This paper explores the intricate relationship between sociocultural dynamics and human rights in multicultural societies. It examines how norms, belief systems, and power structures shape the perception and exercise of these universal principles. The study employs a qualitative research design, specifically using the Cultural Relativism…

A prominent feature of the Black Lives Matter protests following the murder of George Floyd has been the renewed call for schools to become antiracist. What can be learnt from past unsuccessful attempts to implement antiracist education? Specific critiques of the antiracist movement made by prominent academics such as Paul Gilroy are worth…

Purpose: Both Hong Kong and Singapore leverage teacher collaboration to improve student learning, but state reforms differ in how teacher collaborative capabilities are prioritized. This paper provides a nuanced comparison of Hong Kong and Singapore teachers' values (risk-taking, power distance and uncertainty avoidance) to develop insights into…

This paper theorizes curriculum through the lens of power, the operation and embodiment of which we suggest is poorly understood in American education and society. We analyze curriculum as a form of governmental rationalization through which students and educators embody institutional practices and values. Through Foucault's analysis of resistance…

In Ireland primary RE is a fractured, contested, complex and changing territory devoid of a common language and characterised by a proliferation of syllabi and curricula generated for increasingly diverse school types. For centuries the dynamic decolonising process has led to a questioning of former orthodoxies and an attempted de-linking of the…

This paper examines the factors shaping teacher-student power relations, based on observations, interviews and document analysis from a Hong Kong study. It identifies and examines six factors: China's traditional culture of respect, examination-oriented teaching and religious culture were found to encourage imbalanced teacher-student power…

This study comprises a comprehensive attempt to reveal the power relations and conflicting interests within the local-global nexus of the Israeli public education system. The perceptions of different stakeholders were explored, in regard to the implementation of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program as an example of a globally oriented…

In Asia, we are witnessing an era where the pendulum of power is swaying towards the East with the rising economic strength of China and India. Singapore is at the "crossroads" between the East and West of these most populous nations on earth. Although Singapore may appear the most Westernised country in Asia, she is nevertheless a…

The purpose of this article is, first, to describe Sami children's education and its status in the Finnish education system and, secondly, to contemplate its development in Finland. The core of the article is intertwined with issues concerning the status, language, and culture of indigenous peoples. According to the article, the western school…

Educators and policy makers confront challenging questions of ethics, justice, and equity on a regular basis. Should teachers retain a struggling student if it means she will most certainly drop out? Should an assignment plan favor middle-class families if it means strengthening the school system for all? These everyday dilemmas are both utterly…

Students' relationships with authority and information are changing rapidly, and this presents a new set of interpersonal boundary challenges for faculty. The topic of setting boundaries often conjures up thoughts of how to protect oneself. The intent of this chapter is to explore how good rapport between teacher and student can be developed and…

The main goal of this study is to examine the politics of the development of intercultural education policy in Cyprus. More specifically, it examines the content of intercultural policies developed by the state and particularly the Ministry of Education and Culture. In addition, the study focuses on the challenges that may impede the development…

Underdeveloped countries will be agreeable toward externally imposed social and educational change if their relations with the country initiating the changes are good. However, if hostility toward the greater power exists, the leaders of these countries will resist any attempts to remold their societies. (CK)

Schools are political in that they are creatures of the state and are supported by tax monies. Political pressure is applied from groups of local citizens and local chapters of national pressure groups. Many argue that the real locus of power affecting schools rests in the power structure of the community. The type of power structure may be…

Examines a list of nine awarenesses, or recognitions, that must undergird any search or realistic hope for confident education, which has two dimensions: sound and effective education and the way people feel about that education. (Author/IRT)