Examines administrative, political. and ideological aspects of decentralization in the South African educational system. Discusses current policy development with special focus on the South African Schools Act of 1996. Highlights the tension between national and provincial educational competencies and decision making. Contains 30 references. (MMU)

Suggests that despite intuitively evident connections, there are difficulties with identifying language as a significant cause of conflict escalation. By looking at links between language, discourse, conflict, and conflict resolution, this article aims to see of a discussion of these four key terms can contribute to a better understanding of…

Examines the life of W.E.B. Du Bois, looking at his autobiography and his 3-year stay in Berlin as a graduate student from 1892-1894. Uncovers an excellent example of learning outside of one's own culture through the series of social, political, and ideological encounters Du Bois experiences, reflects on, and remembers. (Author/VWL)

Examines the rise and fall of media coverage of the issues of gun control and political conflict in Australia after an incident of mass murder in April 1996. Aims to reveal the issue management process that occurred and the hidden agendas that motivated the political and media activity. Demonstrates the media's role in the creation of issue…

Contributes to research on news media impact on presidential elections. Examines relationships of exposure and attention to various news media with information learned about the issue positions of 1996 presidential candidates; level of interest in this election campaign; and intention to vote. Finds statistically significant associations only…

Describes Vice President Al Gore's 2000 presidential campaign efforts at one Michigan high school, from the arrival of advance Secret Service agents to scope out the school, to determination of what the Vice President would do during his 7-hour visit, to who would host the Vice President, to how students and staff responded to the visit. (SM)

Addresses issues surrounding a 1998 study on the effects of childhood sexual abuse from the perspective of the editors who accepted the manuscript, discussing the appropriateness of their editorial decision, inferred motivations of the authors, the editor's role in specific study recommendations and in minimizing mischaracterization of study…

Describes a portion of the authors' work with a group of elementary teachers during the first eight months of an ongoing study investigating critical literacy in classrooms. Examines the understandings and classroom practices of two groups of teachers: newcomers and novices. Provides insights into the concerns teachers have when they begin…

This personal narrative relates the author's conflict regarding whether or not to attend the celebration of the grand opening of the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI). Being a pro-independence Native Hawaiian in Washington DC, where usually only state-sponsored Hawaiians speak about the political struggle for decolonization, the author…

The proper role and influence of religion in the public sphere continues to be contested and has important implications for civic education in a liberal democracy. Paul Weithman and Michael Perry argue that religion makes valuable contributions to civic participation and that religiously grounded beliefs should be fully welcome in political…

The German socio economic panel found negative effects on life satisfactions from losing a spouse through either death or separation and time spent in hospital, while the positive effects were from income and marriage. Life satisfaction for East German increased after the reunification due to increase in household incomes, improvement in the…

Statistical studies often show public opinion strongly affecting public policy. But the studies may overestimate the effect because they focus on issues--those especially important to the public--on which governments are most likely to be responsive. This article considers what the opinion-policy linkage would be if less-important issues were also…

Abrupt social change, such as the breakdown of a political system of the former communist states, presents a major adaptive challenge to the individual. The authors analyzed whether commitment to the old political system and high self-efficacy beliefs measured before German unification would predict change in psychological distress in East German…

In this article I use the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as the contextual foundation from which to discuss issues concerning the unfortunate perpetuation of historical trauma through escalations in fear, miscommunication, resentment, and anger. I examine the concept of forgiveness in similar vein regarding its ability to redirect memory toward…

This article explores some of the ethical and political issues of researching teaching and learning in schools. The article specifically focuses on the relationship between the researcher and teachers. Within educational research the political and ethical questions concerning the relationship between researchers and teachers have pivoted on…