Examines development of the equalization idea in American public education, discusses theorists' applications of equalization to school finance, reviews the literature on school-finance reform-litigation effects, and concludes that U.S. history has not strongly supported equalization of educational opportunities. Education is not a fundamental…

An Appalachian college professor describes his efforts to merge political activism, scholarship, and teaching, and offers some thoughts on transformative education that prepares students for their role in a democratic society. An important approach to transformative education is service learning programs that incorporate local issues and politics…

A teacher of adjudicated students wonders: why teach? The money is not good. The call for accountability is based on the misperception that teachers perform poorly. The work is stressful and complicated by imposition of standards that don't address all aspects of a good education. He reasons that he can't find anything more rewarding than working…

Education issues addressed by the Scottish Parliament in 2001 included Gaelic language maintenance, lifelong learning, funding for research and teaching in higher education, and the role of education in economic development. It is becoming apparent that economic development concerns may not necessarily be congruent with principles underlying…

Finland's Reformative In-Service Education for Teachers was a one-year program that joined experienced and novice teachers in promoting change. Research on the resulting development of teachers' cognitions and on factors crucial to that development highlighted changes in beginners' craft knowledge concerning students, learning, knowledge, and…

Investigated the phenomena of cultural denial and cultural limbo among African American preservice teachers with linguistic allegiance to African American English, presenting data from interviews with two preservice teachers. Discusses African American self-love within the language politics of teacher education. Examines survival strategies used…

Differs with those who respond to boys lagging behind girls in literacy by making more space in literacy curricula for reading and writing practices favored by boys. Looks at patterns of gender differentiation. Argues that, since reading gives access to other, wider ways of being, educators need curricula and assessment procedures that enable all…

In 1998, passage of Proposition 227 virtually eliminated bilingual education programs and called for instruction overwhelmingly in English. However, diverse student populations require diverse instructional approaches. Standards-based reform aids only students who can fully understand and assimilate high academic content. Constructivists value…

Examines the contradictions between Islamic education theory and the Western-based education systems found in most Islamically oriented countries. Uses Egypt as a case study to illustrate the complex and delicate balance policy makers must achieve in meeting the needs of economic development while also affirming their countries' Islamic cultural…

Improving schooling and teacher education will be successful to the extent that educators make the public and budget-controlling authorities aware of the relationship between investment in education and productive citizenship. Until educators become more proactive and willing to serve as "American Reconstructioneers of Culture," our…

An exemplary teacher who perfected portfolio writing techniques with his seventh-graders fears that abandoning KIRIS (Kentucky Instructional Results Information System) for a more conventional testing system will discourage students' riskier ventures. Talented teachers must balance teaching writing as an artistic process with meeting concrete…

An ethnohistorical study of a small rural elementary school in Trinidad and Tobago during the colonial period (1931-53) examines four ideologies--mental discipline, social efficiency, humanism, and child study--that underlay curriculum planning and pedagogical practices and converged to maintain the colonial state. The postcolonial persistence of…

Identifies four groups with conflicting interests in indigenous studies programs and the nature of the conflicts. Proposes the formation of a pan-indigenous intellectual network. Describes the ideal indigenous studies program devoted to building a pan-indigenous infrastructure that indigenous nations would direct and use as a tool to strengthen…

Although President Bush favors continuous testing, headlines reflect an intense, growing antitesting sentiment. One standard does not fit all, current systems are malfunctioning, and kids are short-changed. A recent report says abstinence-only sex education is ineffective; high teen birth rates underline the need for comprehensive approaches. (MLH)

Shortly after coming to power, Tony Blair's New Labour government expressed its strong commitment to tackling the problem of school expulsion. The Treasury's 1998 Spending Review included the bold target to achieve "a reduction by one third in... exclusions (from 12,500 to 8,400 permanent exclusions a year) by 2002". This article gives…