In a considerable number of nations, "conservative modernization" has gained increasing influence. Neo-liberals, neo-conservatives, and new middle-class managerialists have defined the terrain of educational policy and practice. In some nations as well, authoritarian populist religious conservative movements and ideologies have also…

This article examines the ways in which the complex and at times contradictory project of "conservative modernization" has altered the terrain of education. It extends the arguments I make in "Educating the "Right" Way" (2006) about understanding the "right", about the possibilities of interrupting the right in education, and about our roles in…

The authors maintain that higher education has tamely responded to pillory by political conservatives. This essay advocates for Michael Berube's defense of liberalism in higher education, "What's Liberal about the Liberal Arts? Classroom Politics and "Bias" in Higher Education." The writers also counter what they view as conservative attacks on…

The author reviews a book that explores the liberal assumptions about progress, freedom, technology, and equality that underlay the policy of liberal, twentieth-century educational reformers. (GW)

Reviews two reports that, first, describe the current state of affairs in curriculum development focusing on the relationships between federal involvement and more local educational agencies and organizations; and, secondly, attempt to articulate a set of statements that would guide national policy on curriculum research, development, and…

School curricula are not politically neutral grounds of knowledge. Rather, each takes certain social forms and embodies certain interests. The article discusses how the power of class, race, and gender dynamics determines curriculum structure. It also discusses the role of the school in capitalist countries. (JL)

Examines how the social and cultural terrain of educational policy and discourse has been altered, highlighting the need for closer connections between theoretical and critical discourses, on one hand, and real transformations currently shifting educational policies and practices in fundamentally rightist directions, on the other. The real and…

This article raises questions about current educational reform efforts now underway in a number of nations. Research from a number of countries is used to document some of the hidden differential effects of two connected strategies - neo-liberal inspired market proposals and neo-liberal, neo-conservative, and middle class managerial inspired…

Most educators in the United States have had to confront the changed reality brought about by the federal reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, commonly known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB). This represents a set of initiatives that can radically transform the federal role in policing and controlling core aspects of…

Argues that the ultimate effect of many recent educational "reforms" will be to exacerbate existing inequalities. Examines how such inequalities are publicly justified by the use of moral and biological logic systems. Explores the use of these arguments, such as those crystallized in Herrnstein and Murray's "Bell Curve," to…

Examines how negotiating local control of schooling can be an effective force of resistance against the market-economy paradigm of education, describing the policies of the popular administration in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Focuses on the Citizen School, "which provides quality education to impoverished people." Also examines proposals that…

This article examines the possibility, and reality, of counter-hegemonic policies and practices. These policies and practices call forth a very different vision of the place of the school in society and of curricula, teaching, and evaluation. They also present a serious challenge to teacher education, since they require the education of a…

The fact that most elementary school teachers are female provides a key to understanding why there are often attempts by state bureaucrats, industry, and academics to control the curricular and teaching practices in classrooms. It also explains why these externally derived controls are often transformed by teachers once they are in their…

Reviews "Preparing School Administrators for Democratic Authority" by Richard A. Quantz et al. Because education is political, administrators need a historical perspective on how dominant traditions have evolved as well as on the impact of the disenfranchised on education in the past. Calls for more insight from a feminist perspective.…

Neo-liberal and neo-conservative groups have become allies committed to redefining our ideas about democracy, equality, and the common good. This article examines how moral and biological arguments are being used to justify conservative policies in education and the larger society. Alternative progressive models are advocated. (26 references) (MLH)