Using the viewpoint of semiotics, this paper "re-reads" Karl Marx's labor theory of value and suggests a "triple triangle" model for commodity production and shows how this model could be a model for semiosis in general. The paper argues that there are three advantages to considering homogeneity of the sign production and the…

Political and economic events in Africa have diverted the efforts of researchers from analysis along ethnic lines. Contends that the ethnic perspective is particularly valuable in understanding African affairs and that it should be revived. (DM)

Churches, and in a larger sense religion, should serve as the conscience of society. Hence Christian bodies have an obligation to condemn gross evils and to speak out on the great moral issues, but they should not give their full support to any political party or cause. The World Council of Churches (WCC) from its beginning in 1948 showed an…

This critique of John Langton's behavioral evolutionist account of the development of bureaucracy in the 18th Century British pottery industry contends that the evolutionary explanation rests on unexamined functionalist assumptions which overlook social costs and the mediating effects of the class structure and the profit motive. (TE)

The critical examination of society's circumstances, institutions, and cultural predispositions and values can help detect problems and injustices and can suggest opportunities for improvement. Neo-Marxist critical theorists of the Frankfurt school are committed to work of this kind, but their perspective is informed by Marxian precepts, and their…

Discusses the state of the Soviet economy during the period of perestroika. Includes the level of output, rate of inflation, privatization, and proposals for economic reform. Assesses the stabilization program and possibilities of restructuring. Concludes that neither Mikhail Gorbachev nor perestroika are likely to survive the trials of inflation,…

Educational research in China has reflected the turmoil and political changes of that nation. Stating at the outset that education in China is insufficient for meeting the demands of modernization, the paper shows how failure to understand the role of educational research has contributed to this condition. An overview of educational research and…

Neo-marxist theory provides a better tool for educational researchers than other research methodologies because of its focus on empowering the dispossessed and its interest in the relationships between human activity and material circumstances. Traditional educational research is rooted in the positivist tradition and claims to be value neutral…

Government policies of developing nations to stimulate economic development do not necessarily improve the living conditions of their citizens, most of whom are economically poor and politically powerless. A major criticism of attempts by most Western and national governments to promote development is that they serve only the elite. This study of…

Reviews history education in Romania since the end of World War I. Focuses on the the 1970s when much emphasis was placed on a Marxist, nationalist-based approach to history. Reviews changes since 1990 and discusses difficulties in moving toward a more objective concept of historiography and pedogogy. (CFR)

This account of efforts to reconstruct educational research in China, guided by Marxist principles and reflective of a national policy of building a "socialist spiritual civilization," presents the major requirements of that endeavor. Educational sciences are to be guided by four understandings: correct theories; realistic policies;…

This analysis assesses alternative explanations of the robust enrollment growth in community colleges in the 1970's, part of a larger trend of increased vocationalization of education. The conventional explanation is that community colleges offer the most appropriate training for rapidly increasing jobs requiring middle-level skills. Various other…

This paper presents a critique of various theoretical traditions in the study of schooling. Both the predominant liberal tradition of social and educational theory, with its roots firmly in structural functionalism and human capital theory, and the more radical reproduction tradition, which builds largely on Marxian and Weberian analyses of…

Maintains that most students learn how sociologists study social stratification in introductory sociology courses. Presents a content analysis of 15 introductory college textbooks to determine whether they use distributional or relational approaches as the basis for their treatment of social class. Finds that depictions of class are…

Maintains that during the first 15 years of Soviet rule, the Communist Party's school policy went through at least 5 transformations. Describes these changes in light of Stalin's New Economic Policy. Speculates that the Russian school system will return to its slow progress toward "Americanization." (ACM)