The last 10 years have been a distinctive decade in American education. There was much argument for change in the 1950s, but it was Sputnik that sparked action in the field of education. The assumption at that time was that if the U.S. was technologically "behind," the schools were to blame. Federal funds for schools began as an "emergency"…

Gives a description of "tough" and "tender" education, i.e., behavioristic versus humanistic education, and then states that the humanistic teacher is a growing person, not an abstraction, and that if we are to truly experience both forms of education, we must first experience both as aspects of ourselves. (Author/RK)

To adult educators, Grundtvig is of importance as the originator of the folk high school, which he felt strongly must be a center of liberal education, a "school for life." He was greatly impressed by the residential colleges of Oxford and Cambridge, which he visited around 1830, but he realized that they were a preserve of a privileged…

Whether open education is an old friend in new dress or a radical take-off to success remains to be judged through appropriate research. Reassurances are made that open education has the same (and better) goals than does the traditional approach. (Editor/RK)

This article contrasts traditional education with open-concept education. (Editor)

The social and political forces giving rise to the nontraditional education movement are identified, and inherent tensions in three types (credit-bearing, free form, and personal empowerment) are outlined. Conflicts between theory and practice in these three forms are discussed. (SK)

Describes the "schools-within-a-school" elementary program at Broken Ground School in Concord, New Hampshire, where parents and teachers are involved in choosing the learning environment best suited for each child, either the more formal "Conventional School" or the more individualized "Continuous Progress School."…

Differing points of view on the relative merits of open schools and traditional schools are examined. (JD)

Reviews literature on students with disabilities in charter schools. Analyzes Texas' Public Education Information Management System data to compare traditional and charter school attendance of students with disabilities. Finds 3.7 percent fewer students with disabilities attended charter schools during 1999-2000 school year than traditional…

Examines the ways that a "pedagogy of obedience" has been institutionalized as a dominant form and concern of educational practice in the United States. Details one set of institutional mechanisms defining what it means to learn in school, in general, and to regulate what constitutes acceptable acts of reading and writing, in particular.…

One important aim of social science research is to provide unbiased information that can help guide public policies. However, social science is often construed as politics by other means. Nowhere is the polarized nature of social science research more visible than in the heated debate over charter schools. In "Spin Cycle", noted political…

The programs of the two back-to-basics schools in Jefferson County, Kentucky, are briefly described in this speech. The two schools, one high school and one elementary school, are alternative programs. The emphasis is on traditional curriculum, patriotism, respect, competition, and citizenship. Recitation, drill, and homework, along with…

Research supported through the Cooperative Research Program of the U.S. Office of Education.