Discusses four books that provide critical information about the nature of high-stakes tests; the impact of these tests on teaching, learning, and students; the political issues surrounding high-stakes testing; and ways that educators can take informed action to appropriately respond to these tests. (SG)

Presents conversations between the authors (public school teachers and participants in a graduate level teacher action research course) and six people in language education who have greatly affected the teachers' work (Dixie Goswami, Tom Newkirk, Donald Graves, Nancie Atwell, Linda Rief, and Tom Romano) regarding issues these leading educators…

Outlines four goals of the ideal literate self and describes them as an active response to various abuses of the "political potential of the personal." Recognizes that literacy is a trope and poses a literate self in the interest of social justice. Discusses four abuses and three examples regarding the politics of critical affirmation.…

Critiquing "The Handbook of Research on Educational Administration (1999), a researcher and four graduate students respond individually to chapters on scholarship, knowledge-base development, and school-leadership history. Comments on the field's "big tent politics," communities of scholars, equity and racial issues, relevance, and…

Drawing on Giddens' outline of first-, second-, and third-way politics, examines a range of New Labour's education policies, questioning whether they embody a distinctively different approach. The British government's strategies are largely extensions of second-way "neoliberalism." Education action zones may represent a third (feasible)…

Introduces a theme issue on the politics of participation in educational reform that examines various reforms promoted in the name of participation and how they play out in practice. Discusses questions to ask of participatory reform: To what end participation? Who participates? What are the relevant spheres? What micro-level conditions are…

Examines, from a comparative perspective, the impact of political decisions on education and also the way in which the different educational systems on the islands of Mauritius and Reunion affect the democratisation of learning. Compares the educational trajectories of pupils from numerous schools, and shows that the expected social effects are…

Examines the local conditions that enabled the development and installation of the New Zealand model of neoliberalism and new public management, characteristics that made it desirable and that would allow its incorporation at a global level, and how implementation was accomplished. Draws implications for the relationship between comparative…

This review examines the relationship between academic study and the discourse of human interaction, attempting to position the book in the larger context of current efforts to include the study of race in urban public education. Suggests that the book does not provide a comprehensive examination of the racial and ethnic components of power in…

Adult learners have limited power, privilege, and advocacy in higher education settings. Adult educators should resist hegemonic policies and develop practices grounded in democratic principles. (Contains 35 references.) (SK)

Presents a lesson plan using statistics about Republican and Democrat representation in the House of Representatives and state populations to teach students about proportional reasoning. (MM)

Uses a fictional case to illustrate the complexity of politics in the literacy field. Describes how the fictional teacher educator is caught between her own ethics and the prevailing trends. Hopes that readers allow the mix of drama, fiction, and nonfiction to provoke reflection around matters of the educator's role in and support for literacy…

Explores the shift from observation of users to participation with users, describing and investigating three examples of user-centered design practice in order to consider the new ethical demands being made of technical communicators. Explores Pelle Ehn's participatory design method, Roger Whitehouse's design of tactile signage for blind users,…

Presents a series of conversations with distinguished educator Brian Cambourne, recipient of the National Council of Teachers of English's Outstanding Educator award. Discusses learning to read, Cambourne's doctoral dissertation, why the conditions of learning are important, three categories of beliefs about "literacy," the politics of…

Uses a pretest/posttest design to assess more subtle effects of watching a 2000 presidential debate on attitudes and vote intention among undergraduate students. Notes that leadership and overall policy stance became more important factors in vote choice after watching the debate. Demonstrates a variety of potentially important effects of watching…