A variety of anthropological perspectives on multiculturalism in formal education are provided in five papers and three commentaries. Countering the traditional anthropological view that each society has only one culture, the first paper emphasizes the multicultural nature of all societies. Four divergent approaches to the conceptualization of…

Education in America is of vital importance, but has declined. It can be improved through empowering the individual, empowering the economy, and empowering the nation, according to this campaign speech presented here. (BJV)

One of the consistent findings of educational research studies is the effect of the students' family socio-economic background on their learning achievement. Consequently, international comparative studies emphasis the role of socio-economic background for determining learning outcomes. In particular, PISA results have been used to describe how…

Assembly member Carol Liu, Chair of the Assembly Select Committee on Adult Education, requested that the California Research Bureau prepare a report on adult education. The legislative request specified that the following topics be covered: (1) a definition of adult education; (2) recent information on student enrollment, funding sources and…

The effects of education on social cohesion at the societal level were examined. First, a theoretical analysis and critique of models in the existing international and comparative literature on education, social capital, and social cohesion was conducted. The analysis resulted in development of a new hypothetical model relating skills distribution…

This study of basic education in El Salvador was carried out between September and December of 2003 by a team of researchers. This publication has two parts: (1) The introduction which addresses the main findings of the study and proposes education policy priorities for the next reform effort; and (2) A summary of the original study of basic…

Students in career and technical education programs increasingly represent gender, racial, and cultural diversity. Students with disabilities from a wide range of backgrounds are entering the work force and career and technical education programs. This paper takes a critical look at equity issues in career and technical education. After a brief…

This book analyzes the achievement gap in education, examining the depth of the problem, the inadequacy of conventional explanations, and the limited impact of Title I, Head Start, and other familiar programs. It explains how, scattered across the country, there are excellent schools getting good results with high-needs students. These rare…

This paper details the responses of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC) to the Joint Committee's California Master Plan for Education--Kindergarten through University. The paper registers responses to aspects of the Plan with which they strongly disagree or which they strongly support. The ASCCC finds that the Plan's most…

This outline is part of a collection of 54 papers from the 48th annual conference of the Education Law Association held in November 2002. It covers a presentation on changes in the law and social structure of South Africa. As an outline, it briefly touches upon a number of topics, but focuses mainly on South Africa's emerging "final"…

In Canada, Aboriginal people remain highly disadvantaged relative to the general population. Structural factors operate in conjunction with cultural factors and other social practices like racism, such that they cannot be explained away through conventional analysis and isolated interventions. Schooling for Aboriginal people must incorporate and…

One of the long-standing priorities of the international community is to reduce gender disparity in developing countries. Yet, the overall picture is still gloomy: women continue to be excluded from access to resources and employment and are denied basic human rights. This Policy Brief explains why progress has been so minimal and what should be…

With so many unanswered questions and controversies regarding intelligence, testing in general, and testing diverse students in particular, what can educators in gifted education do to ensure that these students have access to and are represented in gifted education programs and services? In this monograph, the author examines test bias by first…

This report presents a research-action agenda to enhance the role of afterschool education in increasing girls' participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses, majors, and careers. The research-action agenda was developed for three areas: access, recruitment, and persistence; program content, approaches, and…

This report on vocational education and training (VET) reform in Estonia is one of a series of country reports by the European Training Foundation on the reform process in partner countries. Chapter 1 provides basic data on the country. Chapter 2 describes the present situation and recent developments in VET. It covers main features of the…