Focuses on an Internet-based instructional activity called a WebQuest. Highlights WebQuest components and explains the pedagogical rationale for the activity's structure. Describes a WebQuest designed to help preservice and inservice teachers examine the core democratic principles of the United States and the reflection of those principles within…

Analyzes the growth of private education in Poland and its contribution to the ongoing processes of democratization and educational development. Suggests that its development has been haphazard, reflecting the uncertainties of a society in transition. Urges the need for evaluation and dissemination of private-sector initiatives to serve as…

In a national assessment program, 57% of Dutch ninth-grade students had a positive attitude towards the environment and 35% were prepared to make sacrifices for the environment. Student knowledge about environmental problems, however, was fragmentary and often incorrect. Environmentally responsible behavior was more strongly connected with the…

Discusses the philosophy and purposes of public education. The belief that preparation for employment and the imposition of moral consensus are not legitimate purposes of education, and that democracy cannot be taught in the controlling, hierarchical structure that public education has become, leads many to look to alternative education to nurture…

Believes that with the turn of the millennium, the United States should undergo a self-examination of the state of democracy in the country. Addresses various concerns in relation to societal reform movements and idealism, the country's performance on the world stage, inequalities still prevalent in society, and the call for social justice. (CMK)

Reviews various studies on childs play and its relation to young childrens development in music learning processes and explores the role that cognitive and social play categories have in studying childrens play with music. Provides strategies for initiating music-play opportunities in a preschool classroom. (CMK)

Describes how the author uses numerous books of biography and autobiography in her primary classroom. Demonstrates how these genres engage students in critical discussions focusing on issues of human experience, historical significance, and social concern. Offers a list of 47 recommended children's biographies and autobiographies. (SR)

Examines the forces enhancing democratic citizenship education in Taiwan focusing on the social, political, and cultural context of the country. Highlights the progress that has been made, reviews the factors that hinder the development of a democratic citizenship education, and considers its future in Taiwan (Republic of China). (CMK)

During the 1980s, 35 percent of French pupils attended private schools at some point. The private sector (largely state-supported Catholic schools) offered a second chance that was not seized equally. Research shows public-sector recruitment was more democratic; private schools equalized results more successfully. (Contains 12 references.) (MLH)

Argues that the reason computers have failed to become central to education is that they offer no added value to the traditional "factory-model" school of today. Outlines changes that must be made in goals of schooling, standards, accountability, intellectual diversity, and new structures. Discusses shift of values from standardization to…

Examines the assumption that the same characteristics of interactions between infants and caregivers are meaningful and important across cultures, using literature from very different cultures to illustrate relationships among cultural values, views of good parenting, and parents' interactions with their infants. Findings have implications for the…

Presents an interview with Stephen Toulmin, recipient of the Jefferson Lecturer in the Humanities, the highest honor bestowed by the federal government for intellectual achievement. Toulmin started out as a physicist but eventually became interested in philosophy. Discusses a broad range of topics including psychotherapy, voter registration, and…

Considers the opportunities and ethical issues involved in genetic testing. Reviews the history of genetics from the first discoveries of Gregor Mendel, through the spurious pseudo-science of eugenics, and up to the discovery of DNA by James Watson and Francis Crick. Explains how genetic tests are done. (MJP)

Shares observations made and lessons learned by the author while student teaching in a democratic classroom environment. Outlines keys to creating a democratic classroom. Discusses preparing teachers for democratic classrooms. (SR)

Exhibits in London's Science Museum are critiqued in this discussion of the problem of balance in presenting controversial issues in museum exhibits. Science museums claim to portray controversial issues in a neutral manner, but neutrality is impossible. Asks how science museums can involve visitors in the controversy and how the museum's role can…