In this paper, the author explored the teachers' experiences and their views regarding how assemblies are conducted in Botswana public schools. The author indicates that assemblies are a common feature in Botswana primary and secondary schools. The author adopted the Christian Privilege as the conceptual framework as espoused by Blumenfeld (2006)…

Although educational leaders may be optimistic about initiating change, lasting reforms are rare. The group polarization literature, although dated, provides an important explanation for a very current problem. The theory holds that when there are differences of opinion to begin with, a counter-conformity effect works among members of groups.…

Uses Michel Foucault's concepts of disciplinary technology and panopticism to explain educational inequalities. Describes the Panopticon (an architectural prototype for prisons) as a form of disciplinary technology. Considers schools as technologies of power and discipline, with their conformity to this model contributing to today's social…

This paper discusses problematic issues related to teacher education in the Professional Development School (PDS) environment, noting the assumption that partnership between the academy and the public school via PDSs is the foundation of all teacher development. It cautions that while partnership is now deeply embedded in the United States, there…

Outlines strategies to reduce inequities in numerous counties, focusing on the distribution of financial and human resources. Also addresses issues of diversity and conformity in education systems. Reduction of regional imbalances does not necessarily require imposition of uniformity, but the diversity caused by decentralization is not always…

Discusses educational reform movements as derived from changes in the world economy affecting public education in both developed and developing countries. Examines national reform movements in several countries, noting the shift to closer conformity with increasingly uniform international standards. Treats the politics of school reform and the…

Recent incorporation of a performance assessment in Arizona's test mandate provides an opportunity to examine the assumptions and beliefs underlying measurement-driven reform. Efforts to meld cognitive-constructivist beliefs about pupil learning and assessment contradict behaviorist beliefs about changing teachers and reforming schools. Mandates…

The arts deserve an integral place in schools, since they provide outlets for individuality, enhance thinking and language skills, and possess intrinsic educational value. Arts counter modern society's awesome drive for conformity by offering opportunities for authenticity and spontaneity. Arts offer the last glimmer of warmth and humaneness in a…

This article traces the demise of creativity in the national curriculum in England and Wales. It is argued that the creative dimension in the national curriculum has been purged by various government directives since the Ruskin speech in 1976, all aiming to introduce provisions of standardisation, centralisation, and vocationalisation of…

In this report on leadership in the public schools, Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton demonstrates how to make schools better places for learning and to encourage more of it. A brief biography of Clinton is presented in the beginning. The report represents a new generation of thinking on school leadership in that it emphasizes the leadership…

A discussion of school law, defined as how the educational system is impacted upon by the law, is addressed as it relates two major issues to the Catholic or parochial schools. In an overview of the legal system, the types of courts, the nature of legal precedents, and the levels within the judiciary are reviewed. The first major issue centers…

This paper presents a reconceptualization of multicultural education for the 21st century through a critical analysis of the current status of multicultural education. Based on Milton M. Gordon's theory of racial and ethnic group relations and assimilation, the paper identifies three ideological systems for viewing…

The book examines approaches to moral education, first attempting to understand each one sympathetically, then highlighting strengths and weaknesses, and finally formulating the problems and issues uncovered in the analysis. The work concludes with the author's own version of a postmodern "patchwork" pedagogy of moral conversation. The…

Uses Chris Raschka's picture book, "Arlene Sardine" (1998), as a focus for a discussion of the homogenizing forces of the market economy. Discusses how the young person's struggle for "identity" must deal with powerful and coercive forces of the marketplace. Argues children's literature can aid in such a struggle by prompting…

Highlights ideas of Paulo Freire that are relevant to the meaning of democratic teaching. Freire believes that the traditional curriculum leads teachers and students to conform, and he advocates "conscientization" or a democratic approach to teaching in which the learner actively participates in understanding and defining the personal…