This article describes a study in Pennsylvania which examined three political attitudes of public school teachers: alienation, political cynicism, and commitment to democratic values. Data analysis shows that teachers hold political beliefs supportive of the established political order. (Author/AV)

Evaluates two models of generational political research: the lineage model in which generations are defined in terms of biological succession within family units, and the cohort model, in which generations are defined in terms of the common and unique life experiences (and socialization) of individuals born and raised in a particular time period.…

Traces the emergence and tenuous survival of social studies as a school subject in Hong Kong, 1971-present. Begun by the colonial government for political socialization purposes, social studies was reoriented to prepare students for their future as Chinese citizens. However, adoption of social studies and how it is taught has varied widely in Hong…

Comparative education can contribute to democratization by addressing four issues: declining democratic practice and civic participation in the industrialized world, reasons why education does not resolve this problem, impact of economic globalization on education and on democratization, and the urgency for comparative research on cultural…

Shows how clerico-fascist regime, which came to power in Austria in 1933-34, placed emphasis on character formation as a primary aspect of schooling. Maintains that the goal was to educate youth by using public education for indoctrination, following methods of Italian Fascists and German National Socialists. Analyzes how they reorganized the…

Analyzes how Germans viewed defeat after the two world wars, and how these perceptions influenced subsequent political developments. Compares questions of guilt and responsibility following the two wars. Examines the growth of democracy, its defeat after World War I, and success after World War II. Discusses the influences of the occupation…

Maintains that in order for students to participate effectively in a democracy they must be exposed to different viewpoints. Shows that high school history textbooks avoid controversy, leave out vital information, and are biased. Argues textbooks should be subject to a fairness test that includes constitutional scrutiny. (RW)

Describes a program dealing with films depicting the French Revolution sponsored by the University of California Los Angeles. Emphasizes lectures and a colloquium discussing the ways in which films can transform common political ideas of the moment into popular memory of the past. Examines several films included in this national film…

Explains why U.S. society's historical ability to absorb other ethnic and minority groups is being threatened by a new separatist version of pluralism referred to as multiculturalism. It explores how this has created a politics of resentment in which ethnic and gender franchises flourish, authority is flawed, and individual responsibility is…

Examines why the U.S. educational system often produces students who graduate without adequate writing skills and how the stage was set through a political climate that created lowered expectations of student skills. The article explores the failed attempts of the process schools of composition, its counterweight known as deconstruction, and the…

To determine whether African Americans' public opinion is heterogeneous because of the role of factors (such as education) in the opinion formation process, data from the National Opinion Research Center's 1982 General Social Survey were examined. Significant differences exist along educational lines, and African Americans are not politically…

Discussion of social cognitive theory and the role of television focuses on a study that investigated the influences of ethnic group membership and family communication environment variables on adolescents' knowledge, efficacy, and values related to politics. Highlights include the nature of family influences via the media and effects of media…

Describes textbooks of both East and West Germany from 1949-56, 1957-62, 1963-69, and 1970 on. Discusses a shift in West German texts from intense antagonism during the Cold War to a more critical comparison by the 1980s. Compares East German text development that increased in hostility over time, viewing West Germany as a negative alternative to…

Discusses Romanian population policies under Ceaucescu, which penalized single people and couples without children, rewarded large families, prohibited abortion. Contrasts with new policies implemented after his fall that reinstated individual liberties but sought to promote through education parental responsibility, safe sex, environmental…

The emergence of conservative activists among African-American intellectuals in the past decade represents a new leadership stratum among African Americans. The movement is explored, and it is argued that the new African-American conservatism does not represent the sort of natural constituency that old forms of African-American conservatism…