The origins of public educational systems coincided with the economic and social transformation of North America and the emergence of a commercially based, industrial capitalism. The purpose of public educational systems was to facilitate this transformation. Discussed are five problems which the advent of public education was intended to solve.…

Summarizes critical attacks on Immanuel Wallerstein's World Systems approach to history and offers new critical evaluations. Wallerstein argued that an emerging capitalist world economy dominated politics and history from the 16th century to the present. Defines two new approaches, institutional analysis and post colonial cultural theory, that…

Describes the results of telephone interviews with 10 former directors of state systems-change projects focused on supported employment in the context of the rapid growth of supported-employment programs for people with severe disabilities. Results are discussed in terms of the ongoing nature of dynamic change in social systems. (Author/DB)

Examines the change in family structure together with the various pressures that now inhibit, inform, or constrain modern child rearing. Argues for educators of vision and compassion, who are articulate and well read. Concludes that without effective, knowledgeable early years professionals and appropriate institutions for the very young,…

Profiles the career and contributions of Stephen Toulmin. Toulmin started out as physicist but eventually earned a doctorate in philosophy and addressed a wide rang of issues concerning modernity, western civilization's emphasis on rational thought, and the impact of these ideas on philosophical inquiry. (MJP)

The UN Millennium goals envision a more just and sustainable future. This article explains why there is a need to shift from domination model to a partnership model in meeting the UN Millennium goals. The domination model is a configuration based on top-down rankings of control, while the partnership model is a configuration that can support a…

Social class has strongly influenced the development of social policies about adult education. Present policy discourses are a result of weakening working-class interests.

Highlander Folk School is an adult education center located in eastern Tennessee that was formed in 1932 by Myles Horton and continues today. Myles Horton (1905-1990) hoped to create an independent adult learning center where people could come together and address their problems. He wanted to create a public space where people could learn from…

Subjugated to the anachronistic rhetoric of nineteenth century literature, Australian boarding schools are habitually depicted as the remanence of a pre-colonial era. These images continue to be dominated by the paradigm of cruelty popularised by Tom Brown's School Days. This paper analyses the aspirations and attitudes of a study group of…

This project seeks to determine the effect of the mass media on political attitudes and behaviors in Chile between the years 1970 and 2000. The relationship between the media and "political socialization" is just now gaining recognition in scholarly research, and Chile offers an excellent case study. This paper traces these two variables…

It is essential, in analyzing the significance of Spain's Organic Law of Education (2006), as well as its associated measures, to be conscious of the lines of broad, hegemonic ideology that pervade Spanish society and the European Union. The market reforms to which the education system is currently subject leads it to incorporate in an…

This article raises several opinions to thoroughly carry the spirit of the Sixteenth Party Congress, adapt to the requirements of the new situation and tasks, completely raise the ideological and moral quality of minors, and further strengthen and improve the development of ideology and morality among minors. Strengthening and improving the…

A report is given of an international colloquy which offered the opportunity for representatives of 11 European countries to exchange views and experiences on further education and self-education of teachers. Discussions centered around five areas: (1) the science of education as a means of raising the effectiveness of the educational process and…

This paper explores radical critical theory, which questions the most fundamental assumptions of traditional family sociology by posing alternative ways of uncovering the realities of marriage. The first section provides a background in radical-critical theory, while the second section attempts to locate the radical-critical perspective within the…