During the 1980s, 35 percent of French pupils attended private schools at some point. The private sector (largely state-supported Catholic schools) offered a second chance that was not seized equally. Research shows public-sector recruitment was more democratic; private schools equalized results more successfully. (Contains 12 references.) (MLH)

Argues that the reason computers have failed to become central to education is that they offer no added value to the traditional "factory-model" school of today. Outlines changes that must be made in goals of schooling, standards, accountability, intellectual diversity, and new structures. Discusses shift of values from standardization to…

Examines the assumption that the same characteristics of interactions between infants and caregivers are meaningful and important across cultures, using literature from very different cultures to illustrate relationships among cultural values, views of good parenting, and parents' interactions with their infants. Findings have implications for the…

Presents an interview with Stephen Toulmin, recipient of the Jefferson Lecturer in the Humanities, the highest honor bestowed by the federal government for intellectual achievement. Toulmin started out as a physicist but eventually became interested in philosophy. Discusses a broad range of topics including psychotherapy, voter registration, and…

Considers the opportunities and ethical issues involved in genetic testing. Reviews the history of genetics from the first discoveries of Gregor Mendel, through the spurious pseudo-science of eugenics, and up to the discovery of DNA by James Watson and Francis Crick. Explains how genetic tests are done. (MJP)

Shares observations made and lessons learned by the author while student teaching in a democratic classroom environment. Outlines keys to creating a democratic classroom. Discusses preparing teachers for democratic classrooms. (SR)

Exhibits in London's Science Museum are critiqued in this discussion of the problem of balance in presenting controversial issues in museum exhibits. Science museums claim to portray controversial issues in a neutral manner, but neutrality is impossible. Asks how science museums can involve visitors in the controversy and how the museum's role can…

Explores different approaches to teaching global education, most notably the compartmentalist and holistic paradigms. The compartmentalist approach, which revolves around the study of specific cultures or countries, retains a view of the world as divided and emphasizes similarities. The holistic approach represents the philosophy that the planet…

Discusses multicultural education and some of the confusion surrounding the philosophy, and explains how multicultural education fits into environmental education. Multicultural education respects diversity of ideas and experiences. The broadness of culture as a concept makes cultural factors key components in environmental issues. Includes…

Ongoing controversy exists over how to practice character education in public schools. Parents are responsible for developing their children's character, and they must be involved from the beginning in developing character education in their schools and communities. Like the self-esteem movement, the character education movement requires…

Uses field data to build a case for presenting sexual orientation as another form of diversity that preservice teachers must recognize, understand, and be prepared to live with, exploring the power of democratic principles to support the conceptual framework and examining the role of teacher educators in promoting democratic values that extend to…

The soul of our educational system is sick, reflecting society's sole expectation of education as preparation for the marketplace; the "tough love" approach of raising standards merely perpetuates such extrinsic values. Healing the system requires an infusion of feminine qualities that encourage schools to honor each child and nurture…

Disappointing high-stakes test results matter far less than the type of future citizens that schools produce. Citizenship values (teamwork, leadership, and neighborliness) are not assessed well by multiple-choice exams. Poor performers should not be segregated, data should be reinterpreted, and remediation should stress tutoring interventions, not…

Investigated age and context differences in children's judgments about excluding peers from group activities on the basis of gender and race. Found that the vast majority of children rejected exclusion in contexts in which only stereotypes justified exclusion. Older children (13 years) were more likely to allow exclusion than younger (7 and 10…

Measured value-order responses of 31 Arab (Jordanian) and 27 American business students and studied how culturally-ingrained values were reflected in students' perceptions of people they met. Economic, political, social, and theoretical values were nearly the same for both groups; slight differences were found for aesthetics and religion. (SLD)