A survey of 47 state higher education executive officers about proposals made between 1989 and 1994 to restructure higher education governance patterns investigated actions taken on the proposals, who initiated them, why they were advanced, and the internal, regional, and external factors in the restructuring proposals. The 29 proposals are…

Discusses the criticisms of multicultural education. Reviews the history of multicultural education and discusses changes in its social context over the past 25 years. Explores how multicultural education can be a form of resistance to oppressive social relationships. Suggests ways of developing political resistance through education. (JS)

A discussion of the history of China's higher education system summarizes the main characteristics of the traditional scholarly institutions and considers the western academic models introduced by foreign missionaries, those selected and implemented by Chinese modernizers, and the Soviet academic model adopted by Chinese Communist leaders in the…

Why established institutional forms of schooling have been so stable and why most challenges do not succeed is studied through case studies of reform that include the Dalton Plan; the Eight-Year Study, a secondary school reform plan; and the new model flexible high school of the 1960s. (SLD)

Discusses teacher education reform and development during the Chinese Reform Era since 1978, and explains why it is so difficult to implement reforms in China. The author focuses on preservice teacher education provided at teachers' colleges or normal universities and the shift of China's resources and attention away from teacher preparation. (GR)

Upheaval in Australia's university system in recent years can be attributed in large part to two influences dating to 1987: accession of John Dawkins to the Ministry of Employment, Education, and Training and the advent of federal regulation of industrial relations in education, which has undermined the collegial decision-making tradition. (MSE)

Social and economic instability accompanying the dissolution of the USSR and the creation of the Republic of Slovenia from the northern portion of the former Yugoslavia resulted in higher demand for, and participation in, secondary and tertiary education. Describes changes in educational policy that both facilitated and resulted from this…

Afghanistan has a long history of social unrest and ethnic conflict, and the manipulation of the education system by internal and external powers for political purposes has been one of the major contributors to these divisions. As Afghanistan attempts to build peace and maintain co-existence after more than 20 years of violence, there continues to…

This book focuses on race at work in the British educational system, a concern that is pertinent because education occupies a pivotal role in contemporary race politics. The study on which it is based blends school-based research with a critical reading of policy and theory. The experiences of teachers in real schools show that schools can…

Barriers to progress in educational reform exist inside and outside the education system. Some arise where new practices encounter traditional expectations and boundaries, but others go much deeper than education, such as poverty, racism, local political conflicts, and human resistance to change. The following five categories of barriers are…

This collection of nine articles presents case studies of educational reform and change in 10 nations, focusing on the changing role of government involvement in higher education. The articles are: (1) "University-State Relations in Britain: Paradigm of Autonomy" (Peter Scott); (2) "Changing Conceptions of State-University…

The Arizona Student Assessment Program (ASAP) epitomizes the principle on which measurement-driven reform is based, "You get what you assess." This policy study examines the ideologies and intentions of groups instrumental in the creation and implementation of a performance-based assessment reform. The study was conducted by interviewing…

This book presents a comparative analysis of racial attitudes within formal schooling of both Britain and its former dominions and colonies. It provides essays that examine racism, education, and imperialism, and focuses on the function of education, curriculum, and textbooks in shaping imperial images of dominance and deference. The following…

Philadelphia's school reform initiative, Children Achieving" was evaluated. The focus in this report is on decentralization, exploring how Children Achieving is strengthening schools' capacity to make and carry out informed decisions that lead to schoolwide standards, how the new structures are working at various levels of the system, and how…

By keeping his campaign promises, President Lyndon Johnson transformed the U.S. educational system for the next 30 years. His legislative achievements in education were consistent with his campaign promises and with policy statements stretching back into his career as U.S. Senate Majority Leader. Johnson was a major contributor to the passage of…