Assesses efforts to standardize the Malian languages, including the standardization of orthography and the creation of terminology in the Mandingo-Peul Project. Points to conflicts between technical and political considerations, and between local tendencies and balances among languages and the need to respect the ecolinguistics of the country.…

A case study of an anonymous but real-life district swamped in a conflict that involves a succession of superintendents, an entrenched school board secretary, a teacher who was fired and later elected board president, and several board members recalled. Three school leaders offer their advice. (MLF)

Expansion of the powerful former West German teacher union (the Trade Union for Educators and Scholars) into the former East Germany is chronicled, and potential problems of the recruitment effort are examined. Declining teacher morale and unfulfilled promises of opportunity and freedom of speech are seen as serious threats to positive change.…

Reviews the history and current role of higher education in the United States. Contends that higher education has become an enormous enterprise with significant impact on the entire nation. Predicts a larger, more efficient, more demographically diverse, and more technologically oriented system by the year 2000. (CFR)

Over the past several decades, a hegemonic conservative discourse has constructed urban school reform issues around a "basic skills" curriculum model that has helped structure class, race, and gender inequalities. This article discusses some possible organizing principles for a counterhegemonic, democratic-progressive policy discourse. The…

Micropolitics is the use of formal and informal power by groups and individuals to achieve their goals in organizations. Article summarizes findings of study examining 1,200 teachers' perspectives on the everyday strategies that principals use to influence them. Data from 826 teachers describing open and effective principals suggest that such…

Provides a brief history and description of the male academy program in Detroit, Michigan; reviews the nature of the legal arguments advanced in this case; and identifies lessons to be learned regarding the fundamental legal, political, and policy issues associated with the male academy movement. (68 references) (MLF)

Thanks to direct governmental intervention, the role of New Zealand princip1als has changed dramatically as to structural positioning, career path, and professional expectations. Implementation processes engaged principals in new national and local schooling aims and a new political climate for school administration. Principals' responsibility for…

School board members can influence legislation by conveying accurate information, building coalitions and grassroots support, and understanding legislators and their political climate. Offers suggestions from experts on how to lobby more effectively. Lists seven resources, and contains a brief glossary of legislative terms and a brief primer of…

Practical lessons in lobbying at the state level include the following: practice friendly persuasion and good timing; accentuate the positive; and be consistently accurate and honest. Lists 19 do's and don'ts of lobbying. (MLF)

Reflects on themes of two North American adult education conferences: political economy of adult education, social construction of adult education knowledge, community-based adult education, and links among heritage, memory, and adult education. (SK)

Presents an interview with the director of the Highlander Folk School during the 1970s and 1980s. He discusses the school's role as a politically activist institution, its approach to nurturing leadership during the Civil Rights movement, the part cultural activities played in its education, and its setbacks and achievements during this era. (CJS)

Discusses negative aspects of multiculturalism in university curricula. The focus on women and minorities sometimes displaces the study of vital material. A greater danger to sound learning, however, is the dogmatic liberalism of today's campuses. (DM)

Presents effective ways to combine classic political science readings with outside-the-classroom research assignments. Gives examples of projects that have worked well in preparing students for the United States government and politics advanced placement examination. (DB)

Control over local schools, even in the heartland, no longer rests securely in hands of local communities. Since passage of Colorado's first state finance law 17 years ago, power has shifted inexorably from the school board meeting room in Colorado Springs to state house in Denver. However, state's demands for local accountability outstrip demands…