Weak states such as India and Kenya may seek to maintain or enhance their legitimacy by expanding access to higher education regardless of manpower needs or scarcity of financial resources. Three common strategies are increasing higher education enrollments, maintaining low fees and high subsidies for postsecondary students, and supporting a…

Court-imposed school finance equalization and tax limitation measures in California have created a centralized system of school finance. Political tensions and conflict that have arisen from this centralized control are discussed, with reference to the Serrano mandate and categorical funding. (SLD)

The durability of positive personal changes observed in 47 women's studies students 9 months after the last week of class was studied. Positive effects, including changes in interactions and the willingness to adopt new roles and behaviors, lasted through the follow-up, suggesting the usefulness of womens' studies for personal change. (SLD)

Changing times, public attitudes, and political strategies have shifted the approach to leadership in higher education from an academic to a business perspective. Colleges and universities are being asked to restructure, reinvent themselves, and rightsize, but none of these will work unless more attention is paid to the problem of revenue. (MSE)

Discusses the Community College of Philadelphia's move from a hostile labor-management environment to one in which the faculty union joins the administration in lobbying the city council and state legislature to overcome a deteriorating economy, political attacks, and skyrocketing medical costs. Addresses faculty and staff attitudes toward the…

Multicultural education has at least two faces--an academic one and an ideological one. Encouraging the balkanization of U.S. culture threatens to undermine the academic integrity of the social studies curriculum. Offers suggestions to make sure that schools are offering an academically rigorous multicultural curriculum, not political…

Outsiders (i.e., regulators, adjudicators, and "messiahs") frequently arrive with insistent demands for school change. The demands of these interest groups should not be set ahead of those of legitimate stakeholders at the school level. Having some interest at risk and commitment are characteristics that distinguish stakeholders from…

Discusses policies, legislation, educational practices, and innovative early childhood programs designed to revitalize the languages and cultures of Catalonia and the Basque Autonomous Region. Opposition to these practices and programs is also discussed. (BG)

Describes teacher education programs in Taiwan and recent changes in the status of teachers' colleges. Points out solutions to two problems in Taiwan's teacher education system: financial incentives for prospective teachers are weak, and the two-level teacher education system is not adequate in terms of contemporary educational philosophy. (SM)

Discusses the history of educational planning and administration in Latin America. Describes a period of educational expansion and diversification after World War II and one of disillusionment during the economic crisis of the 1980s. Urges an thorough review of the traditional approaches of educational planning in Latin America and a search for…

Describes how the growing pervasiveness of computers and telecommunications influences knowledge and idea exchanges required by democracies for survival. Technology makes it possible to abuse an underdeveloped popular epistemology by influencing mechanisms of publicity and privacy. Challenges presented by technology, and the university's role in…

Oregon State University and Southern Oregon State College have responded to state budget cuts with fundamental changes in academic programs and departments. Reductions are being made according to state guidelines for eliminating programs, rather than skimming broadly. Faculty are angered about personal and scholarly losses. (MSE)

To ensure quality programs in gifted education, parents, teachers, and concerned citizens should become involved in development of education policies. Influencing public policy involves determining which government structure has jurisdiction over the policy and lobbying for legislative action by attending public hearings, writing letters, working…

A review of the history of American Indian studies in the college curriculum traces the political, demographic, academic, and social changes affecting American Indian roles. The recent revival of native American studies and the emergence of graduation requirements in ethnic studies are seen as both beneficial and risky. (MSE)

Introduces a series of articles exploring the nature of discourse practices and power in the writing classroom. Until recently, student writers being initiated into academic discourse were expected to disregard their own experience. These articles challenge the established authority of teacher and text, encouraging student discussion within and…