Examines opportunity-to-learn (OTL) standards, which define conditions that schools, districts, and states must meet to ensure students an equal education. Offers an explanation of the states' historical inability to influence equal education, and proposes principles for designing new state policies. Includes recommendations to the states for…

Discusses the long history of social and political constructions of differences in United States society and public schools, including the social constructions of diversity, educators' policies for handling diversity, the influence of white ethnic groups, and racial and sex discrimination. (SM)

Defends race- and gender-based affirmative action against recent attacks by liberals and conservatives, arguing that a need-based approach is not an adequate substitute and demonstrating that there are three independent moral foundations for a race and gender approach that are not adequately met by the need-based alternative which would make…

Discusses the tension between civic virtue and individual freedom, a challenge for education, and proposes a "state of democratic education" which leaves maximum moral room for citizens to shape their society in an image that they can identify with their moral choices. The evolution/creationism case is discussed as an example. (IAH)

Reexamines the Supreme Court's school desegregation opinions, including "Brown v. Board of Education," and concludes that a multicultural society was not part of the Supreme Court's vision of public schools. Argues that the ideology of those opinions cannot be the basis of school districts' efforts to bring together racially or…

Evidence from two school systems whose ability grouping and tracking systems were scrutinized in 1993 in conjunction with school desegregation cases demonstrates how grouping practices can create within-school segregation that discriminates against black and Latino students. In both cases, grouping practices created a cycle of restricted…

Discusses the negative impact of teacher certification testing on African-American teacher candidates, noting the Supreme Court's Wards Cove versus Antonio decision which may foreclose previously successful court settlements regarding the impact of teacher testing on minorities. The article reviews procedures for establishing test validity and…

Since 1954, the force of law has been required to achieve much of America's school desegregation. Though "Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas" (1954) provided a legal basis for equal education, many inequalities still exist. In order to fulfill "Brown"'s mandate, the education community must accept its leadership…

Although many school districts are integrated, integration has not had the anticipated effect on minority achievement promised by "Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas." The article discusses the positive effects of aggressive strategies for minority students, and it suggests shifting the burden of social integration to the…

Analyzes commonalities between "Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas" and "Lau v. Nichols" compliance efforts and outcomes, recommending strategies for the next decade, including reduction of residential segregation, desegregation by socioeconomic status, untracking, funding initiatives, family friendly policies, and…

Summarizes public opinion regarding school desegregation, busing, and racial integration. Public opinion surveys reveal a reality of public opinion on desegregation that is far more complex and more positive than might be assumed. The public appears to believe that school integration is valuable, but there is strong resistance, particularly among…

Equity in access to educational resources faces new challenges in the age of technology, with great disparity in access to educational technology. The article proposes an alternative direction for equity of access to global learning networks as a catalyst for genuine educational reform that upholds civil rights law. (Author/SM)

Discusses issues of unequal education and marginalization for members of various minority groups (homosexuals, women, and ethnic minorities). The paper emphasizes the need for a deepening consciousnes of inequalities, contradictions, and neglect and a curriculum that can provoke people to reach past themselves and be recognized. (SM)

Postwar transformation of U.S. cities gave new form to longstanding racial and economic educational inequities, intensifying barriers to achievement facing disadvantaged students. By concentrating disadvantaged students in inferior innercity schools, educational problems are intensified. Bureaucratic school systems do little to address new…

Catharine Macaulay's "Letters on Education" (1790) examined education's effect on the character, morals, and knowledge needed for citizens of both genders. Macaulay's work is described within a sociopolitical context, examining her views on human nature, educated individuals, and moral education and discussing implementation of her…