This opinion piece explores the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on exposing educational inequity. The historically racist and discriminatory practices related to both academic instruction and discipline are long-standing in the history of American education, but have been brought to the attention of White, middle-class America as a result of the…

Policy for young children in South Africa is now receiving high-level government support through the ANC's renewed commitment to redress poverty and inequity and creating "a better life for all" as promised before the 1994 election. In this article, I explore the power relations, knowledge hierarchies and discourses of childhood, family…

Historians of American education readily acknowledge that in the mid-19th century the German university and academic ideal rose in prominence among American academicians, who then worked diligently to replicate the German university model in the United States. During this same time, however, many more Americans were exposed to a different…

Australia has been one of the countries to most enthusiastically embrace the neo-liberal conditions conducive to the dismantling of equitably provided public schooling. The article argues that part of the explanation for the absence of any effective challenge to this trajectory lies in the contradictory nature of the Australian identity. The…

In this article, the author comments on Judith Brett's article (see EJ848172). Brett dissects the differences between the Howard world-view and that of the intelligentsia, using Robert Merton's dichotomy between "locals" and "cosmopolitans" as her means. On this account, Howard's preoccupation with national sovereignty--and…

Leila Christenbury is well known as a writer and researcher in English Education: her classic book "Making the Journey," [ED437654] now in its third edition, has been a guide to countless middle and high school language arts teachers. In her new book, this veteran teacher and teacher educator reveals what did and---more surprisingly---did not…

In the June "Kappan," Marc Tucker summarized the "Tough Choices" report, the sequel to a report issued in 1990 by a predecessor group, which attributed the nation's low productivity growth in the 1970s and 1980s to inadequate American schools. The authors critiqued it and charged Tucker with trying to stampede policy makers into adopting reckless…

This paper has arisen from a concern that much recent policy-related research on markets displays misogynistic tendencies. In both the media and academic accounts it would appear as though the blame for social and educational inequalities can now be laid at the door of women--particularly middle-class mothers. Through examining competing…

The discrepancy between middle-class and lower-class children's performance on IQ tests has been thought of as "cognitive deficit" or as "cognitive differences." This paper proposes another explanation--cognitive lag hypothesis--according to which the low IQ test scores of lower-class children are seen as due to the developmentally delayed…

Responses of four revisionist historians and economists to Diane Ravitch's review of their works are presented. Those defending the revisionist viewpoint are: Walter Feinberg, Harvey Kantor, Michael Katz, and Paul Violas. (JD)

Middle-class educational demands draw upon a view of the state as primarily an agent of the poor. Such a view wrongly aligns the middle class ideologically with capital and foments opposition toward federal social and educational expenditures on the behalf of deprived or excluded groups in American society. (Author/GC)

Three decades after massive government commitment to financial aid, minority and low income access is declining and aid going to middle class students. Policies and political deadlock have worsened the situation of those in need, and hard choices must be made if college access is to be restored without greater expenditures. (SK)

Three recent books that deal with China's continuing quest to create a workable educational system address the evolution of teacher education, the position of ethnic minority groups in higher education, and the historical social consequences of educational policies. Taken together, the works indicate the institutionalization of Western-style…

Contends that educational policy during the Reagan Administration has been characterized by restrictive attempts to reconcile cultural diversity with traditional values, while reducing federal support to public schools. Argues that a democratic education must extend excellence and equity to all citizens. (FMW)