Background/Context: This article calls attention to the restrictive notions of inclusive education promulgated within the discourse of special education in the United States and asserts the value of using disability studies in education to support broader conceptualizations of inclusion that potentially incorporate all students.…

"The Montessori Observer" is mailed four times each year, in March, May, September and November, to Society members throughout the world. The purpose is to provide news and information about the Society's work in Montessori education, and to extend awareness of Montessori principles throughout the world. This issue contains a feature…

Purpose: The aim of this article is to examine the empirical literature on irrationality and identify a set of concepts to help administrators cope with irrationality in decision making. Design/methodology/approach: This analysis is a synthesis of the selected research literature on irrationality. Findings: A set of seven concepts and propositions…

In this paper we describe a UK-based participatory action research project that looks beyond the discourse of tolerance to investigate and challenge heteronormative processes in primary schools through reflective action research. This 28-month ESRC-funded project supports 15 primary teachers working in schools in three regions of the UK to develop…

This contribution provides an "outside" commentary on several of the articles provided in this special issue on environmental education and education in the context of sustainability in Denmark and Sweden. Although there is no uniform position or shared single outlook expressed in the articles in this special issue, there are some…

In this essay, Naomi Hodgson reconsiders the value of Michel Foucault's normalization thesis to the study of educationalization in relation to contemporary educational policy and research. Hodgson begins by analyzing educational researchers' response to the recent introduction of citizenship education in England, focusing specifically on a review…

This article aims to contribute to the debate about the moral and ethical aspects of education for sustainable development by suggesting a clarification of ethics and morals through an investigation of how these aspects appear in educational practice. The ambition is both to point to the normative dangers of education for sustainable development…

Given the need to compete for sponsored research funding, do university faculty believe they retain the freedom to research what is of most interest to them? The higher education literature frequently asserts that faculty research agendas are being subjugated to the demands of sponsors. An alternate perspective, from the science studies…

While not representative of all students, those who demonstrate a sense of entitlement demand a great deal of instructors' time and energy. Our article places student entitlement in its social context, with specific attention to the prevalence of the consumer mentality, grade inflation, and the self-esteem of the student generation. We then…

Article argues that a prime educational goal should be to promote abstract virtues of loyalty and courage in the student, and describes the pitfalls involved in trying to do this. (MM)

Educators' overly romantic view of children has led them to underestimate their students, expect too little, and set aside their critical judgment. Instead, educators should act as adults toward children, by setting and enforcing standards, fitting praise to the level of performance, establishing discipline, and transmitting values. (Author/RW)

For the benefit of policy makers who envision a change in the controls placed on student examining, a case study is presented of an institution that has not attempted an honor system and that has not seen a noticeable decline in courses with formal examinations. Procedures at Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences are described. (LBH)

A system of appraising teachers that is acceptable to the teaching profession, the public, and school management is needed. To meet this need, Project D developed a diagnostic system of appraisal whose aim was to pinpoint areas in which teachers might reasonably be expected to improve their performance. The procedures adopted included the…

One of the great challenges facing Christian higher education is the role and impact of student behavior codes in furthering institutional values and inculcating those values in the students served by such institutions. The perspectives of administrators, faculty members, and students regarding the rationale for codes of conduct at their…

For good citizenship men and women must not only have good will but an abiding interest in the welfare of the community. They must also have a working knowledge of social agencies, good judgment as to methods of social activities, and a more or less comprehensive understanding of fundamental principles of social life and progress. Much can be done…