Examines the recent development of educational policy analysis as a research field within Scottish education. Discusses "inside" and "outside" approaches to policy analysis; the value of theoretical models for making sense of source material; the potential of discourse analysis, illustrated by reference to Foucault and Lyotard;…

Currently, there are over 16 million working mothers in the United States. Nonetheless, few children's books portray working mothers. In the books that do, the child is often anxious and lonely, especially when returning from school to an empty house. If children's literature is to be realistic, it must reflect the prevalence and positive aspects…

Considers the question of the high turnover in educational innovations and argues that the high mortality rate of innovations is a function of their operation within an environment of institutionalized organization. Suggests that improving the performance of innovations will require understanding education as a dynamic system. (GR)

Reviews "On Claims That Answer the Wrong Questions" (James Greeno, 1997) that argues differences between situative and cognitive views of learning are more conceptual than empirical and suggests a need for something greater than empirical evidence to assess the relative worth between these competing perspectives. Additionally reviewed is…

Argues the differences between situative and cognitive views of learning, as proposed by J. R. Anderson et al. (1996), are more conceptual than empirical. It clarifies these differences by inferring questions to which the Anderson discussion provided answers, identifies presuppositions of those questions, and states the different presuppositions…

Argues that the cognitive methodology has delivered real educational applications in a way that the situative methodology has not, and fundamentally can not, and suggests these two approaches should be judged by their abilities to improve education. It addresses each of J. G. Greeno's (1997) criticisms of the situative perspective and argues…

Provides an analysis of federal legislative involvement and a critique of the federal rule-making process. The critique is based on firsthand knowledge of the regulatory process. It is not intended to focus on or diminish the many positive benefits of federal legislation. Gives suggestions for influencing the legislative and regulatory process.…

The book "Leaders and Leadership in Education," by Helen Gunter, is the topic of four separate reviews and a response by the author. Each brief essay contains references. Dean Fink describes the book as "a breathtaking survey of contemporary management and leadership literature, particularly British." (Contains 68 references.) (MLF)

Notes that for women and girls, anxiety about technology is compounded by traditional gender-power dynamics that often position technology as male, and by the development of technological literacy as a product to be mastered rather than nurtured. Questions the extent to which web-based literacies can be taught while also fostering technological…

Questions whether skills taught when using young adult novels transfer to other literature, to situations across the curriculum, and to daily life. Suggests encouraging this transfer with four critical thinking processes: (1) exploring multi-perspectives, (2) developing criteria for evaluating literature, (3) participating in open-ended…

Reviews a debate among Roman rhetoricians over declamation, an early case study method. Appraises contemporary concerns about the value of case study as a stimulant to problem-solving skills, its ability to imitate realistic circumstances of business and technical writing, and its emphasis on persona and audience along with its deemphasis of the…

Compares characterization in Western and African novels. Observes that the characters in African novels are principally mediums for exposing the sociopolitical situation. (FMW)

Describes the success of the Populist movement in the 1890s, arguing that it provides a case study of the power and limitations of mythic appeals to transcend diverse political ideologies. Argues that Populist extensions of the agrarian myth to encompass industrial laborers, suffragists, and prohibitionists were motivated by political expediency.…

Examines unconventional interpretations given to a poem by a student in a remedial college writing class. Argues that facilitating an underprepared student's entry into the academic community is compromised by efforts to channel student discourse into more common patterns. Calls for an instructional model that places student knowledge making at…

Describes a week-long minicourse on poetry (with 14 science professors as participants) held to determine what central features of literary study cause unease for science students. Finds five areas of concern including writers' intentions, significant omissions, faulty interpretations, confused values, and misuse of phrases. Discusses the…