This study examines reform in the higher education sector in Mongolia in the first decade of its transition from a socialist, planned economy to a democratic and market-based society as well as its implications for the first decade of the new millennium. Mongolia, though not a Soviet republic, had a Russian-style education system. In order to…

Commemorative rituals consolidate solidarity by reaffirming one's secular faith and by enhancing emotional energy even without value consensus. Yet, state rituals, especially the ones organized by an authoritarian state, are usually shrugged off and mocked by its citizens. What made the state-sponsored national commemoration so effective? The…

This case study proposes a critical multicultural analysis of a Romanian language textbook used for instructing students in grades one and two in the Elementary Language International Program (ELIP) in Toronto public schools in Ontario, Canada. Based on an analysis developed from Fairclough and Parker's criteria, this paper determined stereotypes…

The forms of students' political participation in the administration of higher education in Spain have evolved throughout history. Spain has developed from a period characterised by the corporatist model of Sindicato Espanõl Universitario--as a single syndicate of students controlled by the Franco Regime--towards the emergence of a student…

Creativity can be applied to every domain of knowledge and must be seen as an important competence. Supporting social creativity across different domains and disciplines in learning communities is an important part of collaborative process in both university education and in the context of large-scale international projects. In this paper, we…

This review essay of "Producing Success: The Culture of Personal Advancement in an American High School" by Peter Demerath focuses on the theory of cultural dysfunction. It places the book within a theoretical tradition of social reproduction and status attainment using other ethnographies by Varenne and McDermott, Lareau, and Howard. It argues…

"Race Traitor", a movement founded by Noel Ignatiev and John Garvey, has been given a boost in recent months in three different arenas: the Occupy movement; an antiracist advertising campaign; and in an academic journal. With respect to the last, which is the main focus of this paper, Critical Race Theorists John Preston and Charlotte…

Increasing globalisation is concomitant with a growing lack of uniformity in the world. Hardly any satisfactory concepts are available which grasp both of these tendencies within the scope of a single model. While processes of becoming globally alike are central to world system theories, comparative research into institutions has identified a…

Meritocracy is a powerful ideology that was used by the Chinese Communist Party during China's transition to a market economy. With the "Gaokao" in particular, higher education selection became an ideal vehicle for the Party to associate itself with the ideology of meritocracy. This article investigates the extent to which higher…

During the Cold War over half a million Asians, Africans and Latin Americans studied and graduated in the Soviet Union's universities and technical schools as part of this country's educational aid policies. Cuba was an intermediary player in the Cold War geopolitical contest between the United States and the Soviet Union, fuelled by the…

In the era of knowledge capitalism, universities are consistently regarded as potential "engines" of capital accumulation and state prosperity. This article will argue that as regards their teaching and research functions--but with specific attention to the research function--universities can be seen to be enacting a type of neoliberal…

In the process of discussing the significant contributions that Len Barton has made to the sociology of education and to disability studies, I argue that a good deal of critical analyses of power and inequality in education are impoverished by some of their essentialist and reductive tendencies. I use an example taken from disability rights to…

This paper contributes to arguments for the potential of Giddens' structuration theory in educational research. It illustrates how "conceptual schemes" from structuration theory were applied to the author's empirical research on a type of alternative educational practice in India, "private school outreach". It shows how…

At the turn of the twentieth century, the presidents of Harvard University, Columbia University, and the University of Chicago issued declarations bolstering institutional resistance to attempts by external agencies to influence a faculty member's stance on issues of the day. The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) emerged some…

Demonstrating the multiple features of the Cerulean Gallery in Second Life, this research report showcases several exemplar exhibits created by students, artists, and museums. Located in The Educational Media Center, a Second Life teaching and social space, the Cerulean Gallery exhibits functioned as case studies that tested its effectiveness as…