Reports on a class project that combined an examination of social class and political power with an introduction to sociological research. The project consisted of compiling biographical profiles of cabinet members from the Ronald Reagan, George Bush, and Bill Clinton administrations. Introduces students to issues of conceptualization,…

Argues that while gender and political research are not necessarily done by individuals with feminist goals, their application in the classroom potentially helps answer the question of how to make democracy more accessible and "safe" for women. Places the specific act of mainstreaming gender into the broader perspective of theory. (MJP)

Dynamics in the education policy arena suggest that, despite two generations of researchers extolling democratic leadership styles and consensus building over autocratic techniques, wide participation in policymaking and the broadest possible consensus are not always productive: American society has not yet agreed on what schools should…