For over a century, Americans have translated their cultural anxieties and hopes into dramatic demands for educational reform. Although policy talk has sounded a millennial tone, the actual reforms have been gradual and incremental. Tinkering toward Utopia documents the dynamic tension between Americans' faith in education as a panacea and the moderate pace of change in educational practices. In this book, David Tyack and Larry Cuban explore some basic questions about the nature of educational reform. Why have Americans come to believe that schooling has regressed? Have educational reforms occurred in cycles, and if so, why? Why has it been so difficult to change the basic institutional patterns of schooling? What actually happened when reformers tried to reinvent schooling? Tyack and Cuban argue that the ahistorical nature of most current reform proposals magnifies defects and understates the difficulty of changing the system. Policy talk has alternated between lamentation and overconfidence. The authors suggest that reformers today need to focus on ways to help teachers improve instruction from the inside out instead of decreeing change by remote control, and that reformers must also keep in mind the democratic purposes that guide public education.

This book is a rallying cry to teachers at a time when many in the profession feel profoundly pessimistic about their work and the future of education. In this uplifting book, David Halpin suggests ways of putting the hope back into education, exploring the value of and need for utopian thinking in discussions of the purpose of education and school policy. David Halpin does not attempt to predict the future of schooling. Rather, he discusses the attitude educators should adopt about its reform and the prospect of educational change. He suggests that educators need to adopt a militant optimism of the will, applying aspects of the utopian imagination through which hopefulness can be brought to bear on educational situations. This important book will stimulate fresh thinking about school reform. It will be interesting reading for those studying for Masters and Doctoral degrees in education, and academics, researchers and policy makers working in the same field.

"The famous Grecian Urn of Achilles has been stolen ... The Greek alphabet is the key to decoding the clues and recovering the stolen treasure. Learn all of the Greek letters from alpha to omega along with their phonetic pronunciation. Decipher the encoded clues from witnesses to discover the identity of the thief and to trace the escape route. You will learn to to sound out English words with the Greek alphabet and you will even be able to write in your own Greek-letter code"--Page 4 of cover

The book deals with the subject of great relevance in the present scenario, not only in Indian context but in global perspective also. It provides a complete text not only to those students concerning Peace Studies, Education for Peace and Peace: Education but to all those who are interested in Peace Concerns. It has been written in a very lucid and attractive way and presents a systematic account in seven chapters about: * How is Peace a lost paradise amidst the material development of human civilization, * What is Peace (individual, social and global). What are the approaches to peace, * What is the historical development of Education for Peace, * How is teacher a role-model in translating Education for Peace in the reality of class-room and lastly, * Is Education for Peace a Utopia or this may turn to be reality. About The Author: - Pratibha Upadhyay is Professor in the Department of Education, University of Allahabad, Allahabad. In the past, she has served Ewing Christian College Allahabad as lecturer and senior lecturer (1993-2000). She has a brilliant career through out her academic life. She has done her B.Sc. (1971) from Jabalpur University, Jabalpur, M.Sc. (1973) from B.H.U. Varanasi, M.Ed. (1982) and D.Phill. from university of Allahabad. She is gold medalist, JRF and SRF recipient and has been, Pool Officer (CSIR) in the Department of Education, University of Allahabad. Pratibha Upadhyay has written and edited books and Journals on varieties of topics concerning education and social sciences. She is member of national and international societies. She is Vice-President of Innovative Research Association (Allahabad) and is a member of Advisory Board of PRATHAM, U.P. (Internationally reputed NGO). She has participated and presented research papers in the national and international conferences. (Isreal, Bangkik etc). She has great iterest in social work and is involved in writing on peace. Pratibha Upadhyay is blessed with noble family of immenent academics.

This unique collection of essays by well known scholars from around the world examines the role of edutopias in the utopian tradition, examining its sources and sites as a means for understanding the aims and purposes of education, for realizing its societal value, and for criticizing its present economic, technological and organizational modes.

This book is an ideal introduction to classical education written by the headmaster of an established classical academy. It traces the history of classical education and describes its modern renaissance. The book also highlights the distinctive elements of the movement including its emphasis on teaching grammar, logic and rhetoric (the Trivium), and the extraordinary achievements of students who are receiving a classical education. Other sections address the role and benefit of classical language study (Latin and Greek) and integrated learning through a study of the great books of western civilization. The book is written in a colloquial, engaging style, with several anecdotes, diagrams and charts. This book is especially recommended to parents just beginning their examination of classical education. We have priced this booklet (and the Audio CD) very low so that schools and co-ops can affordably distribute it to parents. We encourage homeschoolers to give this booklet to other parents who may wish to consider classical education.

Early childhood education and care is a major policy issue for national governments and international organisations. This book contests two stories, both infused by neoliberal thinking, that dominate early childhood policy making today - ‘the story of quality and high returns’ and ‘the story of markets’, stories that promise high returns on investment if only the right technologies are applied to children and the perfection of a system based on competition and individual choice. But there are alternative stories and this book tells one: a ‘story of democracy, experimentation and potentiality’ in which early childhood centres are public spaces and public resources, places where democracy and experimentation are fundamental values, community workshops for realising the potentiality of citizens. This story calls for transformative change but offers a real utopia, both viable and achievable. The book discusses some of the conditions needed for the story’s enactment and shows what it means in practice in a chapter about project work contributed by a Swedish preschool teacher. Critical but hopeful, this book is an important contribution to resisting the dictatorship of no alternative and renewing a democratic politics of early childhood education. It is essential reading for students and teachers, researchers and other academics, and for all other concerned citizens.