Analyzes the use of relevant international data to inform educational policy. Notes that such data can be used to extend research on school effects by incorporating comparative data, by evaluating the trade-offs involved in attempts to raise national achievement levels, and by broadening the range of international data. (MJP)

Provides a concise overview of Canada's many provincial and federal human rights codes. The codes address issues of discrimination and harassment based on race, religion, creed, color, national origin, and/or gender. Discusses the commissions that oversee these codes and gives examples of specific provisions. (MJP)

Charts the changes in Namibian curriculum policy reflecting the recent independence from South Africa and the dismantling of apartheid. Although originally conceived as a radical socialist state, political realities quickly created policies of reconciliation within Namibia. Educational policy has focused on the establishment of a post-colonial…

Drawing on one educator's experiences as a beginning professor, the article discusses the prospects of teacher education reform and beginning teachers as change agents, commenting on values conflicts within schools of education and between them and broader university communities, politics of epistemology, and reward structures in schools of…

Results are presented of an advocacy event in Pulaski County, Arkansas, where one school district's efforts to desegregate their gifted program resulted in more black students enrolled. Different phases of a Gifted Program Advocacy Model are used to explain important components of the Pulaski County Special School District's advocacy efforts.…

Examines the impact of impending political transition to Chinese control on Hong Kong's higher education system, 1982-97. Focuses on conflicts among the incoming and outgoing sovereign powers and local university groups, and on three related colonial transition processes within the "one country, two systems" framework--forms of…

Examines theories of child rearing and education promoted by the Christian Right, contrasting them with those advanced by educational psychology research. The paper also analyzes the curriculum used in many fundamentalist Christian schools, and opposition of the Christian Right to outcome-based education and whole-language reading instruction. (SM)

Examines the role of early-education research in addressing issues of educational disadvantage and inequality, particularly in light of 1990s politics, which emphasizes the marketplace metaphor. Discusses the culture of achievement and failure, effects of disadvantaged background on young children's understanding of the learning task, teacher…

Previous studies of the role of education in state-building have neglected the relative autonomy and non-neutral stance of the school system. Bernstein's notion of "pedagogic device" is used to illuminate conflicts and contradictions between educational development and state-building in the case of Singapore's efforts to control the…

Analyzes educational participation in the southern United States in 1910. Argues that the social organization of production and the policies of local government affected the supply and demand for education. Concludes that both plantation agriculture and manufacturing employment are negatively associated with school enrollment rates. (RW)

Traces the history of censorship. Examines the current censorship controversy, focusing on the conflict over censorship in the schools. Discusses organizations concerned with censorship issues and identifies specific instances of censorship in the social studies. Outlines censorship tactics, and presents positive reactions to take toward…

Education reform is taking a silent toll on school boards, says the president of the American Federation of Teachers. Cites laws in a number of states that weaken school boards' authority. Advocates a national debate about problems with school boards before changing the organizational structure. (MLF)

Examines tensions and divisions that formed the educational legacy of the two states in Ireland that emerged from the political settlements of 1920-21. Concludes that, on the eve of partition in 1921, deep divisions in education were reminders that education would continue to expose ideological differences between Ireland and Britain. (CFR)

A study of need and strategies for higher education reform in East Central Europe is summarized. The study was based on separate studies in Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia, each from the perspective of those involved in the systems. Research/development policy, government role, funding, faculty, and international collaboration…

Asserts that, until the middle of this century, there were relatively few laws affecting educator or student rights and responsibilities. Provides an overview of the origins and expansion of federal legislation related to school law since the 1950s. (CFR)