This article discusses the rich cultural resources embedded with German hip-hop music and its potential impact on the foreign language classroom. In particular, this article suggests methods and materials for integrating German hip-hop music in the discussion of recent controversial cultural events and attitudes in German after the "Wende."

The theory of evolution by natural selection is contrasted in the media, and in some schools, with creationist ideas, in which the diversity of life on Earth is said to be the result of direct species-by-species creation, not of evolution. More recently, the Intelligent Design movement has claimed that "certain features of the universe and of…

This paper discusses some traditional approaches to the teaching of evolutionary theory at pre-university level, criticising in particular some of the more commonly used models and exemplars. Curricular demands are described and an alternative approach is suggested, using the emerging story of human evolution. Recent discoveries help to illustrate…

The mass media contribution to education politics is explored through the application of a pluralistic theoretical framework to evidence connected with the making of an episode of a U.K. current affairs television program. The episode addressed a politically contentious educational issue but proved controversial in itself. Several sources…

An evaluation of the Pride & Prejudice program, which ran in three Tasmanian schools in 2006, suggests that students who completed the program had more positive attitudes towards gay men and lesbians. This finding parallels an earlier evaluation of the same anti-homophobia program undertaken in Victoria. The evaluation leads to a discussion…

On various campuses, including the author's, "safe space" stickers are used to designate offices supposedly free of homophobia. The author critiques this practice, pointing out that it still privileges the white heterosexual subject while also obscuring connections between sexuality, gender, and race. (Contains 10 notes.)

The Chinese Communist Party has invoked the Faure report as part of a large-scale learning initiative involving 61 cities and numerous streets, neighbourhoods and villages. By embracing western ideas and infusing them with Chinese characteristics, the Central School of the Communist Party has embarked on what looks increasingly like the 5th…

"The Laramie Project" is a play based on a collection of interviews with the community members of Laramie, Wyoming, where Mathew Shepard, a 21-year-old university student, was murdered. The idea for the play originated with a theatre group, The Tectonic Theater Project, which devoted 2 years to this project, conducting over 200 interviews. This…

Science centres aim to present science in ways that will attract visitors and enhance public interest in, and knowledge of, science. But what images and different aspects of science are visitors confronted with at Nordic science centres? This study aims to explore the different aspects of science that are displayed and the ways in which these…

ICT tools have been developed to facilitate web-based learning through and learning about argumentation. In this paper we will present an example of a learning activity mediated by Digalo--software for knowledge sharing through visually supported discussion--developed in a university setting. Our aim is to examine, in particular, socio-cognitive…

Literacy educators are troubled by the isolated nature of many contemporary reading programs. Too often in middle school classrooms, students read alone, take computerized tests, and do not engage in authentic dialogue with peers. In this article, the authors argue that reading texts individually, while necessary, is not sufficient, and through…

This article introduces a conceptual framework for thinking about the development of anti-homophobia education in teacher education and schooling contexts. We bring the safe, positive, and queering moments framework to bear on three distinct anti-homophobia education practices: coming out stories, homophobic name-calling analysis, and Pride Week…

This paper describes the development of augmented group awareness tools that take mutual user ratings of their online discussion contributions as input, aggregate these data, and visually feed these data back to the members in real time, thereby informing participants about how the group as a whole perceives their contributions. A specific group…

In this essay, the author draws on her experience as a minority teacher conducting a course called "Neighborhood, Community, and Identity" to outline some important lessons for minority teachers attempting to teach diversity: (1) When teaching dissident material, it is especially important to create a classroom climate that encourages all students…

Education is the first step toward making changes in habits and practices that are currently threatening the environment. Across the country, evidence is abundant that people are willing to change their habits once they understand the consequences of their choices. Greater numbers of communities are instituting recycling programs. This book is…