One of the major changes introduced into the educational system by the first Peronist governments (1944-1955) was the organization of a course of technical education under state supervision. There has been a strong historiographical debate about the creation of the National Commission for Vocational Education and Orientation. Some have stressed…

Perhaps no school reform has generated as much interest and controversy in recent years as the proposal to have parents select their children's schools. Opponents of school choice fear that rolling back the government's role will lead to profit-driven financial scandals, sectarianism, and increased class and racial isolation. School choice…

The primary purpose of "National CrossTalk" is to stimulate informed discussion and debate of higher education issues. This issue contains the following articles: (1) The M Word: "Marketing" Has Changed from a Dirty Word to a Buzzword in Higher Education (Jon Marcus); (2) A Contrarian View of the Testing Industry: FairTest…

The author of this article recently studied the impact of the Christian Right on school board politics in a Maryland school district. The six-year situation in Garrett County shows that religious conservatives do not necessarily govern by placing their personal religious views above all else. Governing with Christian Right board members might…

The films "Star Maps" and "El Norte" reveal the real political, socioeconomic, and psychic costs of divided cities by bringing the simulated realities of mass media to their logical end, thereby sacrificing each character to the disorder of the city. In "Star Maps", Carlos dreams of becoming the next major Latino…

This article discusses the changes in higher education in Russia and the role of international organizations--the World Bank and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)--in promoting education reforms in this country. The connection between recent government policies and those of international organizations providing both…

This article provides a critical discussion of the neoliberal reforms of higher education focusing on new managerialism and New Public Management. It also distinguishes between democratic and market accountability regimes, examining how the former arise from classical liberalism and the latter from neoliberalism. The article then examines…

This essay examines Susan Moller Okin's writing on conflicts between religious freedom and sex equality, and her criticism of "political liberal" approaches to these conflicts, which I take to be a part of her lifelong critique of the public-private distinction. I argue that, while Okin ultimately accepted a version of the distinction, she was…

While many schools and boards of education are currently forming viable partnerships with queer community organizations in an effort to build upon existing anti-homophobia initiatives, there has been an erosion of such programs in Ontario, Canada. The education system has felt the effects of almost a decade of a conservative government, including…

This article focuses upon the need for character education through examining and promoting the values demonstrated by historical storytelling and encouraging the adoption of values for citizenship development. It is noted that historical figures should not be chosen by political correctness but should be examined instead for their transcending…

This article discusses citizenship education, education policy and discourse to explore their relations with the exercise of power in society. Taking the case of 1990 and 1997 legislative debates on citizenship education policy in Hong Kong, it briefly surveys the substantive arguments favouring or opposing the retention of government controls…

This article examines the current usage of terms of address in the Western Ukrainian variety of the Ukrainian language. It investigates the use of pronominal ("ty"--intimate form; ["Vy"--polite, distant form) and nominal forms of address (such as first name, father's name, surname, title, "pan/pani" (Mr/Mrs), "tovarys" (Comrade) etc.) in Western…

This article addresses social movement framing, generally, and within contemporary animal rights movements specifically by conducting focus group analyses of a non-activist population. This contrasts with previous studies of recruitment that have examined the conversion process retroactively, culling data from those already involved in a cause. By…

This article reports on a rather new and revolutionary education initiative in Israel. The information and descriptions offered are based on the results of a long-term ethnographic research effort that has been conducted since 1999 in the integrated bilingual Palestinian-Jewish schools in Israel. The bilingual schools are a product of the…

This paper is an assessment of recent research on U.S. political attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors and what it says about the need to improve education for democracy. The assessment examines three surveys: (1) the annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup survey that looks at attitudes toward public schools; (2) the annual "The American Freshman"…