For activists, scholars, and thinkers, the current state of our hyperpolitical global landscape can be daunting, especially as we consider engaging and responding to the growing political vitriol and hyperbole of our times. Over the past few years, I have wondered a great deal about how to sustain idealism during troubled times in a field such as…

Europe is often characterized as being divided into four blocks of countries with their own distinct cultural, historical, political, and economic characteristics. The geopolitical diversity within the EU is also recognized in a wide variety of different traditions for ECEC and upbringing of children. Nowadays, new reforms and policy initiatives…

This paper draws on the concept of affective atmospheres to theorize how democracy and democratic education take hold and circulate in classrooms and schools. The paper asks under which circumstances affective atmospheres are experienced or even 'engineered', encompassing affective and material features that (de)legitimate democracy, democratic…

This study focuses on how four U.S. History textbooks portrayed the COVID-19 pandemic as a recent historical event. The findings from the study suggest that the textbooks provided a disjointed narrative that did not fully explain aspects of the pandemic, such as why COVID-19 caused so much societal upheaval. The textbooks also often dodged…

This article critically engages with Philip Pettit's civic republican theory, particularly his account of what it takes to realize non-domination in society. Despite providing a comprehensive analysis of the institutional prerequisites for realizing non-domination, Pettit surprisingly overlooks the critical role of education in achieving this…

This paper expands the political liberal case for 'education for justice' to include climate justice education. It begins with the case for empowering and motivating learners to promote institutions for basic global and institutional justice. Beyond this, three challenges emerge. Firstly, the political liberal model is premised on free and equal…

This article summarises a storytelling process used to obtain data from five anonymised teachers as part of a doctoral thesis. The small story and story completion approach was used to gain insight into how teachers reconciled refugee/asylum seeker policies with inclusive practice. The process proved a useful way of enabling teachers to consider a…

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the ensuring culture wars, the American school choice coalition has almost completely unraveled, but many school choice advocates assert that the coalition can be rebuilt. In this essay, I argue that the school choice coalition dissolved not because of politics or circumstance, but because the…

This paper re-examines the assertion that neoliberal and neoconservative discourses are necessarily aligned in framing education policy in the context of the school curriculum. We approach our task using evidence of private sector influence on the school curriculum. The financial sector has become emblematic of neoliberal influence on political…

Populists employ truth as a tool for aligning the people against the elite. Citizenship education rarely takes up critiques of liberal democracy, discussions of populism, or conversations about what truth is. This paper provides an alternative pragmatist vision of truth that builds on the populist call for democracy to better reflect the will of…

While education has historically enjoyed widespread bipartisan support, the aftermath of the pandemic, among other factors, has dramatically reshaped the field's political climate. This transformation, marked by increasing political tensions that impact students, schools and teachers, signifies a shift away from traditional educational policy…

In California and other states, neo-Marxist ideologues are using "ethnic studies" as a Trojan horse to indoctrinate students in a divisive ideology. The author asserts that state and district policymakers must not permit this enterprise to take root and that merely saying no is not enough; the best defense is a good offense. New…

Spain's greatest modern philosopher, José Ortega y Gasset (1883-1955), wrote about many aspects of education including its aims; the education of children, nations, and elites; types of pedagogy; the reform of the university; and the challenges facing educators in an era of "triumphant plebeianism." The article examines all aspects of…

The link between higher education and participation in and attitudes toward democracy is well-documented in the literature. Those with a college degree are more likely to vote, more civically active, and politically knowledgeable. They are also less likely to favor authoritarian political stances. While the aspects of higher education--whether…

Creating inclusive and supportive environments in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) educational settings are important tools for countering racially hostile academic spaces and attracting and retaining talented Black and African American students. STEM faculty and other university members may display Black Lives Matter and…