Observes that the first Congress, 1789 to 1791, was the most important in American history. Discusses the role of individual congressional members, including Oliver Ellsworth, Richard Henry Lee, William Maclay, Fisher Ames, Daniel Carroll, Thomas Fitzsimmons, James Jackson, and James Madison. Suggests that these congressman can stimulate student…

Understanding multiple perspectives--how different people see one another and events now and in the past--is often cited as a goal of social studies educators. This article describes one way to encourage children to consider a variety of perspectives on a person's life story, using a literary model as a guide to thinking about the past. The book…

Work-related self-identities are central to middle leaders' work. Their development takes place in social, policy and personal contexts. At the core of middle leaders' work-related identities lie values that guide how they interact with colleagues, students and senior management staff when trying to shape and implement departmental and school…

Based on life story interviews with five women teachers, the current paper provides insight into the relationship between externally mandated change and teachers' self-renewal, as well as into the context facilitating this kind of association. Interestingly, the decision of the Ministry of Education to modify the teachers' area of teaching was…

This two-year ethnographic study examines the life stories of Muslim women holding mid- and high-level leadership positions in Israeli-Arab segregated schools. The women emerged from their gendered and ethnic/nationality oppression as pathfinders with strong ambitions to further their education and careers. Using strategies that entailed the…

Histories of three nineteenth-century women, a landed Californiana, a soldier's wife and an indigenous woman who lived in northern Alta California prior to the U.S. invasion is presented using census records, newspapers, oral histories and stories. Their lives in relation to each other and in relation to the larger social-economic order at the…

Authors, scientists, mathematicians, newsmakers, pop culture icons, these are the people who are frequently the subject of the infamous "biography reports." Students tend to search for biographical information about individuals who have achieved some degree of distinction (or perhaps notoriety) during their lifetime However. it is important to…

Given the prominence in Victorian society of some of William George Spencer's pupils, his development of an extended curriculum for both sexes, and the fact that his textbook on inventional geometry was considered to be the most Pestalozzian published in England, he remains a remarkably undervalued figure in the history of education. Despite a…

Presents background information on the artist Ginny Ruffner who was a "flameworker." Includes information on the exhibition entitled "Creativity: The Flowering Tornado, Art by Ginny Ruffner" and the accompanying art pop-up book. Provides photographs of some of her artwork. (CMK)

What would prompt a primary school teacher in late career and from the Australian cultural mainstream to become interested in the societies and cultures of Asia and then to expand that interest into a personal and professional life focus? Through a life history approach, this paper recounts a teacher's journey from childhood, to becoming and…

Adventurous activities are growing in popularity as a form of leisure and recreation, yet many non-participants find it difficult to understand what motivates people to seek out situations in which there is an element of danger and risk. This research examines the meanings of long-term participation in outdoor adventure for women working in…

This paper concerns the experiences and effects of a tertiary entrance program from two perspectives: that of a former student now engaged in her Honours program and of her enabling lecturer. The main aim of the paper is to present a literature review of published studies about mature women's engagement with tertiary study at the entry level. The…

Contemporary African American social work pioneers are important sources of information; yet, knowledge about these scholars is not readily available and their perspectives have not been uncovered. This manuscript reports on four life story interviews conducted with such pioneers in an effort to profile them and share their collective…

G. Stanley Hall (1844-1924), founding president of Clark University, was a leader in the child study movement and a significant figure in psychology and education in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Hall had pronounced opinions on many educational subjects, including the teaching of geography. His criticisms and program for the…

This article challenges the assumption that the canon of memory means memorization and transcription, and, as a result, has little relevance for the writing classroom. An examination of the canon's historical legacy and its relationships to literacy and invention open a space for redefining the canon of memory as "rememoried knowing." In brief,…