In "Getting Education Right," Rick Hess and Mike McShane argue that America has too long suffered from the absence of a robust, coherent, and principled conservative vision for educational improvement. The book both diagnoses a problem and offers a solution. The problem? The right has too narrowly focused on school choice, campus speech,…

Donald Trump's administration has moved to restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, issuing anti-DEI executive orders, purging DEI staff in the federal government, and arguing that these policies and practices in education and employment have promoted mandatory ideological indoctrination about how people should think. This report…

Science is a much-revised and contested area of the curriculum. A new curriculum has recently been introduced in England which includes far more mathematical aspects of science than previous versions. This study asks what the influences, ideologies and values are which led to this change. A two-phase qualitative approach was followed comprising…

Many have observed that the curriculum is a mile wide and scarcely an inch deep. This article provides a rationale for including in-depth study of a place-based/local topic within educational programs aimed at cultivating ecological understanding. Following a brief exploration of some of the obstacles to in-depth learning, it describes the ways in…

This research project focused on explaining the decision making process of K12 Christian school superintendents whose schools belong to the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) organization. In spite of their similar religious and philosophical beliefs, ACSI K12 Christian school superintendents differed significantly in…

Presents a set of practical and philosophical guidelines for experienced and novice educators to use in crafting a statement of teaching philosophy. Delineates a definition, the elements, and the structure of a statement of teaching philosophy. (DDR)

A Midwest superintendent describes some painful on-the-job experiences. To regain community acceptance and support, educators must understand and respect community history, apply classroom-inspired lessons to relationships with parents, involve the community meaningfully, recognize the failings of New Age terminology, understand families'…

This paper argues that just as subject matter is inherently value-laden, educators should not feel trepidation about morally justifying their criteria for choosing curricula to be taught in the classroom. It recommends that true "moral" choices should be made on the bases of relevance to student experiences; moral propriety of subject matter…

Traditional approaches to educational administration have generally reflected a managerial perspective based partly on scientific management principles developed by Frederick W. Taylor. Concerns with efficiency and administrative control have masked inequities and ideologies comprising organizational structure. Habermas's critique may help expose…

Results of a study in 20 middle-class households indicate that middle-class mothers, perceived as liberals who believe in integrated and inclusive education, still support segregated and stratified school structures that mainly benefit the middle class. The study illustrates how ideology allows parents to deal with these contradictions. (SLD)

A content analysis of 21 elementary and secondary software programs reveals the nonneutrality of educational software. The software is heavily biased and exposes pupils to dominant explanations, values, beliefs, assumptions, and ideologies that are projected as objective and legitimate. Content-specific software is deeply enmeshed in cultural…

This study focused on the teaching of culturally valued texts, examining 52 teachers' views of the texts and conflicts in teaching engendered by their views. Interviews with Bible teachers in Jewish schools in Israel found three ideological approaches toward Biblical texts: disciplinary, normative-ideational, and cultural. (SM)

U.S. society has come to be a world where offenses are constantly being redefined and thinkers deny that there is any absolute truth. How this has happened, its effects, and what can be done about it are explored. The effects of postmodern relativism are nowhere more evident than in education. Many are working to be sure that American schools show…

This book surveys major trends in the politics of education over the last 25 years. Chapters synthesize political and policy developments at local, national, and state levels in the United States, as well as in the international arena. The chapters examine the emerging micropolitics of education and policy-analysis, cultural, and feminist studies.…

This study is a history of the societal-problems approach in social studies education as revealed in secondary school social studies textbooks used in Problems of Democracy courses from 1895 to 1985. The central thesis is that the definition of the problems approach and the problems selected for study by educators as illustrated by the textbooks…