Despite months of work by the California Commission on the Teaching Profession and ten specific recommendations introduced into the legislature, the reform effort in California is stymied. This article discussed how demographic elements, money and control issues, and public apathy have overpowered change attempts. (MT)

The history of the California Council on the Education of Teachers (CCET) is traced from its beginning as a puppet of the State Department of Education to its emergence as an independent organization. Suggestions for realistic ways CCET can effect change in California teacher education are offered. (MT)

At a time when Britain's direct political routes to the creation of a more egalitarian society are closed, the opening of higher education to systematically disadvantaged groups is a significant contribution by laying the foundation for future attempts to build that society. (MSE)

Examines some of the geographical elements that influenced the creation of the U.S. Constitution, such as sectionalism, the Piedmont, and the Atlantic Coastal Plain. Focusing on aspects of geography that underlie the thinking, writing, and ratification of the document, the authors explore geography as environment, image-maker, and explicit…

Tests the functionalist and class-reproduction explanations of community college expansion against the experiences of four states where community colleges have proliferated and one state where they have failed to develop. Finds that both explanations have missed the key role of autonomous government officials. (FMW)

Reviews some changes witnessed during the past three years in the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), the only federal government unit explicitly dedicated to supporting systematic inquiry about education. Although dwindling and underfunded, OERI has recently demonstrated some great renewal potential. (MLH)

The author suggests that illiterates are portrayed by the media as incompetents leading miserable lives and that this image is incorrect for the majority. He commends the 1987 Southam News series on literacy for not following this trend; he describes the series and how it has put adult literacy on the Canadian agenda. (CH)

Explains the background of a movement to weaken vocational agriculture programs in Texas. Describes the efforts of alumni and current members of Future Farmers of America to change vocational agriculture's image; these efforts have turned public opinion and enabled educators to help reshape the agricultural education curriculum. (CH)

Evaluates U.S. intervention in neighboring countries, classifying actions according to an eightfold taxonomy: acquisition of continental territory, acquisition of overseas territory, establishment of protectorates, acquisition of transit rights to the Pacific, establishment of custom receiverships, protection of U.S. citizens and property,…

Suggests how English departments and teachers can humanize the use of computer technology in the teaching of literacy. Asserts that computer support of English programs will only succeed with a humanistic vision of computer technology. (MM)

Identifies common themes in the area of youth education in selected developing countries: (1) the emphasis on youth education as part of national development, (2) the importance of political contexts in provision of education and training, and (3) the curricular changing emphasis toward vocational relevance and mastery of the learning process.…

Discusses the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) 1985 summer seminar on Plato's political philosophy. States that the objective of the seminar was to give high school teachers an opportunity for intensive, uninterrupted study of the world's great literature so they could enrich their own knowledge of the subject and share what they gained…

Argues that reformers have been handicapped by an inadequate understanding of the politics and organization of schools. Reform strategies that they propose are incongruent with the realities of changing schools. (RB)

Internal documents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation show extensive surveillance of some campus activist groups and analysis of their activities. (MSE)

Courses on the Constitution must focus on the principles of government. Those principles and how the understanding of those principles shaped the document are appropriate subjects for consideration. The best sources for an examination of the Constitution are "The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787" and "The Federalist."…