Purpose: This article focuses on the role of school and district leadership in the development and implementation of reform aimed at increasing racial and religious tolerance. It chronicles the rise of intercultural and democratic citizenship curriculum in three North American sites--Springfield, Massachusetts, Kirkland Lake, Ontario, and San…

The educational achievement and attainment of young people in the United States has been a long-standing issue of concern. While analyses of long-term trend data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) show that students in the United States have made gains in reading and mathematics over the past few decades, a sizeable…

Over the past decade, online courses and entire online degree programs have been made available, serving millions of students in higher education. These online courses largely have been designed and taught using the theoretical concepts and practical strategies of Asynchronous Learning Networks (ALN). During 2003-04, approximately two million…

For over 30 years, arts education has been a low priority in the nation's public schools. Arts teaching positions were cut, and arts education in schools has dwindled as schools try to increase test scores in mathematics and reading within the time constraints of the school day. Some communities have responded with initiatives aimed at…

The combined effect of the articles in this issue of "Inequality in Education" is to offer the reader a primer in bilingual/bicultural education. The articles which follow indicate that neither legislation nor court orders, correctly or incorrectly interpreted, can bring about effect change in this field on their own. What the bilingual…

In the last decade, the Boston Public Schools has undergone critical reforms that have been of intense interest to school leaders and policymakers throughout the country. Under the leadership of superintendent Thomas Payzant, the Boston schools implemented extensive reform strategies that yielded notable results. Fittingly, at the end of Payzant's…

Discusses the American view of the role of education in developing Americans. Focuses on Massachusetts, the heart of early American industrialization, which gave prime importance to publicly supported education as a vehicle of social conditioning. (JOW)

This reissue of the seminal 1968 study of the origins of mass popular education in 19th-century Massachusetts is considered one of the first radical revisionist interpretations of U.S. educational history. This new edition retains the original text but includes a new introduction by the author. The study looks at the relation between reformer…

It is difficult to argue with the proposition that access to higher education in the United States is essentially based on class. Despite the fact that there has been a commitment on the part of the states and the federal government to provide access to a higher education for all eligible students, the truth is that "public higher education…

The history of the institutional, governmental, and legal development of American higher education before 1820 is examined. This study portrays the early history of American higher education as the transformation of European institutions by American conditions, views the old as coexisting but also competing with the new, perceives institutional…

Reviews the history of Massachusetts' 15 community colleges, from the first initiative in 1958 through the present. Outlines the colleges' purposes, responsibilities, and actions, and describes their finances, accountability, and governance. Discusses labor force development for high technology occupations, asserting that the colleges' training…

Guided by a vision of an ideal educational system that is dedicated to the cultivation of a democratic citizenry, this monograph explores a number of questions about the growth and recent transformation of American junior colleges from liberal arts transfer institutions to providers of terminal vocational training. Chapter 1 examines the role of…

This book presents 22 personal narratives in which library directors, program administrators, teachers, tutors, librarians, and adult learners explain firsthand how literacy programs at libraries across the United States have changed people's lives. The following narratives are included: "Gloria's Story: 'She Wanted Me to Be Somebody'";…

Focusing on Massachusetts as a case study, this research relates 19th century schooling patterns to social change. Indices of social change included schooling differences in rural and urban areas, industrial and economic development, school community relationship, and family life. The document contains 10 chapters; each chapter is based on both…