Four examples show how academic freedom has come under heavy attack during the 20th century. Yet some scholars say they do not care about academic freedom. Perhaps the greatest danger to academic freedom does not come from scholars who advocate extreme views or assert their right to academic freedom, but from those who are apathetic or cowardly.…

Presents a poetic and metaphoric rendition of "data" collected by an Aboriginal faculty member exploring the usefulness of traditional knowledge and ceremony in contemporary Western university classrooms. Includes Elders' teachings and institutional and student responses related to the use of smudge in the classroom. (Author/SV)

In this essay the practical functions of the arts and crafts, in general, have been furnished as empty places into which specific practices can be put. The essay unfolds as two interlocking narratives. The first is the story of epistemological ambiguity inherent in the representation of knowledge. The second is the tale of political exclusion of…

The focus of this paper is the analysis of data from case studies of mentor meetings derived from an action research project on "The professional development of subject induction tutors". Developing practice as a reflective teacher involves both reflection and action and a reflective teacher compares a teaching and learning situation…

Can one be open-minded about a strongly held belief? I defend a reconciliation of the suggested conflict that turns on open-mindedness as an educational aim subordinate to the aim of knowledge, and as an attitude about one's beliefs (a second-order or meta-belief), not a weakened attitude toward a proposition believed. The reconciliation is…

Formal teacher leadership roles--such as coach and coordinator--have become a standard component of education reform efforts intended to support teachers' instructional improvement efforts. Yet the culture of schools is widely understood to favor autonomy and egalitarianism, suggesting that classroom teachers may be resistant to peer leadership.…

Despite the importance of job satisfaction, little research exists about this factor as it relates to teachers working in a school reform environment. This study addressed teacher characteristics, job dimensions, and work-related psychological states that predict public school teacher job satisfaction in a school reform state. Teachers (N = 578)…

The dialectical tension between the sacred and the secular has fostered fascinating historical discussions concerning the Catholic university in the United States. Scholars such as James Turner and Philip Gleason have offered a host of narratives that provide a context for other scholars seeking to philosophically define the aspirations that will…

This study investigates what teachers learn from a graduate-level course that prepares them to pursue an advanced form of professional teaching certification based on the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). The study draws from Habermas's (1972, 1974) three knowledge constitutive interests--the technical, the practical, and…

Most policymakers, charter school operators, and others immersed in the charter school movement since it began in the early 1990s have focused their attention primarily on charter schools, not on the public bodies that license these schools to operate. As the charter school movement has grown, there has been increasing recognition that effective…

The purpose of this article is to discuss strategies for the secondary, public school educators to implement postmodern thinking in the United States of America. Postmodernism is a set of strategic practices that erase limits or norms to abide by placed upon people in society. The time is now for educators to be recognizant of these changes.…

Purpose: The study seeks to examine the relationship between the implementation of the ISO 9000 quality management system and educational outcomes of schools, measured by student achievement on the state-mandated tests and school attendance rates--graduation rates, in the case of high schools. Design/methodology/approach: The study was conducted…

The word "teamwork" has become a favorite of corporate leaders; however, many employees view "teamwork" as a word devoid of meaning. Part of the problem is that "teamwork" has an entirely different meaning to people at various levels in an organization, and this prevents individuals and different departments within a company from moving forward…

The New Zealand education structures were reorganized on a national scale in the late 1980s. In 18 months, a 100-year-old education system was radically restructured to create new administrative structures, new career paths, and new professional expectations for personnel. This paper summarizes these structural changes, reviews research reports…

This paper presents findings of a study that examined the relationship between teacher control and school environment. Data were obtained from the nationally representative 1988 Schools and Staffing Survey, collected by the United States Department of Education. The sample consists of 24,480 secondary school teachers and 5,292 secondary school…