Contemporary educational leaders should realize that America's political system of governance is not particularly democratic in the sense that the people rule. While popular elections occur in the U.S., participation rates by citizens are notoriously low, particularly at the local level. In very practical terms, the U.S. is less of a democratic…

Identifies and analyzes the structural features of decentralization that invite, facilitate, and even necessitate wrongdoing through a case study of the New York City public school system, where program vulnerabilities have led to widespread, systemic corruption. Makes recommendations for lessening these problems. (Author)

This essay takes up two separate but related issues: how the courts have resolved disputes over race and schooling and how they should resolve such disputes. This essay is in reply to a related essay, in which another author identified the consequences of what he perceived as a minimalist judicial role and called for greater exercise of…

The success of public education is threatened by retrenchment and a decline in public confidence in the schools. Schools must improve their capacity and image, but an understanding of the linkage between public education and a free, upwardly mobile society is a necessary basis for greater support. (MJL)

Changing historical conditions posit new problems, define different projects, and often demand fresh discourses. In some cases, theories fashioned in one historical moment seem hopelessly out of date, if not irrelevant, in another. Any critical theory both defines and is defined by the problems posed by the contexts it attempts to address. The…

Examines the rhetoric of the Moral Majority. Argues that it expresses a romantic confrontation between agents of a liberal, secular, and humanistic world and those of an idyllic and moral America. (PD)

Educational administrators, who are largely conservative, must realize that the New Right is actually reactionary rather than conservative and seeks to change the role and function of the public school. (Author/JM)

The author states that the public schools are under attack from the New Right--an attack that threatens their existence. He describes the nature of the threat and of the New Right itself. Following his article are four responses. (Author/MLF)

Explores issues related to civic education, which is currently not in fashion, but likely to become the focus of increasing interest from both conservative and liberal political thinkers. The revival of civic education must not be at the expense of the traditions of both public and private schooling in favor of a set of ideas defined by the…

While state curricular mandates may bring compliance, the notion that they can change what happens between teachers and students in the classroom is inherently wrong. States must set broad goals, establish broad outcomes, hold districts accountable through periodic reviews, and also devote ample resources and energies to those ends. (MSE)

The myths, politics, and realities of public school choice in Canada are explored. With the crisis of confidence in the public education system that has been documented in recent years, parents are seeking to ensure academic success for their children through choice of schools, under the theory that there is no universal best school model. Public…

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…

Describes the school desegregation process in Cambridge, Massachussetts, in 1979-80 in terms of sociopolitical context, public attitudes, and strategy adopted. Compares desegregation conditions in Boston and Cambridge. Contrasts racial desegregation of schools in the United States with religious desegregation of Protestant and Catholic schools in…

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)

Church and state is discussed in four articles: "Religion, Separation, and Accommodation: A Recipe of Perfection?" (Delos B. McKown, Clifton B. Perry, pp. 2-7); "Public Religion: The Republican Banquet" (Martin E. Marty, pp. 8-9); "Religion in the 1980s" (Ernest van den Haag, pp. 10-11); and "Education in…