This presidential address discusses realities that may alter political, social, and economic priorities in the future; examines how these realities will affect the lives of people with mental retardation and their families; and addresses ideas for responding to these realities and promoting greater opportunities and quality of life for citizens…

Vulnerable to peer hostility, depression, and school failure, many gay students could use some special attention. Establishing special programs may not be in the cards politically. However, responsible school executives must try to ease the homophobic atmosphere pervading many schools and quietly help gay students find counseling and other needed…

This article addresses the controversy regarding the exclusion of youths labeled socially maladjusted from special education services for the seriously emotionally disturbed. The article reconceptualizes the issue from a cultural-organizational perspective, viewing such exclusion as resulting from a society that has little tolerance for "deviant"…

The history of educational assessment and research in Czechoslovakia and changes in attitudes toward educational testing are reviewed. The current status of educational assessment is evaluated and found wanting. A plan is proposed to resuscitate educational testing in Czechoslovakia in spite of the current economic and political problems. (SLD)

Presents an annotated bibliography of 44 information sources on computer technology in Eastern Europe. Topics addressed include the history of computer technology in former Soviet Bloc countries; computer use in the economic, military, and educational sectors; information technology and its effect on society; and technology transfer and East-West…

Examines the texts of 12 historians with access to educational directives produced by the Victorian Department of Education since the 1850s to determine the effects of curricular requirements on female enrollment in mathematics courses. Argues that girls were prohibited from taking arithmetic and mathematics because of other curricular…

Reviews the mandate and mission of the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) and describes its successful initiatives supporting library issues and community library programs. Excerpts from a letter written by Marilyn L. Miller, president of the American Library Association, in support of NCLIS are included. (EA)

Discusses ideological contradictions in the philosophy of internationalization supported by Japan's National Council on Educational Reform and the political contradictions inherent in Ministry of Education implementation efforts. Provides examples of attempts by Japanese high schools to internationalize their curricula and reintegrate students…

Smelzer's book deals with the institutional provision of education, rather than education as in and of society, arguing that the relative strength of competing interest groups concerned with popular education determined how rapidly a state-controlled system came to win out over a denominational one in England. (SLD)

Issues raised during a 1990 seminar on effects of programs and policies for foreign students and study abroad are reviewed. Specifically, concerns about national policy and institutional responses in light of changing patterns of foreign student flows and against the background of the new global economic and political setting are examined.…

Presents debates between young people in China's special economic zones and three educators who find that these areas create their own unique problems for China. Cautions that this group comes in contact with conflicting ideas, values, and beliefs. Warns private interests may create an unequal standard of living with the rest of China. (NL)

Reviews plans to desegregate schools in Dayton, Ohio, highlighting liberal cross-town busing plans and conservative plans for science centers. Efforts to desegregate Catholic schools by abolishing parish boundaries and establishing black-white encounter groups failed; so did an "alternative" Episcopal school's individualized instruction…

Describes the response of an urban school district to the unexpected enrollment of large numbers of newly arrived immigrants. Focuses on the processes that resulted in the implementation of an alternative high school and its abrupt closure a year later, and explores the implications of these decisions for policy and practice. (SLD)

Describes student forums as a means for students to learn through role-playing instead of reading a textbook or listening to a lecture. Explains that students debate the issue of independence of the U.S. judiciary in this sample forum. Provides detailed roles for students willing to express their positions during the panel discussion. (CMK)

Argues against the juggernaut view of globalization, suggesting that much depends on how we engage with global forces to mitigate their worst consequences and use them to advantage. Views democratic nation-building, informed by education, as pivotal to the engagement process. Locally, educators must retrieve the "public" in public…