Three papers represent an interchange on the article in this issue by D. Meaghan and F. Casas on standardized achievement testing. The first paper calls the article unbalanced. The second paper says it is based on truth but too negative. The third paper is a response from Meaghan and Casas. (SM)

This article argues that in an increasingly multicultural society, liberal education is more important than ever, and that ethnic studies are a significant contribution to the college curriculum. Because ethnic studies faculty have been drawn from other disciplines, programs have not become independent academic units, rendering them weak. A deeper…

The passage of Goals 2000 represents a victory for advocates of a stronger federal role in improving schools. The article explores the principal elements of Goals 2000, the origins of the "new federalism," the education legislative record of the Clinton administration, and what further efforts are necessary to meet the needs of American…

Interviews with 11 policymakers, 49 teachers, and 125 adult learners in Alberta explored their socioeconomic characteristics and political culture. Results showed the predominance of the therapeutic model, in which social problems are considered pathologies or deficits and treatment involves adapting learners to the economic requirements of…

Critiques tendencies toward dogmatism and essentialism in current educational theories of racial inequality. Argues that different gender, class, and ethnic interests intersect with racial coordination and affiliation, and that to reduce racial antagonism or ameliorate educational inequities educators must consider the powerful role of nuance,…

Introduces this theme issue on postapartheid changes in South African education. Discusses political factors and consensus building in educational policy making, needs to expand access to all levels of education and simultaneously improve quality, and the challenges of reconstructing higher education and dismantling a deliberately inequitable…

Since 1983, all nonadvanced vocational courses at Scottish secondary and postsecondary institutions were replaced by a system of modules, uniform free-standing units of study with specified learning outcomes required for student certification. This development is contrasted with politically driven vocational policy changes in England. Contains 42…

Criticizes the Reagan and Bush administrations for denying that socioeconomic context must be considered in educational reform. Advances critical multiculturalism as a way of understanding how certain knowledges become legitimated over others under the guise of objectivity and neutrality. Contends that all knowledge is situated knowledge and is…

Though the second wave of curriculum theorizing attempts to improve students' and teachers' lives, transform conventional curriculum development, and challenge neoconservative curricula, this paper argues that it has not affected K-12 education. The article discusses absence of reflective action in school-based settings within contemporary…

Introducing cultural diversity into the core curriculum need not be political. Traditional departmental structures could be reconfigured to incorporate third world studies at the introductory level and within the scope of traditional core courses. Interweaving non-Western studies with existing curricula is preferable to putting them in courses by…

This annotated bibliography lists 569 documents from local, state, provincial, and national governments and from international organizations that have been selected on the basis of their reference value and/or subject coverage. Topics covered include health sciences, business and economics, government and politics, social problems, education,…

Discusses changes in textbook publishing, attendance at professional meetings, media coverage, and the response of the "testing community" that demonstrate that whole language has become the agenda of education. Discusses the transactional view of writing, social/personal views of learning, teachers redefining themselves and their relations to…

Examines explanations for lack of progress by Muslims in English education in East Bengal, colonial British India (now Bangladesh). Argues that urban-based, elitist English education failed to provide opportunities to rural Muslim farmers, and that, after the British formulated educational policies meeting Muslim needs, that community responded…

Since 1983, Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton has made education the central focus of his administration, raising teacher salaries and qualification requirements, encouraging participation in higher education, and raising taxes to fund reform despite resistance. Continuing problems include limited resources and low esteem for state colleges among the…

This discussion of higher education policy formation in Australia focuses on the changing role of the state governments. The nature of state involvement in policymaking in 1959-87 is chronicled, and the diminished role of the states in very recent years is examined. The need for state participation is supported. (MSE)