The idea of breaking free from outdated ideas and practices is nothing new. It is an idea advocated by individuals like Aristotle, Thomas Paine, and Thomas Jefferson. In 1935 Dewey asserted that he viewed education and schooling as the ideal setting for democracy's gestation. He believed that a democratic way of life could best be achieved by…

In this article, the authors offer an interpretation of the history of the "Healthy People" initiative showing that the outcomes remain largely the same, with appropriate decennial adjustment of the proliferating numerical targets and increased delineation of objectives for special populations. But the strategies by which those outcomes are to be…

Federal policies intended to promote educational equity, especially through state accountability mechanisms, have mobilized efforts to improve outcomes for students with disabilities. Although these efforts have met with some success, achievement gaps remain. The authors argue that local cultures of teaching practices and decision making continue…

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has changed the face of education in America. Now that the law is coming up for renewal, it is time to deal with the problems and inequities it has created. In this article, the author discusses the two factors at work that NCLB has failed to address: the student and the parent. She also discusses how art can help in…

In June, Congress enacted the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act, commonly called the GI Bill of Rights for the 21st Century. Supporters claim that it does for current veterans what was done for those who served in World War II. The expansion of educational benefits to veterans should be applauded. Any attempt to equate the economic and…

By reducing class size we will close the achievement gap in public school education, caused by prior neglect especially since the civil rights era of the sixties. Additional, highly qualified and specialized teachers will more effectively manage a smaller class size and serve more individual student needs in the crucial early grades, where a solid…

Examines the public policy issue of handgun control from a consumer perspective. Summarizes and analyzes research that investigates attitudes toward and use of handguns. Offers recommendations that are consumer based and attempt to balance the needs of gun owners with the interests of society. (JOW)

Between the mid 1970s and 1992, daily cigarette use by high school seniors dropped by 60%. Since then, two factors have become apparent that have added to an increase in cigarette use by teenagers. First, instead of supporting tax increases and smoking bans, health lobbyists and Clinton administration officials aimed criticism at youth and their…

Although it is assumed that student cognition contributes to student performance on achievement tests, it may be that current testing models lack the degree of specification necessary to warrant such inferences. With test score interpretations as the referent, the authors in this special issue address the role of student cognition in learning and…

The Attorney General's Task Force on Violent Crime recommends more incarceration to combat rising crime. These recommendations will negatively affect Blacks, who suffer from a criminal justice system designed to treat them unfairly. Approaches to the crime problem should begin by addressing the social causes of rising crime. (Author/MJL)

Argues that regulatory and rhetorical emphasis on telecommunications is skewing policy debate and undermining goals identified by Congress in the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Critiques universal service provisions of the Act in terms of their economic and social implications, restates social objectives of expanding the definition of universal…

Throughout the 1970s, economic crisis and stagnation and fiscal conservatism have undermined movements for economic and racial justice. The ethic of individualism and free competition has been used to legitimate public policy. Victims of racism include the majority of working Americans; their divisiveness undercuts the strength of progressive…

Explores ramifications of a number of economic and societal factors on retirement policy. Factors considered are (1) inflation, (2) age discrimination legislation, (3) retirement income sources, (4) demographics, (5) overextending funds, (6) elimination/retention of mandatory retirement legislation, and (7) future alternatives. (CSS)

Ecocultural theory, which considers the sociocultural environment of the child and family, is proposed as a framework for designing intervention with handicapped children as mandated under Public Law 99-457, Education of the Handicapped Amendments (1986). The theory is illustrated with case material from two ongoing longitudinal studies. (DB)

After briefly reviewing the child policy decade of the 1890s and how it dominated the national social reform agenda, the article describes the current pressures for a children's agenda in the 1990s, what such an agenda might consist of, and the likelihood of success for a social reform agenda now. (BB)