This book is intended as an introduction to the political theory of the education of adults. Chapter 1 examines the relationship between adult education (AE) and civil society over the past several hundred years. Discussed in Chapter 2 are major theoretical and ideological perspectives about the state and AE, affinities between AE and political…

Using both a retrospective and a prospective view, this book examines the links joining research, policy, and change in education in Latin America. It inquires about the relationships among the economy, politics, and the state. It reviews the praxis of education in Latin American countries and in the context of the development trends of the 1980s.…

This book introduces prospective teachers to the historical, social, and legal foundations of education and to the profession of teaching. The text is designed to help readers develop a conceptual framework for understanding the educational system within which teachers work, and challenges them to ask questions about the role of schooling in U.S.…

In initial state-level data base of 30 selected measurements of educational policy and practice and related state conditions is presented. The variables were selected, in part, as distinctive phenomenon with potential relevance to education. Each measure has been defined to promote inter-state comparability. The measurements were selected to…

This document records the reactions of the Brazilian author/educator Paulo Freire to the questions: (1) what should educators do when the people with whom they work are not interested in the ideas of dialogical analysis and participatory decision making?; (2) what should educators do when they encounter hostility from people who feel that a…

The external politics of technology utilization in schools involving local, state, and federal levels of government is the central focus of this paper. Interest group politics are also examined, especially as practiced at the state level by professional associations representing teachers, administrators, and school board members. The first chapter…

Seven short articles on the use of standardized tests in the United States are presented. Topics include: (1) the effects on school restructuring during the 1990's of the backlash against standardized tests; (2) the movement to replace multiple-choice standardized testing and its relationship with curricular goals; (3) the influence of…

Because the ultimate power to control school reform is in the hands of the superintendent or some other similarly positioned administrator, the reforms tend to benefit some student or constituency groups more than others. Judging from the personal characteristics of most superintendents and the political context of the superintendency itself, it…

This monograph traces the legal history of the conflict between constitutional rights of expression in the schools and school boards' control of education. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the law and policy of free expression. Chapter 2 is a case study of "Kuhlmeier v. Hazelwood School District," in which a high school principal…

Inviting policy development is an attempt to cordially summon those who are involved and affected by rules, codes, and procedures to understand and participate in the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of policies. This paper first presents criteria for an invitational framework for policy development and then goes on to discuss the…

Policymaking has been studied from a variety of conceptual perspectives. The political bargaining model, used in conjunction with the broader systems framework, constitutes a familiar approach to research regarding education policymaking at the state level. This paper focuses on the conceptual implications of a study which applied that approach to…

Curricular changes among 20 public comprehensive high schools in California from 1982-83 to 1984-85 were analyzed. This report focuses primarily on changes in advanced placement courses in sample schools; it is accompanied by a discussion of policy implications and tables of demographic and course section data. The researchers discovered a…

This dissertation determines how state-level textbook decisions were made in Texas during the period 1969-81. A combination of primary document, survey, and oral history data is employed to reveal actions of participants in three decision groups and their interactions with textbook publishers and petitioners during phases of three textbook…

As part of a foundation for a multilevel analysis of career ladder reform among educational employees in Utah, this paper focuses on policymaking from the state perspective. Career ladder policy decisions are determined primarily through state legislative action, which are executed by the state board of education. This paper describes policy…

This is the third edition of the Education Almanac, an assemblage of statistics, facts, commentary, and basic background information about the conduct of schools in the United States. Features of this variegated volume include an introductory section on "Education's Newsiest Developments," followed by some vital educational statistics, a set of…