Critiques Green's essay, "The Formation of Conscience in an Age of Technology." Asserts that the search for educational excellence is rooted in the social and practical interests of a public and should prepare individuals for multiple Competencies. (SA)

Discusses (1) what is meant by educational practice and empirically based theory; (2) the mutual dependence and independence of social based scientific theoretical formulations; and (3) the differences between theory and practice on the problem created by their similarities. (SA)

Examines the effects of class size on student achievement in classrooms in which teachers use whole class instruction and those in which students are in ability groups. Results suggest that classroom pedagogical practices mediate the affect of class size on learning. (SA)

Describes the new design for the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Changes include a biennial schedule, expanded sampling, and balanced--incomplete spiralling of exercises and variables to permit the estimation of intercorrelations. Changes should improve the interpretability, comparability, timeliness, and policy relevance of the data.…

Examines how modern ideals of individualism and critical reflection contribute to beliefs associated with nihilism. Argues that emancipatory views of education foster self-directing individualism and critical thought that contribute to nihilism problem. Concludes that emancipatory approaches should be based on the idea of the individual as a…

Presents a critical review of C. A. Bowers's "Culture against Itself," suggesting the alternative view, minus supporting arguments, that the quixotic quest for meaning is bound to fail, not for lack of meaning but for too much meaning. (SA)

Author presents his conception of Bowers's essay, especially his understanding of Bowers's definition of nihilism, and concludes that there may be more to fear from those who fear nihilism than from nihilism itself. (SA)

Presents agreement to Bowers's essay "Culture against Itself." Concludes that students should be taught tradition and have their consciousnesses raised to realize they cannot exist, think, or act outside their culture and tradition. A sociocentric, not egocentric, approach to creating knowledge and meaning will lead to positive results for…

Author presents an interpretation of his essay, "Culture against Itself," responding to comments of three colleagues. He attempts to focus on three major stages in the original paper's argument and to critique his colleagues' responses. (SA)

Compares effects of three school types: single-sex Catholic, mixed-sex Catholic, and mixed-sex public. Results indicate that Catholic single-sex school are nearly twice as effective as Catholic mixed-sex schools, suggesting that there are important differences between these types of schools and that comparisons between public and Catholic schools…

A critical review of a report by Bennett on the status of the humanities. Discusses the nostalgic focus on past constructions of "culture" and the criticism of intellectual relativism. Asserts that humanistic education leads to active invention, rather than passive reception, of culture. (SA)

Addresses Hispanic goals for education and the current political situation in which these goals must be pursued. Discusses how the agenda of Hispanic researchers and advocacy organizations is rapidly expanding beyond a traditional focus on language and bilingual education. (Author/LHW)

Summarizes current data available on the educational attainment of precollegiate Hispanic students. Reviews factors contributing to the heterogeneity of Latino and the educational implications of the demographic changes of the last 20 years. The increasing residential segregation of Mexican-Americans and Puerto Ricans promotes linguistic isolation…

Despite large gains in reading proficiency by minorities over the past decade, Hispanic and Black children's reading levels remain significantly lower than Whites. This article examines the effects of parent educational level and family reading behaviors on minority and nonminority children. (Author/LHW)

Considers the following for students of various ethnic and linguistic backgrounds: (1) distribution in schools with different achievement levels; (2) how they relate to reading and math achievement; and (3) what school characteristics determine achievement in grades three, six, and twelve. All public elementary and high schools in California were…