Critical issues in education : dialogues and dialectics / Jack L. Nelson, Stuart B. Palonsky, Mary Rose McCarthy ; foreword by Nel Noddings.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Introduction : critical issues and critical thinking -- Introduction -- Democratic vitality and educational criticism -- The political context of schooling -- A tradition of school criticism and reform -- pt. 1. Whose interests should schools serve? : justice and equity -- 2. School choice : family or public funding -- Is family choice of schools in the public interest? -- Position 1 : for family choice in education -- Position 2. : against vouchers -- 3. Financing schools : equity or disparity -- Is it desirable to equalize educational spending among school districts within a state or across the nation? -- Position 1 : for justice in educational finance -- Position 2 : against centralization in educational financing -- 4. Gender equity : eliminating discrimination or accommodating differences -- Is it ever necessary to create schools or classroom settings that separate students by gender? -- Position 1 : eliminating discrimination -- Position 2 : accommodating differences -- 5. Standards-based reform : real change or political smoke screen -- Will the standards-based reform movement improve education or discriminate against poor and disadvantaged students? -- Position 1 : standards-based reform promises quality education for all students -- Position 2 : standards-based reform is a political smoke screen -- 6. Religion and public schools : unification or separation -- How do schools find a balance between freedom of religious expression and the separation of church and state? -- Position 1 : for religious freedom in schools -- Position 2 : against violating the separation between church and state -- 7. Privatization of schools : boon or bane -- What criteria are most suitable for deciding whether schools are better when they are operated as a public or private enterprise? -- Position 1 : public schools should be privatized -- Position 2 : public schools should be public -- 8. Corporations, commerce, and schools : complementing or competing interests -- Does school support become corporate support? -- Position 1 : businesses are school partners -- Position 2 : commercializing the school --

pt. 2. What should be taught? : knowledge and literacy -- 9. The academic achievement gap : old remedies or new -- Are already existing policies and practices reducing the academic achievement gap or are new measures needed? -- Position 1 : for maintaining existing programs -- Position 2 : for innovative solutions -- 10. Values/character education : traditional or liberational -- Which and whose values should public schools teach, and why? -- Position 1 : teach traditional values -- Position 2 : liberation through active value inquiry -- 11. Multicultural education : democratic or divisive -- Should schools emphasize America's cultural diversity or the shared aspects of American culture? -- Position 1 : multiculturalism : central to a democratic education -- Position 2 : multiculturalism is divisive and destructive -- 12. Technology and learning : enabling or subverting -- Which technological knowledge deserves significant school attention and who should decide? -- Position 1 : technology enables learning -- Position 2 : technology can subvert learning -- 13. Standardized testing : restrict or expand -- Should the use of standardized school tests be increased or decreased? -- Position 1 : for restricting testing -- Position 2 : for expanding testing --

pt. 3. How should schools be organized and operated? : school environment -- 14. Discipline and justice : zero tolerance or discretion -- What concept of justice should govern school and classroom discipline? -- Position 1 : zero-tolerance disciplinary policies provide justice in public schools -- Position 2 : zero-tolerance discipline policies are fundamentally unjust -- 15. Teacher unions and school leadership : detrimental or beneficial -- Should teachers be given a larger role in running public schools? -- Position 1 : teachers and teacher unions should play a major role in school leadership -- Position 2 : teachers and teacher unions should not play a role in school leadership -- 16. Academic freedom : teacher responsibilities or rights -- How should the proper balance between teacher freedom and responsibility be determined? -- Position 1 : for teacher responsibility -- Position 2 : for increased academic freedom -- 17. Inclusion and mainstreaming : common or special education -- When and why should selected children be provided inclusive or special treatment in schools? -- Position 1 : for full inclusion -- Position 2 : special programs help special students -- 18. Violence in schools : school treatable or beyond school control -- Can schools deal effectively with violent or potentially violent students? -- Position 1 : schools can and should curb violence -- Position 2 : the problem of school violence is beyond school control.