Points out that significant progress in performance assessment is gained by adopting an interdisciplinary approach for Data Envelopment Analysis. Describes a number of case studies as well as the limitations of the technique and the caution required in interpretation. (Author/BSR)

Proposes a model for teacher education in which the student teacher learns by reflecting on carefully designed school experiences. Roles for teacher mentors and university instructors are shown as complementary and ancillary to the basic processes by which the student learns craft skills that are articulated, informed, and open to change.…

Questions the degree to which it is appropriate to consider the public and private schools of the United Kingdom as independent. Presents data on the Assisted Places Scheme, changes in tax regulations for charities, and other ways in which the government has given financial and ideological support to independent schools. (Author/BSR)

Analyzes recent government initiatives for low attainers' in the 14-16 age group. Reviews curriculum development within special education as a whole. Highlights major concerns with the one-dimensional approach which has been widely adopted and outlines an alternative perspective in relation to schools, teachers, and pupils. (Author/BSR)

Explores how "racial forms of education" have been conceptualized by policymakers and educationists. Provides a critique of multicultural education and its concern with deracialized modes of analysis and strategies. Concludes by considering anti-racist education and how research might assist policymakers in the enactment of non-racist criteria in…

Discusses the movement to democratize school government and explains how those for and against this policy justify their case by using the theoretical concepts of democracy, participation, and representation. Suggests how these concepts can be placed on the educational agenda by highlighting how they apply to school policy. (Author/BSR)

Explores 60 children's perceptions of their teachers and reveals those areas in which students approved and disapproved of various teaching methods. Issues such as repetition of subject matter, and the balance between individual and group work were also explored. (Author/BSR)

Reviews three new books by Croom Helm on international adult education and issues confronting it today. States that each of the books is written from a very different perspective and focuses on different aspects of adult education. (Author/BSR)

Offers an introduction to the theme articles in this special issue on the Plowden Report, a British government report which advocated a child-centered, experiential approach to primary education. (JDH)

This paper considers the membership, terms of reference, and assumptions governing the work of the Plowden committee. It evaluates criticisms made of the report and relates the committee's conclusions to possible change models and forms of policy analysis that might have been used. (Author)

Examines why, after a successful beginning, EPA programs faltered and all but disappeared by the end of the 1970s. Concludes that while there were many causes, three major factors were the failure of the EPA to respond to changing values, changing base of research support, and the worsening conditions of the inner city. (Author/JDH)

Maintains that Plowden Report appealed as much for its underlying ideology as for its practical instructional suggestions. The ideology was one of "expressionist egalitarianism": belief that each child's potential is equal and is reached through a process of free expression. States that such ideas are inherently implausible and maintains that…

Argues that the Plowden Report underrated the seriousness of race and cultural issues in the inner city and took inadequate account of differences in experiences and backgrounds of the children and their families. Analyzes the shortcomings of the types of programs developed during the 1970s and offers suggestions for future improvement.…

States that the impact of the Plowden Report was insignificant in Germany and Austria; that despite a decade of lively educational debate and hopeful reform initiatives, primary schools are as teacher-centered and bureaucratically controlled as ever. (Author/JDH)

Reviews research on the teaching-learning process which has developed in the 20 years since the Plowden Report. Divides studies into those which have focused primarily on teaching styles, opportunity to learn, and classroom tasks. Concludes that the Plowden model of teaching has not stood the test of time. (JDH)