Proof of academic performance often serves as the litmus test for maintaining instructional practices and programs. Just as the national focus on academic improvement has gained momentum, so too has another movement calling for character education. Educators find themselves caught in the middle, questioning whether character education is just…

A philosophy of education course focused on concepts of democratic education was taught to primary and secondary school teachers working in a private bilingual school in San Salvador (El Salvador). The teachers' school was an "International School" serving children of the wealthy and the educated who lived nearby. The course was designed…

Various aspects of the relationship between students' cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic background and their unequal access to educational opportunities are examined. The theme is that in order to understand the barriers to equality faced by low-income cultural and linguistic minority youth, ways in which social class and ethnicity interact…

This monograph offers leadership approaches for school principals. Discussion applies the business leadership theory of Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus to the role of the principal. Each of the booklet's three parts concludes with discussion questions. Part 1, "Visions and Values for the Provident Principal," demonstrates the importance of…

A comparative, interpretive analysis of the social organization of contrasting groups of rural youth from New Mexico ad Ohio was approached from an ethnomethodological perspective, relying on direct observation, intensive personal interviews, and key informants to produce a broader understanding of particular youth coping with their social…

To investigate the social context of education for low-income Southerners, a study concentrating on white Anglo-Saxon Protestants in a rural Southern mill village in general, and on 22 white 10th grade children and their parents in particular, used a combination of ethnographic techniques and standardized interview questions. Responses concerning…

Small town community improvement planning is often subjected to urban type analysis. When concepts applicable to the largest cities are grafted onto small towns, a misunderstanding of small town problems and prospects is often the result. Social ecology offers a framework for understanding what a small town is, how it functions, and what is…

This paper is concerned with the educational responsibility of changing present negative attitudes toward the aging process and toward aged persons. In spite of the dramatic increase in the number of older people, contemporary influences foster a belief that aging is a process of decline rather than of fulfillment. These influences include the…

A CONCISE, INTERDISCIPLINARY OVERVIEW OF AMERICAN INDIAN EDUCATION IS PRESENTED, INCLUDING AN HISTORICAL BACKGROUND, A PRESENTATION OF THEIR CULTURAL PRACTICES AND VALUE SYSTEMS, A BRIEF EXPLANATION OF SOUTHWESTERN INDIAN SPEECH SOUNDS, A DESCRIPTION OF THE EDUCATION OF INDIANS, AN EXAMPLE OF INDIAN EDUCATION AMONG THE NAVAJOS, AND A SELECTED LIST…

The paper examines three factors--reproduction, production, and psychodynamics--which contribute to maintaining an inferior image of women in a capitalistic society. It also offers suggestions for changing these social structures so that they will not relegate women to inferior social status. In a capitalistic society production is based on…

When the first black colleges were founded more than a century ago they filled an important need for youth who were denied access to all but a few white institutions. Today these same private colleges must compete with more affluent, prestigious white colleges and universities for funding and for black students and teachers. They are losing in…

The paper examines interpretations of educational development in western Europe since the 1960s and suggests that equality of opportunity has been the most pervasive theme underlying educational policy and development. Most often used to describe educational development are (1) demographic and economic data, (2) analyses of structural changes in…

This general guide for teachers explains the structure, content, rationale and objectives of a social studies sequence for grades 1 and 2. Selected cultures on the theme Families Around the World point up cultural diversity, help children recognize uniqueness of culture, show that culture is learned, teach children about norms and values, and…

The purpose of this collection of 12 readings is to: 1) familiarize students with the general characteristics of groups occupying varying positions along the political spectrum; 2) present the opinions of several representatives of these viewpoints on the welfare state issue; and, 3) enable students to form their own informed and unemotional…

First in a series of four social studies units in a Family Around the World series, this second grade unit focuses on New England culture and, more specifically, on the theme of Boston families during the Colonial era. The unit gives a historical perspective to contemporary students who trace present social and familial patterns and ideas to…