Politics and Education: Cases from eleven nations tackles the relationship between politics and education. The book presents several dimensions of the politics-education relationship, such as the use of education in achieving political agendas and the effects of the interest of a political group on educational policy. The book present cases from 11 different countries that show the interaction between education and politics, such as the use of educational policy as a compensatory legitimation in West Germany; the educational opportunity under pre- and post-revolutionary condition in Nicaragua; and the education and the maintenance of the social-class system in Jamaica. The text will be of great interest to readers concerned with the implication of political agendas for the education system of a country.

Preface Chapter 1 The Symbiotic Linking of Politics and Education Meanings Assigned to Education and Politics A Model of Politics-Education Interaction Functions of Influence Strategies for Exerting Influence ConclusionPart I Strategies for Using Education to Achieve Political Ends Chapter 2 West Germany: Educational Policy as Compensatory Legitimation The Erosion of Legitimacy and the State's Response Strategies of Compensatory Legitimation in West German Educational Policy Conclusion Chapter 3 Zaire: The State and the University University Autonomy and Academic Freedom Regional Imbalances and the University Quota System The Political Pressure for Relevance Conclusions Chapter 4 Nicaragua: Educational Opportunity under Pre- and Post-revolutionary Conditions Pre-revolutionary Politics Pre-revolutionary Education Politics in Post-revolutionary Nicaragua Conclusions Chapter 5 The United States of America: The Languages of Education: New Ethnicity and the Drive to Power Ethnicity in the American Context Bilingual Education and the Law Summary and ConclusionsPart II Patterns of Majority-minority Group Relations Chapter 6 The Peoples Republic of China: Educational Policy and National Minorities: The Politics of Intergroup Relations An Analytical Viewpoint China's National Minorities: The Context Early Minorities Policy 1949-1966 The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution 1966-1976 The Four Modernizations Movement 1976-Present Conclusion Chapter 7 Malaysia: Cooperation Versus Competition or National Unity Versus Favored Access to Education The Roots of Malaysian Ethnic Patterns The Birth of Malaysia - A Problem in Social Structure Aims and Strategies The Two Faces of Education Results and Rationales Chapter 8 Jamaica: Education and the Maintenance of the Social-class System Characteristics of Colonial Education Systems Class Structure in Jamaica The Development of Secondary Schooling: The Colonial Era Secondary Schooling after Independence A Challenge to the Socio-political Structure Summary and ConclusionsPart III Multiple Group Influences on Educational Decisions Chapter 9 Israel: Political Roots and Effects of Two Educational Decisions The Structural-change Decision-8-4 to 6-3-3 Analysis of the Structural-change Decision 196 The Curricular-change Decision in Vocational Education Analysis of the Curricular-change Decision Epilogue Chapter 10 England and Wales: Muted Educational Confrontations in a Parliamentary Democracy Significant Political Forces Political Ideology and Educational Practice Educator's Social Power Realignments of Education Egalitarianism and Economic Needs Chapter 11 Canada: Educational Decisions within a Mosaic of Interest Groups An Overview of Canadian Education Canadian Education: An Historical Analysis Chapter 12 Cameroon: Regional, Ethnic, and Religious Influences on a Post-colonial Education System Colonialism, Ethnicity, and Religion an Economic Asset Education and Political Policy Harmonization of the Educational Structure Educational Reform Access to and Demand for Education Primary-School Teacher Shortage: North and Northwest Administrative Factors Conclusion Chapter 13 Lessons from the 11 Nations Can Internal Politics Be Avoided The State's Influence on Education The Usefulness of Separating Internal from General Politics Politicization Redefined Degrees of Educational Politicization: A Comparison of the 11 Nations ConclusionIndex