Backed by the federal government, the excellence movement in education has advocated higher college admissions requirements and reliance on nationally administered standardized tests. Although intended to benefit the public welfare, these recommendations actually discourage learners considered less worthy. When discussing the movement's mental…

The politics of education is a study in the exercise of power. There are two forms of power--position power and persuasive power. Position power changes with conditions and legal mandates, while persuasive power rests in the communicative ability and knowledge of the individual, regardless of position. The exercise of power occurs within the moral…

The works of John Dewey and John Childs are reviewed with reference to the implications for research inherent in society's moral choice to provide a democratic education for its children. The selectivity of the educational system represents a moral choice in that it is a deliberate structuring of learning tasks, formulated by adults, for the…

This paper discusses a study to determine how people view political power within the Swedish system. The objective was to investigate variations in the way people perceive a common social phenomenon. The sample was composed of 15 subjects chosen randomly from the adult population of Goteborg, Sweden. Subjects were interviewed regarding their…

Research examining students' moral attitudes toward Watergate is described. Three hundred and seventy-eight junior high and high school students from both metropolitan public and private schools in a mid-Southern state participated in the survey. Students judged the degree of rightness and wrongness of six motivations for the break-in. The results…

The objective of this study was to contribute a quantitative aspect to the Social Responsibility Theory of the Press which will make possible explanation and prediction of relationships between key elements of society and news-opinion media. The 31 tenets of the Social Responsibility Theory were isolated and categorized. Using these tenets, an…

The book is intended to clarify for school administrators, teachers, parents, and other citizens the meaning and significance of outdoor education in the school curriculum. Social and educational factors influencing the outdoor education program are presented. The discussions are centered around the following: our changing society; education for a…

The purpose of this lecture is to provide a perspective from which parents and school people can formulate reasoned opinions on what the school's role should be in regard to students' values. The author offers a definition of values and discusses three rough categories of values--esthetic, instrumental, and moral. The school is a creature of the…

The goal of classroom management, like government, is to create and maintain an environment which protects and advances individuals. Creating such a classroom environment involves trust between teacher and students, a conviction that misbehavior is relative, and student participation in finding alternatives for disruptive conduct. (Author/SJL)

Uses Israel as an example to examine three variables--size, organizational mode, and political value system--and their effects on educational policy making and planning at a national level. Argues that in Israel's case small size, centralization, and democracy interact to create a new type of planning behavior termed the enlightenment approach.…

Recognizing the value of studying U.S. history and the contribution of the textbook to the curriculum, Gagnon examines five leading U.S. history textbooks with regard to two questions: (1) how helpful are these books for teaching democracy's ideas, practices, and adventures in the United States, and (2) what might they add to promote political…

To stimulate development in Nicaragua it was necessary for the Sandinistas to raise the education level of its populace. This was accomplished through a national literacy crusade which decreased the illiteracy rate by 37.1 per cent. The crusade showed the importance of incorporating popular organizations into the process of change. (VM)

Provides a philosophical defense of the view that children have an ethical right to an education that helps them become critical thinkers. Argues for a child's right not to be indoctrinated by anyone and points out an important distinction between morally repugnant indoctrination and nonindoctrinative inculcation of beliefs and attitudes. (NH)