Discusses the current reform, both in organizational structure and curriculum development, occurring in Poland's universities. Emphasis is given to the changes in the economics curriculum and the role of Western economists in adopting the new method of teaching in a rapidly changing economic environment. (MJP)

Outlines Chinese educational policy and principles regarding art education. Lists the officially sanctioned content of art education concerning art appreciation, painting, and arts and crafts. Briefly discusses the training of art teachers and the allocation of teaching materials. (MJP)

The history of Moroccan universities established in the French colonial tradition is reviewed briefly, and two types of gains in academic freedom and autonomy in recent years are discussed: those made collectively by universities in relation to the central political authority, and those made by individual institutions in relation to each other.…

Reviews teaching for and about democracy in Australia, and identifies key concepts embedded in the notion of democracy (representation, leadership, decision making, public criticism). Draws on ethnographic data from settled and remote Aboriginal Australia to explore whether understandings and practices associated with these concepts are shared by…

Uses Milwaukee's school choice/voucher initiative to illustrate how politically motivated evaluation and compromise legislation can dilute potentially beneficial educational innovations. The initiative's success despite counterproductive legislative tampering and biased evaluation is addressed, along with a discussion of the evaluation's…

Questions how England's Secretary of State for Education uses the Teacher Training Agency (TTA) to define and control inservice teacher competency requirements, suggesting that this leads to teacher deprofessionalization. Recommends identifying threats to professional autonomy and preventing the TTA from moving to the next phase of regulation. (SM)

Provides an overview of the mission and activities of Kids Voting USA. The nonprofit organization promotes student awareness of the importance of voting through civic education programs. Kids Voting USA has projects in 40 states involving debates, craft activities, information gathering, and mock elections. (MJP)

Examines the change in black attitudes towards a greater acceptance of school vouchers, charter schools, and other reforms that offer alternatives to the dismal prospects inherent in attending urban public schools. Describes examples of the school choice movement in action and discusses the reasons blacks have begun embracing it. (GR)

An educator of special education teachers reflects on his childhood, the current conservative political movement as it affects people who are poor or disabled, the current inclusionary reform movement in special education, and how to best serve youth with emotional or behavioral disorders. General education is seen as inherently inadequate to…

China's "minban" (people-managed) schooling was an important instrument for delivering educational and political values to poor areas during Mao's era. Despite national policy aimed at eliminating poorly-qualified minban teachers by 2000, rural communities have been reluctant to dismiss such teachers, given the rural teacher shortage and…

Effective strategies for assisting Canadian Native communities to develop school boards included encouraging an unhurried adaptive learning process, providing guidance to achieve consensus, and allowing for an incubation period. Impediments to development included community members' avoidance of leadership roles, cross-cultural misunderstandings,…

China's private schools, colleges, and technical institutes overwhelmingly are autonomous entrepreneurial institutions that respond to unmet educational demands by selling marketable skills for a profit. Although comprising less than 4% of the country's schools, they demonstrate the market's growing strength in China's socialist society: adoption…

Senator Carol Moseley-Braun, D-Ill., a recognized advocate for federal funding of educational facilities, describes the strategy of placing school infrastructure in the same category as commercial and transportation infrastructure. Three researchers in the facilities field present empirical evidence that facility conditions directly affect…

Hungary's political leaders are stepping up pressure on state-supported colleges and universities to make substantive changes in their organization, administration, and curricula, after several years of aborted experiments in consolidating the system. The government says it can no longer afford to support the existing higher education system, and…

Explores contributions to educational policy and practice of tensions about and aspirations for the future of Hong Kong. Examines political and economic influences on educational development during five historical periods, 1844-1997. Presents three recent case studies of connections between the "1997 factor" and educational policy,…