Notes the contradiction between the growing body of academic research in gay and lesbian studies and the fact that gay and lesbian faculty members remain second-class citizens in academe as well as in American political culture. Examines such issues as political activism and academic study; discrimination in the workplace; domestic partner…

Case studies of nine Alberta charter schools examined the role of charter schools in educational reform. The real promise of charter schools resides less in fostering innovation and efficiency in public education, and more in providing parental school choice and addressing diverse values and goals of education. (Contains 28 references.) (Author/TD)

Led by Chicago Public Schools, many districts have adopted strict retention and promotion policies, often abandoning social-promotion programs that pushed students ahead with their peers regardless of achievement. Research shows that grade repetition is a strong predictor for dropping out. Summer, weekend, and transitional programs are partly…

Looks at how teaching basic writing is shaped by the material conditions of teachers working in those programs. Documents reactions of two writing programs on two different campuses to a 1991 statewide directive calling for the removal of all "remedial" courses from state campuses. Describes the programs' transformations after the directive, and…

Examines the school choice movement in the United States, which advocates claim will make schools more efficient by allowing parents to select the best schools for their children. Argues that the school choice movement is a surreptitious plan to gradually put the functions of public education in private hands, with public funds going to support…

Argues that many recent collaborative research projects conducted by classroom teachers and teacher educators have focused too narrowly on educational practice, which is subject to the vagaries of the current political and social climate. Identifies strategies for broader focused research that concentrates on the teacher's life and work. (MDM)

Presents a brief overview of the current disintegration of Russian society. Maintains that the decline in social services and the education system, in particular, threatens the well-being of Russian children. Currently Russia's educational system is failing to provide for its students' needs. (MJP)

Argues that Mississippi has used every effort to block the higher education aspirations of its black citizens and describes the state's latest effort that involves setting higher admissions standards at the state's predominantly black universities. The history of unequal funding of higher education in the state is highlighted, as well as political…

Identifies three major educational problems facing Eastern Europe. These are the development of a new philosophy of education, new methodologies of education, and new methods of training teachers. Examines the first tentative steps in these efforts and discusses educational financial problems. (MJP)

An analysis of the 1998 California educational standards confronts the assimilationist ideology embedded in the push for standards and accountability in American education. The standards explicitly define "America" and"Americans" as White and Anglo, ignore Indigenous history and contributions of non-European cultures and women,…

Overviews the 20-year history of the English Composition Board at the University of Michigan, an independent unit directed by a policy board until it was effectively ended by being placed under the English Department in 1997. Describes its early cooperative and later collaborative approach to management style. Argues efforts to institutionalize…

Explores how extensions to the General Agreements on Trade in Services (GATS) designed to increase market access of private service providers to industries now in the public sector could affect public higher education. Asserts that these agreements have an alarming potential to limit the role of government in the delivery of public services such…

Describes how one elementary school implemented a New American School Design, the Audrey Cohen College System of Education, using interview data to describe local adaptations to and experiences with the design and highlight how political and economic conditions negatively affected implementation. By the program's third year, there was no evidence…

Discusses a study that examines department chairs' beliefs about the role of faculty in departmental governance and the characteristics of an ideal governance structure. Concludes that faculty's key role is helping clarify the administrators' responsibilities, and that faculty members should be rewarded for their participation and empowered to…

Survey of 74 Canadian universities suggests prior learning assessment and recognition (PLAR) is gaining legitimacy because of the government/industry agenda to prepare the workforce, growing emphasis on lifelong learning, changing demographics, and students' conviction that learning outside the classroom should be validated. Quality assurance and…