Examines the personal distress that interventionists must face when their work requires immersion in a foreign culture. Addresses the issue of burnout and recommends that program development be holistic to meet the needs of the intervention team members.(Author/VWL)

Discusses Germany's educational system, highlighting demands for more school autonomy. Over a decade ago, there were calls for more school autonomy, but only lately have educators and researchers realized this demand is in line with political discussions on the issue, which are linked to the European context in which educational policies are…

There is a political push in New Zealand to merge outdoor education into an outdoor industry driven by recreational interests. Higher education funding and training emphasize recreation and tourism, and educational objectives are being overlooked. However, outdoor education associations are working toward clearer standards for leadership training,…

Argues United States schools are in danger of failing to promote democratic values and democratic modes of thinking. Looks at policy mandates and the erosion of democracy, noting that critical reading of texts has taken a back seat to "teaching the basics," and that texts themselves have become a primary control mechanism in the de-democratization…

Reviews some educational issues arising during the first year of the new Scottish Parliament. Discusses facility problems and funding needs of small rural schools, debate over what constitutes standards and which performance indicators should be included in legislation, proposed accountability structures for local education authorities, and the…

Describes the political aspects of the implementation of a new teacher evaluation system through an observational case study of a school district's 3-year effort to link personnel performance to system and school goals through teacher evaluation. Findings illustrate the importance of technical expertise and a sophisticated political understanding…

Summarizes efforts by members of the National Network for Early Language Learning (NNELL) to curtail federal funding cuts in foreign-language education. It also introduces members of the NNELL Political Action and Advocacy Committee and discusses NNELL's recent advocacy efforts. Recommendations for making similar advocacy efforts are presented.…

Describes the book "The Day They Came to Arrest the Book," which tells the story of a controversy involving a teacher, students, parents, administrators, and school board regarding the attempt to ban in one school district Mark Twain's book "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." Lists 10 activities intended to stimulate student response. (SR)

Examines the political dynamics of planning and implementing educational reforms in Greece, with comparisons to France. Argues that, as in France, the state's concern for "compensatory legitimation" provides a better tool than those advanced by sociologists or historians for explaining Greece's many failed educational reforms. Compares…

Focuses on the individual working lives of a group of academic staff in one of Australia's oldest colleges of advanced education (Bendigo College of Advanced Education). Examines the influences of government regulations at the individual level and investigates how systemwide constraints are reflected in the institutions they were supposed to…

The dilemma of what to do with children who do not progress "normally" is not new, and did not arise because educators grew too timid to uphold academic standards. The problem is an unavoidable consequence of compulsory education. Advantages of social promotion still outweigh difficulties. Deterioration of school standards cannot be blamed on…

Explores how language and political science professors can co-teach a course using the Language Across the Curriculum format to increase student understanding of a country's language and politics. Describes a Georgia Tech course taught in German on post-war German politics. Addresses the elements of a successful course and student and course…

Asserts that designing public policies that effectively balance the competitive needs of the university sector with the public interest is a complex issue, and presents a general framework for analyzing these regulatory policy issues. Illustrates the framework with policies from Europe and the United States. (EV)

Examines whether school-expenditure theory can be described in terms of Thomas Kuhn's punctuated-equilibrium model: long periods of theoretical stasis interspersed with brief periods of revolutionary change. Current researchers, influenced by organizational behavior theories, believe that finding a global money/student outcome relationship is an…

Portrays authors' work as external change agents involved in numerous comprehensive, school-based reform efforts in the United States. Concerned with schools' micropolitics, focuses on efforts to develop democratic school cultures and on various issues (victimization, leadership, and authenticity) related to these schools' internal governance.…