Examines college student activism of the 1990s organized around multicultural issues using case studies of protests at five institutions--Mills College (California), University of California at Los Angeles, Pennsylvania State University, Rutgers University (New Jersey), Michigan State University. Identity politics is highlighted as a key student…

Recommends that child care workers engage in community networking to form mutually beneficial relationships with people who can help children and families. Identifies good work, leadership, communication, advocacy, and sharing of credit as five fundamental components of power networking. (DLH)

Discusses the implementation of a charter middle school serving at-risk students in Louisiana and intended to provide an alternative to expulsion. Reviews the school's objectives, school governance and charter law compliance, educational program, accountability, and preliminary progress. Considers the level of attainment for each of 13 goals for…

Discusses the implementation of student portfolios to inform parents of the value of teacher advisory time for their middle school students. Considers the need for portfolios, the process of building the portfolio, and eliciting feedback from parents. (JPB)

Examines Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), including: (1) story of a victim's family; (2) risk factors; (3) known preventive measures; (4) change in traditional behaviors to ensure infants are put to sleep on their backs; and (5) the role child care providers should play to educate and ensure the safety of clients. (SD)

Describes how the "deep structure" of schooling (society's widely shared assumptions about what schools are for and how they should function) works to defeat change in education. Extrapolates from this to predict the potential for permanent success of some current reform efforts. Discusses how site-based school-improvement projects might…

Describes the launch of Ireland's National Children's Strategy: Our Children -- Their Lives. Examines specifically the process and mechanisms for developing the strategy; the content of the strategy, which includes the vision, an understanding of contemporary childhood, and three national goals including their central policy objectives and key…

Discusses parental guilt, fear, and lack of confidence eroding parents' ability to create a healthy balance between career and family. Maintains that the amount of time employed parents spend with children is not the problem, but that parental fatigue and stress spill into the home environment. Suggests ways parents can improve their confidence…

A first grade teacher recounts how she applied findings in the literature about effective organizations and leadership to build more responsible, self-sufficient, and empowered young citizens. The account is organized around seven "realities" such as: "if something enters the curriculum, something usually exits the curriculum,""determine what is…

In response to two earlier articles on the role of English language teaching (ELT) and English-medium instruction in India, the authors draw on their experiences in South Africa to outline a role for ELT teachers in maintaining and promoting multilingualism. This role includes participation in policy debates, professional activism, and the…

Students and teachers benefit from emphasizing literacy and professional development, not technology itself. Districts must also put learning first, build support, consider alternative delivery systems, provide adequate resources, use assessments to steer programs, shed the ineffectual, remember past lessons, heed research, and ask good questions.…

Offers a framework for identifying areas of agreement and disagreement across recent teacher education reform proposals. Reform documents were analyzed in relation to National Commission on Teaching and America's Future (NCTAF) recommendations. Researchers developed a rubric to assess whether and how proposals expressed agreement or disagreement…

Explores role of early-childhood practitioners against background of shifts in social context and sociopolitical climate of early-childhood education and care in Germany. Maintains that practitioners are links in the process of repositioning early-childhood centers in quality debate. Discusses need for newly defined role combining family-centered…

Suggests that a better understanding of effective methods for teaching adults will contribute to a paradigm shift in training of child care center staff based on developmentally appropriate practices for adults. Details seven recommendations for improving staff training, and contrasts appropriate and inappropriate practice in the areas of…

A recent study found no evidence of inadequate state-aid general funding for Oklahoma's mandated elementary class size requirements as they became more restrictive during implementation phases. Over the years, state aid increased on a per-simulated-class basis for grades K-6. State-aid distribution equity also increased. (MLH)