The notion of the common good underlies much policy making in geography. There are two reasons for evaluating geography's impact on the common good for the university curriculum. First, by working within the various theoretical paradigms that have influenced policy, students will learn to argue from different perspectives such as social democracy…

According to Karl Popper's critical rationalism, criticism is the only way we have of systematically detecting and learning from our mistakes so as to get nearer to the truth. Meanwhile, it is arguable that the emphasis of Confucianism on creating a hierarchical and harmonious society can easily lead to submission rather than opposition, producing…

The concept of citizenship is mainly viewed as a Western construct. This article argues an understanding of citizenship education in China not only simply as a grounding in schooling and procedural knowledge of systems of Chinese government but, more broadly, whether in schools or society, whether in China or overseas, that develops dispositions,…

The aim of this article is to present two different roles of the state affecting individuals' religiosity. First, we provide evidence for the effectiveness of socialist regimes in influencing citizens' opinions by comparing religious beliefs among several generations of Eastern Europeans. Second, the article explores whether the democratization…

This article examines the pedagogical dimension of vospitanie, or character formation, in communist and post-communist education. It explores how vospitanie is conceptualized in two teacher-education textbooks--one from each period--in Ukraine, a post-Soviet country. Comparative analysis shows how conceptualizations of vospitanie have evolved over…

Families and schools are traditionally seen as substantial socialization agents forming adolescents' social values and their views of society. Special attention is paid to the question whether the relative importance of these influences remains stable in times of major social changes. In this study, two different generations of Czech middle…

This study focuses on institutional barriers that adult learners experience while participating in higher education programmes. We developed a holistic measure of diversification, accessibility, flexibility and affordability of higher education for adults. Based on pre-economic-crisis data across Europe we then explored the impact of macro-level…

Numerous studies have highlighted a clear civic achievement gap between students from different ethnic and economic backgrounds in countries such as Singapore and the United States. Concurrently, researchers from both countries have noted that access to government and civics classes and curricula differs considerably across and within schools and…

Elite boarding schools endeavor to instill in their students elite-class solidarity, strong beliefs in both meritocracy and the essential rightness of the status quo, and practical political know-how. Each of these objectives is wholly compatible with the self-interest of their students and their families. In the vast majority of working-class…

This cross-national investigation examines hypotheses derived from two major alternative perspectives on the determinants of trust in contemporary societies. Is a society's level of generalized trust a function of its ethnic composition, or of its type of governance and political system? The argument that social diversity (ethnic, linguistic, and…

As international relationships become increasingly important (with both friendly and not-so-friendly governments), the author believes that it is important for U.S. students to learn about how a parliamentary democracy works--how it is similar, but different from a presidential-style government. Learning about the systems of government of other…

In Germany, unlike other European countries, citizenship education has a long history. Since the Second World War, its role has evolved from promoting de-Nazification in the West and state socialism in the East to emphasising common citizenship in a multicultural society. Today, the federal states ("Bundeslander") are largely autonomous…

School relationships have been shown to significantly influence educational experiences and outcomes. However, the social and cultural factors that shape relationships at school and the ways that future teachers are being prepared to participate in these relationships are still under researched, especially in post-communist countries. This study…

The 1999 International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) Civic Education Study revealed that most countries having recently undergone political and social transformations had lower civic knowledge scores than more stable nations. However, Poland, which instituted policies aimed at educating citizens for democratic…

The paper looks at the process of democratisation in Cameroon and its failure to respond to the basic tenets of democracy that meets the aspirations of the people. It argues that though there have been some quasi moves following the collapse of the Soviet Union in trying to open the political space, this has been done to meet donors wish and not…