The French Enlightenment spawned intellectual activities and concepts that had positive impact on the genesis and development of special education, including altering societal perceptions of handicapped persons, devising training methods still used today, and imbuing special education with a spirit of hope and optimism. (Author/CB)

Describes the Enterprise High (Michigan) program for school dropouts. Supported by the United States Department of Labor, the program centers on teaching students how to earn a living and how to manage life. Includes an outline of the school's basics and references. (MD)

The author discusses the problem of worldwide illiteracy, suggesting that literacy rates strongly influence quality of life and lifespan. He describes the problem's size and scope and discusses the politics of literacy. He also criticizes the National Adult Literacy Initiative as being mostly rhetoric and little action. (CH)

Reviews the rapid development of primary education in Nigeria and contends that such rapid development has kept the number of untrained teachers in Nigerian primary schools at a substantial level. Examines the causes of and possible solutions to this problem. (BSR)

Discusses the history of seven reform proposals made since 1959 regarding reducing the degree of specialization in upper-secondary education in England and Wales. Analyzes the reasons for their failure, finding that lack of any control (central or local) of curriculum has inhibited efforts to determine actual school happenings and has made…

Describes an environmental studies model which was used to optimize both central and school-based curricula teams. Identifies the main implementation problems as the need to identify local sources of knowledge, the need to train teachers in choosing modular curriculum units, and working with groups on a realistic project and project evaluation.…

Describes the origin of the project method and questions the educational and political intentions Calvin M. Woodward had when he introduced manual training and the project idea. Examines the project method's history and rise to significance when, around 1900, it became the sole means of manual education. (GEA)

Examines the arguments of E. D. Hirsch (and others) who argue for a return to basic education. Proposes John Dewey's program of educational reform as a sensible response to the current neoconservative discourse of crisis. (MS)

Reviews the various conflicts that have occurred between the traditional and reformist elements in Japanese moral education since the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the time when Japan began to shift toward a modern society and political system. Attempts to clarify the special characteristics of moral education in Japan. (GEA)

Addresses the impact of Australia's National Policy on Languages and on multicultural programs through the 1990s. Traces key themes and phases in Australian multiculturalism applied to education, highlighting the role of language issues in each phase. Concludes that, although multiculturalism is not synonymous with multilingualism, language issues…

Seeks to explain why the kindergarten movement, in theory and in practice, found greater support in the United States than in Germany, the country of its origin. Concludes that this kindergarten case study shows the importance of comparative studies to our understanding of the relationship of women's status and feminist ideology to other aspects…

Provides a historical look at the community college, discussing the early form and function of the junior college, figures involved in community college development, external factors affecting the community college, and current efforts to reassess the community college mission. (LAL)

Investigates the educational technologies that could and/or should be introduced into higher education in developing nations. Examines how educational technologies--affected by engineering, industry, and educational personnel--could be used to attain certain objectives. Suggests change approaches and indicates research avenues needed. (TRS)

Describes how Prince George's County Public Schools developed one of the first voluntary desegregation programs in the country. The developmental stages of the program's beginning in 1985 were ahead of schedule; as a result, they have accelerated the program in 1986 and added new specialty schools. (MD)

Modernization of the United States during the nineteenth century involved both the heavy mechanization of agriculture and the gradual expansion of agricultural settlement. Each of these changes reduced the economic role of children in society and, thereby, altered the need and demand for education. (RM)