In conversation with colleagues, it has been repeatedly addressed that the field of education research, whether philosophical, historical, or political, can be wildly depressing. One source of frustration is the subject content. Discussing historical and contemporary injustices in education, such as forced assimilation through residential schools,…

This article presents a challenge to notions of clarity--and its relation to understanding--within the college composition classroom by relying on Lacanian pedagogical theory. While the field of composition has issued criticisms against clarity in student writing, there has been less emphasis on interrogating clarity in instruction. By delineating…

The present article continues my work in logomachy and the philosophy of education. It turns to Bernard Stiegler's concept of the 'idiotext' as the means of terming what I have previously called 'particular sets of sense'. The gambit of the article is that 'intropy' (uncertainty provoked by informational complexity) provides a very useful concept…

While templates for academic writing, like those offered in the popular textbook "They Say/I Say," have been embraced by some, others still question the extent to which an emphasis on form comes at the expense of substance. But ancient rhetoricians offer a theory of rhetoric that unites style and substance, and Jeanne Fahnestock's modern…

The paper suggests that 'language change' might hold an important key to aspects of educational reform and to the betterment of teacher education. The language we identify as contributing the most to the ineffectiveness of educational reform is the educational language impregnated by psychologised metaphors, which dominate educational discourses…

In China, formal school groupings known as 'education collectives' have become one of the most common forms of school-to-school collaboration, promoted by policymakers to narrow the achievement gap between schools and optimise resource allocation. Previous research has focused on the purposes and achievements of education collectives rather than…

This paper provides educators a foothold in the tricky terrain of metaphor, its theoretical underpinnings and pedagogical possibilities. Metaphor provides us with a means of comprehending domains of experience that do not have a preconceptual structure of their own. Conceptual metaphors permit mental imagery from sensorimotor domains to hold sway…

The "Tree of Life" is a data gathering process that has evolved from narrative-based therapy. It provides a platform for communities and groups to explore their core values, beliefs, and aspirations. Used sensitively and respectfully, it gives participants an empowered voice using their own experiences to establish deeper and meaningful…

"A Dictionary of Contemporary Figurative Language" is meant to be an appendix to an earlier, more comprehensive work: ED648945, "A Dictionary and Thesaurus of Contemporary Figurative Language and Metaphor 2024." This appendix simply updates the dictionary of that previous work to better reflect the language used during the 2024…

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming education and creating new opportunities for language learning and teaching. In English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts, idiomatic competence represents a persistent instructional challenge because it requires cultural awareness and contextual understanding. Traditional…

Idiomatics, the scientific study of idiomatic and figurative language, is examined in this article to define the boundaries as a distinct academic discipline. The investigation highlights the significant implications of idiomatics for understanding human behavior, language development, and technological advancements. A sixpart approach to language…