bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Impact of Head Start: A Reply to the Report Analysis
Authors: Cicirelli Victor , Evans John , Schiller Jeffry
Published: May 2015

In their reply to Smith and Bissell the authors dispute both the criticisms of the Westinghouse methodology and the re-analysis of the data. They argue that the re-analysis ignores the bulk of the Westinghouse data, that it is based on a statistically incorrect procedure, and that it produces results essentially similar to those reported by Westinghouse. They conclude with some general observations on the study and the evaluation of social action programs.
Illiteracy in the Ghetto
Authors: Torrey Jane
Published: May 2015

Examining the possible implications of dialect differences for learning to read, Dr. Torrey contends that it is cross-cultural variations in the social functions and significance of language, rather than minor structural differences, that create barriers to teaching and learning. The author calls for cultural and linguistic pluralism not only in grade school, but throughout this country's educational and occupational systems.
Illiteracy in America: Position Papers: The Politics of Reading
Authors: Postman Neil
Published: May 2015

Dr. Postman challenges the common assumptions that the literacy process is politically neutral and is the only, or even the best, avenue to jobs and aesthetic riches. He sees a predominantly literacy-based curriculum as obsolete and reactionary in the context of recent advances in electronic communications technology,and recommends broadening the base of school curricula to include "multimedia literacy."
Illiteracy: An Overview
Authors: Harman David
Published: May 2015

Mr. Harman reviews current definitions of illiteracy and functional illiteracy and discusses their relationship both to estimates of the scope of the problem and, by implication, to efforts toward its solution. Applying functional standards according to the requisites of particular societies, it can be seen that even countries with high literacy rates, such as the United States, harbor large functionally illiterate populations. The author argues that adult basic education efforts here and abroad should be planned on a situation-specific basis, with goals, content, and evaluative components derived independently of the usual grade school equivalencies.
Literacy through Democratization of Education
Authors: Martinez Armando
Published: May 2015

Mr. Martinez examines the question of literacy for Hispano-Americans, calling for cultural and linguistic pluralism in educational and social practice.
Illiteracy in America: Further Comment: The Role of the Volunteer Teacher
Authors: Laubach Frank , Laubach Robert
Published: May 2015

Drs. Frank and Robert Laubach focus on the problem of personnel for mass literacy efforts, calling for a large scale volunteer effort—"each one teach one." They discuss the questions of training, supervision, and volunteer motivation.
Student Social Class and Teacher Expectations: The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy in Ghetto Education
Authors: Rist Ray
Published: May 2015

Many studies have shown that academic achievement is highly correlated with social class. Few, however, have attempted to explain exactly how the school helps to reinforce the class structure of the society. In this article Dr. Rist reports the results of an observational study of one class of ghetto children during their kindergarten,first- and second-grade years. He shows how the kindergarten teacher placed the children in reading groups which reflected the social class composition of the class,and how these groups persisted throughout the first several years of elementary school. The way in which the teacher behaved toward the different groups became an important influence on the children's achievement. Dr. Rist concludes by examining the relationship between the "caste" system of the classroom and the class system of the larger society.
Educational Experimentation in National Social Policy
Authors: Timpane P. Michael
Published: May 2015

The need for experimentation is clear. But in reviewing the history of educational experimentation—from Progressivism through the "Grey Areas" projects of the 1950's and the War on Poverty—the author suggests that fruitful experimentation demands a difficult balance of "real world" involvement and political insulation. The history is particularly relevant to an understanding of the origin, evolution, and prospects of the recent "Experimental Schools" Proposal.
An Interview with James Alle
Authors: Allen, Jr. James
Published: May 2015

In this frank interview, the former Assistant Secretary and Commissioner of Education discusses his tenure in Washington. He points to several promising initiatives. But with regard to the poor and the blacks, he identifies the Nixon administration strategy as one of minimal accommodation, not leadership or advocacy;and regrets the inadequate financing of education by the federal government and a "continuing and serious under-estimation of the degree of alienation and disaffection of the young." As matters of structural improvement, he recommends the National Institute of Education and the elevation of Education to Departmental status.
An Ethical Model for the Study of Values
Authors: Goulet Denis
Published: May 2015

The author challenges conventional notions of societal development as dynamic economic performance, modernization of institutions or proliferation of goods and services. For him, authentic development aims toward the realization of human capabilities in all spheres. He examines common assumptions of social scientists who study value change in non-technological societies, contrasting these with another view on the dynamics of value change. Dr. Goulet presents an alternative research model which requires researchers to make themselves vulnerable to the populace under study.
The Present Moment in Educational Reform
Authors: Katz Michael
Published: May 2015

On the basis of historical analysis, the author suggests that the current educational reform movement may be nearing a close. He cites numerous parallels between contemporary developments and various phases of the mid-nineteenth century and progressive educational reform movements. Underlying the demise of the current movement, the author suggests, has been its inability to face and resolve various unexamined conflicts among leading reform proposals, such as those for compensatory education, integration, decentralization, community control, radical pedagogical reform, and teacher professionalism. In conclusion, the author offers some proposals for the rehabilitation of the reform movement, including the "radical" notion that schools should concentrate on teaching skills and avoid teaching attitudes.
Serrano v. Priest: Implications for Educational Equality: THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
Authors: Greenbaum William
Published: May 2015

The concept of equality has played a profound role in the course of world history. Both practical and ideal notions of equality have been crucial in shaping interpersonal relationships, small groups, organizations, and even whole societies. In this last category, the American democratic experiment provides a prime illustration as well as strong evidence of the continuing disparity between actual and conceptual equality.
Organizing the 'Meritocracy': A History of the College Entrance Examination Board
Authors: Schudson Michael
Published: May 2015

As higher education has opened to more and more students, the standardized tests of the College Entrance Examination Board, which regulate access to it,have attracted considerable attention. And for good reason: in the past two decades,job opportunities in the white collar and professional worlds have expanded much more rapidly than the number of blue collar positions.1 Because higher education is taken as prerequisite to the white collar and professional ranks, more young people have focused their ambitions on college entrance. College entrance exams arouse deeply felt anxieties, for it is important not only to go to college but to the "college of your choice." Higher education has differentiated as it has expanded, and colleges are distinguished from one another not only in curricular offerings but, perhaps more important, in status. Status is closely connected to how high a college's standards for admissions are, how"selective" a college is. The more selective private colleges, along with a few prestigious state universities, have the most active pipelines to graduate and professional schools, business, and government. For some students, a high score on the "College Boards" may open opportunities they had only dreamed of; for others,a low score may close doors they had counted on walking through.
The Having of Wonderful Ideas
Authors: Duckworth Eleanor
Published: May 2015

Explaining that no definitive pedagogy flows from the developmental theory of Jean Piaget, the author explores ways that classroom teachers can nevertheless make powerful use of that theory. For her, the essence of the child's intellectual development lies not in the progressive accomplishment of Piagetian tasks, but in the child's testing out the ideas that she or he finds significant. This process of testing out ideas, she argues, is critical for the child's cognitive growth. Teachers can assist this growth primarily by accepting the child's perpective as the legitimate framework for generating ideas—allowing the child to work out her or his own questions and answers. This approach—and the importance of providing varied settings and materials which suggest ideas to children—is discussed with particular reference to the author's classroom experience and her evaluation of an elementary science program.
Politics, Rage and Motivation in the Free Schools
Authors: Kozol Jonathan
Published: May 2015

The author discusses the unspoken ideological biases prevalent in seemingly "nonpolitical"or "anti-political" free schools. He specifies ways in which the free schools may be able to confront these biases by offering an authentic and provocative range of choices, as well as by direct and active confrontation with real social problems. Finally, he points to one of the most serious tasks facing the Free Schools in the 1970's—the development of long-range loyalties and commitment among Free School people.
Equality of Opportunity and Equality of Results
Authors: Coleman James
Published: May 2015

This could have been an important book. Jencks and his colleagues have had the audacity to assemble and reanalyze a wide range of research on inequality, and have demonstrated a high level of technical skill in doing so. But the book misses the opportunity. To show how it comes to miss the opportunity, I must clarify at the outset certain points about inequalities in society. For it is the confusion between different meanings of inequality that leads Jencks and his colleagues to the fundamental difficulties of the book.
Forensic Social Science
Authors: Rivlin Alice
Published: May 2015

If you like your social science balanced and objective ("on the one hand, on the other hand") you will find this book infuriating. But you may be applying an irrelevant standard. This book does not pretend to be part of the tradition of balanced, objective social science in which the scholar hides (or claims to hide)his personal biases, and attempts to present all the evidence on both sides of a set of questions so that the reader may judge for himself. Rather it is part of what may be emerging as a new tradition of forensic social science in which scholars or teams of scholars take on the task of writing briefs for or against particular policy positions. They state what the position is and bring together all the evidence that supports their side of the argument, leaving to the brief writers of the other side the job of picking apart the case that has been presented and detailing the counter evidence.
The Further Responsibility of Intellectuals
Authors: Michelson Stephan
Published: May 2015

This book is about numbers. It is not about children, adults, or other kinds of people; it is not about schools, families, or other kinds of institutions. It is an application of a standard statistical technique to several sets of data, deriving therefrom several summary statistics. The work does not help us understand what structural relationships are hidden behind the numbers. It does not tell us from whose perspective these numbers may be meaningful. It does not investigate whether there are identifiable groups of people to whom these numbers do not apply. There are inherent contradictions between this book as a statistical study,as a statement of issues, and as a political document. Announced to the world at the Waldorf Astoria, delivered with appropriate summary in The Saturday Review, and sold through full-page advertisements in the New York Times, it must be seen by the author as an important contribution to debate over public issues.
After Apple-Picking
Authors: Jackson Philip
Published: May 2015

The most important questions arising from Christopher Jencks's book, Inequality,doubtlessly concern the soundness of his argument. Is his methodology appropriate?Has it led him to valid conclusions? Should we, in short, believe what he says?
Inequality in Retrospect
Authors: Jencks Christopher
Published: May 2015

Inequality is a short book (192 pages of text) with quite limited objectives. It sought to show that equalizing opportunity, especially educational opportunity,would not do much to reduce economic inequality or alleviate poverty. Given the book's immodest title, however, many readers evidently expected something more than these negative findings. James Coleman and Stephan Michelson both fault the book for not having gone beyond its negative thesis to explicate the actual causes of income inequality. Philip Jackson rightly complains that the few pages we devote to defining the purposes of schooling are cursory and inadequate.
Comments on Inequality
Authors: Duncan Beverly
Published: May 2015

Take as given that the distribution of income among American adults is too unequal. Do we attempt to equalize incomes by attempting to make individuals more nearly equal with respect to education and other characteristics that influence earning power? Or do we attempt to lessen the range of incomes which an American adult may receive? We have tried the former. Jencks and his collaborators say we should try the latter. They are right.
A Philosophical Justification For Children's Rights
Authors: Worsfold Victor
Published: May 2015

The author discusses the status of children's rights according to various philosophical conceptions of social justice. He describes three traditional paternalist views of children and concludes that, on the whole, they are discouraging in their implications for children. After analyzing some of the difficulties of previous philosophical attempts to create systems of justice ensuring children's rights, Worsfold sets forth three criteria which any adequate justification for children's rights must fulfill. He argues that these criteria are best met within the theory of justice proposed by John Rawls which, while still paternalistic, presents a more adequate framework for securing children's rights to fair treatment.
A Policy Statement on Assessment Procedures and the Rights of Children
Authors: Mercer Jane
Published: May 2015

The author discusses the findings of an eight-year study in which she explored school and agency classification procedures for children based on standardized intelligence tests. Mercer discovered that in the American city she investigated,such procedures resulted in labeling as mentally retarded a disproportionately large number of Chicanos and Blacks. She argues that current classification procedures violate the rights of children to be evaluated within a culturally appropriate normative framework, their right to be assessed as multi-dimensional beings,their right to be fully educated, their right to be free of stigmatizing labels,and their right to cultural identity and respect. Mercer proposes supplementary evaluations which assess an individual's competencies outside of school and suggests that only children scoring in the lowest three percent on standardized IQ tests and adaptive behavior evaluations should be placed in classes for the mentally retarded.
Credentialing by Tests or by Degrees: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and Griggs v. Duke Power Company
Authors: Huff Sheila
Published: May 2015

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 made it unlawful for an employer to use the results of a test to discriminate because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. If a group could show an adverse effect based on such a test, the employer had to prove the test was job-related. Griggs v. Duke Power Company challenged this principle, and the Supreme Court struck down the use of general aptitude tests and a high school diploma requirement for certain jobs. In this article, the author traces the evolution of Title VII and the Griggs precedent, looking at their implications for education in two ways. First, as the educational system is an employer, it must interpret the law for its own hiring and promotion practices. Second, as educational requirements and credentials are struck down by the courts, there could be major changes in the enrollment patterns, content, and functions of public schools and institutions of higher education.
Children's Television More than Mere Entertainment
Authors: Leifer Aimee Dorr , Gordon Neal , Graves Sherryl Browne
Published: May 2015

The authors propose that television, while entertaining children, also socializes them. To support this conclusion they review the literature regarding effects of television content on aggressive and prosocial behavior and social attitudes. The structure of the television industry is examined and economic factors are found to outweigh concern for the public in the choice of programming. To increase the beneficial role of television, the authors argue there must be greater diversity of broadcast content and more parental direction of children's exposure to it.
America in Search of a New Ideal: An Essay on the Rise of Pluralism
Authors: Greenbaum William
Published: May 2015

Demands by ethnic and cultural groups for equal power in society have increased steadily over the past two decades. The Protestant Anglo-American ideal of assimilation has failed in important ways and cannot continue to guide the policies of our social institutions. The result in education has been movements for alternative schools, community control, vouchers, ethnic studies, and bilingual programs. In this essay, the author explores the reasons behind the rise of pluralism. First he describes the elites' style of leadership by distance and their attempts to exclude or denigrate people of other than Protestant, Northern and Western European origin. The author suggests that the resulting decline of Protestant domination has left America without an ideal to direct the socialization process. In its place, he recommends support of pluralistic institutions and communities,setting policies that honor diversity as a way of maintaining unity, and, at the same time, developing a new, universal ideal.
Concept Formation in a Second Language: A Study of Ghanaian School Children
Authors: Collison G. Omani
Published: May 2015

Many developing nations use a foreign language as the medium of instruction in elementary school. This study uses Lansdown's approach to Vygotsky's theory of language and concept development as the basis for comparing the conceptual level Ghanaian children express in their native languages (Ga or Twi) and in their school language (English). The children manipulated and then discussed specially chosen science materials. By scoring and counting the untutored statements of the children, the author was able to conclude that children function at a higher conceptual level in their vernacular than in English.
Literary Colonialism: Books in the Third World
Authors: Altbach Philip
Published: May 2015

Most Third World people have limited access to the world body of knowledge, and even information about their own countries is often hard to come by. One reason is that the majority of publishing houses in the world are either located in the West or controlled by Westerners. In this essay, the author describes the difficulty of publishing in the Third World as part of a larger relationship of dependence of developing countries on industrialized nations. The author, who has done research in India and published a number of books in that country, concludes his discussion with suggestions for expanding Third World autonomy in the area of knowledge production.
The African University as a Multinational Corporation: Problems of Penetration and Dependency
Authors: Mazrui Ali
Published: May 2015

In recent years multinational corporations have been criticized for their exploitation of African economies as well as for their influence on African culture. In this article, the author argues that Western influence is expressed through another African institution— the university. For the author the university is an analogue to a multinational corporation: born as an extension of a metropolitan university whose direction and instructions come from a European country, the African university continues to serve other than African interests. The author describes the symbiotic relationship between education and economic development,and then outlines strategies for changing the university so it will foster cultural as well as economic independence in African nations.
Effects of High Schools on Their Students
Authors: Jencks Christopher , Brown Marsha
Published: May 2015

Few people doubt that there are good and bad high schools, or that high-school quality is related in some way to high-school characteristics. Yet findings from studies of high-school effectiveness have not been consistent. Using data from Project Talent, Christopher Jencks and Marsha Brown show that earlier findings have been inconsistent because comprehensive high schools rarely have consistent effects on test scores, eventual educational attainment, or occupational status. Moreover, the authors find few relationships between high-school characteristics and any measure of high-school effectiveness. From these findings, they argue that,at least for whites, changes in high-school characteristics like teacher experience,class size, and social composition are unlikely to change high-school effectiveness,and that holding schools accountable for one outcome is unlikely to guarantee effectiveness on another. They also argue that the equalization of high-school quality would do little to reduce inequality among young adults, and that high schools should therefore concentrate on the elimination of intramural inequities.
Engendering Change in Special Education Practices
Authors: Budoff Milton
Published: May 2015

Chapter 766 is a recent Massachusetts law which represents a milestone in the philosophy and practice of special education. It provides for the special needs of all children and broadens the goals of education for the handicapped. The author,a participant in the advocacy coalition that pressed for reform of special education services, discusses the change process which resulted in Chapter 766. Noting the complex issues that the law has raised, the author concludes by emphasizing the importance of continued efforts by advocates if the spirit of the law is to be realized and the needs of the children met.
Cross-cultural Piagetian Research: An Experimental Perspective
Authors: Ashton Patricia Teague
Published: May 2015

Over the last twenty-five years children around the world have observed and responded to researchers who pour water from beaker to beaker, roll plasticene into snake-like figures, and arrange matchsticks into a potpourri of shapes. These cross-cultural experiments have been undertaken to test Piaget's theory of genetic epistemology, which posits a hierarchical, universal, and invariant sequence of stages of cognitive development. Piagetian research in varying cultures has revealed both striking similarities and marked differences in performance on cognitive tasks, some in apparent conflict with the basic assumptions of Piagetian stage theory. In this article Professor Ashton reviews a range of cross-cultural Piagetian research, analyzes the sometimes divergent findings from this research, and suggests methodological improvements which may help to resolve past dilemmas and to further future understanding of cognitive growth in different cultures.
Winson and Dovie Hudson's Dream
Authors: Edelman Marian Wright
Published: May 2015

Desegregation of the nation's public schools was mandated by the Supreme Court twenty-one years ago, yet today it meets with continuing resistance. In this essay,the author asserts that the goal of desegregated education must remain uncompromised. She examines the progress in the South since Brown due to federal compliance efforts and looks at the political obstacles put in place by the Nixon Administration to halt that progress. Turning to the North, where desegregation may depend more on the possibility of metropolitan remedies, relevant demographic data, court cases, and their implications are discussed. Finally, the evidence offered about three commonly used arguments against desegregation—(1) that de facto segregation is beyond the purview of the courts, (2) that neighborhood schools are a sacrosanct American tradition, and (3) that busing endangers children—shows that these are myths rather than facts. Edelman concludes that if the nation wants to renege on busing or desegregation, it should be honest about what it is doing: denying black children equal protection of the laws.
Rally 'Round the Workplace: Continuities and Fallacies in Career Education
Authors: Grubb W. Norton , Lazerson Marvin
Published: May 2015

Career education has become an extraordinarily prominent educational reform movement in the last few years. It takes, as its basic premise, the contention that education does a poor job of preparing students to enter the labor force. Career educators propose to change this situation by integrating work skills into curricula and improving job and educational counseling curricula. In this article, Norton Grubb and Marvin Lazerson question whether career education is an appropriate response to the problems it addresses. First, they argue that career education is basically a reconstitution of vocational education, an earlier reform with a similar purpose, and that career education is likely to replicate vocational education's failures. Second, they argue that the assumptions career educators make about education, work, and the labor market are erroneous, and present a variety of evidence to support their argument. Grubb and Lazerson conclude that the ills career education proposes to solve—unemployment, underemployment, and worker dissatisfaction—are intrinsic to our economic system, and consequently that career education is a hollow, if not an invidious, reform.
Strings: A Critique of Systematic Education
Authors: Szilak Dennis
Published: May 2015

Teachers and students alike have happily subjected themselves to a hangingstrings experiment, only to find themselves face-to-face with their own inability to break out of standard modes of approaching learning situations (functional fixity). Dennis Szilak uses the strings problem as a theme in his discussion of the weaknesses of exclusively systematic education, a method that is currently in vogue. He warns of the dangers in systematic education's tendency to drive out creative teaching and learning and to foster functional fixities in students. Recognizing some strengths of systematic education, however, the author advocates the renewal of creative teaching methods enriched by the best of systematic education.
New Directions in Theories of Language Acquisition
Authors: Edmonds Marilyn
Published: May 2015

Nativistic explanations, which posit innate rather than environmental influences on development, characterize many theories of language acquisition. Marilyn H. Edmonds offers some reasons for this bias and discusses the deficiencies of nativism as an explanatory principle. She reviews and critiques existing theories of syntax and highlights the trend toward a semantic description of linguistic development. Combining this semantic emphasis with a Piagetian framework, Edmonds argues that a satisfactory account of language acquisition will not emerge until this process is viewed within a larger developmental perspective.
Education for Freedom: Children's Fiction in Jacksonian America
Authors: MacLeod Anne Scott
Published: May 2015

What kind of reality is reflected in children's literature? In this article Anne Scott MacLeod suggests that one can come to understand a society's mood—the concerns of individuals about what is and what should be—by analyzing the literature written for children in that society. Viewing children's fiction of the early nineteenth century against the social background of the time, the author shows how the stories reveal Jacksonian Americans' concerns for the conservation of a particular kind of moral character that appeared threatened by social change. Thus,MacLeod argues that the primary function of children's fiction in Jacksonian America was not entertainment but the moral education of a new generation, emphasizing social responsibility in contrast to the spirit of individual aggrandizement that seemed, to these authors, to endanger their world.
Ways of Seeing: An Essay on the History of Compulsory Schooling
Authors: Tyack David
Published: May 2015

In this essay the author describes the rise of compulsory schooling in the United States and then views this phenomenon through five different explanatory models. The first two are largely political, revealing compulsory schooling as a form of political construction and as an outgrowth of ethnocultural conflict. Noting the rise of educational bureaucracies, the author next offers an organizational interpretation as a third way of viewing compulsory schooling. The last two models are largely economic: one depicts the growth in schooling as an investment in human capital, and the other, using a Marxian approach, shows compulsory schooling to be a means of reproducing the class structure of American society. In conclusion,Professor Tyack observes that alternative ways of seeing not only draw on different kinds of evidence, but also depict different levels of social reality and so aid us in gaining a wider and more accurate perception of the past.
"College Enthusiasm!" As Public Response, 1800-1860
Authors: Potts David
Published: May 2015

Historians studying American colleges in the early nineteenth century have traditionally viewed them as lacking popular support. New studies indicate, however,that local citizens were enthusiastic about locally established colleges, backed them financially, and in several cases fought to prevent their removal. In this article,David B. Potts also reviews evidence that suggests that institutions of higher learning were increasingly accessible to students from less wealthy backgrounds between 1800 and 1860, that their curricula became more flexible, and that enrollments grew increasingly rapidly during this period. Professor Potts then describes several major questions that future research in this field must address.
Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Judgment: A Constructive Critique
Authors: Gibbs John
Published: May 2015

Lawrence Kohlberg's work on moral judgment posits a typology of six hierarchical stages which form a Piagetian developmental sequence. The last two stages have occasioned luidespread controversy in developmental psychology because of their rarity and the claim that they represent morally and structurally higher forms of reasoning. In this article, John Gibbs distinguishes between naturalistic and existential themes in modern psychology and outlines the empirical criteria that identify a naturalistic or Piagetian sequence. He then argues that the first four stages of Kohlberg's typology meet the criteria for a naturalistic developmental sequence but the higher stages instead appear to be existential or reflective extensions of earlier stages. The conclusions Gibbs reaches have considerable significance for clarifying the relationships between the highest forms of moral and social thought and development, experience, and education.
Two Functions of Language
Authors: Feldman Carol Fleisher
Published: May 2015

For many years scholars have debated the question of the source of meaning in language. In this article Carol Feldman advocates the view that meaning is necessarily dependent upon the communicative function of language and examines the objections,particularly those of Noam Chomsky, to this view. She argues that while Chomsky disagrees with the idea that communication is the essential function of language, he implicitly agrees that it has a function. Feldman discusses in detail Chomsky's examples of noncommunicative functions of language and maintains that each of his examples represents fundamentally communicative uses. Contrary to Chomsky, she concludes that the meaning-determining rules of language can only be understood by reference to the function of communication.
Reading Reconsidered
Authors: Wolf Thomas
Published: May 2015

During the last two centuries reading has come to refer almost exclusively to the interpretation of written material. In this article Thomas Wolf uses the etymology of the word "read" and the results of current psychological research to reveal the narrowness of this definition. Wolf reviews the research that has led to a new formulation of the reading process and emphasizes the remarkable similarities that have been found in processes underlying reading and other cognitive capacities:memory, perception, reasoning, and problem-solving. Wolf argues that by considering the connection between reading and these other processes we enrich our appreciation of reading and allow for the resurrection of the original meaning of reading as a process applicable to a variety of fields. Using the example of developments in woodcut book illustrations, Wolf examines the relations between the process of reading and the history of artistic styles. He concludes that investigators must look beyond the conventional bounds of reading theory—and other theories as well—if serious advances in human knowledge are to occur.
From Utterance to Text: The Bias of Language in Speech and Writing
Authors: Olson David
Published: May 2015

In this far-ranging essay David Olson attempts to reframe current controversies over several aspects of language, including meaning, comprehension, acquisition,reading, and reasoning. Olson argues that in all these cases the conflicts are rooted in differing assumptions about the relation of meaning to language: whether meaning is extrinsic to language—a relation Olson designates as "utterance"—or intrinsic—a relation he calls "text." On both the individual and cultural levels there has been development, Olson suggests, from language as utterance to language as text. He traces the history and impact of conventionalized, explicit language from the invention of the Greek alphabet through the rise of the British essayist technique. Olson concludes with a discussion of the resulting conception of language and the implications for the linguistic, psychological, and logical issues raised initially.
An Interactionist Approach to Advancing Literacy
Authors: Elsasser Nan , John-Steiner Vera
Published: May 2015

In this paper Nan Elsasser and Vera John-Steiner raise the question of how writing and composition skills, often neglected aspects of literacy programs, can best be developed. The authors suggest that instruction in writing must be directed at more than rules of grammar. They maintain that "poor writing" is connected to certain cognitive states and social conditions. Drawing on the work of Paulo Freire and Lev Vygotsky, the authors specify the nature of those states and conditions,the interrelationships between them, and the transformations that must occur if fluent writing is to be achieved. Using examples from a variety of countries, the authors demonstrate the close connection among educational, political, social, and cognitive factors. In the final section the authors illustrate their instructional principles and strategies in a description of an experimental university composition course.
Varieties of Deficiency in the Reading Processes
Authors: Vernon Magdalen
Published: May 2015

Synthesizing a diverse group of studies, M. D. Vernon argues that reading disability is not a unitary phenomenon but can result from deficiencies in different psychological processes. Previous attempts to group poor readers according to deficiencies in these processes, however, have been largely unsuccessful because, Vernon maintains,they failed to take into account the steps required in learning to read. The author asserts that because of varying psychological dysfunctions, breakdowns can occur at specific points in acquiring reading. Based on the points at which an individual's reading breaks down, Vernon presents a fourfold classifications scheme capable of categorizing all poor readers.
Foreword
Authors: Popp Helen
Published: May 2015

How children acquire language and how they learn to read and write are timeless concerns. Theory related to these processes is modified by new knowledge and experiences;the focal points of interest in each process shift; and recommendations for instruction change as one theory or another gains recognition.
Alternative Conceptualizations of Dyslexia: Evidence in Support of a Verbal-Deficit Hypothesis
Authors: Vellutino Frank
Published: May 2015

The history of our knowledge about specific reading disability—dyslexia—is checkered with different hypotheses and theories. In this overview of the literature Frank Vellutino critically examines the foci of four prevalent explanations for reading failure in children: visual perception, intersensory integration, temporal–order perception, and verbal functioning. Applying findings from his own laboratory investigations and other selected research to each of the four hypotheses,Vellutino argues that the verbal-deficit hypothesis offers the most convincing explanation. Through the use of direct and indirect evidence Vellutino demonstrates the relationship between reading problems and dysfunction in the semantic, syntactic,or phonological aspects of language. Finally, Vellutino pursues the implications of his position and asserts that the linguistic problems of some poor readers necessitate an emphasis on the internal structure of words in learning to read.
Teaching Reading and Language to the Disadvantaged— What We Have Learned from Field Research
Authors: Becker Wesley
Published: May 2015

In late 1967, Project Follow Through was reorganized to select, test, and evaluate promising but different educational programs for disadvantaged youngsters in the first three grades. Now, nearly ten years later, the completed evaluations of Follow Through suggest that one of these programs, the University of Oregon's Direct Instruction Model, has produced significant gains in measures of positive affect, basic skills, and conceptual reasoning. In this article, Wesley Becker discusses the distinctive features of this model—its underlying assumptions and basic teaching components. He then explores the implications of teaching reading and language skills to economically disadvantaged children and advocates that immediate steps be taken to teach vocabulary systematically throughout the school years. Viewing this goal as essential for compensatory education, he concludes with an analysis of how vocabulary instruction might best be implemented.
Bernstein and Durkheim: Two Theories of Change in Educational Systems
Authors: Cherkaoui Mohamed
Published: May 2015

Emile Durkheim's The Evolution of Educational Thought and the third volume of Basil Bernstein's Class, Codes and Control2 are important contributions to the theory of social and educational change. The English translation of Durkheim's lectures on the history of French secondary education is likely to have a dramatic impact not only on future interpretations of his thought but also on the general orientation of educational research. The most recent volume in Bernstein's series is a significant addition to his studies of social class and educational codes. The aim of this essay is to draw out parallels and differences between Durkheim's and Bernstein's theories of educational systems; this comparison will highlight Bernstein's reformulation of certain features of Durkheim's thought.
A New Perspective on the Effects of First-Grade Teachers on Children's Subsequent Adult Status
Authors: Pedersen Eigil , Faucher Thérèse Annette , Eaton William
Published: May 2015

In this article Eigil Pedersen, Thérèse Annette Faucher, and William W. Eaton have taken on one of the most difficult questions in educational research: the impact of the classroom teacher on children's adult status. The authors detail the results of a research project of unconventional methodology and Unusually long duration. They sought originally to examine atypical IQ changes but came to focus on the enduring effects of one remarkable first-grade teacher. Drawing upon the idea of the "self-fulfilling prophecy," the authors relate the effects of teachers' attitudes and resultant behavior to the subsequent adult status of sixty children. Their conclusion,in contrast to that of many recent studies, is that the classroom teacher may have a significant effect on children's chances for success in later life.
The Learning-Disabilities Test Battery: Empirical and Social Issues
Authors: Coles Gerald
Published: May 2015

In an extensive review of validation studies on the ten most frequently recommended procedures used for diagnosing learning disabilities, Gerald Coles evaluates the special knowledge claims made by learning-disabilities specialists. Finding that these procedures often lack a sound empirical base, he then explores why children continue to be diagnosed and labeled as learning disabled. Coles concludes that specialists in the field have resorted to biological explanations for institutional failures, focusing our attention, concern, and attempts at remediation on the child rather than on the social context in which that child must perform.
The Case Against Statistical Significance Testing
Authors: Carver Ronald
Published: May 2015

In recent years the use of traditional statistical methods in educational research has increasingly come under attack. In this article, Ronald P. Carver exposes the fantasies often entertained by researchers about the meaning of statistical significance. The author recommends abandoning all statistical significance testing and suggests other ways of evaluating research results. Carver concludes that we should return to the scientific method of examining data and replicating results rather than relying on statistical significance testing to provide equivalent information.
Family Matters
Authors: Featherstone Joseph
Published: May 2015

More than thirty years ago, the Editorial Board committed itself to publishing articles concerned with "the clarification of, and the discovery of solutions to, the problems of education," seeking to give broader scope to the transmission of culture that goes on "less formally but inexorably—in the home, the church, the office and factory, through newspapers, movies, and the radio, and in ordinary social interaction."Over the years, our attention has shifted from one facet of this process to another; recently the family has become a major focus for educators, policy makers,and researchers. Joseph Featherstone's article provides a much-needed perspective on why the family is now at the center of many political and policy debates. He reminds us that this current emphasis is the result of both a long tradition of romanticizing the virtues of the family and the particular constellation of events we now refer to as "the sixties." While the family is emerging as a symbol in the effort to frame a more communal view of social policy, Featherstone warns of the danger inherent in seeking private solutions to problems that are collective in nature.
Open Admissions and Equal Access: A Study of Ethnic Groups in the City University of New York
Authors: Lavin David , Alba Richard , Silberstein Richard
Published: May 2015

In 1970 the City University of New York (CUNY) adopted a policy which guaranteed admission to every graduate of the city's high schools. Designed to increase the proportion of minority students in the university and to slow the reproduction of social inequality,CUNY's open-admissions policy has been criticized as a threat to academic standards and as an unnecessary expense during periods of economic scarcity. In this article, David Lavin,Richard Alba, and Richard Silberstein argue instead that there has been no definitive evidence of a decline in standards and that the policy has been successful in reducing educational inequality. Basing their conclusions on a detailed study of the first three classes admitted under this policy, the authors examine its effects on the university's ethnic composition and integration at various levels, and on the academic performance of different ethnic groups.
School Busing in Britain: Policies and Perceptions
Authors: Killian Lewis
Published: May 2015

In 1965 the British Department of Education and Science promulgated a policy encouraging local education authorities to disperse immigrant children, by busing if necessary, from schools in which they constituted more than one third of the enrollment. This legitimized the practice by a few authorities of busing Asian and West Indian children out of neighborhood schools where there was racial imbalance. Although busing never became widely practiced, it was challenged by minority group members as being discriminatory. In 1975 the Race Relations Board issued a ruling that busing did constitute racial discrimination unless it could be shown that the children needed special language training. The major opposition to busing came from minority groups and was expressed in much the same terms as white opposition to busing in the United States. Comparing the origins of school busing in Britain and the United States, Lewis Killian concludes that busing can best be understood as a political issue rather than in terms of educational effects.
Minority-Admissions Programs after Bakke
Authors: Sexton John
Published: May 2015

John Sexton describes the special-admissions program challenged in the Bakke litigation and outlines the reaction to it by the Supreme Court. He then argues that while Bakke is an instance of judicial intrusion into educational policy, it is simultaneously an invitation to greater autonomy for educators. On this premise, he examines the desirability of an affirmative-action component in an enlightened admissions program,considering the appropriate role of such objective indicators as standardized test scores and college grades, and describing the factors that would affect the legality of admissions programs. Finally, he offers two models of special-admissions programs that would meet the requirements of the Bakke decision.
The Application of Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development to Education
Authors: Kuhn Deanna
Published: May 2015

In this essay, Deanna Kuhn argues that the difficulties encountered in attempting to apply Piaget's theory of cognitive development to education are revealing of the ambiguities that exist within the theory itself. She illustrates this first by reviewing experimental curricula that derive their educational objectives from Piaget's developmental stage sequences, and, second, by examining those programs that derive their educational methods from Piaget's theories about the process of cognitive development. The author argues that the efforts of educators attempting to utilize developmental theory in educational contexts and the efforts of developmental theoreticians attempting to construct a more adequate theory of cognitive development ought to be mutually illuminating, and, indeed, that research activity across these disparate contexts must be integrated in order to achieve either a comprehensive developmental theory or an effective application of it.