This edited book on Digital Technologies and Early Childhood in China: Policy and Practice is the eighth volume in the Research in Global Child Advocacy Series. This volume details the entanglement of digital technologies and early childhood ecologies, learning and pedagogies in China. It analyses how traditional Chinese values, Eastern and…

Policy has been a much neglected area for research in science education. In their neglect of policy studies, researchers have maintained an ongoing naivete about the politics of science education. In doing so, they often overestimate the implications of their research findings about practice and ignore the interplay between the stakeholders beyond…

Considers the inclusiveness of Japanese commitment to education and the intensively educative society's influence on schools. Notes global interest in Japan's self-appraisal of education, pointing out that it will shed light on the question of how far school systems devised for more limited purposes can measure up to today's requirements. (JHZ)

Describes a course in ethics for younger children taught in a gymnasium school in the Russian city of Ufa. Provides a fascinating look at the conception and implementation of ethical instruction in contemporary Russia (students assume the role of head of the family and devise "taboos" to maintain peace and harmony). (MJP)

The widely accepted notion that the management of resources in schools involves merely strategic decisions about the deployment of finances, staff, and materials must be contested. The school effectiveness movement ignores the social and political context of schools and, through emphasis upon superficial managerial matters, teaches pupils to…

Most Americans continue to place great faith in the social capacity of the public school system and to displace onto the schools responsibility to resolve some of our most urgent social issues. Israel was selected for observation in order to view American "educational messianism" from a distance. Cultural displacement as practiced in the…

This book examines educators' norms, beliefs, and values in case studies of three "improving" high schools. The distinction between "sacred" and "profane" norms in the teaching profession is applied to the relationships among school culture, improvement efforts, and the effectiveness of change strategies. Schools'…

Argues that advocates of content-based art education and other art educators attempting to move art to a central place in the school curriculum are struggling against unrecognized social realities. Concludes that competing value structures of creativity versus acquiescence and originality versus conformity are responsible. (CFR)

Asserts that education means the transmission and reception of knowledge, abilities, skills, and consciousness so that individuals can become effective members of society. Discusses the failures of the educational system of the former Soviet Union. Describes a preferred type of schooling for Russian society in the 21st century. (CFR)

Maintains that during the first 15 years of Soviet rule, the Communist Party's school policy went through at least 5 transformations. Describes these changes in light of Stalin's New Economic Policy. Speculates that the Russian school system will return to its slow progress toward "Americanization." (ACM)

Provides historical background for understanding social changes and the resulting problems facing Japan's schools. Topics include resistance of youth to society and its schools, the breakdown of regional communities, the impact of competition for grades, and the changing role of teachers. (JHZ)

Profiles current Russian research on political culture and values. Reports on a study of the spread of materialist and postmaterialist values among nearly 6,000 Russians between 1984 and 1993. Discusses the social and demographic variables that exert the greatest influence on the spread of values. (CFR)

Contends that conservative critiques of education and proposals for reform are similar in Canada, Great Britain, and the United States. Describes and analyzes New Right criticisms of education and conservative efforts to promote business values and market-based economics. (CFR)

Discusses recent economic and political changes in Czechoslovakia and their impact on the nation's educational system. Reviews surveys of parent attitudes toward educational goals and their expectations for their children. Includes four tables containing information about Czechoslovakian education and parental attitudes. (CFR)

Surveys 600 Russian college students regarding their hopes for the future, economic and social advancement, and personal information. Argues that, although students generally are optimistic about their future, many fail to exhibit the self-discipline necessary to be successful. Skepticism about the government is endemic. (MJP)