This article addresses the controversy surrounding the Safe Schools Coalition Australia. Certain politicians and media commentators have accused the initiative of harming the students it ostensibly aims to benefit. Those accusations have, in turn, been labelled 'homophobic' by supporters of the Coalition. This article suggests that the term…

The investigations described in the ten fascinating research studies contained in the current volume of "ZDM Mathematics Education" evoke some perspectives in response. I consider the articles thematically in relation to a suggested set of important or pressing questions about creativity and giftedness in mathematics education, grouped…

In the aftermath of the school shootings in Newtown, Connecticut this past December, people experienced the world around them as less safe--understandably so. In response to such a tragic event, there is a degree of fear instilled in all people that for many was at its peak in the New Year as they prepared to send their children back to school.…

The REL Mid-Atlantic Webinar discussed the elements in a positive school climate and shared different methods for assessing school data, including the Comprehensive School Climate Inventory. The Q&A presented in this document address the questions participants had for Dr. Cohen following the webinar. The webinar recording and PowerPoint…

While the educational project privileges signifying speech, the psychical significance of the "voice" has become an institutional "vanishing mediator." Against the commonplace assumption that the voice functions as a benign vehicle for conscious meaning-making, this article examines the sublimated privilege and function of the voice in the context…

The reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) is 3 years overdue, and the Obama administration, through Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, has explained the urgency of revising and reauthorizing the law. Attention has been focused most acutely on the provisions that directly relate to academic performance and accountability.…

School shootings have been in the news of late. People ponder what occurs in classrooms today. Why would a young person wish to take a life? Within educational institutions, the killings are a concern. In our dire attempt to teach the children and ensure student success, it seems many of our offspring are lost. Some students feel separate from…

This article reviewed the case of indecent dressing among the youth of today especially on the universities campuses, which has forced the authorities of those institutions to enact dress codes to stem the tide and restore high moral standards, integrity and decency. Whether this bid was successful or not was another thing which was a function of…

This commentary focuses on the promises and challenges facing the Social and Character Development (SACD) consortium in evaluating the effectiveness of seven universal SACD programs designed to enhance student behavior and school climate under conditions of real world practice. In this commentary, we highlight that the opportunity costs associated…

In this article, the author presents a debate discussing whether writing has nothing or everything to do with campus terrorism. Writing gives teachers a powerful tool to identify malfeasants and lunatics. Members of these groups have a need to disclose, to share their twisted thoughts as if to persuade people of their rationality. On the other…

Each September in Wisconsin students return to school, football games draw enthusiastic crowds, and homecoming week is celebrated. Trees lose their leaves only to be re-adorned in white in that generation bridging tradition known as toilet papering. Community residents have differing opinions on "tp"ing, in large part determined by whether they…

Learners are active actors in learning environments and not mere consumers of instructional designers' products. In line with mediating paradigm instructional conceptions of students are analysed. These conceptions act as cognitive filters that affect students' use of both instructional interventions and support in learning environments. To gain…

Claims that classroom lighting may have an influence on children's learning experiences because children experience the world primarily through sensory and motor experiences. Describes a preschool teacher's experience of adjusting an overbright classroom with full-spectrum bulbs and how, as a result, the children appeared to be more relaxed and…

Principals seeking to establish an effective school climate must address these questions concerning school discipline: How committed is the staff to discipline outside the classroom? Are school policies clear to students? Do teachers engaged in student supervision have positive attitudes? Is discipline consistent? Are planning and supervision…

A retributive perspective, in which punishment must be the response to a misdeed regardless of the misdeed's consequences, provides a more substantive approach to the disruptive student than does the presently accepted rehabilitation-utilitarian perspective, which only advocates the punishment of misdeeds that do not promote institutional goals.…