Discusses the democratic learning approach to preservice teacher education in a limited number of British higher education institutions. Compares this approach in two teacher education programs. Concludes that democratic learning can be incorporated successful into a variety of subject specialties. (CFR)

Contends that, even before the fall of Communism, Hungary had a long history of educational reform when compared to other East European nations. Discusses attributes of the new national basic curriculum and student assessment program. (CFR)

Reviews the current Polish educational system and assesses its prospects for meaningful reform. Discusses the changing nature of students, teachers, and the impact of changing social values on education. Outlines aspects of the new model of general education, including the curriculum and instructional materials. (CFR)

Discusses recent economic and political changes in Czechoslovakia and their impact on the nation's educational system. Reviews surveys of parent attitudes toward educational goals and their expectations for their children. Includes four tables containing information about Czechoslovakian education and parental attitudes. (CFR)

Identifies issues related to educational reform in the former East Germany. Compares changes in the educational systems of the states of Berlin and Brandenburg and points out that the two entities are growing closer together. (CFR)

Describes current reform efforts in Romania and identifies 11 types of secondary schools determined by vocational goals. Discusses eight objectives for innovation and research, including curriculum reform, the relationship between general and vocational education, student assessment, and decentralization of decision making. (CFR)

Addresses the question of social change as it affects the lives of children and their opportunities for learning. Describes the diversity of lifestyles that social change has brought. Argues that schools must accommodate inequality among children as regards their family experience as well as more traditional inequalities of aptitude, status, or…

Discusses family school cooperation in Western Europe historically and today. Stresses the importance of cooperation especially at the primary school level. Attributes the swing toward parental involvement in the 1970s to social unrest linked with demands for participatory democracy, new research results revealing family influences on…

Presents results of a study of parental involvement in curriculum planning and enrichment in four London (England) primary schools. Reports that the program implementing parent teacher cooperation was successful in terms of student achievement, parental enjoyment, and teacher satisfaction. Discusses the importance of home, school, and the outside…

Presents results of surveys of apprentices, young workers, and students in former East Germany from 1970 through 1989. Includes data on attitudes toward religion, Marxism/Leninism, the Soviet Union, East and West Germany, and the media. Reports tremendous attitude changes in almost all categories assessed from 1970 to 1989, with those changes…

Discusses the difficulties of educational reform in what was formerly East Germany. Describes the educational system in East Germany as uniform and military in nature. Criticizes the one-sidedness of socialist education and its politicalization. Compares classroom atmospheres before and after the Germanies were united. (DK)

Discusses the problems of secondary education in the East German education system. Argues that education is not an interest of the state alone and that the state cannot represent all of the other interests involved. Urges the redefinition of educational institutions and objectives to place more importance on the students' experiences. (DK)

Describes textbooks of both East and West Germany from 1949-56, 1957-62, 1963-69, and 1970 on. Discusses a shift in West German texts from intense antagonism during the Cold War to a more critical comparison by the 1980s. Compares East German text development that increased in hostility over time, viewing West Germany as a negative alternative to…

Compares the teaching of literature in East and West Germany. Discusses both the nature and titles of the material taught and problems of teaching literature espousing individual thought and criticism in a communist system. Describes common ground in the literature curriculum of both that may serve as a basis for curriculum of unified Germany. (DK)

Discusses experiments in West Germany in integrating general and vocational education. Compares three models including expansion of the existing school form, establishment of a school association to develop a new form, and organization of school centers combining all previous school forms. Lists curricular integration, social integration, and…