Existing understandings of youth participation often imply clear distinctions from non-participation and thus boundaries between "recognized" and "non-recognized" practices of engagement. This article aims at questioning these boundaries. It analyzes young people's practices in the public sphere that are characterized by both…

A discussion of educational reform efforts in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia looks at these changes in the larger context of recent substantial political, social, and economic change. It examines the role and value of education in the different societies, quantitative and structural development in education systems, and economic…

The 1980-81 Polish upheavals included proposals for dramatic change in higher education. Taking advantage of momentum for change created by Solidarity and using strikes, academics, and students produced temporary changes sometimes representing complete policy reversals. Possible directions for Eastern European socialist higher education are…

Examines misconceptions in both Western and Eastern countries about educational systems in postcommunist Eastern Europe. Discusses issues of slow pace of educational reform, change through formal power structures, centralization versus decentralization, role of tradition, macro- and micro-level problems, Western assistance, and the relationship…

The experience of Australians teaching a course in organizational behavior to a group of Eastern European managers is discussed, focusing on the challenges encountered in intercultural communication and in resistance to change. The psychodynamics of change and of building a transitional culture are examined, and practical suggestions for teaching…

This paper is one in a series of reports based upon data from the "Social Challenges of Transition (SCT)" database. This cross-country study examines empirical trends in access to and financing of education in nine Central and East European countries. The study substantially improves the understanding of the impact of transition on…

Although past educational planning has been most concerned with matching figures, in the future it may be more concerned with the creation of dynamic imbalances leading to new, constructive developments related to developments in the economy, struggle for equality, changes in power structures, and advancing technology. (MSE)