A restrictive form of equality limits African Americans' ability to benefit equally from public schooling. The "Brown" decision represents the Supreme Court's attempt to apply a mathematical solution to a social problem and left schools free to develop responses that failed to address African-American students' needs. A more expansive educational…

Political efforts to desegregate schools fail when political opposition interacts with an institutional structure that ambiguously divides educational authority. Both factors explain failure of Yonkers, New York, to desegregate its schools during the 1960s and 1970s. This article cautions against abandoning school desegregation efforts and demands…

Suggests that desegregation should be seen as an ongoing process rather than a specific event. More attention should be given to shaping students' experiences in desegregated schools to foster positive intergroup relations. School staff must work to avoid resegregation and create a cooperative environment in which minority and majority members…

Reconstructs the culture of an historically black school and describes how school closure during the mid-1970s affected the surrounding community. School desegregation decision makers were culturally ignorant of what made black schools good and their culturally constructive benefits. This ignorance precipitated the loss of important cultural…

Summarizes three generations of desegregation efforts since the "Brown" decision, highlighting parent voices. Argues that researchers and policymakers should focus on the broader sociocultural facets of desegregation. Uses personal recollections to show that African-American parents did not have to be formally invited to participate in their…

Examines fundamental assumptions about desegregation. Briefly discusses Milwaukee's African-American immersion schools as a feasible strategy for educating African-American students. In predominantly African-American schools, African-American students' achievement levels surpass those of their peers in integrated schools. Given the limitations of…

A wide latitude of student course selection in high school magnifies the social stratification of educational outcomes. Following a demanding academic curriculum is associated with higher academic achievement. Less advantaged students generally choose a less demanding study program than their more advantaged counterparts. Less advantaged families…

Over the past several decades, a hegemonic conservative discourse has constructed urban school reform issues around a "basic skills" curriculum model that has helped structure class, race, and gender inequalities. This article discusses some possible organizing principles for a counterhegemonic, democratic-progressive policy discourse. The…

Assuming that educational planning is a communicative process involving the transmission of symbols to effect change, this article offers a transformative approach consolidating three basic transformations (symbols, frames of reference, and behavior). The articulation of vision, the socialization of expectations, and empowerment are conceptualized…

Discusses social justice in education, specifically gender issues. Explores how rightist governments in advanced industrialized societies have tried to implement an agenda of parental choice and standards, in contrast to earlier liberal administrations' efforts to reduce differences between families and involve mothers in children's education.…

Kanpol's book "Towards a Theory and Practice of Teacher Cultural Politics: Continuing the Postmodern Debate" (Ablex, 1992) examines postmodernist thought in education. Redefining critical social theory and the notion of resistance in postmodernist terms, the author shows these ideas' relevance to common democratic struggles and resistance to the…

John E. Chubb and Terry M. Moe's booklet "A Lesson in School Reform from Great Britain (Brookings, 1992) and Denis Lawton's book "Education and Politics in the 1990s: Conflict or Consensus?" (Falmer, 1992) attempt to evaluate effects of recent educational changes in England and Wales. Lawton's thoughtful, scholarly analysis of the complex choice…

Introduces a special issue on educational program adequacy--the cost of raising poor children's outcomes to functional levels through improved systems of finance, governance, organization, implementation, and educational practice. Essays raise numerous problems, including a weak knowledge base, low educational productivity, political resistance,…

A true adequacy model is emerging, a system of school finance that links resources and outcomes to ensure that all students receive an adequate education. Implementing true adequacy would require school districts to adopt high minimum goals, identify necessary resources, and have a long-range investment plan for deploying resources and developing…

Reviews William Clune's "The Shift from Equity to Adequacy" (in this same issue) as a provocative contribution to the policy questions on educational adequacy. Supports the overall concept, but identifies certain problems, including an inadequate knowledge base to produce high minimum outcomes, insufficient knowledge about the resources/outcomes…