This essay examines how themes emerging in the writing of New Left thinkers resemble those espoused by traditional American cultural conservatives. The views of Donald Davidson, a representative of the Southern Agrarian movement, concerning industrialization in the United States and the role of progressive education in socialization are discussed.…

College students' bewildered reaction to September 11 demonstrates what's missing from their education: empathy and an ethic of care. Eleven genres of relational theories are examined; these theories of the "space between us" offer complex conceptualizations of democracy, globalization, connection, and difference. Deliberative…

Analyzes the development of thinking in the field of aging as a sequence of two transformations in social gerontological theorizing: (1) when social scientists laid out a formal theory of aging for the first time; and (2) a recognition of theory as a reflection of the recognition itself. Examines specific theoretical approaches. (RJM)

Examines structural marginality on two levels, substantial and functional. Argues that fundamental organizational framework of economic and political institutions determines the relationship between substantial and functional marginality. Explores the ambiguity involved when dominant society defines and controls marginal groups and individuals.…

Presents a conceptual framework for understanding individual and group differences. Identifies biological, societal, and intrapsychic origins of difference. Discusses valuation of differences as a source of social status and power, and the psychological uses of differences by individuals. Suggests applications of the model in social work practice…

In their comments regarding Goodman, Liang, Helms, Latta, Sparks, and Weintraub's article "Training Counseling Psychologists as Social Justice Agents: Feminist and Multicultural Principles in Action," Kiselica, Palmer, Thompson and Shermis, and Watts offered a number of useful suggestions for elaborating on social justice theory,…

The intellectual changes of the 19th century were as dramatic as the economic changes of the Industrial Revolution. U.S. citizens at that time subscribed to the traditional belief that a spiritual self, grafted onto the body, was the source of life and thought. The later belief that human beings possessed complete, experiential knowledge of their…

The application of a social theory perspective to an analysis of the concept of restructuring is the purpose of this report. Restructuring is a conjunctive concept that involves changes in a school district's pattern of rules, roles, relationships, and results. A systemic viewpoint examines the reciprocal interactions between structure and process…

The relatively simple question of whether sex differences exist has evolved into the more theoretically interesting question of why sex differences occur. This transition has come about because of the meta-analytic investigations of sex differences in social behavior which established sex difference trends in a variety of social behaviors. Many…

This rejoinder reiterates the author's position that the self-fulfilling prophesy phenomenon can not be proved. Unsuccessful efforts to replicate the "Pygmalion" study are presented. Because replication is essential to proofs in behavioral science research, the phenomenon can not be considered valid to behavioral scientists. (VM)

Reviews "Losing Ground: American Social Policy, 1950-1980" by Charles Murray. Murray believes federal social welfare programs sap the moral fiber of poor Americans by eliminating a negative incentive for them to work at low paying jobs. Criticizes Murray's position, citing the importance of positive as well as negative incentives for…

Reviews "Schooling and Work in the Democratic State" (Carnoy and Levin, 1986). Concludes that the book is a valuable tool for the analysis of conflicting demands on education within a democratic, capitalist society. (JDH)

Compares the theories and major points made by "Schooling in Capitalist America" (Bowles and Gintis, 1978) with "Schooling and Work in the Democratic State" (Carnoy and Levin, 1986). Concludes that Carnoy and Levin have improved on their predecessors' account of educational change and the complex functions that schools play. (JDH)

The articles in this issue explore the current parameters of household refuse analysis. An overview of garbage research studies is presented; research methodology, theories, and applications are examined. U.S. household refuse is compared to the discards of households in Mexico City. (RM)

Daniel Bell's theories about post industrial society are critiqued, and their relevance for educational theorizing is questioned. Educational theorists should not uncritically accept ideas arising in other areas of the social sciences, but should establish their own structure based on philosophy, science, and humanism. (PP)