Illuminates an interesting conflict in British church/state relations regarding education. Although in agreement on social issues, the Conservative government's free market reforms eliminated the protected niche Catholic private schools had enjoyed since 1944. Discusses Catholic lobbying against the reforms and the current status of parochial…

Recognizes the leadership role played by professional and educational organizations, most notably the National Geographic Society (NGS), in promoting geography education. The NGS and other organizations established standards and guidelines concerning content and instruction. Includes brief descriptions of activities and their sponsoring…

Reiterates the importance of voting and education to the democratic process. Praises President Clinton's efforts to increase voter participation and access including his support of the motor voter law. Briefly summarizes Clinton's vision for the future of the country. (MJP)

Presents a concise overview of the complicated web of laws and regulations governing the financing of federal political campaigns. Discusses related issues such as "soft money," and the conflict between restrictive campaign regulations and free speech. Notes that regulation of state elections remains with the states. (MJP)

Investigates the many factors pertaining to low voter turnout. Lack of education, poverty, and apathy contribute strongly to diminished voter participation. Language difficulties, a highly mobile society, and the discouraging effects of polls also contribute. Notes the positive correlation between voter registration and participation. (MJP)

Maintains that current campaign finance laws and regulations unfairly advantage incumbents and discourage challengers. This has resulted in the predominance of interest groups, media campaigns, and an emphasis on fund raising over political leadership. Argues for campaign finance laws written to serve the public interest. (MJP)

Presents a learning activity consisting of a forum where five students role play individuals arguing contrasting viewpoints concerning a mail-in ballot procedure for a U.S. senatorial special election. Other class members conduct independent research supporting their positions and help coach the forum members. (MJP)

Preservice elementary teachers enrolled in a reading methods course learn how literacy instruction is a political act that can affect children's opportunities. Through discussions and readings, they learn how the ways in which they teach reading to children make a difference in their subsequent access to knowledge. Through a practicum experience…

The history of (external) quality assurance schemes in European higher education since ca. 1980 is sketched in this article. The three pioneering countries in Western Europe are taken as models of different developments and contrasted with the rise of accreditation in Central and Eastern Europe after 1989. Using theoretical insights, the dynamics…

This article traces the demise of creativity in the national curriculum in England and Wales. It is argued that the creative dimension in the national curriculum has been purged by various government directives since the Ruskin speech in 1976, all aiming to introduce provisions of standardisation, centralisation, and vocationalisation of…

This essay examines the pedagogical practices of the poet, civil rights activist, and teacher Melvin B. Tolson who taught at Wiley College from 1923 to 1947. Tolson's complex classroom style, which mixed elements of classical, African American, and current-traditional rhetoric, produced a pedagogy that was at once conservative, progressive, and…

Management in universities has had to change, as the demands on universities have demanded different skills. One consequence has been a backlash against what is perceived to be an emerging culture of managerialism. This conceptual article argues that a balance is needed between collegial and more corporate style management if a university is to…

This article seeks to lay out the use and importance of English in Malaysia from the time when the British ruled what was then Malaya to the present moment. When the British came to colonize the country, they brought with them their culture, their language and their beliefs. They introduced the English language as the medium of instruction in the…

Preservice and novice mathematics teachers are often guided to look toward the Internet as a toolbox of good lesson plan templates--plans tailored to prepare students for the high-stakes accountability standardized test-driven curriculum that is sweeping schooling in the United States. This fast paced, win/lose curriculum testing game leaves…

This paper provides a critical analysis of the EU's "Memorandum on lifelong learning" in light of the evolution of the concepts of lifelong education and lifelong learning from the late sixties onward. It also analyses this document in light of the forces of globalisation that impinge on educational policy-making in Europe as well as the…