Illustrates how school evaluation can lead to substantive and genuine involvement of all stake holders (students, parents, teachers, the community, administrators, government, and funding agencies) in an effort to make judgments about what is right and good in schools. Includes a six-step process for evaluating school programs. (MJP)

Illustrates the ways that a cultural studies approach to teacher education can expand the vision of democracy and citizenship. Analyzes the development and subsequent breakdown of the economic foundations of 20th-century life and offers new understandings that can be used to inform a democratically aware teacher education program. (MJP)

Posits three interdependent languages that we use to make democracy work: (1) language of possibility; (2) language of critique; and (3) language of action. Argues for the creation and incorporation of a fourth, the language of transition. This allows for the exploration of spaces between the other three. (MJP)

The November 1996 national election pits different education philosophies against each other; republicans want more local control, fewer rules, and greater school choice, while democrats talk of more federal funding while balancing the budget. The future of the Higher Education Act, African American influence in Congress, education committee…

Recommends greater cooperation, especially concerning research, among political science, telecommunications, speech communications, and rhetoric. Discovers a useful paradigm in the combination of political content analysis and rhetorical analysis. Briefly discusses works that have synthesized these two approaches. (MJP)

Reviews the current literature concerning the dichotomy between providing quality higher education and meeting the needs of foreign students. Discusses both the philosophical and logistical aspects of the dilemma. Concedes that Eurocentric concepts may exacerbate the problem but questions how that insight can be effectively incorporated into…

Presents activities, recommendations, and guidelines for creating a nonsexist social studies curriculum. Recommends using nonsexist language, considering the influence of gender bias, examining the contribution of women, and modeling nonsexist behavior. Includes several lists of instructional materials and resources. (MJP)

Provides a concise historical overview of theological thinking concerning fundamentalism, absolutism, and relativism. Considers corresponding responses to issues regarding multiculturalism. Concludes that a diversity of viewpoints is necessary for society to learn from its mistakes and progress in a positive fashion. (MJP)

Examines possible reasons for the lack of issues-oriented instruction in social studies classrooms. Provides curriculum suggestions to remedy this, including exploring debatable issues that can be researched and are interesting. Includes 12 instructional strategies designed to maintain student interest and smooth over rough spots. (MJP)

This study explored six dimensions of classroom environment in high school writing classes that used different instructional strategies (communicative instruction within a technological environment and traditional instruction). Surveys of student perceptions indicated that each dimension contributed unique information regarding differences, or…

Provides an overview of the main theories, developments, and literature of critically-oriented sociology. Pays particular attention to the politics of meaning including critical discourse analysis, identity politics, racial formation, and political economy and the labor process. Concludes with a discussion of the tensions between postmodern and…

Describes a college-level political science assignment where students access the full text of a White House or federal agency briefing; evaluate its content; and comment on the interpretation of the information in the national press. Includes a step-by-step guide to gathering and analyzing the information. (MJP)

Recommends incorporating a thorough analysis of popular music into the teaching of music appreciation. Considers moving beyond the traditional approach (chronological progression beginning with the medieval period) to include innovative comparisons of different styles, instruments, and historical periods. Includes suggested strategies, activities,…

Presents a lesson plan designed to increase students' participation in the electoral process and help them to create their own political opinions. Students examine political advertisements, candidate debates, and political cartoons. Includes tips on "How to get the most out of a debate" and suggested further activities. (MJP)

Summarizes a research project conducted in the Netherlands that examined the effect studying women's history had on the gender identity of girls. The instruction increased girls' knowledge of equal opportunity issues and of the representation of women in history. Knowledge of the social construction of gender remained limited. (MJP)