This article attempts to reveal the working dimensions of power used to bring "A Nation at Risk" into national repute. Mackenzie's model of curriculum change is used to identify the sources of influence. The sources included access to bases of prestige, competence, money, legal authority, and mass communication. (Author/IAH)

The roots and initial goals of the National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME) are discussed, and the success in achieving those goals is assessed. Issues addressed include the NCME's practitioner orientation and policies on important matters in educational practice and its role in sociopolitical activities in educational measurement. (TJH)

Constituents, seen as only average information sources, are the primary influence on both state and federal legislators. If principals worked with superintendents (as community leaders) and school board members (as highly regarded local officials), educator teams could significantly shape state and national educational policy. (MLH)

Learn and Teach is a foreign-funded literacy project in South Africa that is intended to combine conscientization with literacy instruction. The approach includes vernacular as well as English instruction. A call is being made for a mass literacy campaign on a national scale to end the marginalization of the Black population. (SK)

Examines Jersey City (New Jersey) Superintendent Franklin Williams' efforts to thwart the state's takeover of his school system, which is facing academic and managerial bankruptcy. An inset mentions other state takeovers or interventions in Texas, New Mexico, and Kentucky school districts facing financial and accreditation difficulties. (MLH)

Examined are teachers' perceptions of "everyday" politics in schools. Of the 777 teachers responding, 404 described the political strategies they used with principals as "open" and "effective." Discussed are these strategies, teachers' reasons/purposes, teachers' feelings, and strategy effectiveness. (73 references) (SI)

Illustrates fundamental principles of introducing change in educational institutions. Describes the strategies by which a low-status member of an organization can create a climate conducive to the implementation of changes consistent with their agenda. Suggests that this role of catalyst is quite different from that of the conventional change…

Former Congressman James O'Hara responds to questions concerning the origins of his involvement in the House Subcommittee on Higher Education, the process whereby issues become law, the effectiveness of lobbying, and his advice on influencing the direction of legislation affecting community colleges. (DMM)

Reviews "Australia's International Relations in Education" by Philip W. Jones, which addresses issues arising from Australia's involvement in educational exchange programs and its contributions to international development. (TE)

A former governor's aide offers seven rules to help educators gain access to the seat of state budgetary and political power. (MLF)

Teachers do not fail to address teaching's moral and ethical issues because they lack moral sensitivity, concern, or commitment. Teachers' bury their concern under the hard shell they develop to protect themselves in nonsupportive environments. Schools' social/political environment often discourages conversation, and educational language limits…

A typology of the influencing strategies used in academic decision making in higher education institutions is proposed, then applied to one university program development project. The typology assumes two basic influence modes (pressure and legitimization) and seven types of organizational resources (expertise, money, information, time, rules,…

State legislators who consistently challenge higher education on one or more issues are seen as both allies, for bringing issues to the forefront, and as foes, for their sometimes strident criticism. Many such legislative critics focus on accountability vs. autonomy. (MSE)

Economic globalization deprives countries of control of their own destinies, with devastating consequences. This doctrine justifies inequality and should be resisted by adult educators who are being asked to educate and train people to compete in the global marketplace rather than work for social justice. (SK)

An innovative professional master's of continuing education program at the University of Calgary took five years to be established. It had to overcome differing views of faculty, the opposition of the dean of education, and other types of political and philosophical resistance. (SK)