Examines difficulties of curriculum development in liberal democracies. Focuses on selection and choices in the official curriculum. Discusses theories that state social groups seek benefits through school curriculum. States mass access to contemporary thought causes curriculum development to be complex. Argues multiple views and ideologies must…

Successful urban superintendents demonstrate various traits not always specified in job descriptions, including an ability to inspire, business savvy, sensitivity to diversity, self-confidence, deference to board members, high energy, and a sense of humor. A school executive assuming an urban superintendency without these qualities will experience…

Proposes a political sociology of adult and popular education in Latin America as a basis for a radical comparative approach. Discusses four problems associated with adult and popular education: definition, the political nature of education, quality of comparative research data, and the need for good theories. (SK)

Traces the history of kindergartens in Japan. Maintains that the Japanese government embraced the concept and modified it to encourage modernization. Includes 10 photographs of wood block prints showing how Friedrich Froebel's moral lessons were replicated in Japanese settings. (CFR)

Explains the development of a network of teacher training institutions within the European Community designed to promote the European dimension in education by direct cooperation between trainers and their institutions. The paper focuses on the European dimension and multiculturalism. (SM)

The ideology behind the educational justifications for a national curriculum and national testing can damage members of society who have the most to lose. The paper analyzes the conservative agenda, discusses connections between national curricula and testing, increasing privatization, and choice plans, and notes resulting patterns of differential…

Explores the themes of diversity and choice as they relate to the teaching of English at all levels. Contrasts the open-mindedness of English teachers with nationalist and traditionalist agents in government. Describes a conflict over Key Stage 3 testing in Great Britain as exemplifying this clash. (HB)

Considers the educational views espoused by the Centre for Policy Studies of Great Britain as revealed in recent publications. Examines the strategies used by this group to block meaningful dialog. Argues for a more comprehensive concept of English instruction, and outlines such an agenda. (HB)

Relates the experience of students and a teacher in an alternative high school in designing a biology curriculum based on Foxfire practices. Describes student efforts to gain approval from school officials to study evolution and creationism and the conflicts in values and belief systems among the students. (LP)

Over the past 5 years, 6 states and an estimated 100 local communities have established youth apprenticeship systems; 8 other states have passed legislation that could include apprenticeship programs; proposed federal legislation would fund state and local programs. Critics cite costs, the fear of diverting resources from existing school programs,…

Massachusetts's school-choice program has seen a significant flight of students and dollars from inadequately funded urban districts to wealthier suburban districts. Despite the Haverhill district's cutting-edge curriculum, many students have transferred because of school location and the district's racial composition. School choice is not a…

The WISE Group is a group of women who have been exploring feminism and relationships among teaching, research, and activist goals. The Call to Action illustrates the different arguments about science teaching and learning, one from a more traditional perspective and another from a feminist perspective. The primary goal of activism is to challenge…

Describes the different systems of formal governance in the U.K.'s old universities and in the public sector, the pressures on the system which led to the shift from elite to mass education, and consequent concerns about maintaining high academic standards while at the same time expanding access. Differences in management and governance between…

A top aide to Vice President Gore has been chosen to lead the U.S. Department of Education's effort to modernize delivery of financial aid to students and colleges. His office is the first federal government entity to be run as a "performance-based organization." Some fear he may politicize the office that lawmakers specified be led by a…

Discusses preconditions for exporting community colleges to developing countries, the historical development of higher education in Latin America, and the current favorable political and economic climate for housing colleges. Suggests using Argentina as a testing-ground for the community college system. (11 citations) (VWC)