Describes the significant change in Arkansas State public policy on education during the tenure of Governor Bill Clinton. Details the political ups and downs of Clinton's initiatives, particularly teacher competency tests. Offers a postscript on Clinton's initiatives and a side bar on the Home Instructional Program for Preschool Youngsters. (JB)

Describes planning backwards, the Coalition of Essential Schools' educational policymaking strategy for high schools. The article discusses five possible dilemmas in planning backwards: outcomes or exhibitions, local or remote authority, rigid or flexible standards, apartness or authenticity in assessment, and curriculum scaffolds built of courses…

Analyzes intercultural education, looking at the dynamics of agenda building as a political process. Theoretical and ideological assumptions underlying the concept of intercultural education are discussed. The article says use of this concept serves the purpose of issue containment within the arena of conflict where educational policy alternatives…

Using public school reform efforts in Chicago (Illinois), this essay attempts to provide a theoretical framework for understanding how the educational governance system responds to political and social value conflicts and discusses how opposing interests have periodically compromised rather than resolved these conflicts. (SLD)

Describes to experience of one of professor D. Nakanishi's graduate students, who with others, lobbied the California State Legislature on Nakanishi's tenure denial at the University of California Los Angeles. Describes Nakanishi as a teacher and mentor and links the tenure struggle to the Asian-American community's political development. (JB)

Describes Aracena (Spain) and its educational history. Compares the experience of schooling and community from the perspectives of middle-class and working-class students. Explores social and cultural factors that may explain why middle-class students are more likely than working-class students to continue their education despite similar…

Discusses the ambiguous attitude toward literacy in ancient Athenian society. Asserts that few Athenian citizens could read, yet reading was regarded as intrinsic to democratic practices. Maintains that the democratic power of writing rests in the active, social interaction of citizens. (CFR)

The role of increased teacher unionization during the current period of reform in Australian education is examined critically. It is argued that conventional industrial-style unionization is not supportive of educational values and that a more inclusive model of educational accountability is needed. (Author/MSE)

The article reveals philosophical, social, and practical difficulties with ongoing governmental policy in vocational education, focusing on the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994, which is designed to construct a national transition system administered at state and local levels. Alternative approaches are suggested. (SM)

Challenging prevalent views of teachers as technicians, bureaucratic agents, and deskilled intellectuals, the article recommends restructuring teachers' roles by considering them public intellectuals, exploring pedagogical and curricular transformations and changes in workplace conditions that might empower individual teachers and emancipate…

Examines education-related strategies endorsed by a committee mandated to develop a plan of action to secure Canada's future economic and social well-being. Describes current educational attempts to meet objectives that involve balancing equity, efficiency, and effectiveness with social, economic, and educational concerns. (LP)

Provides a progress report on the development process for the National Standards in Geography project. Discusses content and changes made in the fourth draft of the standards. Expresses disappointment in the comments of many geographic educators who criticized the standards for being too difficult or too lengthy. (CFR)

Contends that sound professional judgment and conduct depend upon sound ethical judgment and conduct. The article examines ethics and professional judgment from the perspective of making ethical executive and administrative decisions rather than of classroom instruction and evaluation. Steps toward making educational practice more rational and…

Describes teacher training practices, problems, and reforms in the Turkish educational system. Because three different types of institutions, each with its own preparation policies and practices, contribute personnel to the educational system, Turkey faces problems in the training, recruitment, employment, and professional development of its…

Stress accompanies most superintendencies, but how much strain a superintendent experiences hinges on personality traits and coping ability. Superintendents are pressured by innercity work environments, changing demographics, tightening finances, confrontational school boards, and dissatisfied constituents. For some, the answer is early…