Depicts the hostile social, political, and economic environment in which racial and linguistic minorities now live. Demonstrates how educators can become advocates for reform. Educators must be willing to reconfigure public education, redefine their relationship to the community, create radical curricula, and make explicit their moral and social…

Constructivism emphasizes the learner as an active meaning maker and problem solver. This article reviews constructivism's basic principles, analyzes implications for curriculum work, and explores a constructivist unit-development process. Planners must decide degree of curricular integration, establish unit parameters, identify the problem, draft…

The terms "Asian" and "Pacific Islanders" capture diverse historical relationships and a powerful cultural/linguistic diversity. Many Asian-Pacific Americans have succeeded despite monumental prejudices and obstacles, including the "model minority" myth promoted by conservatives to limit affirmative action. Chin's…

Born in Trinidad in 1901, C. L. R. James challenged the formal education system--resisting authority, refuting colonial historical writing, and refusing to seek tertiary schooling. A self-made scholar and activist, he started his own university and struggled to help peasant workers; the poor; and non-Caucasians cheated by colonialism, capitalism,…

Describes educational reform efforts in Spain since 1970, when a new General Law for Education was adopted. The reform process now suffers from delays in developing new courses and teaching cycles. The country's economic crisis is creating a decline in funding for new programs, while the education ministry insists on working to improve teaching…

Uses Eisner's educational connoiseurship approach to illuminate larger organizational design issues and analyze and appraise Virginia State Superintendent for Public Instruction Joseph Spagnolo's reorganization plan. The analysis focuses on several design issues: fit/form, focus/function, force, and fulfillment. The Spagnolo design is constantly…

The factors affecting funding levels of South Carolina's public elementary and secondary school districts must be reexamined. If state education monies for 1988-89 had been distributed to compensate fully for local tax variations, the state's wealthiest districts would have received a 31.8% funding decrease and the poorest districts would have…

Two activist teacher educators discuss the ravages of global capitalism, abandonment of American cities, breakdown of Keynesian economics, dismantling of the welfare state, and resulting dissolution of identities and entire lives. Schools must fight social injustice and racism. Teachers should pursue classroom-based research that investigates the…

Explores how educational systems handle confusion among different historic roots, cultural values, and world views. Finding universally accepted values that cut across the diverse cultures comprising human society remains an important teacher responsibility. Educators must move beyond comforting certainties toward a profound understanding of…

After German reunification in 1990, a common, comparable school structure was successfully established. Instead of attending mostly vocational high schools, East German students now choose among three school types: a college preparatory "Gymnasium"; a technical-clerical, intermediate "Realscuhle"; and a manual-labor oriented…

Discusses the status and prospects of the government's stated policy promoting institutional autonomy in Russian higher education. Institutional operations are currently fraught with serious problems. At least three areas are in jeopardy: institutional financial sustainability, decentralized government control, and internal balance of power. (22…

Greece has used elements of the Commission of the European Communities' pilot projects and proposals to develop a procedure integrating three steps: a self-evaluation process culminating in a report prepared by the higher education institution or department, an external peer-review evaluation, and publication of the report. (18 references) (MLH)

Since 1994, reform of Taiwan's educational system has taken two directions: "Taiwanization" (a refocus from Chinese nationalism to indigenous understanding) and "Americanization." This article examines the Americanization strand, highlighting changes in administration; teacher recruitment, training, and status; philosophy;…

Summarizes a national study to determine whether U.S. school children, particularly those in disadvantaged metropolitan districts, experienced negative repercussions from the decentralization of federal resources, a structural-adjustment type of policy. Results showed that federal disinvestment in education adversely affected children in the…

Mentoring and teacher collaboration may be part of an effective reform program in Lithuania, but they are insufficient in themselves. Lithuanian educators also need materials and resources, such as printed texts and computer hardware and software. U.S. support should assume the posture of careful listener and willing instructor. (26 references)…