Thirty-eight years have elapsed since the "Brown" decision outlawing public school segregation. Part 1 reveals three clearly identifiable periods of judicial development. Part 2 treats unanswered questions and attitudes of school officials pre-"Dowell." Part 3 examines the post-"Dowell" period to the present and…

A look at national and particularly urban dropout rates reveals that the disadvantages of high school dropouts, relative to their graduate peers, are confounded by race, ethnicity, social class, and gender. Their troubles in terms of employment and earnings are more devastating today than they were 20 years ago. Quotes from Chester Finn present…

Discusses United States Supreme Court's recent decisions in "Board of Education v. Dowell" and "Freeman v. Pitts." Decisions clarify powers of a federal district court to end court-imposed desegregation over all or part of school operation and will be used increasingly in the future to accomplish the Court's stated goal of the…

Salient school employee-relations issues include elimination of positions because of budgetary austerity; and managerial initiatives toward higher productivity through enhanced technology and an ever-smaller, core, full-time workforce. (MLF)

A concerted effort to pool resources and coordinate work by federal, state, and local educational agencies will be necessary to overcome the fragmentation that is occurring due to the current climate of changing demographics, increasing illiteracy, and the social effects of minorities in our schools. California has shown major changes in the…

Political and social changes that have increased the public's interest in educational vouchers are summarized in three categories. The first category, new support for the arguments made by voucher advocates, includes Milton Friedman's suggestion of a free and competitive market for education, and John E. Coons and Stephen D. Sugarman's…

Examines the demographic forces fueling the teacher shortage in public elementary and secondary schools, the trend toward state adoption of teacher-performance standards, and federal-policy trends in teacher education and licensing. Argues that because of the decline in tenure-track positions in higher education, doctorate-holders might be an…

A union lawyer contends that, for school-based management to be implemented, teachers must want greater control over school operation, and management must be willing to share its power. A management representative states that the biggest obstacle to school-based management has been a reluctance of some unions to agree to deviate from a master…

In 1985, Edward Koch, Mayor of New York City, established an Early Childhood Education Commission and gave it the task of recommending how best to begin to provide public education for all of the city's 4-year-olds, beginning in September, 1986. After introductory remarks indicating the confluence and interplay of social elements underpinning the…

Describes a study that examined technophobia in elementary and secondary public school teachers as an explanation for low levels of computer utilization. Highlights include empirical studies of technophobia; technophobia interventions; demographic differences; computer availability and use; computer anxiety; computer attitudes; and predictive…

The organizational model used in American schools must be scrutinized to determine its effectiveness in the face of the changing demographics of American schools. Transforming the schools depends on social and attitudinal changes that incorporate political changes directed at social problems. (SLD)

Provides a historical unfolding and account of cultural pluralism as an approach to student acculturation in the education of diverse urban populations. Traces the origins of a shift away from the "melting pot" notions and the emergence of multicultural ideas. (JB)

Examines the history and various educational constructs underlying different programs for at-risk students and recent federal and state legislative definitions of at-risk students. Presents a legal analysis of the different types of definitions; determines the social construction of reality implicit in the definitions and poses possible…

Analysis by the Civil Rights Project has shown that the isolation of Latino and black students from white students in public schools has substantially increased since the l980s. These findings have been criticized recently in a report by the Mumford Center at the University at Albany, "Resegregation in American Public Schools? Not in the 1990s"…

The Counselor to the U.S. Secretary of Education outlines eight education challenges: (1) safe and disciplined schools; (2) parent and family involvement; (3) a reading, literate society; (4) high standards and real accountability; (5) computers available to all children; (6) strong transition from school to work; (7) college accessibility; and…