In a warmly received address to Roman Catholic educators, including 200 college presidents, in April, Pope Benedict XVI expressed his "profound gratitude" for the educators' "selfless contributions," which "serve both your country and the church." Pope Benedict's talk also built an intellectual case for academic freedom that is based on a bedrock…

This study investigates how evolution versus intelligent design is handled in the public, private Christian, private Jewish, and Christian Home-school K-12 settings through a review of the current literature and by interviewing teachers in these educational venues. Fourteen public, private, and homeschool educators responded to an interview…

On February 6, 2009, the president of Clark Atlanta University, an historically black institution in Atlanta, Georgia, terminated 55 full-time faculty members without notice. Many of these faculty members had tenure. These individuals, some of whom had worked at the university for over 15 years while making $45,000 a year as associate professors…

Over the past few decades, America's social compact for higher education as a public good has effectively lapsed as government support of higher education has diminished. Given the need for a highly educated workforce in today's knowledge-based global economy, we propose a new compact for higher education that couples increased funding with…

This article investigates some issues related to gender and education based on a qualitative, empirical study of women in higher education in the Toliara region of Madagascar. The focus is on how women's participation in higher education has created changes in gender relations, and how these women have succeeded in achieving higher education. In…

Censorship is a complex question. Studies show a number of reasons teachers refrain from teaching controversial issues. These include: (1) The general "chilling effects" in school and community contexts, characterized by fear of reprisal; (2) Standards and high stakes testing; (3) Insufficient teacher preparation to teach about…

The new Social Studies curriculum recently introduced in Alberta proposes to encourage students to affirm their place as citizens in a democratic society. Grounded in Biesta's (2007) argument that regardless of a Program of Studies' best stated goals and intentions, if a school is not structured democratically the chances of the program being…

This paper is a reflection, on the 10th anniversary of a great work of art. After reviewing some of the global impacts of the Wachowski brothers' highly acclaimed action sci-fi film "The Matrix" (1999-2003), I present a case for the use of the film in critical theory and pedagogy and it's apparent un-interest to such theorists and pedagogues.…

In the author's early days of school librarianship, it did not take long for him to realize that this was not the time to first think of how to involve parents in support of his selections for the library. A lot of good advice exists that suggests ways for parents to be involved that will help support intellectual freedom, as well as lessons…

The controversy involving the challenge and possible banning of books has existed since the first person set pen to paper. These challenges have historically been based upon political and religious differences, but as time has passed, have become increasingly more to do with sex, race and culture. With these issues facing libraries, the role of…

One of the most common proposals put forth for reform of the American system of education is to require school uniforms. Proponents argue that uniforms can make schools safer and also improve school attendance and increase student achievement. Opponents contend that uniforms have not been proven to work and may be an infringement on the freedom of…

This paper examines the compliance of universities in the European Union with the UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher-Education Teaching Personnel, which deals primarily with protection for academic freedom. The paper briefly surveys the European genesis of the modern research university and academic freedom, before evaluating…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore a framework for considering moral K-12 instructional technology. It seeks to examine the extent that development of technology policies consider and respect affected parties interests. Design/methodology/approach: Interpreting morality as an economic concept that involves a reconciliation of…

This paper describes the ways in which administrative structures of the state, techniques of self-government, and practices of social relations exist within HIV/AIDS curricular discourses, a critique enabled by a Foucauldian analytical frame. We argue that youth have been singled out as a particularly risky lot and are therefore prime candidates…

This case study focuses on issues of freedom of speech and freedom of religion in public schools. It involves a rural, southern high school where a group of students participated in a Day of Silence. The school allowed the students to participate based on the principal's understanding of the students' First Amendment rights. However, the next day,…