Examines the relationship of education to conceptions of individual well being within the context of political theory, exploring how beliefs about human nature, rationality, and behavior were developed during the formative period of individual rights and how those beliefs are embedded in educational practices. Foucault's ideas are used to provide…

Investigated the career and college advice given to students unlikely to seek four-year college degrees by high school counselors and vocational teachers. Interview data indicated that most counselors encouraged all students to attend college, while vocational teachers fit into four broad categories in terms of advice and opinions about college…

Analyzes Margaret Mead's contributions, focusing on Mead as an anthropologist and educator. It discusses contradictions in her ethnographies and in her work on learning. The paper also discusses her beliefs about the problems of the contemporary United States, particularly her rarely noticed contributions to a theory of learning. (SM)

Discusses a theory of thinking, learning, and schooling based on developments in biofunctional cognition and the notion that the brain-awareness-mind cycle directly represents the natural course of human reflection. The paper argues that what makes this brain-mind cycle of reflection possible is intuitive self-awareness. Data from an experimental…

Discusses what can be learned about education by studying nontraditional aspects of classrooms, examining discursive traditions associated with social sciences; presenting two interaction patterns found in seminar-style classes whose ritual aspects help resolve dilemmas in commitment to individualism; noting the apparent lack of intellectual…

Used Tennessee Project STAR data to examine the impact of the duration of participation in small classes on K-3 students' later school performance. Year in which students started and number of years they participated in small classes were important mediators of benefits gained. Starting early and continuing for at least 3 years were necessary to…

Interviewed key stakeholders and observed classes at California single sex schools to investigate how context mediated policy. As educators responded to California's single sex academic legislation, they designed schools and used resources to address each community's needs. Actions and idealogies of individuals in each setting (classroom, school,…

Analyzes a teacher education program centered in a constructivist teaching model, "Fostering Community of Learners," showing how three program iterations over time grappled with the fusing of inspiration, reasoning, skill development, and design work. Though none of the iterations were shining successes, all of the elements were indispensable…

Argues against educational reform based solely on curricular standards, examining collaborative projects in two urban Professional Development Schools (PDSs) and advocating the resources and structures to establish critical relationships enabling educators to learn about themselves as they learn with others. Analyzing relationships characterizing…

Examines John Dewey's vision of and concerns for democratic education, arguing that his approach failed to equip students to act effectively in the world as it was (and still is) and that his model of democracy, while extremely useful, is nonetheless inadequate to serve the varied needs of students living in a diverse and contentious society. (SM)

A case study examined curriculum and pedagogy in academically-occupationally integrated classrooms in seven community colleges. Interviews with faculty and administrators identified purposes, advantages, and disadvantages. Drawbacks seemed to be outweighed by increases in student learning and faculty motivation. Classroom observations indicated…

Examined 17 charter schools, focusing on key instructional and organizational practices that they established in their start-up years. Three major categories of issues that they all dealt with included: developing curricular and instructional programs; developing a meaningful accountability system; and developing management/leadership systems. In…

Examines the early history of state student assessment, describing how an accountability model for state testing failed between 1865-1965 and stressing the role of institutionalized clusters of normative and causal ideas in educational policy making. These policy frameworks define core principles that nimate state action, legitimate aims served by…

Examined the influence of state-level testing on high school social studies teachers' practice. Classroom observations of a specific unit and teacher interviews before and after the unit were used to examine the role of a state test on teachers' practice. While the test influenced teachers' instruction, it interacted with other factors, especially…

Examines the roles of race, ethnicity, and academic skills in predicting whether high school students will persist along the path into teaching, noting that the challenge of creating a diverse teaching force is increasing minority youths' high school graduation, college enrollment, and college graduation rates. High school sophomores' career…