Flourishing has become a popular ideal in the educational debate. Could flourishing guide meaningful choices in education? My skepticism rests on unclear definitions of flourishing, a hidden insistence of theories of flourishing on selfish and individualistic themes, and an elitist vision of flourishing as the consequence of favorable conditions.…

This paper seeks to further develop and refine a theory of the ways in which artefacts created by humans direct and deflect the attention of groups and individuals as they act in specific institutional settings. It draws on the writings of Basil Bernstein and Lev Vygotsky. These are two bodies of theory that have strengths which, to some extent,…

This article demonstrates how Bourdieu's field theory can be used to systematise ethnographic insights, establishing and validating connections between the micro-level of participants' experiences and macro-level contexts, whilst complementing and facilitating the reflexivity that has long been part of ethnographic traditions. Combining an…

This investigation of translanguaging is grounded upon the ubiquitous theme of "structures" explicitly and implicitly found in the translanguaging literature. Through this theme, this paper begins by providing a novel theoretical framework followed by considering the need for translanguaging (e.g., education's growth of multilingualism;…

This paper argues that educational policies and changes in Wales over the last thirty years have somewhat neglected issues concerned with management and leadership, in comparison with other countries and within the UK. More recently, however, leadership development has been provided and the Welsh National Academy for Educational Leadership has…

Whilst the faculties of literacy and numeracy are rightly recognised as worthy of pedagogical nurturing, this article champions a more venerable articulacy -- "visualcy" -- crucial to a healthy culture, arguing that the one domain of human inquiry which distinguishes the visual arts from other disciplines is surely that surrounding the…

In this article, David I. Backer introduces the politics of recitation as a third realm for research on recitation pedagogy, in addition to process and product. Recitation is the pattern of classroom talk where a teacher asks a question, a student responds to the question, and the teacher evaluates the response. Research on classroom talk shows…

Multicultural education is thought to consist of five dimensions: content integration, the knowledge-construction process, prejudice reduction, equity pedagogy, and an empowering school culture and social structure. Of the five, equity pedagogy is identified as an essential element by leading scholars in the field. Can equity pedagogy alone create…

This article examines shifts in the meaning and relevance of institutionalised knowledge about social inequalities as it circulates globally. In so doing, it contributes to research critiquing an unequal geopolitics of knowledge that grants greatest authority to theories produced in the global north (Connell, 2007; Mignolo, 2003). I discuss the…

The aim of this paper was to critically review existing literature relating to, and critically analyse current conceptualisations of, "coaching philosophy." The review reveals a bewildering approach to definitions, terms and frameworks that have limited explanation and reveal a lack of conceptual clarity. It is argued that rather than…

Mathematics education needs a better appreciation of the dominant power structures in the educational field: Bourdieu's theory of capital provides a good starting point. We argue from Bourdieu's perspective that school mathematics provides capital that is finely tuned to generationally reproduce the social structures that serve to keep the…

In this paper, I examine the teaching of language and culture and in particular the use of songs as curriculum in two London Turkish complementary schools. Drawing on a series of interconnected classroom vignettes, I look at how children weave together their semiotic resources to negotiate and transform two songs and the talk and action around…

Educational discourse, like other fields, is not neutral. Through policy documents it has ideological functions of transmitting dominant cultures and serving certain sectional interest groups. In Zimbabwe 1998 was characterized by radical political discontent as witnessed by a rise in student activism and the formation of the main political…

The authors describe a pedagogical exercise that conveys the multilayered properties of gender to undergraduate students. They propose a simulation that demonstrates the social constructiveness of gender, maintaining that gender should be conceptualized and portrayed as a process, system of stratification, and social structure. The authors begin…

This article introduces a sociology role-playing game (RPG) used to demonstrate the broad range of social forces, institutions, and structures in a semester-long series of in-class and homework assignments. RPGs and other simulation games have been frequently suggested as a useful teaching methodology because of their unique ability to allow…