When the state innovates - interests and institutions create the preschool sector, Bruce Fuller and Susan D. Holloway; the university and political authority - historical trends and contemporary possibilities, Phyllis Riddle; world polity and gender parity - women's share of higher education, 1965-1985, Karen Bradley and Francisco O. Ramirez; carving a niche in the high school social structure - formal and informal constraints on participation in the extra curriculum, Pamela Anne Quiroz et al; race, gender and inequity in track assignments, Warren N. Kubitschek and Maureen T. Hallinan; evaluation processes and student disengagement from high school, Gary Natriello; academic press and sense of community - conflict and congruence in American high schools, Roger C. Shouse; the evolution of research on educational attainment and social status in Japan, Gerald LeTendre; exploring the persistence of academic achievement gaps - social differentials in family resource returns in Israel, Yechezkel Dar and Nura Resh; racial and ethnic variations in academic performance, Grace Kao et al; adolescent expectations and adult outcomes - insights from the study of migration, Margaret Mooney Marini.