Presents the results of a study suggesting that economic knowledge, whether measured by a general score or knowledge of a particular issue, is the most consistent and influential factor affecting public opinion. Surveyed a broad range of participants concerning five complex issues of economic policy. Includes questions, tables, and statistics.…

Examines the current relationship between religious liberty and U.S. democracy. Presents a proposal to reforge the U.S. public philosophy according to the notion of chartered pluralism that celebrates the diversity embodied in the First Amendment. Ties this to the conflict between communitarianism and libertarianism. (DB)

Provides a case study on the introduction of political education at Repton, an English public school, from 1916-1918. Discusses the origins, progress, major supporters and opponents, and eventual demise of political education at Repton. Concludes with a discussion on the relationship among political education, liberal idealism, and patriotic…

Voters in five states approved referenda making English their official language. The vote is used to assess racial, ethnic, economic, political, and cultural hypotheses. The racial and cultural hypotheses are not validated; the ethnic and class ones are partially supported; and the political hypothesis offers the most compelling explanation. (26…

Reports on a study of the political attitudes and views toward elections among 140 Nigerian secondary students. Argues that, if schools are to play a significant role in Nigeria, it is essential for social studies educators to try to improve the current orientation of students toward elections. (CFR)

Discusses problems facing European education as the world continues to become more interconnected through politics, communication, and economics. Stresses the need to maintain national values without regressing to nationalism. Examines teacher training, history instruction, and television as areas where divisions can be lessened. Warns against…

Reports on a study of 18 social studies teachers' concepts of justice. Finds that three dominant themes emerged: (1) justice as right and wrong; (2) justice as fairness; and (3) justice as an ideal or standard. Concludes that responses suggest that social studies teachers' education in political theory may be insufficient. (CFR)

Discusses issues concerning forced migration. In today's climate, there is an increased willingness to intervene in other countries' affairs to avert the creation of new floods of immigrants or to assist internally displaced populations, and there is the expectation of large-scale and voluntary returns of refugees in asylum. (SLD)

Explores student and youth organizing and campus activism. Two major issues in current and future campus organizing are reproductive choice and national service plans as proposed by the Clinton Administration. Campus organizing can instill the principles of empowerment in the activists who will be the leaders of tomorrow. (SLD)

In "The Manufactured Crisis," D. Berliner and B. Biddle argue that there has been no decline in achievement test scores, that today's students outperform their parents and do well in international examinations, and that the supposed crisis in American education does not exist. This review refutes all these claims. (SLD)

In their arguments that there is actually no crisis in American education and that students are achieving more than previous generations, David Berliner and Bruce Biddle have ignored or dismissed extensive data on student achievement that demonstrate the failings of the American system. (SLD)

This paper was prepared collectively by participants of the third seminar in a series with the title Challenging ""Social Inclusion": Perspectives for and from Children and Young People". Three 3-day seminars took place at the Universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow and Stirling in 2002-3 attended by academics, professionals from…

This paper addresses the role of history education in developing a shared sense of identity in modern democracies. It does so by presenting findings from research into children's ideas about history in the United States and Northern Ireland, two settings that share important political and social characteristics with Canada and other pluralist…

Using data from a "New York Times" poll conducted in 2000, we analyze whites' approval of interracial marriage by examining the contexts in which whites have contact with blacks. The contexts can be ordered by the type of contact they provide, from close and personal to distant or hierarchical. The results of our analysis show that the type of…

In this article, John Holst presents findings of his historical research on Paulo Freire's educational work in Chile from 1964 to 1969. Freire's "Education as the Practice of Freedom", which was written in 1965 from notes he brought from Brazil, was informed by a liberal developmentalist outlook. In contrast, his "Pedagogy of the…