The new comparative research in this volume explores the global flow of competence-based education, curricular policy, and frameworks for instructional practice. Taking critical perspectives, the chapters trace the pathways through which educators and policy actors adopted and reshaped competence-based education as promoted by the OECD, the World…

This work attempts a comparative description and analysis, focusing on the US, the UK, and Australia on the topic of the Right, educational policy, and schooling. It adopts as its underlying theme the burning fuse in tracing the topic back to Joseph de Maistre a Rightist who fled revolutionary France to seek safety in the company of Tsar Alexander…

This book offers a remarkable range of research that emphasises the need to analyse the shaping of curricula under historical, social and political variables. Teachers' life stories, the Cold War as a contextual element that framed curricular transformations in the US and Europe, and the study of trends in education policy at transnational level…

Examines why instructional, curricular, and political reforms return again and again. Rejects the common explanation that reforms fail because of a lack of rational proposals and implementation, and suggests political and institutional causes. (FMW)

The Memphis Restructuring Initiative (MRI) was an attempt at comprehensive school reform in Tennessee that ended with a whimper. Its downfall seems to involve some sort of "schismogenesis" or "inversion," in which many teachers violently reacted against being overworked and overwhelmed, culminating in the easy discarding of 8…

Notes the factors preventing the progress of internationalization in Japanese society in general and in the educational system in particular. Topics include traditional attitudes towards other countries, the prevalence of economic strength as a national goal, and the school system's preoccupation with preparation for entrance examinations. (JHZ)

Identifies recurring limitations of instructional technologies often overlooked by proponents, examines barriers to educational innovation and the political context of change, and presents guidelines for optimizing instructional technologies and consolidating change. References are made to educational technology articles and texts throughout.…

The aim of this paper is twofold: (1) to examine the process of transformation of education in the Czech Republic since the Velvet Revolution of 1989; and (2) to examine this experience within the framework of the educational change and reform literature, especially the work of Michael Fullan, to determine its utility within a Central European…

Analyzes important forms of adult education in Germany, France, and Spain in relation to the European process of political unification and its homogenizing impact on national systems of education. Finds that state-supported schools can still compete against the market-oriented institutions offering vocational education. (CFR)

This book examines the personal, moral, cultural, and political dimensions of teaching in the context of rapid and far-reaching change within teachers' work and in the world beyond it. The chapters in Part One examine the powerful forces for change in society and how those forces are exerting pressure on existing institutions. Issues such as the…

Summarizes the cultural and political background of the Council on Educational Reform with attention to Japan's social environment as it affects issues facing the Council. Discusses the question of internationalization of education in light of the history of foreign language teaching and looks at humanization in light of school violence. (JHZ)

This paper recounts the legal, political, and educational changes in former East Germany as the nation has become reunified, and considers the implications of reunification for institutional research at East German universities. After a brief sketch of legal, geographic, and demographic highlights, the decrepit conditions of East German university…

Under Secretary of State Thomas Johnston's leadership, the Council considered seven wide-ranging issues in education and produced a series of exemplary reports directed at reforms capable of speedy translation into practice. In the post-war period, the Council lost its influence and the Scottish Education Department returned to its traditional…

Discusses the impact of glasnost and perestroika on Soviet educational reform. Reviews trends in the following areas: (1) the form and content of education; (2) the role of teachers; (3) the structure and mission of educational research; and (4) the effects of political movements on the educational system. (FMW)

This report on current research at Sweden's University of Linkoping on the dynamics of technical progress, social change, and continuous educational reform focuses on the four major sub-studies that, with a number of more limited surveys, make up the project on Technology and Science in School and Society: Education, Training, Subsequent Training.…