Asserts that policymakers and the general public should be well informed about economic and social issues. Contends that a statistical system in a democracy has a heavy responsibility to ensure that the data represent fact, not opinion. Discusses changes made in the Consumer Price Index to prevent it from becoming politicized. (CFR)

Maintains that most educational institutions still treat students as dependent children and teach largely irrelevant material. Argues for a broader philosophical examination of the teacher/student roles. Concludes that the juxtaposition of autonomy and dependence, especially with older students may require more subtlety than schools possess. (MJP)

Contends that the freedom to discover and debate the past is essential to a democratic society. Presents a high school lesson in historical methodology to illustrate how historians search for what happened in the past. Includes seven classroom activities to help students examine historical evidence. (CFR)

Analysis of data from national surveys of majority ethnic groups in Romania and Bulgaria examined the effects on tolerance toward minority groups of education, community ethnic composition, urbanism, age, gender, perceived threat to national security from the minority group's homeland, democratic values, and prevailing political ideology. Contains…

The Danish education system has been characterized by democratic values, individual choice of education and institution, emphasis on general education, and teachers' freedom of teaching method. But these characteristics are being undermined by European unity and neoliberalist policies that see education as an element in the market economy.…

Asserts that the status of civics, a formal course of instruction in middle/junior high schools, is alarming. Maintains that civic or citizenship education is the central purpose of social studies. Provides a context and suggested content for a civics course. (CFR)

A survey of 78 faculty at the University of Tasmania (Australia) investigated perceptions of the actual and the ideal university and identified discrepancies that are causes for concern about the institution's future. Two issues stood out as concerns: institutional autonomy and democracy within the institution. (MSE)

By any measure--student achievement, social development, or democratic values--ability grouping and tracking practices are indefensible and unsupported by research. Tracking allows schools to practice in-school segregation and perpetuate unequal opportunities and unequal socialization within classrooms. Jonathan Kozol's investigation shows how…

The new postindustrialism is marked by three momentous developments: the electronic computer revolution; the emergence of a competitive global market; and the prospect of serious environmental damage. This article summarizes major themes of the author's book "Education and Work for the Year 2000," stressing the need to resolve the…

The executive director of the Foxfire Fund and the codirector of the Institute for Democracy in Education discuss collaborative strategies for promoting democratic approaches to education, the history and current context of democratic education, and the importance of empowering teachers to implement student-centered democratic education. (LP)

The education crisis is like TV violence; the worse it gets, the more inert we become. Truth is that Americans do not really care about education. The young are adept at "reading" adult hypocrisy. Commercialism rules. There is nothing in Homer, Virginia Woolf, Shakespeare, or teaching that will bring youngsters big bucks. Freedom and…

Instead of becoming a launching pad for tomorrow, schooling must be worthwhile for today. Learning to learn must overshadow the acquisition of methods, skills, and knowledge. Educators must conscientiously avoid programs that accommodate the masses at the expense of individuals. Principals must exercise influence to replace memorization and rote…

Discusses Canada's evolving university-industry relationship, reviewing the need for increased industrial funding of universities and for capable graduates. Academic and industrial research overlap; therefore, for Canada to be a competitive industrial country, various vehicles must exist to bring together working scientists and engineers from…

The article traces the history of the social sciences and shows how they developed their modern form in Western universities. It argues that they are undermining rather than supporting democratic order and suggests that universities, with their commitment to truth and freedom of thought, can transform such disciplines into worthwhile entities. (SM)

Development of higher education in Colombia is analyzed in the context of recent expansion, democratization, emphasis on quality, and efforts to differentiate programs and institutions. Critical policy areas emerging, overall funding and administration of the public sector, are examined; and possible future developments are discussed. (Author/MSE)