This article presents elements of a capability perspective on impairment and disability and develops in connection with it a multidimensional and relational account of disability. It suggests how a capability perspective provides new and fundamental insights into the conceptualization of impairment and disability, and in doing this, resolves the…

Frank Callaway, the fourth Honorary President of ISME, was a New Zealander who contributed greatly to raising the profile of music education in both that country and Australia. His essentially democratic view of music education was moulded by his teaching experience at King Edward Technical College in Dunedin. At the University of Western…

In his Pulitzer Prize winning work, "Anti-intellectualism in American Life," Richard Hofstadter set out to trace the social movements that altered the role of intellect in society from a virtue to a vice. In so doing, he explored questions regarding the purpose of education and whether the democratization of education altered that…

This article examines the curricular constructions that influence our perceptions of learner "ability" within games education. Games education has both inherent and intrinsic value for learners, and within this context, teachers make important choices about what they believe will be of most value and interest for students. This in turn impacts the…

Educational leaders continually must be vigilant about their actions as they speak volumes about the values that the leader supports. It is impossible for an educational leader to take an action without generating some comment about how things should be done--which by definition is moral action. What's more, everyone is watching--especially the…

Mission transformation, multiplicity, and complexity are analyzed. The medieval university emphasizes "teaching." Thereafter, the early modern university adopts "nationalization" (service to the nation-state). The formative U.S. college advances "democratization." Simultaneously, the German university promotes research. The modern American…

Social studies is essential in elementary curriculum. It is the integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence. Within the school program, social studies provides coordinated, systematic study drawing upon such disciplines as anthropology, archaeology, economics, geography, history, law, psychology, religion,…

Perhaps no school reform has generated as much interest and controversy in recent years as the proposal to have parents select their children's schools. Opponents of school choice fear that rolling back the government's role will lead to profit-driven financial scandals, sectarianism, and increased class and racial isolation. School choice…

Lawrence Kohlberg, a psychologist, coined the term "Just Community" to describe a community built on trust and resolution, in which each member participates democratically in the development of the rules and regulations that govern their community life (Kohlberg, 1985). In a school, this means that students and teachers alike actively participate…

This study presents new findings comparing public and private high schools using top-quality data from the Education Longitudinal Study (ELS), a long-term research project sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. The ELS project tracks individual data on thousands of students, allowing researchers to conduct much better analyses than are…

This report describes a program designed to enhance social studies skills and knowledge. The target areas for enhancement are geography, economics, history, and core democratic values. The need for strengthening these skills was documented by literature, and surveys. An analysis of probable cause for lack of social studies skills revealed that…

There is an urgent need to build a movement for adult education in the United States. Tens of thousands more classes are needed to enable democratic participation in the economy and society. This dramatic expansion of adult education and literacy should be aimed at the development of critical consciousness and civic participation of over ninety…

Against the backdrop of growing conflicts in Israeli society and concerns about its democratic character, the current curriculum guidelines and official textbook for civic education in Israel were set to offer a more inclusive civic education that would stress ideas such as pluralistic and democratic citizenship. However, this curriculum does not…

This newsletter essay explores the conflicts between individual values and community values and efforts to resolve these conflicts under the U.S. Constitution. The paper includes five sections: (1) Introduction; (2) Value Conflicts and the Constitution; (3) Making Value Conflicts Relevant to Students; (4) For Example: The Indiana University…

When one instructor began to use cooperative learning groups as a main teaching strategy in teacher education courses, she designed a large group oral exam format to take the place of traditional paper-and-pencil testing. The group oral exam format reduced text anxiety as there was no right or wrong response; it drew on both the cognitive and…