The growing popularity of e-learning may pose one of the greatest challenges currently facing traditional educational institutions. The questions often asked are how, rather than whether, to embrace this new form of instructional delivery and how to create an appropriate learning environment for the learners. Educational institutions in Hong Kong…

This paper examines the sociopragmatic character of intercultural communication between English Language Assistants (ELAs) and their "mentors" in French primary and secondary schools. With reference to Levinson's notion of "activity type", it argues that judgements by mentors as to what constitutes "allowable…

Plato wrote that higher order thinking could not start until the student had mastered conventional wisdom. The American educational establishment has turned Plato on his head with the help of a dubious approach to teaching developed by one Benjamin Bloom. Bloom's taxonomy was intended for higher education, but its misappropriation has resulted in…

The information technology revolution and the introduction of the Internet in the last decade have transformed the life of individuals and groups across the globe. One unique example of the remarkable impact of this new medium on the life of a marginalised society is the impact of the Internet on the life of Palestinians. The author demonstrates…

This book contains selected papers and excerpts from books by Seymour B. Sarason which chronicle the development of his ideas on educational change. Early papers addressed several themes that were later incorporated into a perspective of educational change: (1) professionalism is a combination of making mistakes and valuing one's own knowledge;…

In a review of statewide plans for assessing student learning at institutions of higher education, this paper argues that assessment, carefully planned to focus on students, can lead to an improvement in the communication and understanding between the academy and the polity. A brief section on the role of statewide assessment places it in a…

An examination of education-reform efforts in 50 states for the period 1983-87 found widespread adoption of reforms that were designed to increase state authority over education policymaking. The few decentralizing efforts contrasted sharply with the near universality of the centralizing reforms. This paper presents findings of a study that…

This book examines how educational development occurs by analyzing the actions of policymakers and the decisions they make regarding educational change. The book introduces an analytical framework that moves from the predecision and postdecision activities. Four case studies are used to exemplify the process of policymaking. Part 1, "The…

Grouping students by ability into courses with distinct curricula, or "tracking" as it is called in middle and high schools, has provoked a furious debate among educational scholars and practitioners. Research on tracking invariably characterizes the practice as a school-level, unitary phenomenon; schools are depicted as either tracked…

This paper examines the implementation of California's 1987 policy promoting the untracking of middle schools, a reform endorsed by the state in both "Caught in the Middle" (1987) and the "English-Language Arts Framework (1987)." Specifically, the paper looks at changes in eighth-grade English tracking policies for a sample of…

This paper provides a critical review of the 1994 Utah Legislative session as it relates to public and higher education in the state. The paper discusses the defining contextual features of the 1994 Legislative Session, the agendas of key state educational policy actors for the 1994 session, and significant issues and legislation in the…

This theme issue on rural education focuses on the unique characteristics and problems of rural schools, and discusses how the "top down" and "one size fits all" nature of the last decade of reforms has not taken these into account. To better address the situation of rural and small schools, various strategies are offered that…

This paper describes the role of gender in the politics of American education, as carried out in Philadelphia and its suburbs from 1905 to 1930. It discusses volunteerism as a way of life for middle-class American women in the 19th century, particularly within the realm of education. Women were able to act as advocates of school reform through…

Most political scientists argue that the term "public policy" encompasses both the actions of government and the intentions that determine those actions. This paper presents an overview of theories about the sources of impetus for policy changes, reviews public policy formation about school choice at the national level and in California,…

Nine articles discuss the nature and structure of public scholarship. The articles are: (1) "Divided No More" by Parker J. Palmer, who urges academics to act publicly on their convictions; (2) "The Public Intellectual as Transgressor?" by William M. Sullivan, who urges the reinvention of a "public" orientation to…