This document gives voice to concerns raised by critics and supporters of commercialism in schools and provides brief descriptions of several important resources on this topic. "Commercial Activities in School" (U.S. General Accounting Office) reports on the nature and frequency of commercial activities in public schools, as well as the…

This 2001 annual publication contains 31 articles on topics germane to the history of education. Each year, this journal publishes papers presented at the annual meeting of the Midwest History of Education Society. After the "Introduction" (R. J. Taggart) articles in this year's issue are: "Origins of the American Federation of…

Four articles from this special report examine the charter school movement and whether it has the staying power to change American schooling. The articles are: (1) "Declarations of Independence" (Mark Walsh), which discusses the Boston Renaissance and Marblehead charter schools in Massachusetts, among others; (2) "Laws of the…

This bulletin gives information on the provision made for children aged 5 years or under in education authority nursery schools and departments in Scotland. Included are data on day nurseries, preschool playgroups, and childminding facilities provided by, or approved by, the local authorities. Tables 1-3 give details of nursery school provision in…

This overview of the third annual Jennings Randolph Forum focuses on the role that election campaigns and the political process are capable of playing in citizenship education. Council for the Advancement of Citizenship (CAC) testimony on citizenship education follows a general overview of the conference proceedings. A set of mandates for…

This essay traces the development of music in the public school curriculum and focuses on the Goals 2000 emphasis on music in life. Music has been a part of the high school curriculum since the Boston school system accepted it in 1838. While music education for much of this century has had difficulties defining itself and its role in the…

This theme issue of the serial "Educational Foundations" contains five articles devoted to the topic of "Studies in Empowerment." In "The Disempowering of Empowerment: Out of the Revolution and into the Classroom," Margaret D. LeCompte and Kathleen Bennett deMarrais focused on placing the term in proper historical…

This issue begins a five-part series that uses demographic projections as the starting point for examining some of the forces that will shape public education in the years ahead. It provides an overview of broad demographic trends, including the growing number of school-age youngsters, the increasing diversity of the student population, and the…

This issue, the fourth in a series on demographic forces shaping U.S. public education, discusses how the aging of the population affects education. The first section, "Shades of Gray," discusses how as the population ages, schools may face tougher competition for public resources, noting how tensions have surfaced in one Florida county.…

Private-school choice or voucher programs allow parents to put tax dollars toward a private education--for example, in the form of a subsidy to the chosen school. The dollar value of a voucher is usually equal to, but may be less than, the state average per-pupil expenditure, and may cover the partial or full cost of a private-school tuition. This…

Eight articles, published in various issues of "Education Week" starting in March 1994 and ending July 1995, track the work of eight educational reform design teams: (1) "Back to the Future" (Lynn Olson)--the virtues and values of the past in a modern context; (2) "A Welcome Change" (Ann Bradley)--instruction school…

A summary is presented of a 1982 limited distribution report, published by the Communication Network of the State Higher Education Executive Officers and the National Center for Education Statistics, which presents findings of a survey conducted by the Washington Council for Postsecondary Education. The survey focused on the fiscal situation in…

The two issues of the journal SKOLE for 1994 contain original articles and reprints about small alternative schools, home schooling, the contradictions and deficiencies of public education, and educational innovations. Major articles include: (1) "Reunion" (about Rockland Project School, New York) (Alice Gerard); (2) "Children's…

Excerpts from a monograph entitled "Civic Learning in Teacher Education" are given. They include a brief reprise of a 1982 DeGarmo lecture in which R. Freeman Butts argued that teacher education institutions and public schools should place much more emphasis on citizenship education, along with responses by nine other authors. (PP)

Educational reformers have come to recognize that establishing more challenging standards and assessments is not enough to raise student achievement. This brief identifies five challenges that confront educators and policymakers as they develop higher standards and other policies and structures to support improved student and teacher learning. It…