French second language instruction in Australian schools is seen as endangered by political and economic forces favoring other "priority" languages. Arguments in favor of continued French language instruction are presented. (MSE)

Examined is the political relevance of discussions of how disabilities are determined and administered. Michael Foucault's work is presented as the basis for interpreting literature on disability from a viewpoint which is sensitive to variations in epistemological presuppositions and to political implications of research for the administration and…

Discusses the "culture and commerce" surrounding standardized textbook production in the United States, focusing on college texts. To end "female enclaves" and other industry problems will require a long-term, politically and theoretically grounded ethnographic investigation that follows a textbook from its writing to its…

Chelimsky's five-part continuum--a model for the practice of evaluation in a political context--is reviewed. The model's conceptual framework and a question for education are discussed. By focusing on interactions between evaluators and policy actors, this model should prompt debates about unsettled issues in education policy making. (SLD)

Lack of education, low environmental awareness, and environmental racism (for example, siting toxic waste dumps in certain communities) contribute to the degradation of the environment in South Africa. Educational initiatives include learning from nature and fostering political action. (SK)

Increasingly, new college student groups, most conservative, are demanding redistribution of student fees to support more conservative student activities. Previous court decisions complicate administrative determinations. Institutions have adopted innovative and sometimes controversial ways of allocating funds. (MSE)

The movement away from strictly conventional evaluation practices and toward new and more responsive models of inquiry seems inescapable when one ponders the future of evaluation. A more activist-oriented and more stakeholder-oriented model of evaluation seems to be the future of the field. (SLD)

Interviewed 1,708 East and West German adolescents to study similarities and differences in their psychosocial transitions. Found that females generally underwent transitions earlier than males. East German youths conceived of the transition to work and displayed autonomy earlier than West German youth, but the overall timetable of transitions…

Argues that media flow research needs to be reconceptualized differently from notions of one-way flows that serve coherent national interests, and whose asymmetries can be measured statistically and unambiguously. Argues that global circulation is now complex and contradictory, and that new culturally-based models and methods are needed for…

Examines how texts are constrained by cultural forces in a critical analysis of the controversy regarding rap group Public Enemy's Professor Griff and his universalizing claims about Jews. Investigates the economic, political, and ideological mechanisms that encouraged the band to withdraw Griff's comments and replace it with a text more…

The politically conservative John M. Olin Foundation, which provides financial grants to individuals and groups on U.S. campuses, has become part of the debate over "political correctness" in academia. The foundation is accused of being linked with the Republican Party and of distorting intellectual debate. (DB)

Puts whole language and the author's own research into historical, political, and philosophical context. Offers predictions about the future of whole language and education in general. (SR)

The article reports on efforts of scholars (including historians, political scientists, economists, and sociologists) to study the economic and political transformation taking place in Eastern Europe. Noted are analogies with Latin American development, difficulties of privatization, and contradictions between democracy and economic reform. (DB)

Analyzes the evolution of Chinese national examinations with the "catastrophe" model. Goals, content, form, and process of exams were influenced by social and political forces. Competence over 4,000 years of Chinese history was defined as military prowess, Confucian-style scholarship, Western-style military expertise, proletarian…

Provides an overview to this issue which focuses on information resources and democracy. Topics discussed include theories of democracy and the shifting information environment from an informing environment to one that is involving; the nature of information systems; censorship and economics; the content of information resources; and political…