This survey investigated English headteachers' responses to government proposals to reform primary preservice teacher training, examining the views of parents, students, and tutors. The reforms would shift teacher training away from universities and into schools. There was little support for the proposals, though great support for the notion of…

Discusses the difference national standards could make in the education of American children and of the public at large, noting that any educational improvements will be determined by the quality of the ensuing debate. The paper examines the debate over national standards in history education and makes suggestions for future debate. (SM)

Goals 2000 defines the federal role as one of support and facilitation to improve all schools for all children while maintaining state and local control. The article discusses Goals 2000, looking at the beginning, the legislation, the national agenda, the state and local agenda, its passage into law, budgetary constraints, and the future. (SM)

Gender, race, and class issues in education raise questions about social policy and curricular design. Pluralism helps people understand difference and sameness, offering feminism ways to connect desired curricular changes with changes occurring because of their forces. Women's studies breaks down barriers constraining academic subjects, creating…

Reviewing school choice plans, Rinehart considers the only effective plan one in which the government cedes ownership and operation of schools to private sources. Mahlios counters that market-driven approaches to schooling deny access to or unevenly serve many groups. (SK)

Implications of academic collective bargaining and unionization in Australian higher education are examined in the context of different models of bargaining advocated by the national government and federal opposition. Problems foreseen include diminution of employment conditions, morale, staff quality, and instructional quality as well as…

Discusses contemporary curriculum discourse, reflecting on the split between (1) academic curricularists whose work focuses on school practice and those whose work does not and (2) those who believe curriculum reform is possible without social reconstruction and those who do not. The role of corporate discourse is examined. (SM)

Examines factors that caused resistance to California's recently mandated approach to reading and language arts instruction that focuses on authentic literacy experiences. Discusses pressures from teachers, administrators, and parents; shifts in student population; and testing. Presents illustrative scenarios from California schools. Suggests ways…

Discusses the relationship between Chicago's school reform and history, noting implications for current reform: (1) origins of bureaucracy and ascendance of experts and professionals; (2) educational reform as a social movement; (3) race and ethnicity; (4) revitalization of the public sphere; and (5) limits of educational reform. (SM)

Reports on ways English primary teachers' work perspectives changed following the 1988 Education Reform Act, noting the significance of teacher professionalism as a mediating influence. Most teachers had changed their teaching approach, classroom practice, and role perceptions in ways they did not choose, resulting in pressure and loss of…

In the current conservative climate of higher education, questioning students' political beliefs is imperative for a real democratization of knowledge. Oppositional pedagogy pressures the assumptions of the existing system--the dominant knowledges and institutional and social arrangements derived from them--and enables students to change their…

In an open-ended questionnaire examination of school politics from a teacher's viewpoint, 276 teachers described the control-oriented and protective political strategies of principals. The use of control-manipulative political behaviors by some principals had serious negative effects on teacher involvement and performance and undermined…

Lowering of academic standards and distraction with the 1992 Olympics and advent of the European Community are causing concern about the future of education in general and French second language education in particular in Spain. Intensification of language instruction is recommended. (MSE)

Based on time-series data, found that growth in enrollment rates in French elementary schools, 1837-81, was related to urbanization and spending by local village councils and was not related to central government action or changing economic demands. Nationwide economic and political processes confronted highly variable local conditions influenced…

Describes recent educational changes in Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Hungary, from total uniformity under former totalitarian regimes to ideological pluralism, free selection of curriculum and textbooks, elimination of the state monopoly in elementary and secondary education, loosening of the uniform school structure, and reduction of…