Examines the extent to which corporatist political theory explains recent educational reforms in Norway (strong corporatist state) and the United Kingdom (weak corporatist state). Focuses on shifts toward centralized or decentralized control; public versus private sponsorship of schools; and teacher autonomy and school-based management. Contains…

Questions past educational research and its effect on policy making and educational practice. Asks whether education is a scholarly pursuit, science, or art. Expresses concern that instruction of educational methods has a detrimental effect on knowledge of the field. Claims actual classroom teaching must be guided by research, a body of…

Discusses a course on U.S. Congress in which students analyze Congress as an institution, the role of Congress in the political system, and Congressional members. Emphasizes the role Congress should play in the Madisonian policy process. Examines the history of Congress, budgetary politics, foreign policy, and congressional reforms. Includes…

Examines Israel's 1953 State Education Law, the product of a religious and political compromise, that was responsible for unifying schools into a national system. Gives the historical perspective of this system that is comprised of five types of schools: four Jewish, one Arabian. Examines how the schools reflect Israel's religious and political…

Political factors that school superintendents perceive as related to decision making were studied using a random sample of 172 superintendents from 11 southeastern states. The results show that the greatest political influences were local and state sources within the organizational structure of the school districts. (SLD)

Examines the dynamic aspects and political nature of educational policymaking in France's centralized educational system. Considers the obstacles to the introduction and implementation of comprehensive middle schools, created in 1963 to permit social mobility through education. Contains 48 references. (SV)

Argues that the Reagan Administration halted the rapid expansion of bilingual education by reducing federal funding; redefined and weakened bilingual education policies by including single language programs within the definition of bilingual education; and severely restricted the civil rights aspects of bilingual education. Contains 38 references.…

The negotiation and legitimation of academic values are explored through a discussion of a university foreign language department's definition of foreign language requirements, curricular and instructional needs and methods, and staff requirements. The instructional staff's lack of power in defining the program limited their ambition and…

A former Secretary of Education outlines ways in which the new secretary can provide the leadership necessary to make America a nation of learners, through relationships with the Cabinet, the President, Congress, and the education community. (MSE)

Discusses trends in distance education in Africa, considers its contributions to national development, and suggests developments that are likely for the future. Case studies of Zambia, Kenya, and Zimbabwe suggest that critical factors for the effectiveness of distance education include the provision of adequate resources and firm political…

Social, economic, and political changes will alter educational facility needs and increase the demand for financing new facilities. Anticipates the changes that may be important in planning and financing school facilities. (MLF)

From a Hispanic perspective, the current educational reform movement is closely related to three other contemporaneous policy agendas that imply an increasingly ethnocentric policy environment: (1) the Immigration Reform and Control Act; (2) the English-only movement; and (3) efforts of the Department of Education to sabotage the Bilingual…

Commentary on an article about educating an industrialized middle class in Arab-Islamic countries argues that the absence of an industrial middle class in Arab countries cannot be understood solely with reference to Eurocentric models and suggests there is no single solution to integrating science and technology with Islamic religion. (SM)

A superintendent who was nearly appointed New York City Schools chancellor explains the physical and mental stamina his job requires. Most school executives don't recognize job stresses leading to physical disorders, adverse effects on family life, and alcoholism. Since superintendents' demise usually centers on political/interpersonal conflicts,…

Considers the contrasts and changing nature of teaching in France, England, and the United States. Reveals that sweeping public policy directives in the early 1960s created radically different educational institutions in England and France. By contrast, the United States has remained fairly constant with its emphasis on local autonomy. (MJP)