A number of U.S. institutions of higher education are considering multiyear extensions of the widely accepted seven-year maximum probationary period for all tenure-track faculty. Such a substantial extension is to be distinguished from, and exists in addition to, the ad hoc short-term extensions that many institutions may now grant to individual…

History courses at The University of Auckland are typically assessed at two or three moments during a semester. The methods used normally employ two essays and a written examination answering questions set by the lecturer. This study describes an assessment innovation in 2008 that expanded both the frequency and variety of activities completed by…

This paper discusses the results of a study that focused on the perceived preparedness of recent graduates. Fifty-five St. John's University MLS students surveyed 348 practitioners in public libraries (181) and school libraries (167) concerning perceived preparedness of recent MLS graduates for the realities of working in libraries. The overriding…

The First Amendment to the Constitution is a cornerstone of American democracy and students, like all members of the nation, are entitled to its protections. This study investigates the level of knowledge of students' First Amendment rights among secondary preservice teachers in various disciplines and their confidence in dealing with First…

From 1909 to 1910, the public performance of soap-box oratory began to effect dramatic changes in the composition of migrant workers throughout the Pacific Northwest. Municipal authorities in Spokane attempted to curb the formation of a union of hobo orators by outlawing public speech-making within the city fire limits. The ensuing confrontation…

Interdisciplinary projects offer a strategy for German programs to become more visible and valued in the university context. Freedom Without Walls at Chapman University offers a case study of a project that situates the German program within an institution's larger goals. When building a project, the German program should look first to existing…

Managers and personnel within tertiary institutions colonised by neo-liberal ministrations and buffeted by the winds of a "change culture" formed within the philosophical shifts of the last century can be considered in terms of "immigrants" or "refugees" within this new territory. The case story of this article is set…

Placement providers can be successfully involved in assessing students. This is demonstrated in the Monash University Faculty of Information Technology Cooperative Education Program. Students are thoroughly prepared for their placements and industry supervisors receive written assessment guidelines. Not one student has been awarded a pass grade by…

In 2005, a group of concerned parents who had arrived in the United States as refugees from war-torn Somalia received approval from their local school district to establish the Iftin Charter School (ICS). The K-8 school continues to engender hope and intellectual strength in its students and parents. ICS finds itself uniquely equipped to meet the…

While the spectacle of book burnings in Nazi Germany was something that most Americans recoiled from in the 1930s, by the end of the decade, on the eve of America's entry into the Second World War, the symbolic power of destroying books by fire was unfortunately something that certain Americans were not above seizing upon. In the 1930s and 1940s,…

The principle, in the author's mind, is simple enough--to allow expression on campus when it is not hateful or defamatory or threatening, and to encourage it when it is civil and open-minded and of probable interest to some members of the community. The devil lies in the practice. In this article, the author discusses various issues that have…

If we ever hope to have schools that are engaging and that truly embody democracy, then the classes within them must provide opportunities for students to experience autonomy, freedom, and choice in what is studied, when, and how. This article explores both the historical and theoretical framework of democratic freedom-based education and the…

This paper presents the annual report of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) for 2010. FIRE's approach in 2010 was centered on altering the incentive structure for universities by using both "carrots" and "sticks" to produce positive reforms and long-term results. These efforts gained significant force in September, when FIRE…

In "Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District", the Supreme Court ruled that students have speech rights in the school environment unless the speech causes or is likely to cause (1) a substantial disruption, or (2) interferes with the rights of others. The Supreme Court has yet to hear a case involving school officials' authority…

University faculty is typically evaluated on their teaching, service and scholarship. Recent literature, faculty comment and legal rulings have called for the inclusion of collegiality as a fourth evaluation category. Collegiality may be thought of as any extra-role behaviour that represents individuals' behaviour that is discretionary, not…