Rural and urban education systems in China are compared in terms of funding, educational resources, living and learning environments, teacher quality, and students' chances of social mobility. Fundamental inequality exists between urban and rural schools. Differential treatment of two types of schools, "keypoint" and…

Statistical profiles of Mexican American women workers and a narrative describing their role in trade unions illustrate the economic precariousness of this group and of women in general. Census and Labor Department reports document national labor trends from 1930-1980 with emphasis on the Southwest. Tables present information on occupational type,…

Discusses the educational and social efforts of the Benevolent Mechanics Association in Petersburg, Virginia, between the years 1825 and 1857. Although economically prosperous, the southern mechanics (all skilled trades) established a night school for their apprentices in a bid for social acceptance. Examines the reasons for the school's failure.…

Explores the tension felt by young Canadian women between the desire for domesticity and the aspiration for economic independence. This tension is exacerbated by the dual messages sent by societal institutions (primarily school and the media) as well as economic and social change. (MJP)

Highlights the impact of recent state and employment changes upon the young British working class in vocational training. Argues that the displacement of work by vocational training is creating new and contradictory formations of masculine identities. Focuses on a group of low-achieving, white, working-class males' responses to this new context.…

Relations between schools and the adults within their surrounding communities are often problematic in inner city, low socioeconomic status neighborhoods. This paper analyzes features of the intersubjective structure of a group of working-class residents who took over and illegally ran their secondary school in Liverpool (England) for the 1982/83…

With a change in emphasis of our economy from heavy industry, such as steel, to a computer and electronics base, there has emerged a new managerial class of professionals in administrative and technical positions. The underlying motivation of this class is not the pursuit of profit, but rather control of the economy and establishment of a perfect…

This article reports the results of research carried out in London using five-year-old children of working class and middle class backgrounds. Speech samples were collected and compared on the basis of grammatical categories. It was discovered that working class children used more pronouns than their middle class counterparts in third person…

Maintains that working class elementary schools in England enjoyed popular support due to their subordination to the needs of wartime national efficiency. Argues that this led directly to a postwar increase in vocational education. Disputes the claim that the 1918 Educational Act produced no discernible results. (MJP)

Traces social and working history of Sicilian women. Examines this history's significance to the development of Ybor City, an immigrant community settled by Sicilians, Cubans, and Spaniards in Tampa, Florida. Presents experiences and lifestyles of women employed in cigar factories, characterizing them as labor radicals yet traditionally domestic.…

Examined how adolescent, working class, girls enrolled in an alternative high school for at-risk students anticipated their adult lives. Observation and interview data indicated that the range in plans for future work and family reflected tensions experienced between new possibilities presented by the school and more traditional values of family…

In the USA, many of the recent education reforms have been implemented in response to calls from neo-liberal and conservative policy makers to improve education efficiency and reduce public expenditures within an increasingly globalized economy. Consequently, local, state, and federal education policies increasingly employ curricular standards and…

This article examines the diversity of practices utilized by working-class and poor black and Latina/o families to support their children's college-going processes. We employ the work of feminists, scholars of color, and critical ethnographers to critique the power undergirding the monolithic model establishing one entry point of parental…

This book presents 12 papers that proceed from the idea that Native American history in the United States and Canada is best understood not as an Indian-European cultural conflict but as an economic conflict between communal and capitalist modes of production. Three chapters are of particular educational interest. "Political Economy in…

This report details the history of making higher education available to young workers and peasants in the USSR since the October Revolution of 1917. The paper is organized into six sections. The first section introduces the paper and outlines the educational system in the Soviet Union, especially the types of higher educational institutions. The…