Why didn't China celebrate its stunning PISA performance? Why does Singapore blame its education for its inability to cultivate creative and entrepreneurial talents? Why don't the world's top scorers in international tests have the same level of entrepreneurial activities and capabilities? This essay uncovers the inconsistency between academic…

To address the chief issues surrounding low achievement of black males in schools one must acknowledge the inability of education systems to accept that there are ways of looking at the world, communication modes, and approaches to teaching that are unique to black males. The author developed five tools for teaching black males: Cogenerative…

Sensory thinking is the process of bringing experienced aspects of the child's world into his focal awareness, usually through a medium such as language. (Author/IRT)

In agreeing with the College Entrance Examination Board finding that social disruptions during the 1960s were one cause for declining test scores, the author recounts some disruptions that she faced in her classroom. (IRT)

Students have learned social and political responses to the power structure of the schools. A critical self-study by schools is one kind of democratic reaction to the challenge students are offering. (DW)

Neoconservative intellectuals have reopened the genetic inferiority theories, contended that the poor are responsible for their own condition, propounded the idea that governmental and institutional intervention in individual affairs makes no substantial difference, and advocated a pseudo-meritocracy. The best response is a community development…

The Political rhetoric about school reform makes it sound easy. Apparently, whatever the proposed reform--testing, reduced class size, vouchers--there are no tradeoffs or "costs" to consider. Or the tradeoffs are judged to be so insignificant that they do not merit discussion. There is also an unspoken premise that countries with…

Educational problems in disadvantaged schools are attributed to students' culturally deprived early childhood social environments, rather than to inadequacies of teachers. (MF)

Important conceptual and practical problems are involved in specifying the conditions under which individuals or groups are likely to experience a sense of crowding. An ecological/environmental perspective can help educators determine humane space utilization. (Author/DW)

Describes five major kinds of explanations for educational disadvantagement, with varying degrees of responsibility assigned to environmental factors. Considers the relative roles of sociology and psychology in proposing responses to disadvantagement. Analyzes two movements seeking to reduce disadvantagement while sidestepping social issues and…