Will greater school choice result in more responsive, higher quality schools and happier parents? Or will proliferating options further sort students and families by race, social class, and special interest? Increasingly, education is viewed as a private good. If parents become autonomous, self-interested consumers, erosion of common purposes and…

Two recent initiatives to promote science and technology education in schools are compared: specialist "technology colleges" (secondary schools) in England and the Science and Technology Teacher Fellowship scheme in New Zealand. The schemes are examined within their respective policy contexts and are evaluated as responses to challenges…

Describes Chicago magnet school's use of seminar discussion and classroom dialogue to nurture students' active engagement in the learning process. Draws on experience at a public magnet school in Chicago with a student population that is largely poor and minority. (Contains 10 references.) (PKP)

Discusses school power structures. Cites the following examples of "bottom-up" authority: (1) vouchers; (2) magnet schools; and (3) open enrollment. Suggests a new model in which the larger school districts function as "holding companies" and individual schools function as "subsidiaries" of the parent company. (FMW)

Describes interdisciplinary activities with real-world applications ranging from science to mathematics to technology. Cites the study and construction of model bridges as a way for students to learn about engineering concepts and some of their relationships. States that the exercise enhanced teacher cooperation between the different fields. (RT)

Presents the guidelines used to establish the "six to six" (morning to night) interdistrict magnet school both as a model for school restructuring and for desegregation. Included in the discussion are the background, underlying assumptions or theory, and the results. (GR)

Magnet schools were created as a result of the failure of mandatory desegregation plans, but the magnet schools concept has spawned the ideas of controlled parent choice of schools and the chartering of public education. Implementation of the Goals 2000 Act could jeopardize trends magnet schools have set in motion. (SLD)

Describes the Knight Fundamental Academy, a magnet school in the Denver (Colorado) public school system. The academy has demonstrated academic achievement through a rigorous course of instruction in the fundamentals with traditional teaching. Parent involvement is an essential part of the school's philosophy, as are respect and good manners. (SLD)

One Massachusetts elementary school, desegregated and rebuilt with a complete system of state-of-the-art technology and infrastructure, has shown how technology can influence school restructuring and student achievement. School's technology is integrated into the whole curriculum. Garfield School's experience shows that computers can benefit both…

Britain's 1988 Education Reform Act mandates increased centralization (through a national curriculum and testing program) and greater managerial decentralization and competition between schools. This article discusses the role of the central government Department of Education and Science in requiring local education authorities to implement local…

If high- and middle-income parents make disproportionate use of school choice through residential and private school decisions, lower-income parents are more strongly represented in public school choices, many related to desegregation options. Magnet schools and voucher systems benefit those who hear about them. Universal controlled choice has had…

Lubbock (Texas) High School, a successful magnet and neighborhood school, discovered the benefits of flexible scheduling over 15 years ago. The unique schedule and other organizational structures have sustained a successful magnet program, created a diversity-enhancing culture, and revitalized a school near closure in 1978. (MLH)

Describes a study of three parts: (1) the application of a statistical technique for predicting performance; (2) a computer program for teaching basic problem-solving skills; and (3) evidence for the value of teaching with complex homework problems in an introductory physics course required for engineering majors. (Contains 42 references.)…

Students from a Kansas technology magnet school helped create a CD-ROM depicting the Wichita Art Museum's collection. Project evaluation examined development of the school-museum partnership; benefits to students, museum, and community; and partnership problems. A brief literature review discusses partnership features and barriers, and benefits of…

This article will explore how symbolic and institutional violence shaped students' understandings of themselves within the educational context, and will argue that the creation of critical educational spaces can enable students and teachers to explore and transgress the internal and external influences and violence that shape the learning…