This book traces the first year of a magnet school called Mega Center for Learning, established in 1990 in a large midwestern urban school district. It focuses on how the primary metaphors embedded in school documents and in stakeholders' perceptions and practices helped or hindered reform. Data were obtained from classroom observation; informal…

The following 11 papers were presented at a symposium on leadership and educational policy studies (LEPS): "Food, Filth, Factory, and Flowers: A Critical Analysis of Ohio's Employability Skills Project" (Nina Dorsch); "Defining and Restructuring Work: Implications for Adult Education" (Georges B. Germain); "The Erosion of…

This book serves as a resource guide to help people engage in a healthy, informed discussion of restructuring possibilities. Its focus is on creating readiness for school restructuring, which differs from both renewal and reform. Each chapter is similar in structure and designed to stand on its own. Each is short enough to be quickly read and then…

Modern education in Japan from 1868 to 1945 stressed "national education" in order to promote a sense of belonging to the Japanese state. The Japanese culture was thought to be superior to that of its "less advanced" East Asian neighbors, and Japanese people were encouraged to adopt a "Yamato" identity (the seat of an…

Current histories of adult education trace it back to the early part of the 20th century. They share several assumptions: (1) "modern" adult education started early in this century; (2) antecedents go back to early European colonization of North America--but ignore Spanish colonizers; (3) the movement is exclusively Eurocentric, seeing no…

This brochure summarizes law, policy, and practice concerning inclusion policies for students with specific learning disabilities (LD). It summarizes requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act concerning the availability of a continuum of placement options and placement in the least…

This essay--an example of narrative inquiry--draws on a fictional account of Merlyn the Magician acting as tutor to young King Arthur to illuminate the author's own experiences as a student and teacher. Those experiences are starkly contrasted in method and intent. On the one hand, stern Mr. Thompson with his white lab coat, map of the leaf, and…

"Te Whaariki," the "draft guidelines for developmentally appropriate practice in [New Zealand] early childhood services," constitutes a set of principles which can guide practice, rather than a structure for curriculum planning. The guidelines have the potential to provide a theoretical rationale for the application of the…

This selective view of American educational history is intended primarily to demonstrate how educational change has been pursued almost exclusively as a means to the greater efficiency of students, society, or schools. Even as far back as Colonial days, Americans have usually tried to reform schools by increasing their practicality, i.e., their…

Nine articles discuss the nature and structure of public scholarship. The articles are: (1) "Divided No More" by Parker J. Palmer, who urges academics to act publicly on their convictions; (2) "The Public Intellectual as Transgressor?" by William M. Sullivan, who urges the reinvention of a "public" orientation to…

This unit focuses on differing attitudes toward the environment and the philosophies from which those attitudes developed. After finishing this unit, students will: (1) gain an understanding of the concept of "world view"; (2) trace the historical events that created the Western world view; (3) explain the relationship between world view and the…

This collection of readings in support of inclusive education for students with disabilities offers rationales for inclusion, personal accounts of individuals involved, and strategies for facilitating change. Stressed throughout is the idea that inclusion is an attitude or belief system, not an action or set of actions. The readings identify…

This book challenges common assumptions about the nature of education and the need for formal schooling and provides an overview of promising alternatives to compulsory education. Following a foreword by Ivan Illich, four sections cover the philosophical roots of opposition to compulsory public education, current analyses of the public school…

This document contains the final program and abstracts of the 1996 National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST) Annual Meeting. The presentations are classified in the following strands: (1) Learning: Students' Conceptions and Conceptual Change; (2) Learning: Classroom Contexts and Learner Characteristics; (3) Teaching; (4)…

This collection contains essays on contemporary issues facing community colleges written by fellows in Princeton University's Mid-Career Fellowship Program. The essays are as follows: "Is Middlesex County College Accomplishing Its Mission?" (Xenia P. Balabkins); "The Coming of Age of Women's Studies: Attention Must be Paid" (Lynne M. DeCicco);…