Schools serve both to connect and separate people within society. Therefore, the landscape of school reform presents an opportunity to explicate the opposing forces of connectedness and competition that are entrenched in twenty-first century society. It can serve as a laboratory in which to study foundational social issues. This study is an…

The vitality of most Indigenous languages in North America, like minority languages in many parts of the world, is at risk due to the pressures of majority languages and cultures. The transmission of Indigenous languages through school-based programs is a wide-spread approach to maintaining and revitalizing threatened languages in Canada and the…

Article considered three political determinants that should be kept in mind when deliberating upon accountability. (Author/RK)

It is very difficult to know who controls such educational agencies as the home, television, the churches, youth groups, and factories. Control of the schools shifts a little bit daily among such forces as social class, American business, the sexes, teachers, administrators, racial and ethnic groups, the citizenry, the courts, and the young. (JM)

An examination of the relevant literature reveals that "policy" means different things to different people. Among the concepts that emerge when these meanings are reviewed are that policies are intentional, decision-based, goal-oriented, and conditional; they lead to results, balance facts and values, and allocate resources; and they…

Examines some evidence about public understanding of education policy, compares it to similar understandings of other public policy fields, and discusses some of the steps that may be taken to deal with the prevailing levels of understanding. (Author)

Deals with some problems in the operation of a school in a white middle-class Chicago community and the attempt by a segment of the community to influence the direction of their school. (Author/JM)

A critical review of the widespread acceptance of accountability, pointing out that accountability is plagued by difficulties with measuring learning, with lack of research evidence to show that it benefits students, and with few plans for formally evaluating these models on a pilot basis before plunging ahead. (Author/JM)

Guidelines are presented which emphasize that schools can best contribute to a pluralistic democracy by supporting each cultural group represented within them as well as introducing students to a range of cultures other than their own, including and extending beyond those represented by the school population. Special stress is placed on creating…

Relates historical and contemporary developments in secondary schools to the issue of social change. Notes that some positive signs include a determination among urban leaders that urban education be a first-class education for all students regardless of race or class. (Author/AM)

The author argues that direct citizen participation cannot influence educational policy or restore the power of lay boards in public education. Asserting that more can be accomplished by a technically trained organization working within the bureaucracy, he cites the accomplishments of the Education Clearinghouse, a nonprofit group of…

If participation does not include an openness to the issues that are of real concern to the community and an opportunity to influence policy relating to those issues, it becomes an empty public relations gesture fostering apathy, disinterest, resistance, or counter-organization. (MB)

This study sought to provide an empirical base for a theoretical and public policy analysis of the decentralization movement in urban education. This research includes an analysis of a large number of cities for which comparative demographic and political data could be found or developed as well as a manageable number of case studies.…

Discusses the arguments for and against expanded public participation in educational policy making and considers examples of several forms of public participation drawn from the U.S., France, Italy, England, Sweden, the German Federal Republic, and the People's Republic of China. Also explores some of the probable consequences of expanded public…

Reassesses the role of the school in the black community, concluding that the devaluation of the power of the school to politically, economically and culturally develop the community has hidden "the profound and pervasive influence of the school in shaping the lives of black Americans." (Author/JM)