This book focuses on discourses of globalisation in comparative education research and the politics of education reforms. It analyses and evaluates the shifts in methodological approaches to globalisation and education reforms, as reflected in comparative education research and their impact on education policy and pedagogy. The book covers topics…

"Questioning the Language of Improvement and Reform in Education" challenges the language used in education by linking the language of both the public and professional domains with the changing intentions of the governance of education. Exploring various issues, which embody the many manifestations of the manner in which strident,…

Compares Oskar Kokoschka's teaching practices with American Progressive Education literature. Observes that the latter stresses the need for practicing artists to teach in the schools. Evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the artist-in-the-classroom concept revealed in light of Kokoschka's practices. (KM)

This book asks what would it means to take democracy seriously in today's debates about school reform. Its six chapters offer case studies, examples, and conversation starters for teachers, administrators, and citizens who wish to build on the contribution of each and every citizen. The first chapter explores the current emphasis on economic…

Defines humanism as a philosophy based on the worth of human beings. Traces the history of humanistic education from its Renaissance roots in Europe through the rise of progressive education, teacher education, elementary education, vocational education, and curriculum development in the United States. Sees humanism as inextricably related to…

If schools rush into Back-to-Basics the way they once rushed into open education, educational quality will not improve and the positive, humanistic attributes of progressive education may be lost. Change must be slowly and carefully planned and provide adequate support to the teachers who must implement it. (SJL)

Argues that, before art educators can achieve emancipatory goals and practices for others, they must first address institutional and organizational arrangements that constrain their own identities, imaginations, and practices. Calls for local, supportive, professional communities in which this dialog may take place. (CFR)

The issue of what comprises a good secondary school curriculum is still unresolved. The progressive education of the 1960s has yielded to a traditionalist emphasis on a strong liberal education for all students. Future reform will be based on what the present reform movement overlooks--strong vocational programs for students who are not…

This report presents the historical background of New York State's normal school system, the system that predated the centralized organization of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. New York's first state normal school was established in Albany in 1844. Nineteen years later the state began to provide support for the normal school at…

The attempt to integrate school curricula with social concerns is a recurring motif in North American education. Impediments to integration can be reduced by incorporating a cognitive approach to social issues analysis. The approach was tested with 4seven9 grade 7-10 students in two Ontario, Canada, school systems with positive results. (MM)

Despite theoretical weaknesses, postmodernism offers educators important insights that can be incorporated in a broader theory of schooling and critical pedagogy. Argues that the best elements of modernist and postmodernist discourses should be combined to create a pedagogy and politics that reclaim and reinvigorate the possibilities of a radical…

Presented in historical context, the books listed in this annotated bibliography offer insights into professional education concerns and can help teachers know about the great ideas and themes of their field, and what the best and most provocative books are today. The bibliography begins with books that list and annotate topically selected best…

By examining the trends in equity and academic excellence, this monograph interprets America's history of educational reform. The first section, "The Legacy of Reform," analyzes themes after colonial times. William Penn and Benjamin Franklin advocated humanitarian, middle-class education following the American Revolution. By the late…

"Invitational Education" is a metaphor for an emerging model of the educative process consisting of four value-based assumptions about the nature of people and their potential: (1) people are able, valuable, and responsible and should be treated accordingly; (2) education should be a collaborative, cooperative activity; (3) people…

Use of a critical approach in a curriculum design course for preservice teachers, by a five-phase process, would offer a beneficial shift away from the dominant "objectives first" models. This approach allows most teachers to reevaluate the processes and perspectives involved in educating children. (86 references) (CJH)