This essay offers an analysis and critique of business involvement in public elementary and secondary education. An opening section suggests that of the initiatives launched in the past, many have been only cosmetic and based more on slogans and fads than on meaningful reform proposals. The essay goes on to suggest a more thorough identification…

The quality of elementary and secondary education was the most important issue for the American public in the 1980s. The nation's economic health, social well-being, political viability, and international standing depend to a great degree on the success of our education system. As well as ensuring equal opportunity for all Americans, schools help…

In multilingual nations, young children learn early about the social and educational importance that adults attribute to different languages. In Malaysia, parents express their values about languages by choosing specific kindergartens. Preschools' language values are reflected in the amount of time devoted and the seriousness of approach to each…

Two separate systems of education exist in the District of Columbia. In the private school system, students from all races and socioeconomic backgrounds are learning the basic skills and more, and are going on to college at high rates. In the public school system, the majority of students are consigned to deteriorating and dangerous schools in…

Reform of New Zealand schools has been ongoing since 1988, when the Task Force to Review Education Administration recommended devolution of managerial control, within national guidelines, for each of the country's 2,700 state school boards of trustees with a majority of elected parents' representatives. Reforms instituted since 1989 across all…

Prior school-choice studies have focused on parents and students who opt to choose, neglecting nonchoosers, or those remaining behind. A study of 37 Minnesota school districts (20 gaining student population and 17 losing student population due to choice options in fiscal year 1995) explores the relationship between school-choice implementation and…

Selected current readings in the area of school reform are presented. Seven selections in "The Front Lines" focus on current developments in educational change in the political arena. A section on "Charter Schools" contains eight readings on the development and implementation of charter schools. A section titled "School…

Angered by the continued worsening of public school quality despite 1980s reform efforts and growing business-education partnerships, many American business leaders claim that money and concern are not enough. Boosting teacher salaries and reducing class size have yielded poor results. Business's general dismay with public school performance has…

The research needs for a cross-national study of public versus private school choice in Maine and Atlantic Canada are described in this paper. In the United States, the use of public funds to support private schools has historically been constrained by the separation of church and state doctrine and by the ideology of the public school as a common…

New York City's Special Education School Articulation Program, which fosters informed student and parent choice about available high school program options, is described. Initial program objectives for the 1990-91 school year included hiring of school articulation coordinators and development of specific articulation plans by middle and high…

The educational reform movement produced only incremental improvements in student achievement, prompting a need for greater focus on structural and cultural aspects of school organization. Parental choice is the necessary element for successful school reform in the future. The public educational system that has evolved in America is widely…

A specific legal model that would provide educational choice, called the "Scholarship Initiative," is cast in the form of a state constitutional amendment. The Scholarship Initiative provides a basic framework and point of reference for a legislative debate. Existing public and private schools could be converted into "public…

The role of education in reaching all children is discussed in this address. The former Minnesota Commissioner of Education describes the major restructuring efforts undertaken in the state during her tenure. Reform efforts were made in six areas, in which the following changes occurred: (1) from input-based education to individualized,…

This book, part of a series about differing viewpoints on education in America, examines how education can be improved for this and future generations of America's youth. The following papers and their authors are included: "Public Education Needs Extensive Reform" (John Taylor Gatto); "Public Education Does Not Need Extensive…

The increased mobility of the American population combined with the school choice movement has contributed to increased consumerism in parents' selection of schools. A consulting firm program, "SchoolMatch," matches information from databases on public and private schools with information from questionnaires of clients, which include…