Offers reflections and accounts of personal experiences regarding the complexities of the relationship between early childhood education and the public schools. Also considers the history of this relationship. (LB)

Discusses former Soviet schools' inadequacy in promoting students' political involvement. Reports that students can be grouped according to their social attitudes as (1) conformists; (2) negativists or nihilists; and (3) those with critical, creative attitudes toward majority opinion. Argues that schools can promote independent thinking by…

The purpose of this study was to determine what classroom teachers (n=200) consider the most important components of professional development schools and to determine what classroom teachers view as the most important skills to be taught public school teachers who will be involved in professional development schools. (IAH)

Compulsory education may be counterproductive for many students. Most children enter school curious/confident/enthusiastic. Successful students exit bored/obedient/passive by simply "getting through," and others perform poorly because of environmental/societal factors. Also, the current emphasis on formalized accountability methods distorts…

Presents a three-part set of guidelines for multicultural education. Describes characteristics of ethnic and cultural groups. States principles of ethnic and cultural diversity. Discusses the role of the school, learning differences among ethnic groups, and goals for reform. Includes 23 individual guidelines and a program evaluation checklist. (DK)

Explores the themes of accommodation and resistance in stories of autobiographers' early schooling, illustrating how educational autobiographies enhance understanding of childrens' normalization experiences in school. The essay examines conceptual components of normalization, outlines discursive problems of the autobiographical genre, and analyzes…

Rita Kramer, author of "Ed School Follies," argues that education schools contribute to education's problems through poor teacher preparation and overemphasis helping students feel good about themselves. Rather than training teachers to help students master knowledge, she says, the schools are transformed into agents of social change.…

Professional development schools (PDSs) can be considered both organic and synergistic. Six principles form the basis of a framework that may be used to guide initial efforts to develop PDSs. (IAH)

The relationship between student health and learning is receiving increasing attention. Many communities are placing health care providers within public schools. The article describes Arkansas' experiences using school-based clinics, noting everyone's roles and responsibilities. Arkansas has demonstrated that children's health care needs can be…

According to Ivan Illich, education is a commodity and schooling the tool, but schooling has set the agenda and become the end. Investigates three themes from Illich's writings on schools, institutions, and convivial society and applies them to current education. Explores implications of deschooling, redefines convivial education, and critiques…

Argues that the role of education should be to shape the whole individual. The culture and organization of schools must change to promote student success and democratic values. The school has failed to be a level playing field for students from all socioeconomic backgrounds, and must become an instrument for justice and liberation for the…

Contends that the lack of school adaptation is one of the most serious problems within the Russian educational system. Expounds that the lack of adaptation is the impossibility of adequate school instruction in accordance with students' natural abilities and students' social interactions within their own lives. Discusses efforts to overcome the…

Considers the state of teacher education in Russian higher educational institutions and focuses on the needed changes in the design of teacher education. States that the key idea in the designing of teacher education consists of the fact that the higher educational institutions ought to be reoriented toward producing the professional teacher. (CMK)

Reviews the mission of Catholic schools as defined by the church and Vatican II. Suggests that schools be responsive to their communities, implement fair policies, remain faithful to the Catholic tradition, and foster participation in the community. (JDI)

Explores the different forms of diversity found in families and family life in western societies. Distinguishes five types of moral values that families teach, examining the potential of each for diversity. States that a balance among the rights of families, schools, and children, who can develop into autonomous moral agents, is required. (CMK)