Search

From a political standpoint, the battle over sexuality education is not simply a dispute over the most effective means to promote the sexual and reproductive health of youth; but rather, a clash over the shape and direction of society itself. (McKay, 1999). This paper explores the theoretical underpinnings of the debate over the content and scope of formal sex education in schools in liberal democratic society, with a particular focus on the United States. The debate often pits parents with deeply held religious convictions and fairly conservative understandings of human sexuality against more secular-minded citizens, who are often resentful of what they perceive as an attempt by the former to erase the boundary between church and state. The paper argues that this policy debate is a manifestation of a deeper conflict between adherents to two comprehensive moral doctrines: (1) Millian individualist liberalism; and (2) natural law. It contends that, while there are serious and important differences between these two doctrines, their shared appreciation for individual liberty, autonomy, and equality makes feasible a kind of overlapping consensus about the value of sex education and the manner in which children and adolescents ought to be educated about sex. Although this consensus is likely not unanimous, it demonstrates that by drawing on two distinct and sometimes competing political moral traditions, a controversial public policy may in principle warrant wider support, and benefit from diverse ideological viewpoints. (Contains 97 notes.) (BT)

It is in the intellectual context of current attacks on liberalism that multiculturalism gains its currency as a progressive movement. Liberal theorists argue that multiculturalism can be justified as a quintessential liberal principle that entitles ethnic minorities to certain cultural rights that may otherwise be denied to individuals "qua" individuals. Multiculturalism is interpreted one way in Canada and another way in the United States. Regardless of whether people use multiculturalism in a narrow or expansive sense, multiculturalism is widely accepted as the framework within which social justice is to be negotiated in a pluralistic society. Among the most concrete signs of the combined impact of the political correctness debate and multiculturalism is the intense politicization of curriculum reform in institutions of higher learning in recent years, particularly in the United States. Beyond the postmodernist rhetoric, there is a growing recognition that the traditional curriculum of liberal education is too focused on Western civilizations, often at the expense of other non-Western civilizations. Against these changes, this paper attempts to go beyond the canon debate. The paper is most interested not in what is taught, but in how it is taught. It argues that it is the moral obligation of teachers to ensure that the exposure to a variety of cultural traditions and perspectives is an ongoing process that is not confined to a particular course or program. It does not favor an approach which adopts multiculturalism as the form of critical pedagogy. (Contains 40 notes.) (BT)

A proposed expanded conception of liberal education embraces occupational study by adopting Aristotle's idea of intellectual virtue. Liberal study in Aristotelean thought recognizes the significance of both theoretical and work-related knowledge. Contemporary career preparedness programs undermine the cognitive component of intellectual virtue, erode liberal educational ideals, and threaten student agency in these five ways: (1) most omit potentially important areas of relevant content on labor union history or organizing human rights, cultural and environmental impact, and other criticisms of present global economic practices; (2) most portray existing social, economic, and labor market conditions in an ahistorical context and lack any implication that students have a legitimate democratic right to critique material circumstances affecting their lives and transform the conditions; (3) objectives consistent with developing attitudinal changes among students are improperly classified as generic employability skills to avoid providing sound ethical arguments for their curricular inclusion; (4) scope of critical thinking, problem-solving, and other cognitive competencies is limited to identifying the best means to arrive at presupposed ends; and (5) lifelong learning merely encourages students to take personal responsibility for occupational retraining in the face of unstable labor market conditions. Concrete proposals are suggested to reform career education programs to address these concerns. (Contains 32 references.) (YLB)

This essay traces the liberal to conservative changes in U.S. political attitudes and the effect these changes had on progressive and essentialist theories of education from the 1940s to the present. Focus is on the role Arthur Bestor played in these developments. Bestor was a leader of the anti-progressive movement during the 1950s and the most widely read educational reformer of that time. Initially the main difference between Bestor and his opponents was the relative place he gave to social problems and the liberal disciplines, but he grew increasingly conservative in his vision of educational reform, promoted essentialism in education, and called for a national commitment to liberal education. Bestor's educational background, ideologies, theories of curriculum, and opponents are discussed. Debates regarding teaching mainstream culture versus cultural pluralism, issues which divided Bestor and his progressive opponents during the 1950s, continue to divide liberal educators today. The document argues that because the Cold War is over and the political crisis that inflamed educational differences between progressives and essentialists is gone, it is time for progressive educators to acknowledge the value of Bestor's ideas and bring the educational Cold War to an end. Contains 153 references. (MM)

This essay looks at three kinds of changes in American society over the period from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s. First, data from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) are used to measure trends in college freshmen's political identification, materialism, concern for law and order, and concern for helping others. In all these measures the paper finds that college freshmen have become more conservative. The paper also examines the fate of various reforms and changes, such as making the liberal arts curriculum more "relevant," making academic rules and regulations more flexible, and allowing students a bigger voice in campus affairs. Again, the paper concludes that these reforms were generally failures. Moving off campus, the paper examines other social and political trends over the same period, noting particularly abortion, recreational drugs, and capital punishment. Here again the trend toward conservatism is clear. Finally, the paper finds the most vivid evidence of conservatism in the mellowing of the prominent rebels and protestors of the late 1960s. It concludes that the times have indeed changed, but not quite in the direction that Bob Dylan predicted! (Contains 30 references.) (CH)

The gap between the theory of democracy and its practice is nowhere more evident than in the classroom, where the teachers charged with transmitting democratic values to the next generation of citizens can only repeat democracy's failures. Some people would like to separate liberalism from the concept of democracy, since they believe that the promise of democracy has been damaged by its attachment to liberalism. A different kind of democracy might be better suited to the postmodern age. Advanced ideas of democracy would require giving up the dream of a harmonious collective will and would require examination of the liberal logic of self-interest as well as liberalism's emphasis on competition. Advanced ideas of democracy would also demand an examination of the power relations of public life and attention to issues of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, age, and other social conditions. Rethinking the nature of the rational individual of liberalism is a necessity before advanced ideas of democracy can be considered. The individual of liberalism is a stable, unified, and coherent self who moves toward a more enlightened state through the right use of reason. Rationality is a concept that maintains the primacy of this autonomous and responsible self and is the key to its functioning. The logic of the rational liberal individual is a binary logic that establishes dualisms that contribute to privilege for some. Critics of liberalism find the individual to be a site of conflicting discourses, not born into an essential nature, but a creature of multiple and intersecting identities. If a different rationality is applied and a different, less stable subject identified, new ideas of democracy may be developed that promote new approaches to formerly subordinated groups. (Contains 14 references.) (SLD)

This paper discusses procedural liberalism as the main obstacle to democratic, pluralist cultural and educational practice in Quebec, Canada, arguing that institutional-level procedural liberalism promotes the status quo and precludes the democratic practice of intercultural education. It attributes this status quo to: (1) the Quebec government's definition of and policy on pluralism and its much-contested cultural orientations of "la culture de concergence"; and (2) the Ministry of Education's lack of an explicit intercultural education policy. This has led to a cultural pluralist model of a "no man's land" that manifested itself in the mid-1980s into a de facto multiculturalism in reality focused on integration combined with a politicized rhetoric of interculturalism in educational milieux. To illustrate this inherent ambiguity in Quebec's model of pluralism and its policy of occulation in intercultural education, the paper describes the replication of Quebec's institutional pluralism in the educational system and enforcement of the essentialist ideology of "la culture publique commune" in university-level research practices since the late 1980s. It highlights research on multicultural and intercultural studies at the University of Montreal as a sample of the transfer of the essentialist ideology of "la culture publique commune" in scientific research. (Contains 28 references.) (SM)

Political correctness (PC) is often associated with attempts to place limits or boundaries on expressions of racist, sexist, or homophobic attitudes and feelings. PC is most often associated with such efforts on college and university campuses. Many critics of PC have attempted to suggest that these activities pose a great threat to American society. They suggest that PC is restrictive of opinion and free expression. The comments of Nat Hentoff are typical. He notes that "many white male students, faculty members and administrators are convinced that speech must have its limits if racism, sexism, and homophobia are to be extirpated in and out of the classroom." It would be naive, however, to assume that anti-PC criticism is a by-product of objective investigation. Much of the anti-PC rhetoric is a direct result of highly organized and well-funded campaigns by conservative elements. Further, virtually all of the evidence against PC consists of collections of anecdotes. There is no hard, quantitative data to prove the extent or impact of a PC "movement." Also, the sheer quantity of faculty engaged in higher education in this country suggests that political viewpoints are far more diverse than a PC norm. An objective examination of the status of PC on American campuses casts much doubt on the positions advanced by critics--it seems unlikely that there is much, if any, organized effort to program students with PC ideas. (Contains 60 footnotes.) (TB)

The economic decline of rural communities and the accompanying trend toward rural school consolidation are intimately connected to the American liberal and individualist world view. In general, liberalism has meant having a representative government, an economic arrangement that maximizes the freedom of accumulation, and an educational system that legitimizes the pursuit of truth rather than preparation for an occupation. However, liberalism has not always been a desirable cultural standard. For example, the classical and feudal periods were marked by a communal orientation as opposed to an individualist orientation. Communality was replaced by liberalism in the 17th century when Christianity and a salvationist theology became dominant. Modern liberalism has led to a heavily individualized worldview that has resulted in a competitive milieu dominating most economic, political, and educational thinking. Some effects on education have been a focus on efficiency and the role of the school in determining the winners and losers in society. Rural schools also have become the vehicle for a powerful cultural message: success in school means leaving the rural community. What is needed is a return to a communal orientation, which would end the focus on efficiency achieved through rural school consolidation, and might address some of the reasons why rural America is in decline in the first place. Equally important, rural communities should have input concerning the status of their schools, and schools must begin to serve their communities in new ways. School districts need to consider alternatives to consolidation including sharing arrangements, telecommunications, and alternative school financing. (LP)

This booklet presents the text of a lecture by Linda S. Wilson, president of Radcliffe College (Cambridge, Massachusetts) on the role of higher education as well as the responses, questions and discussion that followed. The lecture is preceded by a preface and an introduction by Morton W. Weir, chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). In discussing the future of higher education during what she characterizes as a period of change, President Wilson argues against using a liberal-conservative continuum to think about higher education. Instead, she suggests that in order for higher education to successfully achieve what society aspires for it, higher education must (1) engage the full range of individuals' talents more completely, (2) "ignite the flame of confidence in ourselves and in higher education itself", and (3) give the public the capacity for thoughtful change. The lecture then looks at five key topics: access to higher education, strategies to inspire achievement and integrity, realignment of talents and tasks, improvement through new knowledge and technologies, and strategies to cope with the explosion of knowledge. The balance of the booklet presents three responses by administrators and scholars from UIUC and questions from the audience with their responses. (JB)

This paper suggests that contemporary educational historians have failed to appreciate the extent to which the institutional response to industrialism was actively induced by the financial hegemony of the new corporate elite and simultaneously advanced by the emerging authority of the central state. Further, it argues that progressive era higher education reforms should be viewed as part of a broader corporate reconstruction movement that worked in partnership with central state managers to implement a corporate liberal agenda. The approach challenges state capacity theory by suggesting that a weak state organization was highly effective in facilitating reform precisely because it furthered institutional tendencies that were already being induced by private capital allocations in higher education. Contains 112 references. (Author/GLR)