Conflict of Interests: The Politics of American Education, Fourth Edition [Paperback]

Joel Spring (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0072546387 | ISBN-13: 978-0072546385 | Publication Date: October 31, 2001 | Edition: 4th

Conflict of Interests: The Politics of American Education provides a critical understanding of the political and social forces shaping educational politics in the United States. It describes and analyzes how policy is made for American schools, and its effect on all our lives and thinking. Spring argues that the politics of Education is driven by a complex interrelationship between politicians, private foundations and thinktanks, teachers’ unions, special-interest groups, educational politicians, school administrators, boards of education, courts, and the knowledge industry. This text uses many current examples to illustrate conflicts over educational policies. Spring links these conflicts to economics, culture, multiculturalism, language, religion, and equal opportunity. Spring discusses textbook publishing, standardized testing, the political uses of the judicial system, and the politics of education at each level of government.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Joel Spring, professor of education at the New School University, received his Ph.D. in educational policy studies from the University of Wisconsin. His father was born a citizen of the Choctaw Nation in Indian Territory prior to the abolishment of the Choctaw government and the creation of Oklahoma. Professor Spring’s current interest in Native American culture and history is a reflection of his Indian background. His major research interests are the history of education, multicultural education, Native American culture, and the politics of education. Professor Spring is the author of many books including The Cultural Transformation of a Native American Family and Its Tribe 1763-1995: A Basket of Apples; Images of American Life: A History of Ideological Management in Schools, Movies, Radio, and Television; and Political Agendas for Education: From the Christian Coalition to the Green Party. For McGraw-Hill Professor Spring has authored American Education; Wheels in the Head: Educational Philosophies of Authority, Freedom, and Culture from Socrates to Human Rights; The Intersection of Cultures: Multicultural Education in the United States and the Global Economy; Deculturalization and the Struggle for Equality: A Brief History of the Education of Dominated Cultures in the United States, and Conflict of Interests: The Politics of American Education.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages; 4th edition (October 31, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0072546387
• ISBN-13: 978-0072546385
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,268,789 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Joel Spring is Professor at Queens College and the Graduate Center, The City University of New York.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting thoughts but biased, May 2, 2004

By 

Patricia L. McDiarmid (Wilbraham, Massachusetts United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Conflict of Interests: The Politics of American Education, Fourth Edition (Paperback)

This text was recently used for one of my doctoral courses and I found it a very difficult read to "connect" with often having to re-read chapters over-and-over again. The professor forced us to submit reflective journals for each chapter attempting to watch our growth in thinking about some of the issues Spring raises. Although I beleive that some of his information has merit, he fails to present both sides of an issue. For instance, in a chapter dealing with the political uses of the court system in education, he never addresses the busing issues that happened in the 1960s in Boston.
Additionally, I am not so certain that everything is the POWER STRUGGLE that Spring purports it to be. Also, some of his citations are really "old" that he uses to support his premises.
"Food for thought" but one-sided indeed.