Describes an approach to teaching politics that employs actions, scenes, agents, agency, and purpose to encourage students to experience and analyze political behavior. Argues that students participate more in class when they assume a role that is clearly "not themselves." Uses a course about the U.S. presidency as an example. (DSK)

Summarizes a statement by the Task Force on Civic Education in the Next Century about the need for, and objectives of, a civic education program. Includes the Task Force's Statement of Purpose and goals for the American Political Science Association's Civic Education Projects. Includes list of task force members. (DSK)

Examines a woman superintendent's 2-year tenure in a small southern city from a feminist perspective. Against a backdrop of community/district politics, shows how gender stereotyping still influences how female superintendents are perceived as school-system leaders. Women must resist traditional images reserved for them and reinvent the…

Examines Long Island, New York, school politics and finance, noting that students in many underfunded schools in the area perform significantly below regional standards. Focuses on the Amityville School District, examining the battle in state courts over unequal funding, the impact of legislative inaction on Long Island, and public support for and…

Examined the nature of government policy toward community colleges in the United States and Canada in the 1990s and colleges' responses. Government policies were found to direct community colleges toward economic goals, emphasizing workforce training and state economic competitiveness and compelling colleges to improve efficiencies, increase…

Situates the politics of language surrounding the passage of California's Proposition 227, discussing historical and contemporary conditions leading to the recent dismantling of bilingual education. Reviews the dynamics of power, language, and ideology from precolonial times until the present, and uses them to suggest that the hegemonic bond of…

The California framework for science instruction has inspired models across the nation. However, religious and political conservatives, under the guise of increased academic rigor, are challenging the California science framework. These individuals want more rote facts, less scientific inquiry, and less hands-on activities, plus a new set of…

Focusing on Tanzania and the United States, this article examines the fallacy of a monolingual, English-only policy in education. It also examines the philosophy surrounding this debate and considers the detrimental effects upon students of attempting to impose a monolingual policy. Discusses the role of educational language in the quest for…

Discusses two studies that examine the effects of English, and its status as the official language, on Namibian languages. Finds that the numbers of students in African language classes in Namibia have been dropping significantly--in 1995 there were 100 students taking Oshindonga, and in 1999-2000 there was one. (Contains 66 references.) (NB)

After verifying that the federally supported Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration (CSRD) program schools in the 7 states studied had a disproportionately high English Language Learner (ELL) population, we examined the understandings and guidance about ELLs that was included by those states' state education agencies (SEAs) in the policy…

The National Council for the Social Studies suggests that social studies programs should provide for the study of culture and cultural diversity (NCSS 1994). Within the NCSS culture strand is the expectation that students can predict how data and experiences may be interpreted by people from diverse cultural perspectives, compare and analyze…

A national survey cited in the "New York Times" last November reveals that "Democratic professors outnumber Republicans by at least seven to one in the humanities and social sciences." These numbers, astonishing as they may seem, simply confirm what many in the academy have long known: that the ivory tower is tinged blue. With…

North Carolina boasts a growing network of global-studies magnet schools, a prominent university center that sponsors training on international issues and study trips abroad for thousands of teachers, an innovative recruitment program to attract teachers from around the globe, and a popular former governor who has championed the cause of …

This article describes an afterschool program called "Poetic High" in which the author shares insights on the transformation of oneself as a teacher into more of a guide and a mentor. It outlines the process of transforming the attitudes of students from being passive learners into being poets of learning and life. The Poetic High created by this…

The year 2005 began with high schools taking center stage in Washington's continuing drama concerning education reform. President George W. Bush started things off in January, when he delivered a ringing address at a suburban District of Columbia high school about the urgency of reforming American high schools and offered a bold $1.5 billion plan…