The paradox of the nation's teacher preparation programs is that "everything" is about diversity and social justice in the preparation of teachers and, simultaneously, "nothing" is about diversity and social justice in the preparation of teachers. Across teacher education, there is wide consensus that preparing current and prospective teachers to…

Since the days of the reform movements of the 1980s and 1990s, standardized testing has increased greatly in the public schools. The problem has become particularly acute in the wake of the testing mandated for accountability under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. States simply can not afford to jeopardize their federal funding. This article…

Universities in the United States and elsewhere offer study abroad programs to meet requirements that graduates have cross-cultural competencies and an international perspective on their discipline. Study abroad courses and field experiences for preservice teachers address two major challenges specific to the teaching profession: (1) how to…

Poverty is known to influence parenting values, parenting stress, psychological adjustment, and social support according to North American research. The purpose of this study was to determine whether poverty might work in similar ways in a collectivistic Latin culture. The participants were primary caregivers in two distinct communities in the…

THIS ARTICLE DISCUSSES THE APPARENTLY UNBREACHABLE SOCIOECONOMIC GAP BETWEEN UPPER-MIDDLE-CLASS FAMILIES AND WELFARE FAMILIES WHO LIVE ON ONE BLOCK IN THE WEST SIDE OF MANHATTAN. IN THIS CONTEXT THE ARTICLE CHALLENGES THE MIDDLE-CLASS ORIENTATION OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. THIS ARTICLE WAS PUBLISHED IN THE "PHI DELTA KAPPAN," VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2,…

New Year's resolutions of middle-class sixth-graders were compared with those of Mennonite and Amish sixth-graders. Mennonite and Amish youngsters generally resolved to try harder, whereas middle-class youngsters resolved to do better. Certain sex differences were found in both cultures, but were more pronounced for Amish/Mennonite youth. (Author)

Problems can be expected to continue in the schools as a result of the impact of new value systems on the old work ethic and on the schools' middle class orientation. Pressures against change from some segments will conflict with the need for schools to transmit the new value systems. (SA)

One of the most affluent segments of the population is also one of the least well prepared to face the reality of college costs. It is not the need analysis system that causes difficulty but a combination of rapidly increasing costs and the changing lifestyle of this group. (MSE)

Reports of parenting styles were assessed in 100 mostly white, middle-class, 6th, 8th, and 10th graders and their parents. Adolescents viewed their parents as more permissive and more authoritarian than parents viewed themselves, whereas parents viewed themselves as more authoritative than did adolescents. Differences were primarily over the…

The last half century has seen a dramatic expansion in access to primary, secondary, and higher education in many nations around the world. Educational expansion is desirable for a country's economy, beneficial for educated individuals themselves, and is also a strategy for greater social harmony. But has greater access to education reduced or…

This paper explores the ways in which working class mothers negotiate mothering and paid work. Drawing on interviews with 70 families with pre-school children, we examine how caring and working responsibilities are conceptualised and presented in mothers' narratives. Mothers showed a high degree of commitment to paid work and, in contrast to…

Australia has been one of the countries to most enthusiastically embrace the neo-liberal conditions conducive to the dismantling of equitably provided public schooling. The article argues that part of the explanation for the absence of any effective challenge to this trajectory lies in the contradictory nature of the Australian identity. The…

This article presents 2007 report on the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) survey on adult participation in learning. With overall participation among the poorest groups stuck at less than half that experienced by the upper and middle classes, the survey suggests the need to ask if the balance of public investment in adult…

A complete success in implementing a curriculum mainly depends on teaching activities at schools and the parents' support of the curriculum at home. Therefore, it can be claimed that the views of parents on the implementation of a curriculum play a very vital role. Nevertheless, there is a great gap in curriculum evaluation studies that scrutinize…

Crime has become central to any discussion about the consolidation of democracy in South Africa. Concerns about crime intensified in the years after 1994, as the country attempted to grapple with the apparent "crime wave" that accompanied the transition. A decade later crime is still a priority for government and a concern among…