Discusses the changing knowledge base for pedagogy, the domain of the pedagogical sciences, and the intersection between these pedagogical sciences and culture. The paper draws on cultural psychology as a basis for pedagogy and details the implications for teacher education of the view that knowledge is shaped by the cultural contexts in which it…

Explains critical race theory as used in legal scholarship, arguing for its application in education and suggesting that in the United States, where race is critical in inequality and where society is organized around property rights, the intersection of race and property creates an analytical tool for understanding inequity. (SM)

Describes reform efforts in one urban ghetto school, examining processes and events that illustrate how social manifestations of racial and social class can combine to vitiate reform efforts. Barriers to reform efforts in ghetto schools are detailed. (SM)

Using historical and contemporary perspectives, the paper argues that reading is a malleable social practice with identifiable moral and ideological consequences. A model that defines reading in contemporary social life through four interconnected roles is presented. The importance of critical reading in everyday life is illustrated through…

Examines the community mural movement as an educational activity, reviewing the history of the modern mural movement, noting its democratic direction, and concluding that community murals can potentially educate artists and nonartists. Modern murals have demonstrated a vast capacity to expand awareness of the struggles of oppressed people. (SM)

Examines the third report of the Holmes Group, which presents a design for "Tomorrow's Schools of Education." The paper finds the report counterproductive and contradictory, suggesting that it presents an anti-intellectual vision of schools of education, which, if followed, would radically narrow their broad range of functions for American…

Reviews the historical, social, and political context of women's experiences in science and math, challenging stereotypes that girls historically have had difficulties and suggesting that treating such difficulties as historical and personal in the absence of careful analyses of the social and political dimensions of women's experiences only…

Reviews research on teacher efficacy, concluding that teachers who believe they are effective set more challenging goals for themselves and their students, take responsibility for student outcomes, and persist when faced with obstacles to learning. The article suggests that efforts to improve schools should include attention to teacher efficacy.…

Focusing on assessments of the performance of one fourth-grade student, the article makes a case for teaching and moral perception (the capacity to comprehend the unique needs and aspirations of individual students), arguing that assessing students in the absence of moral perception is a serious mistake. (SM)

Examines the evolution of deregulation as a state education policy strategy, from limited waiver programs to charter programs and new accountability systems that include broad deregulation. The article discusses the substantial political and practical barriers to broad deregulation despite the assumption that greater school-level autonomy will…

Presents a model that identifies the reasons why parents become involved in their children's education, using the model to explain how such involvement influences the developmental and educational progress of children. The paper examines parents' choice of specific involvement and discusses why their involvement influences their children's…

Using data from High School and Beyond, a national longitudinal study of American high school students, the authors investigated who drops out, why one student drops out but not another, what dropouts do while peers remain in school, and what impact dropping out has on gains in tested achievement. (MT)

The authors outline an agenda for research on the dropout problem, arguing that a comprehensive program of research should include data on student characteristics, school processes, the act of dropping out, and the economic and cognitive consequences of the failure of large numbers of students to complete high school. (MT)

In a study on school effectiveness, a random sample of more than 10,000 teachers from 538 high schools were surveyed to examine the climate of American high schools. Based on teacher reports, school climate measures were developed and related to schools and teachers. Methodology and results are discussed. (JL)