This article discusses the effects of political and economic changes upon the internationally recognized Russian schools for mathematically and scientifically talented students. Threats to such schools include emigration, budget cutbacks to the schools, and people's growing disillusionment with science as a vehicle for economic and social…

Examines the Irish language community in Northern Ireland, and questions the validity of the census results of 1991. Particular focus is on the concept of a mother tongue and its relevance for speakers of Irish in the United Kingdom. Discusses measures to improve the status of Irish as a result of the Good Friday Agreement. (Author/VWL)

Discusses the intent, goals, successes and failures of England's Immigration and Asylum Act and its provisions for the support of children and families. Urges accelerating decision making process for asylum claims, and argues against placing refugees into a financially disadvantaged situation upon arrival, and against negative government policies…

Argues that assumptions of the empirical-analytic paradigm that social-science research is objective may be flawed, and researchers need to be aware of the political and ideological influences in research on special-needs education. An alternative model is offered which challenges the "normalization" approach to teaching students with special…

"The Future of Schools" (1998), by Australia's former Minister of Education Don Hayward and Professor Brian J. Caldwell, recounts the development, implementation, and early effects of a far-reaching change effort. The authors'"lessons" are undercut by insufficient data connecting the reform with improved teaching and learning.…

Although there have been several cycles of debate and reform on higher education since World War II, the most recent proposals, some implemented and others under consideration, are by far the most far reaching and consequential of the period. Most aim at resolving the conflict between the ideal of the Humboldtian model of an elite research…

Since July 1997, Hong Kong has become a Special Administrative Region (SAR) under the sovereignty of China. This paper compares the social well-being of Hong Kong residents before and after the change of sovereignty by analyzing six sets of survey data collected between 1990 and 2001. These are six biennial territory wide Social Indicator Surveys…

Examined a national educational technology effort in Egypt, illuminating the contradictions between the rhetoric of reform and the reality of school practices. Identifies underlying political, cultural, and economic factors that constrain attempts to improve Egyptian schooling with technology. (SLD)

In setting out to understand how South African school space was harnessed to the political project of apartheid, the author explores memory accounts from several adults who attended school during the apartheid era. Her analysis of their reminiscences found that non-pedagogic areas of the school and public domain beyond school premises were places…

After a century of effort, directed at modernising Chinese script, it is still the case that Chinese characters (henceforth "hanzi") remain a deficient communication system both for human use and for mechanical application. In some respects, the reform of Chinese "hanzi" has been a very political process, driven ultimately by…

Students at all levels of study must understand the impact and consequences of globalization. Because of technology innovations, integration of world economies through trade and cash flows, and the movement of people from one location to another, the world is becoming flatter. Based on this growing need to study globalization, a graduate course,…

In response to an increasingly globalized world, universities are engaged in an ambiguous and unclear journey of internationalization for economic and political reasons, and guided by different ideologies. Universities' distinctive nature and unique characteristics give culture a prominent role in mediating the university environment. This study…

This study of the education, training and employment of asylum seekers and refugees in the UK is based on the academic and policy literature and empirical data from five major studies. It sets out the political context to seeking asylum in the UK, explores current policy and practice regarding the education, training and employment of new migrants…

This report chronicles the record of the Reading First program as a research-based approach to teaching children to read, from early successes as a strict program whose funding would be distributed to states and districts using reading curricula whose effectiveness had been validated by scientific study, to one of eased eligibility that permitted…

A violent conflict between Maoist insurgents and the national government has engulfed Nepal for most of the last decade, a situation that has been complicated by deep-seated instability at the highest levels of the government itself. Even with the declaration of a ceasefire in 2006, violence endures in pockets of lawless banditry and unrest at the…