italy present the early childhood profession in Australia. The conference focused on time and play in preschool education. Paper topics related to the history of…

A study examined how government administrators in New Zealand construct their professional identities and power relationships, and how this identity is reflected in patterns of discourse and strategies of interaction. Three levels of discourse analysis (speech functions; discourse strategies; and linguistic forms) and their components and…

This paper focuses on investigating the purposive design of learning environments to counter the erosion of social capital in communities and schools in contemporary society. Can schools intentionally replenish stocks of social capital by creating normative systems conducive to the optimal academic and social development of students, and by…