Discusses the influence of Japan on educational reform in the United States. Identifies economic self-interest and global competitiveness as the motivations for increased U.S. instruction about Asia and the Pacific region. Expresses concern that such a competitive outlook is unlikely to produce a global perspective. (DK)

This revision of the "Basic/Essential Skills Taxonomy" exhibits changes based on use of the original taxonomy in the field. It features more precise definitions of the levels of key words and phrases, the deletion of some science items that ranged above basic skills, the combination of the language arts sections from the original two parts, and…

Reports on a three-week seminar taught by U.S. economists at Moscow State University (Russia) in June 1992. Discusses the history of the pre-1992 economics curriculum and the emerging curriculum in modern Russia. Includes three tables illustrating changing curriculum content in economics over the past two decades. (CFR)

Contends that education for work means more than simply a worker with a diploma; it requires a person who thinks creatively and is economically literate. Argues that students in the United States, by participating in the economy through part-time jobs, are prepared for life in a free enterprise economy. (CFR)

Reports on an interview with the director of Secondary Specialized Education in Russia. Finds concern about the lack of appropriate educational funding to support changes necessary to produce students for a market economy. Calls for more training in economics, marketing, finance, and insurance. (CFR)

Education in both England and the United States has undergone a profound change over the last two decades as part of neo-liberal and neoconservative political reforms. The reforms have been characterized by efforts to standardize the curriculum, to implement standardized tests in order to hold students, teachers, and schools accountable, to…