Designed to determine how children acquire beliefs about institutional roles and authority associated with them, this study focused on schools and the teacher's role. Students from France and Scotland aged between 7 and 11 years with contrasting socioeconomic backgrounds were interviewed, and class and national differences in beliefs were found.…

This book compiles abstracts of presentations from a symposium held in honor of Dr. Bernard Spodek, a leading scholar in early childhood education, on the occasion of his retirement. Topics addressed are as follows: (1) culture in early childhood curriculum; (2) developmental and cultural appropriateness; (3) kindergarten in Japan; (4) pressure…

The purpose of this bulletin is to present a selected working bibliography of practical usefulness to students and others interested in the education of native and minority groups. The field is a relatively new one in American education, and so far as information is available, this is the first effort to formulate a bibliography concerned with it.…

Implementation of educational innovations is considered from three policy perspectives: the political, the organizational, and the interactionist. In periods of educational decline, in terms of enrollments and expenditure, there is need to know how to support and encourage capacity building for change. (RL)

Describes a small school in the Ural mountains that has institutionalized an innovative pedagogical and administrative structure. The school has developed a close relationship with the parents and students and incorporated a great deal of local culture, folklore, and literature into its curriculum. Discusses the creation and implementation of…

Presents findings from this condensation of major studies of the differences among U.S., Chinese, and Japanese education. Explanations for the superior performance of Chinese and Japanese students are explored in the areas of home and parents, effort and ability, organization of schooling, and teachers and teaching. (SLD)

Explores teachers' reactions to changing management cultures and argues for a complex reading of their responses. Utilizes data from several ethnographic studies that examined primary school teachers' reactions to the fact that the strictures and obligations of their vocation have become more professional. Many older teachers left whereas younger…

Financial stringency and neo-liberal influences in higher education are impacting upon relationships and academic values in higher education. The aim of the present paper was to analyse how these forces operate differentially in the UK and Germany. The British students were significantly more satisfied than were their German counterparts with the…

This booklet, revised from the March 1990 version, provides suggestions for reassessing, modifying, and arranging child care center environments to best serve the needs of children and staff. The booklet notes that a well-planned environment can provide young children with appropriate and challenging learning experiences within a consistent and…

This paper describes Swedish higher education, its place in the overall education system, enrollments, standards, graduate education, teachers, and organization. A brief history of the system focuses on reforms since the 1950s that have dramatically changed all of education in Sweden. Data on enrollment show that 35 percent of young people attend…

The tradition of academic excellence in the arts, culture, mathematics, and science in Bulgaria that was set aside under communism remains the goal of the Bulgarian government with legislation designed to replace the ideological doctrine subordinating education under a totalitarian regime and to restore Bulgaria's historical tradition. The new law…

In July 1969, an Israeli parliament decision instigated an educational reform focused on curriculum development, teacher education, new buildings, new equipment, and a change from 8 to 6 years in elementary school and from 4 to 6 years in secondary school. Dropouts, useless curricula, job market demands for better education, and integration and…

The general meaning of research data drawn from study of school improvement programs creates the opportunity for sound theory building. By emphasizing the principal's role in policy development, this paper analyzes the characteristics of large-scale educational innovation projects and their explanatory foundations. Belgium's comprehensive Renewed…

The contributions of various disciplines to the field of higher education and research studies are discussed in 10 seminar papers, which also review Burton R. Clark's work, "The Higher Education System: Academic Organization in Cross-National Perspective." Titles and authors are as follows: "Internal and External Regulatives in…

The paper gives Dutch results and possible implications of three recently completed international evaluation studies. School subjects were mathematics and science at the grade levels 8 and 9 in more than 500 schools. Effect and efficiency of teaching and textbooks in different school types, opportunity to learn, and students' classroom…