The strongest players in the plight of America's public schools are the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers. The power of these unions rests on a bargaining monopoly and the collection of service fees from non-member teachers in most states with collective bargaining laws. Despite their rhetoric, both groups…

Low-income scholarships facilitate an immediate, cost-effective way for students to go to much better schools, providing leverage for public schools to undertake needed reforms to benefit disadvantaged students. The United States is one of the few countries that does not have a significant voucher or choice system, though support for choice…

Looks at different waves of school reform beginning with Sputnik in the 1950s. Examines influences in today's reform, including industrial influences and school choice. Argues that the origins and outcomes of school reform have more to do with what is happening outside the school than within it, and that schools must think beyond objective indices…

A study of U.S. English-only legislation found that Latino voting blocs and state legislators, not extrainstitutional resources, helped limit passage of English-only statutes in the 1980s. In four states that ratified such statutes by citizen-initiated referenda, however, Latino institutional and extrainstitutional resources did not prevent…

Summarizes background and aftermath of 1993 and 1997 New Hampshire Supreme Court unconstitutionality rulings against the state education finance system. Highlights "Claremont II," discussing initial responses, the Rubens constitutional amendment, the governor's ABC Plan, the bipartisan constitutional amendment, the 1998 governor race,…

Californians have identified the health of public education as top priority. The legislature's search for accountability (focused on student assessment) has not been based on a cohesive school-improvement model. Legislators must work with educators to reexamine the entire education system. Educators must push for rational policy. (MLH)

Presents results of a study of the organizational and political context of internal and external school evaluation in four European countries, focusing on evaluation methods and the role of the inspectorate. Also presents a comparative analysis of four cases of school self-evaluation at the elementary level in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands,…

Describes three newly formed charter schools, noting how widely they differ in setting, purpose, and character. Notes six lessons that might be applicable to charter schools in other communities. (SR)

Indepth interviews with informants revealed four interrelated policy tensions during development of the UK's General National Vocational Qualifications: the tendency to favor academic over vocational education, potential conflict between long-term strategic imperatives and short-term political objectives, employment and education departments'…

Presents the presidential address given at the 1998 National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) conference. Looks at basic principles supported by NCTE historically. Notes the widespread belief that educational problems can be solved by mandating one particular solution, and asks what NCTE's role is in all of this. (SR)

Examines current micropolitics literature in the context of educational reform leadership. Discusses implications of disassociated research and policymaking for systemic change, particularly when macro directions meet micro realities. Conceptual pluralism in organizational research has enriched and limited our micropolitical understanding. School…

Discusses communication misunderstandings between peoples of different cultures, suggesting that the major barriers to intercultural communication are often political and international ethnocentricities. Religion is sometimes an even stronger source of ethnocentrism. Provides the example of the Arabic expression, "inshallah," commonly used in…

British math teachers' accounts of their classroom life show how their daily work builds classroom culture and how they have been limited by the imposition of the National Curriculum. Because of it, teachers construct a position of neutrality about student achievement despite the way they shape the learning conditions that influence it. (SK)

Observation of eight associate-degree students in a service-learning project revealed the following about service learning: it was progressive-education opportunity; established a realistic working environment; enabled problem solving; developed learning through experience, awareness, and collaboration; and broadened students' perspectives. (SK)

Offers an assignment designed to arouse students' interest in U.S. government. Expounds that students choose a political novel and then must address three topics in their papers: (1) plot and political themes; (2) relevant parts of lecture and textbook; and (3) accurate/inaccurate depiction of politics in their novel. (CMK)