This volume analyzes, in nine essays by academics and specialists in history, government, philosophy, law, and public policy, current cultural and intellectual disputes concerning relativism, multiculturalism, and radical feminism at colleges and universities. Following an introduction by the editor, Howard Dickman, "Leviathan U."…

This paper traces the three stages of development of gifted programming in Taiwan, services that are now available in gifted education, and continuing challenges in gifted education. Critical events that shaped gifted education during 1973-79, 1980-81, and 1982-89 are described, including gifted programming for elementary students, junior high…

Postmodernism, which has been characterized as an outgrowth of or reaction to modernism, is more a form of questioning and a perspective than a theory or set of ideas. Although postmodernism resists definition, the following appear to be among its generally agreed-upon characteristics: questioning of all claims to absolute, universal truth;…

This paper examines how the educational philosophies of two representative African American women university professors were influenced by multiple sojourns between Africa and North America. Two African American women born in the 1940s were interviewed about their early educational experiences, racial identity, and experiences in Africa. Each…

Similarities exist between Paulo Freire's radical approach to teaching and learning and the connected and constructed knowers discussed in "Women's Ways of Knowing" by M. F. Belenky, B. M. Clinchy, N. R. Goldberger, and J. M. Tarule (1986). The most important similarity seems to be their related understandings of the relationship between…

For one educator, her career as a researcher probably began when she was 7 and arranged her own "library" on the back wall of the family laundry room. During the summer between her junior and senior years of college, she worked at a state institution for the mentally retarded and found herself questioning why the "clients" were…

The very existence of pluralism and democratic societies is based on a commitment to certain values, since they do not keep their members in line by sheer force. Theoretically this means that antidemocratic values choices of large numbers of people would lead to the end of such societies. Thus a problem encountered by these societies is how to…

Making psychologists in schools indispensable is essential if psychology in education is going to survive and prosper during the 21st century. This book presents the reflections of 27 leaders in the field of school psychology on the issue of what can make psychologists in schools indispensable. Chapters are: Becoming Indispensable Through Mental…

Social epistemology is an effort to combine the philosophical theories of science that have stressed normative approaches to knowledge with sociological theories which are weak on offering guidance on how knowledge policy should be conducted. The practice of multiculturalism provides a useful application of social epistemological intervention,…

This paper offers a critique of western culture's use and abuse of scholarly traditions and activities through secularization. The paper argues that scholarly activity is connected to forms that tend to function as "religion" and that modern academe refuses to acknowledge the forms as a kind of secular religion, thereby promoting a…

This book analyzes the history of vocational education for girls in the United States since about 1900. The analysis is developed from the larger issues raised by what turn-of-the-century educators called "the woman question," or "What ought woman to be?" The book analyzes competing ideologies and correlates prescriptions with…

This book introduces "facilitated communication," a method of assisting people with autism to communicate by means of physical assistance in typewriting. The book is organized as a kind of a story around the author's own experience using the facilitated communication method, with examples of fieldwork using qualitative research to…

Today a global shift in education is taking place, moving from a teaching focus to a learning focus. The new vision of education centers on the learner and how teachers can assist the learner in mastering needed competencies and processes required for success in the workplace and in life. This vision looks at the learner as a decision maker,…

This manual, intended to help administrators, specialists, and teachers in Alberta, Canada, understand a problem-solving, process-based approach to assessment of special needs students using multiple sources of information. Assessment outcomes are viewed as describing needs and influencing education programs, rather than being used to provide…

Eduard Lindeman (1885-1953) is considered a major philosopher of adult education in the United States. Lindeman advocated the use of adult learning groups and believed that adult education was a force for constructive social action. In his most important work, "The Meaning of Adult Education" (1926), Lindeman discussed four principles of…