Search

The problem of educational policy for language minorities, particularly those minorities who might be considered oppressed, include the right to education in the minority language. Rights properly considered also carry with them obligations; in this case, minority language speakers would have obligations toward the language of the majority. Two considerations in the area of minority and majority claims and counterclaims relate to economics and to the concept of "mediating structures." Economic considerations relate to the costs and benefits of different policies, as evaluated by the different language groups. These evaluations affect the extent to which formally enunciated rights and obligations are honored in practice. With regard to policy, its aim should be to minimize the perceived costs of a pluralistic approach and to maximize the perceived benefits to all concerned. The second set of considerations on "mediating structures" is shown to be relevant for policies governing the education of language minorities. The controlling aim should be to enable the minority family and its children to negotiate the "megastructures" of society. The mediating structures--neighborhoods, churches, voluntary associations, and the like--would assist the families in the negotiation. (Author/AMH)

The study reported in this paper describes business/industry involvement with the education of secondary school students in Britain, the Federal Republic of Germany, and France. The study covers the following: business/industry's criticisms and recommendations about secondary education; the institutional framework within which business/industry involvement with education takes place; the characteristic collaborative arrangements in each of the three countries; the directions and forms of business/industry involvement with education across the three countries; and the conditions influencing such involvement. Some of the findings of the study, drawn from onsite inquiry and documentary sources, are as follows: (1) employers in all three nations make similar criticisms of the schools, including lack of connection of school curricula with the world of work, the schools' preoccupation with academic study and credentials, inadequacy of basic skill training, and the consequent unpreparedness of school leavers for work; (2) their recommendations for change are also very similar--a more practical curriculum, greater appreciation of the world of work, and more efficient management of schools; (3) business/industry participation is organized in substantially different ways in each of the three countries--France's job education is the most school-based, Germany's is the most firm-based, while England has a mixed model; and (4) business/industry continues to have an important if not dominant role in vocational training. There is no indication that any method of financing, whether public or business/industry, affects the involvement of business/industry in vocational education. (Author/KC)