Describes the history of struggles that have led to recent revolutions and reforms in Poland. Attributes the breakup of the Soviet bloc to both internal and external factors. Discusses local government in Poland from 1950 to the current trend toward decentralization. Addresses political, organizational, economic, and financial issues. Makes…

Growing academic interest in philanthropy, voluntarism, and nonprofit organizations illustrates efforts by industry to redefine its public presence by influencing universities and scholars. The paper examines efforts to evaluate the changing place of universities in public life, the processes of university change, and the effectiveness of…

Reflections on work in teacher inservice courses and staff development in Aboriginal, women's, and multicultural studies lead to the concept of a politics of location: the recognition that people come from different positions of gender, class, race, and ethnicity and the resulting consequences of their particular experience infuse their…

A discussion of education in the Netherlands focuses on the receptivity of the Dutch culture to new ideas in education, the position of private education alongside public education, and observations made during visits to Dutch elementary and secondary schools. (MSE)

This debate presents two viewpoints on mother tongue maintenance: (1) that all individuals have a fundamental right to education in their native tongue, and that multilingual societies should actively promote multilingualism for all individuals; and (2) that the multitude of languages and rapid economic development in many countries calls for…

Examines the administrative structure of the South African educational system present in the early 1990s and the reasons it does not provide an equal education to all. System problems are discussed with a focus on those caused by the current administrative structure. Issues include service duplication, unequal resource distribution, and…

Outlines the historical development of modernism and its impact on literary studies in today's classrooms. Advocates abandoning modernist teaching modes. Describes an alternative postmodernist epistemology and how it might inform literary studies, particularly in fostering an ethics of reading and writing. (HB)

Explores certain consequences of recent legislation in England and Wales to reform education in schools and universities. The paper describes new professionalism, an emerging shift in teacher values and practice, exploring nine forms of change as its sources and suggesting that at the heart of the new philosophy is a synthetic relationship between…

Examines the evolved meaning of useful policy information associated with district consolidation in rural New York State. Advocates a grass-roots triangulation approach that establishes a common proxy of small K-12 districts embedded within small township jurisdictions, identifies particular enrollment patterns in a seven-county area, and…

A study of the processes of curriculum and instructional development in the first-year public administration program at Melchester Polytechnic (England) drew on interviews with faculty. It is concluded that curricular and instructional change is intensely political and dependent on the organizational climate for change. (Author/MSE)

During the 1980s, Latin America saw increased national debt levels and disproportionate reductions in public educational expenditures. Significant changes in the distribution of education budgets were neither equitable nor efficient. Needed reforms are unlikely, given the nature of political decision making. Contains 55 references and data on 20…

The rapid turnover in urban superintendencies reflects changes in big-city school boards that are increasingly characterized as political rather than as public service positions. In addition, the expectation that urban superintendents should find solutions for complex issues and the urban boards' desire for a person of color have resulted in fewer…

This article suggests that, contrary to the opinion of many neoconservative critics, most professors are "academic agnostics" aligning themselves with neither the left nor right politically. The plea by such groups as the National Association of Scholars for a restoration of the academic ethic and consensus is seen to rest on faulty…

A discussion of higher education in Australia looks at the possible policy environments in which the system may find itself in the near future and the changes they may make in institutions. The main changes that must occur in university administration to adapt to those environments are then examined. (MSE)

In the 1980s, the Chinese government converted uppersecondary education to an equal mix of general and vocational/technical education. Although justified in economic terms, the development of vocational/technical education was actually prompted by a desire to reduce the social demand for higher education and use education as a social…