AERA's centennial provides an opportunity to reinvigorate the aspirations that gave rise to our research community in the United States: hope and determination that research can strengthen public education, society's most democratic institution. The first AERAers sought to produce scientific knowledge to improve large, increasingly diverse urban…

Describes a study which investigated whether relationships in schools reproduce the consciousness of workers by dividing students into groups which reward different types of capabilities, attitudes, and behaviors. Discriminant analyses of variables measuring classroom relationships and student attitudes in 139 secondary classrooms at different…

Examines the historical, political, and economic context of differentiated schooling. Argues that tracking perpetuates inequality. Evaluates the influence on education of the politics of economic scarcity, social conservatism, and assumptions about abilities and the role of schools in providing equal opportunity. (KH)