William Damon, a professor of education at Stanford University, has long advocated "character education" as a key component of school reform. The author of several books on the subject, his latest is "The Path to Purpose: Helping Our Children Find Their Calling in Life". In this article, the author presents an interview with Damon. He discusses…

In the Winter 2005 issue of "educational HORIZONS," Charles Glenn wrote that schools designed in a perfect system of educational diversity and choice could nonetheless end up as "uninspired carbon copies produced by educators without the foggiest idea of how to do anything differently." Most school reform tries to avoid that fate with various…

Education researcher Gerald Bracey claims that the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) will result in privatization and educational vouchers because schools are expected to show regular gains in the proportion of students judged "proficient." (MLF)

Dr. John Brock was elected in 1987 for a four-year term as State Superintendent of Public Instruction in Kentucky. His official duties were altered by the Kentucky Educational Reform Act (KERA). Dr. Brock answers questions that include his role as superintendent, the background of KERA, and his advice to legislators in other states. (MLF)

Describes a case study that combined ethnographic and interview methods to gain an understanding of the types of decisions and factors influencing those decisions within the design inquiry phase of a high school's system-transformation effort. Factors discussed include the facilitator's role, information needs, user-based design teams, and…

Presents an interview with Linda Darling-Hammond, codirector of the National Center for Restructuring Education, Schools, and Teaching (NCREST). Topics discussed include educational reform; the role of technology in redesigning schools; reducing school size; teacher training; alternative assessment methods; curriculum changes; barriers to school…

"Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools" describes the contrasts between rich and poor schools located within a few miles of each other. The author, Jonathan Kozol, claims that contrasts are due to inequitable funding; he would abolish the property tax and replace it with equitable funding for every child deriving from a…

Presents an interview with Dr. John H. Lounsbury, Dean Emeritus at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, and publications editor for the National Middle School Association. Issues discussed include changes in young adolescents' education; the influence of societal changes, educational reform, and technological development in the…