Presents a prescription for a restructured postindustrial society without gender as an organizing principle. The potential nongendered social order is described in terms of nongendered reproduction, equally valued wage work and a gender-neutral wage structure, and gender-neutral access to authority and power. (SA)

Presents a structural framework for the sociological analysis of special education. Describes special education as one of the ways in which schools perform their reproductive task by differentiating children and allocating them to different educational treatments. Employs the framework to analyze the different histories of special education in…

Reviews an article by James G. Carrier on a social control theory of special education. Argues that Carrier ignores empirical data, and that special education programs in the United States develop cyclically, in response to specific social pressures--not, as Carrier contends, in response to a generalized movement toward a contractualist society.…

Although "A Nation at Risk" identifies many legitimate problems, the report misconstrues their causes and proposes inappropriate solutions. By blaming schools for America's economic, military, and moral shortcomings, it deflects criticism from education's social, economic, and political context, which we must analyze if we seek a more…

In order to facilitate entry of a new child into the classroom, the teacher of cognitively and emotionally impaired children should be aware of the class's hierarchical social organization. (CL)

Maintains that dropping out of school is more usefully interpreted in social structural terms rather than as an individual psychological event. Reviews research findings to support the argument that schooling reproduces a class-based society by legitimating the social role of the dropout and allocating students to that devalued status. (Author/MJL)

Shows how current literature which attempts to explain racial and class struggle in Britain distorts the political reality by focusing on cultural rather than political and economic issues. Criticizes the work of John Rex for its incomplete analysis of the British social structure. (GC)

Describes continuity theory, as emphasizing the interaction between individual characteristics and the social structure. Presents three propositions concerning social role restrictivness and maintenance in older adults. Considers psychological, sociological, physiological, and educational influences on elder's social behavior. (JAC)

The assumptions of the principle of legality are explored. It is concluded that any response to human conflict that respects individual authenticity and sovereignty, human diversity, competency, and shared responsiblity can only be given retrospectively. (Author/MC)

A review of pertinent literature indicates that social movements produce their leaders by transforming and transferring some followers into the roles of leadership. A case study of the recruitment of social movement leaders in Rhodesia supports this hypothesis and illustrates some of the structural factors which condition the process. (EB)

Explores the salient theoretical ideas and practical applications surrounding issues regarding diversity, including certain assumptions related to the Western worldview or the accepted frame of reference in American counseling. Western assumptions are contrasted with various divergent cultural perspectives, current training concerns are noted, and…

Discusses the following aspects of educational evaluation: (1) structural changes; (2) conceptual changes; (3) mixed methods and unraveling consensus; (4) utilization of findings; (5) the role of values; and (6) the role of politics. Discusses how evaluation moved from monolithic to pluralistic, reflecting the change from consensus to pluralism in…

Value orientations that influence opinions on educational policy issues were examined among Dutch leaders of educationally influential organizations. Their attitudes reflected Dutch society's segmentation along, but cooperation across, religious and ideological dividing lines, as well as optimism about educational reform through state…

Describes the educational challenges facing Poland as it makes the transition from state socialism to a free market economy. Reviews probable changes to the country's agricultural workers, working class, intelligentsia, and the newly self-employed. Discusses the decline of the value of education beginning in the 1980s and the implications for…

Reports five teachers' perceptions of how teacher participation in school decision making has affected school and classroom activities. Discusses the consequences in terms of teachers' beliefs about their own competence, the persistence of the culture of teacher isolation, prevailing forms of politesse, professional educators' uncertainty about…