School reformers must reclaim schools in the interest of extending democracy, combating domestic tyranny, and preventing assaults on human dignity, rather than myopically pursuing competitive test scores. The role of the teacher must be socially redefined, and learning for empowerment advanced. Techniques for financing education must also be…

Reliance on the "delegation model" in public education has created a fundamental gap between families and schools. The Accelerated Schools Project has helped two poverty-afflicted, minority-populated elementary schools in the San Francisco Bay Area enlist parents and mobilize community agencies to achieve shared improvement goals.…

Explores how nine U.S. schools participating in a project to create empowered schools defined empowerment, structured the change process, and transformed school culture. Participating schools fell into three categories (the opportunity school, the shifter school, and the no-go school) regarding their success in changing school culture, creation of…

Questionnaires, interviews, and nonformal education workshops involved 200 female participants in 4 Caribbean and 4 South Pacific countries. Women had opportunities to participate in education and training, and programs contributed to their personal and political empowerment. However, there was a tendency to offer programs as isolated events and…

The new superintendent of Montgomery Township (New Jersey) Schools was confronted with multiple crises ranging from labor disputes and a defeated budget to poor staff and community relations. A nurturing, problem-solving ambience was needed. This article discusses theoretical bases for participant involvement in decision making and the methodology…

Critiques self-defense courses. Many of these courses ignore the fact that most violence against women occurs at home. Questions whether self-defense courses are genuinely empowering for women. States that programs may make individuals safer, but they do not reduce endemic violence in our communities. (CC)

The purpose of the Lincoln (Nebraska) Alliance is (1) to establish a community coalition to bring about change; (2) to empower people on the personal level; (3) to envision a new reality or alternative future; and (4) to challenge the idea that citizens are not capable of understanding the issues or making decisions that determine their future.…

True faculty empowerment involves decision participation, authority over issues concerning professional life, and opportunities to acquire knowledge necessary to warrant such activity. This paper describes selected experiences of four schools implementing a shared governance model, identifying factors facilitating meaningful involvement and…

Three case examples in health education and one in literacy illustrate the process of participatory materials development based on Freire's principles. Materials that reflect the people and language of the community can provide a powerful model. (SK)

Two factors are discussed that should influence the planning and development of rehabilitation services for visually impaired people: social perceptions/expectations (media influence, leisure, health, quality of life, and equality of opportunity) and external environmental influences (demographic, economic, social, political, and physical).…

Notes growth in number of self-help groups/agencies for mental health clients. Examines self-help perspective in relation to problems with traditional mental health services and need for client-run services. Goal of article is not to endorse self-help perspective but to use it as basis for raising research questions that will further mental health…

Provides set of research strategies that would help bridge gap between research concerning care and treatment of people with severe mental illness and consumer empowerment. Argues that research should attend to context of research, vantage point, process of formulating research questions, selection of interventions tested, selection of outcomes…

Although adult education is committed to democratic values, its knowledge base reproduces the structures and values of larger academic culture, which excludes many. Although the field speaks of empowerment for others, it has yet to realize such empowerment for itself. (Author/SK)

Outlines two models for working with families living in at-risk environments: the empowerment model and the expert model, with particular emphasis on the role of paraprofessionals. (Author)

Discusses and gives a view of the categories of native Hawaiian epistemology: (1) spirituality and knowing; (2) the cultural nature of the senses and expanding notions of empiricism; (3) relationship and knowledge; (4) utility and knowledge; (5) words and knowledge; and (6) the body/mind question. Educational implications are discussed. (SLD)