The economic purpose of getting a job, or getting into college in order to get a better job, has evolved into the de facto primary purpose of K-12 (and higher) education. Business model solutions are seen by businessmen as the answer to education problems. But the business models they advocate and help fund are not a good fit for education…

The philosopher and educator, John Dewey, explores the emergence of the terms "ethics" and "education" from a pragmatist's perspective, i.e., within the linguistic and social components' framework, and society's existing cognitive and cultural level. In the current article, we examine the development, logical control and the relation between…

Citizenship education, defined as learning to live together, requires agreement on certain common principles. One central purpose of a state education system is the transmission of common normative standards such as the human rights and fundamental freedoms that underpin liberal democratic societies. The paper identifies the conceptual roots of…

Educational theorists frequently invoke rights claims to express their views about educational justice and authority. But the unyielding nature of rights claims presents a significant quandary in democratic contexts, given the tension between rights claims and majoritarian democracy. Educational theorists have given limited attention to this…

Presented at AERA 2010 as the Social Justice Award Lecture, this article calls attention to the purposes of education in the 21st century and the need for a robust, social justice vision of education. Here, it is argued that education is about the cultivation of a flourishing life and not only the narrow preparation for employment. To realize…

This article applies criteria for validity in interpretation to Eric Donald Hirsch, Jr.'s interpretations of John Dewey. Specifically, three criteria that Hirsch, himself, established in his earlier work are used to evaluate Hirsch's interpretation of John Dewey as a member of a class (romantics) who embraced a naive naturalism (trait) more often…

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, a synchronistic set of events and relationships generated a new kind of experiential learning in communities across Mississippi. Educators based at the University of Mississippi, community-based educators, social justice advocates, and funders collaborated to provide the resources and opportunities for…

10 Great Curricula is a collection of stories written by educators who have come to understand curricula differently as a result of their engagement with a graduate course and its instructor. The book represents the best of what can be found in teaching and learning, in general, and in the quest for meaningful ways to understand curricula in…

The 21st century has brought many technological, social, and economic changes--nearly all of which have affected schools and the students, administrators, and faculty members who are in them. Luckily, as some things change, other things remain the same. Such is true with the fundamental legal principles that guide school administrators' actions…

Educational undertakings are subject to disjunctures at three separate stages: in the creation of curricular programmes, in the implementation of these curricula in practice and in their effects on students. These disjunctures are the result of complex "leaps" between ends and means, and between ideal and real. This article proposes a response in…

In the context of the increasingly transnational organization of society, culture, and communication, this article develops a conceptualization of the global common as a basic condition of interrelation and shared experience, and describes contemporary political efforts to fully democratize this condition. The article demonstrates the implications…

The purpose of this article is to revisit "Brown" as a paradigmatic understanding of social justice and its barriers, by reconsidering "Brown" in light of the three moral pillars of democracy identified by Cornel West (2004). West maintains that authentic deep democracy is grounded in three fundamental capacities and dispositions, or pillars: (a)…

The basic question of why schools exist can be addressed by two prevailing answers: to create workers and to develop citizens. The sorting and segregating and elimination of students who do not meet standardized expectations are a result of the belief that education should just produce workers. When creating workers is the focus of schools, the…

This article is an edited version of a speech delivered at the 2009 Mediterranean Association of International Schools (MAIS) Annual Conference in Florence, Italy. In the author's past speeches--in Seville and Rome--he had urged his listeners to use their distinctive power and influence as independent, international educators to advance…

Towards the end of the 19th century there was a revival of the struggle for democracy throughout the world. The formation of Australia as a federation embodied this commitment, a commitment subsequently abandoned. The impetus for public education in Australia came from its commitment to democracy, inspired by the British Idealists. If the people…