Analyzes shifts in Federal educational policy during the Reagan Administration. Finds the following changes: (1) modification of the basic Federal role; (2) growth and independence of the State role; and (3) development of Reagan's priority of academic excellence over educational equity. (FMW)

School board members refuse to honor the elusive line separating governance and management, policy and administration. Reviews the influence of women board members, accountability, and parental pressure on school boards. (MLF)

A Michigan State senator discusses institutional relationships with the state legislature and communication problems between institution and government that interfere with policy and budgeting processes. (MSE)

Tracks the art education field's development of a national plan to promote growth and awareness. Political attacks and budget cuts in the last decade have created an unprecedented movement built on cooperation and collaboration between local and national educators. (MJP)

Responds to an article by Mark Jaffee and Kenneth Kersch published in the Summer 1991 issue of the "Journal of Law and Education." Argues that the judicial role is often necessary but not sufficient to achieve fiscal equity and that, ultimately, the electorate must be educated and persuaded of the value of public school funding reform.…

Using case study data from a teacher education project, the paper documents changing relationships between Britain's higher education institutions and schools in providing preservice teacher education, explaining how programs achieved integration before a 1992 government mandate to develop partnerships and why so many programs had not adopted more…

Reviews new government publications from various countries; includes reviews of publications released in electronic format as well as addresses for Internet access wherever possible. Covers the topics of business and economics, economic and social development, environment and earth sciences, government and politics, and health science and…

Examines the social construction of literacy in China after the Communist revolution, demonstrating that official literacy ideologies contributed to the formation and reproduction of rural-urban differences in Chinese society. Suggests that the spread of literacy potentially can contribute to greater and more elaborate social divisions. (24…

A Conservative member of the British Parliament addresses the critical need to develop the cultural resource of creative talent. The prime inhibitor of creative development is thought to be the walls of bureaucracy which pervade modern life. Implications for British schools choosing to opt out of local authority control are outlined. (DB)

Describes a preprofessional teacher training program (a pedagogical class) that was developed in Russia during the period of "Perestroika." Focusing on the sociocultural conditions of development, the article details students' practical work and outlines some features of pedagogical classes, secondary school curricula, and pedagogical…

Every school board would be wise to agree on a set of beliefs about how lasting change is made and how board operations can foster desired changes. Decisions are best made through a search for solutions that will at least partly satisfy everyone. Consensus is the preferred strategy for making decisions. (MLF)

It is argued that the relationship of South Africa's liberal universities and the state from 1948-90 was characterized not only by conflict, but also by considerable cooperation, by which all races benefited. The complexity of the relationship and some of the issues, such as apartheid, academic freedom, and censorship are examined. (MSE)

The president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (Texas) is the latest in a series Baptist seminary presidents to be fired or resign after conflict with conservative trustees. Critics are concerned about implications for academic freedom; donors are withholding gifts; and an accrediting agency has questioned the firing. (MSE)

Chinese "people-managed schools" began in the 1940s as popular voluntary village schools providing flexible relevant education to rural peasants, but are regarded today as low status and low quality. This change reflects the Chinese Communist Party's incremental move away from both decentralized decision making and populist education to…

Reviews David Cameron's "More than an Academic Question," which summarizes the development of Canadian universities and provides a framework for understanding the relationship between universities and the government, outlining the theme of Canadian federalism and discussing the shifting balance between federal and provincial policies.…