This study explores the linguistic abilities and political insights of African Americans in the inner city, focusing on the women and children of one particular neighborhood. Many of the research conversations were conducted with 12 members of 2 families. Based on more than 3 years of fieldwork, the book presents the oral, literate, and analytical…

To help stakeholders stay abreast of educational legislation, information which directly affects pre-K through 12 education is presented. The information is in the form of raw data and addresses the following topics: accountability, accreditation, administration, alternative education, assessment/testing, at-risk youth, attendance, bilingual…

This book offers critical perspective on the complex dynamics of politics, class, gender, power, race, and ethnicity in Project Head Start. Moving beyond the literature on Head Start's effects on children's achievement, the volume considers how the program has operated with families, in communities, and with other institutions. Chapters address…

The people of Kerala are among the most politically conscious and active in India. A number of educational reforms have occurred through political action. Three of the most notable of these reforms are: (1) The Private Secondary School Scheme of 1955; (2) the Kerala Education Act of 1958 and the Kerala Education Rules of 1959; and (3) the current…

In considering the issue of language and literacy, the following factors must be addressed: the nature of learning; the relationship between reading and learning; effective strategies and practices which promote literacy; and the responsibility of schools. Of the reading approaches and strategies which have been developed and implemented in an…

Communication among teaching assistants can be as complicated as communication among full time faculty members, so that power relationships influence the rhetoric they use when they talk about being students, teachers, and professionals. Analysis of the political dimensions of teaching assistant interaction in the English department at the…

"Politically correct" has become an all-purpose pejorative epithet conflating and condemning a number of initiatives, such as affirmative action in hiring and admissions, multicultural education, broadening the "canon" of classical texts to include women and minority groups, protests against unpopular, usually conservative…

This book argues that rather than pursuing a debate defined by controversy over who should be taught, what should be taught, and how it should be paid for, Americans must address education for what it is: the well-spring of democracy in the United States. Education must emphasize democracy as much as it does the pursuit of excellence. By doing…

In this book, eight contributors examine issues related to the likely effects of the decentralization of school governance on educational practice. Two major themes emerge in the book. The first (chapters 1 through 4) is that governance reforms in education may have little to do with what actually happens in schools, but have much to do with…

Research has shown that women are underrepresented in positions of educational authority. This paper presents findings of a study that asked the following question: What is it about the regularities in discourse and practice in relationship to power in a particular community that would allow a woman to be selected for the superintendency, when…

Findings from a study that explored the motivations of legislators to oversee and control program implementation are presented in this paper. Implementation is viewed as a contract between the legislative and executive branches with legislators acting as monitors who use oversight to control the agencies contracted to implement policy. A total of…

Prepared by educators and researchers involved in argumentation and debate, the articles in this special journal issue are based upon the assumptions that presidential debates are important, are likely to continue, and are of unique interest to students, scholars, and practitioners of argument. The first two articles in the issue provide overviews…

The author, a member of Parliament, outlines the forces behind educational policy decisions, explains how guidance counselors have been pawns in the ensuing outcome of these policies, and discusses why students have reacted to the educational system as a whole in a most cynical way. (Author)

Based on a case study of the formulation and enactment of the Education Amendments of 1972, an analysis of the federal policy-making process for higher education is presented to provide the academic community a realistic perspective on federal action. Includes discussion of the policy arena, sources of policy options, and pluralistic…

Develops analytically the concept of a subcommunity, develops the concept of a subcommunity's political influence, tests the application of these concepts with data collected from four low-income subcommunities, and analyzes and explores the possible relationships of environmental and school characteristics on the political influence of…