Presents preliminary observations on how allowing some parents in Michigan to choose which schools their children attend affects the educational system. Asserts that the current enthusiasm for educational choice is an example of a broader effort to shift the responsibility for addressing deeply-rooted social and economic problems out of the public…

Discusses why special education teachers pursue professional development opportunities by focusing on three needs for the selection of curriculum content: felt, normative, and comparative needs. Conveys that distance education provides these teachers with a means for professional development and reviews teachers' distance education experiences.…

The fourth Nellie Mae survey of student loan borrowers in repayment reveals that education debt burdens remain manageable for most borrowers. A clear majority of those in repayment report that the benefits of the educational opportunities made possible through borrowing are well worth any problems associated with paying off the loans. There are,…

There is no doubt that the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, Supreme Court decision was instrumental in initiating monumental change in the ways public schools have operated. The central question addressed by the Supreme Court in the Brown cases (1954, 1955) was whether segregation of children in public schools solely on the…

The standards movement arose from the struggle for equal educational opportunity in American public education. Beginning with the seemingly simple task of defining an adequate education in student content standards, reform graduated to setting professional requirements for teachers and paraprofessionals and for professional inservice training.…

This article is an edited version of an address by Abdul Waheed Khan to a Special Convocation at Jamia Hamdard University, New Delhi, on 4 January 2005. Professor Khan identifies major societal trends and likely future developments, with particular reference to India. He argues that knowledge will play a central role in shaping economic growth,…

Just as the African tribal maxim proclaims that "it takes a village to raise a child," this author argues that it takes the whole campus community--students, faculty, and administrators--to effectively educate a student. The goal of educators should not be simply to reduce cheating, but to find innovative and creative ways to use academic…

This paper is about fairness (equity) in large-scale assessment systems within multicultural societies. It makes the key assumptions that fairness is fundamentally a sociocultural, rather than a technical, issue and that fair assessment cannot be considered in isolation from both the curriculum and the educational opportunities of the students.…

In this article, the authors discuss how art educators often find themselves faced with students whose needs are beyond what the art educators feel trained to handle. How can they design lessons so that every student feels successful? Because art educators are also art therapists, school colleagues often ask them for help in working with students…

The 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education and, of course, the hotly contested U.S. presidential election were just two of the events that dominated the headlines in 2004. Throughout the year, colleges and universities, as well as other educational institutions across the country, commemorated the Supreme Court's landmark case by…

Engagement in paid work during term-time amongst undergraduates in England has increased in recent years, reflecting changes in both higher education funding and labour market policy. This article draws on research with students in a post-1992 university to explore undergraduate students' accounts of combining work and study during term-time and…

With increasing importance being placed on the development of generic skills in higher education, institutions are espousing, as part of their mission and objectives, which generic skills their graduates achieve, and teachers are being required to document how their courses and programs support the development of those skills and attributes. The…

This article is based upon research which examined the youth labour market in Cumbria, a predominantly rural labour market located in north-west England. It argues that individual and structural considerations must be extended to incorporate employer behaviour and attitudes towards young men and women. Employers' assessment of young people's…

The Center for the Teaching of American History at Binghamton University has launched several programs that are designed to improve the quality of teaching history in the local schools. Central to this improvement has been the success of the summer workshops for teachers and librarians. Among the desired byproducts of this success have been…

The idea that at its 50th anniversary, Brown provides proof that inspite of its landmark significance, basing relief in the courts and its principles can create a backlash of unintended consequence is discussed. The various litigious and legislative assaults upon historically African American colleges and universities are examined to highlight the…