Education in the west has become a very "knowing" business in which students are encouraged to cultivate self-awareness and meta-cognitive skills in pursuit of a kind of perfection. The result is the evasion of contingency and of the consciousness of human finitude. The neo-liberalism that makes education a market good exacerbates this. These…

This article combines discussions of the politics of education with personal story telling to remind us why the continuing struggle over schooling--over what is and is not taught, over how it is taught and evaluated, over how students with different characteristics are treated, over how teachers and other school employees are respectfully dealt…

Following the 2005 London bombings, there is widespread public debate about diversity, integration, and multiculturalism in Britain, including the role of education in promoting national identity and citizenship. In response to official concerns about terrorism, a review panel was invited to consider how ethnic, religious and cultural diversity…

This article considers social and educational policy responses to increasing ethnic diversity in the Republic of Ireland and related concerns about the intensification of racism in Irish society in the "Celtic Tiger" era. Drawing on approaches which emphasise the extent to which discourses on "race" and multiculturalism are…

"A Crisis of Legitimacy" is a unique comparative examination of the question of legitimate rule, as observed through Shakespeare's "Richard II" and the contemporary presidencies of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Largely pedagogical, this article is the result of an active learning exercise, whereby students in a "Politics and Literature" course…

In September 1999, Donald J. and Catherine Willower established the Willower Family Lecture Series as a way to add to the intellectual climate of the University at Buffalo-State University of New York (UB), while enhancing the reputation of its Graduate School of Education (GSE). This lecture series resides in UB's Department of Educational…

The 2008 presidential election stands as a "change" election. The public's anxiety over the challenges globalization poses to the future of the American Dream is driving a desire for the country to change direction. The American people understand that what will give the nation a competitive advantage in a global marketplace are the…

Democratizing educational systems within the unstable economic and political contexts of post-communist settings became an issue of stability in the region. Recent events connected with the 2004 presidential election in Ukraine sent a message to the world about people's will for a future committed to freedom, democracy and the rule of law. There…

Against a formidable national discourse that emphasizes academic standardization, accountability, and high-stakes testing in educational policy, "Character and Moral Education: A Reader" seeks to re-introduce and revive the moral mission of education in public conversation and practices in America's schools. With contributions from a…

The book aims to change the conversation about sexuality education for adolescents, making it consistent with a democratic cultural politics that is attuned to changes in youth and popular culture. Traditional sex education is nearly obsolete; sexuality curriculum is now primarily learned through popular culture and youth culture, which teach…

Citizenship is an important part of the development of young people. By enabling them to learn about their rights and responsibilities, to understand how society works, and develop knowledge and understanding of social and political issues, citizenship prepares them for dealing with the challenges they face in life. Through citizenship, young…

This paper, drawn from a book in progress, summarizes evidence of a "civic achievement gap" between non-white, poor, and/or immigrant youth, on the one hand, and white, wealthier, and/or native-born youth, on the other. Young people (and adults) in the former group demonstrate consistently lower levels of civic and political knowledge, skills,…

The article profiles Native Americans in the United States who own their own businesses. Kim Johnson, a member of the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes, owns KC's Oil and Lube, a business on the Fort Peck Reservation in Montana. Johnson spoke to a business teacher at the "tribal college", received a scholarship, and took several…

Participants in the public discourse pertaining to religious education and education for citizenship in English schools between 1934 and 1944 included many "Christian educationists". They advocated a conservative and elitist form of education for citizenship as taught through indirect training, Arnoldian public school traditions and…

In this article, the author provides an overview of teaching and learning activities that combine both historical and civics instruction with the study of technology, in line with NCSS thematic strand "Science, Technology, and Society." Specifically, these integrative teaching activities focus on Lowell Mill and Ralph Waldo Emerson, within the…