CONTRIBUTIONS OF MASS-PRODUCED INFORMATION AND ENTERTAINMENT TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF PUBLIC IMAGES IN EDUCATION WERE INVESTIGATED IN THE UNITED STATES, WESTERN EUROPE, AND EASTERN EUROPE. THIS PROJECT SERVED TO CREATE A MODEST HISTORICAL DIMENSION AND A CROSS-CULTURAL COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE OF CERTAIN DYNAMIC ASPECTS OF MASS MEDIA EDUCATION (THROUGH INFORMATION, PERSUASION, OR ENTERTAINMENT) WITH RESPECT TO FORMAL EDUCATION SYSTEMS OF COUNTRIES. THE VARIOUS STUDIES WERE CONCERNED WITH TRENDS OVER TIME, PATTERNS OF CONTENT ACROSS CULTURES, AND REASONS BEHIND THESE TRENDS AND PATTERNS. INTERVIEWS WERE CONDUCTED WITH OVER 100 KNOWLEDGEABLE PERSONS IN THE MASS MEDIA FIELD AND IN EDUCATION IN THE COUNTRIES STUDIED. DOZENS OF INDEXES, ARCHIVES, AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS OF RELEVANT DATA WERE SEARCHED. CONTENT STUDIES INCLUDED ANALYSES OF THOUSANDS OF NEWSPAPER ITEMS, FULL-LENGTH FEATURE FILMS, RADIO AND TELEVISION DRAMA PROGRAMS, POPULAR MAGAZINE STORIES, AND FICTIONAL AND DRAMATIC CHARACTERS. THE RESULTS OF THE PROGRAM WERE BROUGHT TOGETHER WITH RESPECT TO TWO ASPECTS OF THE DYNAMICS OF IMAGE-FORMATION AS FOLLOWS--(1) "CONTENT," OR THE COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE OF A MESSAGE SYSTEM, I.E., THE WAY MASS MEDIA SYSTEMS PORTRAY TEACHERS, SCHOOLS, AND EDUCATION, AND (2) "PROCESS," OR THE INFLUENCES, RELATIONSHIPS, AND REQUIREMENTS WHICH AFFECT THE PRODUCTION OF A MESSAGE SYSTEM. THE MAJOR THEORETICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THESE STUDIES WERE RELATED TO INSTITUTIONAL DYNAMICS AFFECTING MASS CULTURAL REPRESENTATIONS OF EDUCATION IN DIFFERENT SOCIETIES. (JH)