Two main ideas are put forth in this paper: a description of the struggle of African-Americans to become full participants in the democratic process both before and after World War II; and an argument posited that through these struggles African Americans exposed the imperfections and weaknesses of the democratic society and provided for…

This monograph on international disability issues offers three main papers giving English, Australian, and New Zealand viewpoints. The first paper is by Len Barton from England and is titled "Disability and the Necessity for a Socio-Political Perspective." Barton attacks the medical model of disability and argues that people with…

This paper uses the occasion of reviewing three books on university issues and higher education to discuss the ability of university faculty to enter into dialogue and discussion about higher education. The paper reviews the following books: "The Idea of a Modern University" (edited by Sidney Hook and others) a book which presents the views of…

This study examined the media coverage of California higher education in the popular press in four of the state's major dailies. In particular the study examined the roles that the San Francisco Chronicle, the Sacramento Bee, the Los Angeles Times, and the San Jose Mercury News play in fostering the public debate about higher education. All the…

Political and legislative pressures have posed a number of measurement issues and challenges to the development of sound, valid voluntary national tests (VNTs). This paper focuses on what appear to be the most difficult technical issues related to the VNT proposed by President Clinton in 1997. Technical issues refer to psychometric issues, as…

This collection explores the political context of efforts to change urban education. The contributors examine various issues in a variety of settings, and they show how hard it is to rearrange political relationships so that they will be conducive to school reform. The following essays are included: (1) "Introduction: Urban Education in…

This paper offers a historical overview regarding the nation state aspect of Norway because of its dramatic influence in curriculum making. The study examines aspects of the Norwegian national curriculum identity related to curriculum structure, to the underlying principles and consequent form those principles will take in the curriculum, and to…

The Cherry Creek School district (Englewood, Colorado) is a growing district of 37,000 students in the Denver area. The 1988 Colorado State School Finance Act required district-set proficiencies (standards), and forced agreement on a set of values for student knowledge and skills. State-adopted standards added additional requirements for the…

American education has been soundly criticized in recent years for allegedly teaching only a western, Anglo culture and values system, to the exclusion of minority and ethnic groups. Explorations of the role of the mass media in the processes of assimilation and pluralism, especially in shaping the relationship of ethnic groups to American…

The Politics and Mass Media section of the proceedings contains the following eight papers: "Politics and the War on Drugs: Patterns of News Coverage" (Lisa Brockmeier); "The Challenge of Bearing Witness in Political Reporting: Making the Public Conversational Partners" (Karon Reinboth Speckman); "The Concrete-Avoidance…

The change of the political system in Hungary stimulates a great deal of discussion about the consequent modification of the educational system. Almost every aspect of schooling is to be changed: the content of teaching, the basic structure of public education, the decision-making system, the dependency relationships, etc. Within this context we…

This booklet about the cultural background of Laos is one of three booklets that serve as a foundation for understanding the cultural diversity and values of Cambodian, Laotian, and Vietnamese students. Laos is a country of great cultural and ethnic diversity. The following political and economic factors have influenced the development of modern…

Five college writing teachers who consider themselves critically and politically progressive were interviewed to see how much their political views influenced what they did in their composition classes. The comments of the teachers suggest that although they are very sensitive to the students' needs and go out of their way to accept diverse views…

One of a series of units introducing secondary school students to business issues, this packet focuses on the television industry and its social and political influence. A teacher's guide and student materials are provided in two separate sections. Following an overview of objectives and activities, the teacher's guide outlines five daily lessons.…

The political processes involved in an academic program evaluation are discussed. The focus is on how evaluative information is politically linked to programmatic decisions within the context of various organizational and evaluative utilization models. To examine the explanatory power of the various theories and models, information from a program…