National educational reform must be interpreted from a broader sociopolitical vantage point. Following the introduction, "The Change Process and Educational Reform" by Val D. Rust, the four papers in part 1 are devoted primarily to conceptual issues related to educational reform. They include: (1) "Problems of Educational Reforms in a Changing Society" (Torsten Husen); (2) "Language and History: A Perspective on School Reform Movements" (Sol Cohen); (3) "The Failure of Reform and the Macro-Politics of Education: Notes on a Theoretical Challenge" (Hans N. Weiler); and (4) "Conceptual Issues in 'Educational Reform': Ideology, the State, and the World Economic System" (Mark B. Ginsburg and Susan F. Cooper). The papers in part 2 focus on the role of the state in educational reform: (5) "Australian Education Inc.: The Corporate Reorganization of Public Education in Australia" (Susan L. Robertson); (6) "Educational System Reform as Legitimation for Continuity: The Case of Brazil" (Francis Musa Boakari); (7) "Educational Reform in Postrevolutionary Iran: A Shift in Policy?" (Golnar Mehran); and (8) "The Spirit of Capitalism and School Reform in America" (Abraham Yogev). Articles in part 3 give special attention to eastern Europe: (9) "Educational Reforms and the Discourse of Democracy in Soviet and Post-Communist Education: Evidence from a Meta-Analysis" (Joseph Zajda); and (10) "Reform in Polish Education" (Krzysztof Kruszewski). Finally, papers in the fourth part look at educational reform as a means of national development in the third world: (11) "Two Perspectives on the Role of Education in Development: The World Bank Versus the African View" (Ernestine K. Enomoto); and (12) "Education and Development Policies of India" (Vipula Chaturvedi and Mahesh Chaturvedi). References accompany each chapter. (LMI)