Computers represent the digital phase of the Industrial Revolution, contribute to centralizing corporate and political power, worsen the growing environmental crisis, and displace local knowledge with data. By framing discussions of computers in terms of these worldwide trends, readers can avoid the simplistic thinking surrounding discussions of…

A study examining student feelings of empowerment in a rural Midwestern consolidated high school surveyed 54 students. Results indicate that students from the town where the school was located felt the most ownership in the school; most students were satisfied with the student council; and students were more involved in decision making in…

Describes cultural, political, and linguistic factors that have affected the literacy development of Aboriginal children in Australia. Discusses how oral and literate cultures manage knowledge differently, the social context of language development, literacy and power, cultural differences, and story reading. Suggests ways schools and teachers of…

Obstacles to reform at the National Autonomous University of Mexico are examined, including established power relations, bureaucracy, culturally based patterns, and resistance to external influence. The problems are viewed in the context of the university's history through the 20th century. Redefinition of the relationship between the university…

Distinguishes among three types of relationships between developed and developing nations: hierarchical relationships in which developed nations are paternalistic or authoritarian, undifferentiated partnerships, and partnerships involving solidarity and social transformation. Discusses values and assumptions in economic and educational…

Examines teachers' responses to reform efforts prescribed for them as appropriate for reformed schools, considering emerging difficulties when teaching and reform are conceptualized not as situated, but as universal and generalizable in form and intention. Teacher responses to such static reform often replicate power relations circulating in…

The system of college and university governance that has created fine institutions is now inadequate. Institutions should consider restructuring their governance systems in ways that clarify authority and accountability. Faculty must commit themselves to responsibility outside their disciplines. Administrators and trustees must make difficult…

The vice-chancellor of an Australian university examines the way his time is allocated for a variety of recurring activities and considers the role of vice-chancellor from a political science perspective. This administrator is seen as playing a role within the university community comparable to that of a prime minister or premier in larger…

Considers relations between the official pedagogy of the writing program that the author administers and his administrative practices, to come to terms with the hidden curriculum of his situation. Argues for a shift from thinking about administration as masterful organization and implementation to conceiving of it as relational and receptive, a…

Examines the applicability of two alternative theories of small-town politics to a case of Mexican American political mobilization in Woodburn, Oregon, where Mexican Americans comprised half the population. Discusses Mexican American attempts to promote a housing project for migrant workers and to pressure the school board to reflect Mexican…

Describes science educators trying to effect systemic change as actors in a cultural field struggling to change it. Uses a conversational hermeneutic analysis of autobiographical writings to examine some of the salient features of bringing about change in science education. (Contains 35 references.) (Author/WRM)

Principals and business managers view their jobs and each other from differing perspectives as to time demands, priorities, accountability, and fiscal responsibility. Neither has supervisory authority over the other. Chief problems involve miscommunication, report deadlines, and failure to meet each other's expectations. Ameliorative suggestions…

Analyzes British Labour Party policy on educational selection in secondary schools, drawing on Mills's sociological imagination. Education selection figures prominently in distributional processes that (re)produce social relations within society. Achieving egalitarian ends is difficult while retaining consumerist spheres of influence stratified by…

Explores excluded students' perceptions of their school experiences based on the accounts of 33 Year 10 and 11 students from semi-structured interviews. Focuses on students' perceptions of relationships with teachers related to teacher qualities, discipline, and school social structure. Discusses an ideal model of teacher-student relationships.…

The rapid transformation of a secondary school from a bureaucratically regimented institution to a student-centered learning environment advocating democratic practices merits review. Here, Dorfman shares his observations of what he has come to regard as the luckiest little high school, its achievements, contradictions, challenges, and promises.…