Reviews the Spanish educational system, focusing on reforms enacted in 1990. Discusses reform movement issues, including quality, curricular control, curricular homogeneity versus diversity, and influence of European context. Describes reform movement aims (i.e., extending basic education and modifying educational levels to improve quality) and…

Examines misconceptions in both Western and Eastern countries about educational systems in postcommunist Eastern Europe. Discusses issues of slow pace of educational reform, change through formal power structures, centralization versus decentralization, role of tradition, macro- and micro-level problems, Western assistance, and the relationship…

Movement into high-technology Information Age demands a new kind of education and new, nonbehaviorist forms of school organization. Increasing social complexity requires schools to ensure that all students learn at high levels, construct their own knowledge, and fully develop their talents. This new model of unstandardized teaching and learning…

Discusses how legal issues impinge upon teacher competency testing, describing key legal provisions (antitrust protection, due process, equal protection, substantial adverse impact, and business necessity), and examining each one's impact on testing and teacher certification. Recommendations to help teacher educators ensure legal, credible, and…

The balance of public-private schooling in Australia is unstable, and public schooling may become primarily a safety net for students not served by private schools. There are unequal exchanges of bright and motivated pupils and influential and articulate parents away from the public schools, a process which fuels its own momentum. Reform proposals…

Presents six papers that offer perspectives on the subject of library school closings. Topics discussed include financial considerations; isolation of library schools within their university communities; unresponsive leadership; political issues; research productivity; the role of distance education; sources of institutional power, including…

Criticizes the educational goals of the conservative reform movement of the 1980s. Addresses the implications of shifting curricular decision making from teachers to state legislators and local administrators. Examines some alternatives that give poorer students access to new technologies and a broader skills base and that contribute to community…

Using a political system theory approach, this case study examined the conflict that developed between the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the State Department of Public Instruction between the mid-1970s and mid-1980s for control of a teacher education program. Conclusions highlight political and governance ramifications for teacher…

Four case studies are presented, which provide examples of performing musicians working with teachers and children in British schools. The studies assess the political, cultural, and professional implications of this interaction. The issues involved in cross-professional collaboration are highlighted, with political control of social programs a…

A discussion of contemporary conflict of interest in university research administration offers a historical perspective of the political and economic factors in "academic capitalism" and looks at current pressures. Potential conflict situations that must be addressed in institutional policy formation are outlined. (MSE)

Posits that compensatory legitimation is the modern state's response to its legitimation crisis and is manifested through educational reforms. Delineates how the state interprets society's norms and values through the curriculum. Offers the West German curriculum reform debates of the 1960s and 1970s as an example. (SLM)

As this yearbook shows, linking schools and social services has become a nationwide and international movement. To provide a discussion framework, this article outlines organizational, economic, and political issues and discusses two important themes--the necessity of clearly defining the ethos supporting school/social services linkages and the…

The cultural politics of the export of educational services by Australia to Asia are examined, focusing on tension between the persistent economic development perspective and an emerging market ideology that sees education as a commodity. Issues of postcolonialism, globalization, educational traditions vs. market orientation, educational aid and…

Describes the efforts of the Catholic education office in Saint Louis to implement the vision of the National Congress on Catholic Schools for the 21st Century by making their Catholic school community aware of the initiative and by connecting their goals to the congress's directional topics and statements. (MAB)

Discusses aspects of Foucault's philosophy that demonstrate the intensity of his concern for freedom. The paper examines the significance of freedom regarding teacher agency and suggests that Foucault's project of freedom can inform current discussion about educational reform and school restructuring, particularly regarding teachers' roles as…