Argues that the form and function of presidential foreign policy rhetoric are grounded in a nation's acceptable images of political reality. Examines the rhetorical responses of Presidents Reagan and Mitterrand to the terrorist bombing in Beirut and to acts of military interventions by the United States and France in Grenada and Chad. (JD)

An institutional political process model for comparing social welfare policies is presented. Principal elements include each country's societal values, government institutions (operationalized as the role of interest groups), policy goals, and welfare system type. The model is demonstrated through a comparison of the dissimilar social welfare…

In Bulgaria, a complex matrix of power relations governs English language education, and a triangle of international and intercultural relations between Bulgaria, United States, and United Kingdom. In the context of the changing economic and political milieu of central and eastern Europe, a study examines how Bulgaria fits into the emerging…

The focus of the present paper is on the relationship between national identities and foreign-language education policies and practices. The paper examines this relationship through a juxtaposition of three sociohistoric contexts in which sociopolitical events led to major changes in foreign-language education: post-World War I United States,…

After gaining its independence, the government of Slovakia created a new educational system incorporating career and technical education (CTE). The purpose of this study was to examine the Slovakian system of CTE within the nation's educational system and how the political, cultural, and economic conditions existing in Slovakia influence the…

This paper proposes an integrated approach to the study of world events, as they are filtered and interpreted in the news, by systematic experimental research on the interaction of the technological characteristics of the media, the content or message, and the characteristics of the audience. Specifically, it is hypothesized that these three…

Proceedings are presented from a conference of over 1,000 people, the purposes of which were (1) to look at the future of vocational education, (2) to examine the influences which make an impact on present and future vocational education decision and policymakers, and (3) to arrive at a suggested national policy for vocational education. Sections…

Both English Canada and the United States are essentially liberal fragments of European society. But in Canada, liberalism must vie with touches of Toryism and socialism; as a result, the common good receives more formal attention than in the U.S. The extent of variation in local financial resources for education is potentially under the control…

Traditional Marxist approaches to the state relegate superstructural institutions like the school to a minor role in the process of social change. More recent theories like those of Gramsci, Althusser, and Poulantzas raise the state and the class struggle in the state apparatuses to a much more prominent position: superstructure, including the…

The development of educational computing in the last two decades has been largely uncritical and the field is dominated by technocentric approaches. With few notable exceptions, sociologists of education have not directly addressed educational computing. As a result, the social, political and cultural origins and implications of educational…

In formulating an official language policy, a country must consider cultural, social, political and economic factors. Alternative policies on language instruction can be categorized into three groups: 1) subordination of the home language to the country's dominant language; 2) bilingual maintenance through the simultaneous provision of instruction…

This collection of papers delivered at a conference on accountability held at Darling Downs Institute of Advanced Education in Australia examines the meaning of accountability in education for teachers, lecturers, government, parents, administrators, education authorities, and the society at large. In Part 1, W. G. Walker attempts to answer the…

A discussion of the changing relationship between the state and higher education in nine industrialized countries looks at conflicting requirements for institutional accountability, different models for the relationship; politics and governance; the developing role of central intermediary agencies; changing perspectives of student protest; and the…

Alcatraz, the Trail of Broken Treaties, Wounded Knee--these are the well-known sites of "takeovers" by American Indian activists, mostly members of the American Indian Movement or AIM, in the 1960s and 1970s. AIM began in 1968, in Minneapolis-St. Paul, when urban Indians organized to protect their rights and preserve their traditions.…

Close to 250,000 Jews from the former Soviet Union have arrived in the United States since the early 1970s. In recent years, former Soviets have been the largest refugee population to enter the United States. These immigrants are generally well-equipped for adjusting to American life. They are skilled, educated, and possess urban experience.…