| Abstract: | A number of individuals have proposed the gradual refinement of existing programs, rather than their continual closing down, as a safeguard against educational fads and political pressures. The gradual refinement thesis is extended, refined, and criticized in this article. A different unit of analysis is proposed, one which takes into account the role of educational institutions in assisting in the reproduction of both cultural and economic inequality. It is argued that decisions about the gradual refinement of programs and institutions are not only technical but ideological and politico/economic in nature. Criteria for deciding on gradual refinement, based on a strategy of nonreformist reforms, are suggested. |
