Remarks by the Minister for Education and Skills underscore the accountability that public institutions and the teaching profession carry for assuring the success of the nation's education enterprise. This article challenges assumptions about the nature of education that are critical to the accountability and testing regimens currently in favor…

The participation of children with disabilities in regular schools is too often the prerogative of education boards, who decide whether a child can learn within existing educational environments, rather than pressuring for systemic change and organization in school curricula that would grant the right of education to all children. This article…

This study examined the impact of the 2+2 Alternative Teacher Performance Appraisal System that has been implemented in Shanxi province in China. A mixed research design was used to evaluate the program. Six high schools and a total of 78 teachers (13 teachers in each school) in Shanxi province were selected. Three of the schools participated in…

This article identifies and discusses eight common interpretations of back-to-basics: (1) less funding; (2) more discipline; (3) educate fewer, better students; (4) moral education; (5) primacy of intellectual objectives; (6) hard subjects; (7) less student decision making; (8) establishing standards. (IAH)

This article offers a brief review of the writing of Jean-Paul Desbiens, an educational reformer and Quebec education official known as "Brother Anonymous." Juxtaposes two different articles by Desbiens, exposing the contradictions and conflicts between them. (JDH)

Contending that art should be considered a component of basic education, the director of the National Art Education Association identifies some national task force reports' proposals for art education that have been neglected by media coverage. (MJL)

Advertised as a response to a secondary school's crisis in Great Britain, the Education Reform Act (1988) is actually engineering a crisis by attempting to change the nature of British society and politics. Traditional arrangements are yielding to a more centralized educational finance system, a national curriculum, and increased teacher…

Criticizes the application in public schools of the new "cultural literacy," which is restrictive and can lead to intellectual stagnation. Suggests a wider, more active concept of cultural literacy, which involves building new knowledge, accommodating new perspectives, and reading beyond the narrow, traditionally defined notions of our…

The author addresses the impact and significance of the back-to-the-basics movement as it relates to business education. She focuses on curriculum for business students, the need to train teachers to provide basic skills instruction, the role of business education, effects of the educational reform groups, and strategies for business educators.…

Three suggestions for schools in the face of computerization are discussed. Educators should: (1) take a critical attitude; (2) raise questions of value, as well as of effectiveness; and (3) be alert to the transfer to education of computer language, and the constrictions that could result. (MT)

Educational reformers are divided among high-standards Martians, back-to-basics Venusians, character educationists, and free-market trade experts. Meanwhile, no one discusses how to motivate bored, disrespectful students. The solution involves working to establish high academic standards without blame or standardization, to develop "merit…

Discusses the current state of Canadian high schools. Examines the goal of competitiveness as a national policy and the debate over the purposes of education. Explores (1) a greater emphasis on basic subjects; (2) the use of performance indicators; (3) the demand for accountability; and (4) dropout rates. Argues that an economic agenda for…

Examines the conflict between the "politically correct" movement and educational "traditionalists." Suggests that the "politically correct" view seeks to purge sexism, racism, and economic classism, whereas traditionalists desire to inject values into education. Identifies the one-sidedness of each position. Argues…

There is indeed a literacy crisis, but this crisis needs to be reconceived as a crisis in definition. Paulo Freire and Donaldo Macedo's book "Literacy: Reading the Word and the World" can be used to refute E. D. Hirsch's arguments as presented in his "Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know," but this kind of…

Examines some disturbing tendencies in curriculum content and descion-making. Argues that a rigorous, neoconservative back-to-basics program, coupled with use of corporate school management models, is not the answer. Excessive standardization could increase the dropout rate and cause the deskilling of teachers. Societal influences need to be…