Most of the articles in this book originally appeared in various issues of The Morning Watch over a period of four years (1973-77) and were written by faculty members in various departments in the Faculty of Education. A few other articles by faculty members were published elsewhere but are included in this book. Some of the articles were written for publication in The Morning Watch by faculty members in the Department of Linguistics and in the Center for Community Initiatives. cial scientists and educators often use jargon and tedious language while commenting on the complex interaction among society, culture and schooling. The editorial policy of The Morning Watch urged contributors to write with as much simplicity and clarity as was possible without forgoing the "respectable" level of sophistication required for social and cultural analysis. The editors felt that there was need to introduce and explain to a specific audience in the province - students, teachers, supervisors, superintendents, members of school boards and the general public - some of the major social science concepts and perspectives that are often used in analysis of social, cultural, political, and educational problems and in formulating of policies pertaining to such problems. How well each contributor met such objectives is evident in the articles included in this book. Also, by exposing his/her ideas each individual writer has taken the risk of being critically evaluated by others. Hopefully, some of the ideas presented in the various articles, will initiate dialogue among students, teachers and others regarding pressing social and educational problems in the province and elsewhere. Readers are therefore invited to read these articles critically, to raise questions that are not raised in them, and to develop perspectives of their own which may help them understand larger problems associated with the survival of mankind in today's interdependent world and the relationship of such problems to individuals' everyday life-styles in the province and other parts of the globe.
There are eight sections in this book. Articles are grouped in each section under a suitable heading. Most of the articles are short and the contributors have presented their ideas in compressed form because of the limitation of space in The Morning Watch. However, for the purpose of further reading most articles include at the end lists of suggested readings on the major concepts and themes discussed in them.
The readings in section I provide some understanding of social change in the province and elsewhere that prompted re-evaluation of some of the leading ideas associated with schooling. Similarly, readings in section II focus on Newfoundland culture, change in it and the need to re-evaluate some of the taken-for-granted notions underlying school practices. Readings in section III deal with the place of educational and social science research and policies in changing societies such as Newfoundland. Readings in section IV analyse certain elements of a changing social order (articles by Singh and Baksh) and show how a perspective can be developed in order to explain specific interaction between educational processes and a social system (articles by John Stapleton). The readings in section V provide some understanding of the process of social selection in the province through the school as an institution of larger society. Readings in section VI focus on socializing processes in certain areas of school activities in the province. Readings in section VII look at the school as a complex organization and analyze some of the specific school related problems such as decentralization, teacher evaluation and alienation. Finally, in section VIII, the readings are devoted to the discussion of various issues in education in the province.
Amarjit Singh
Ishmael J. Baksh