The visionary social struggle that resulted in the 1954 "Brown v. Board of Education" decision did not take into account the ways ideologically distorted knowledge sustains societal injustice, particularly academic and school knowledge about black history and culture. This delimited vision of equal justice raises a number of questions of…

Data from a survey of agricultural stakeholders are used to demonstrate that institutions and social capital play an important role in agricultural success in Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs). Protection of private property, freedom of exchange, consistency in monitoring environmental laws, governments that act neutrally and are not…

The death of famed educator Clark Kerr last December evoked tributes and testimonials everywhere from the "New York Times" to local faculty bulletins. Architect of California's famous Master Plan of 1960, skilled labor mediator, first president of the University of California system, bete noir of the early student movement, and chair of…

There is a revival of interest in Bourdieu's work and this article examines dominant trends within feminist re-engagements. It considers the insights into gender identity afforded by "habitus" and "social field", distinguishing between analyses of "gender habitus", and the potential of habitus and social field for feminist analysis of change.…

This article presents a dialogue with Paulo Freire, the most widely recognized and influential theorist and educator of critical pedagogy. He is perhaps best known for his literacy work in the decolonization process in a number of countries in South America and Africa, and for his first book, "Pedagogy of the Oppressed," published in…

This account of an academic lawsuit qualifies as a horror story. A mediocre minority student abuses civil rights and ADA protections to win a massive monetary award against his school on the flimsiest of evidence. Jaded lawyers for the state university represent powerless faculty defendants in court, torpidly allowing the jury to throw 50 years of…

In June 2005, the American Council on Education (ACE) and 27 other higher education organizations issued the Statement on Academic Rights and Responsibilities. The statement was a pragmatic response by the higher education establishment to the escalating challenge posed by its neo-conservative critics in general and their most ardent advocate,…

In academic settings, battling Internet threats and coming out unscathed is uncommon. Unfortunately, on many college campuses cyber-security concerns rarely extend beyond the IT staff and are addressed in a disparate, ad-hoc fashion. Yet, while many universities and large corporations were hit hard by the recent NetSky and Sasser worms, fewer than…

In this article, the author comments on the tension between patriotism and free inquiry, and appeals for a patriotism that allows people to think well of their country without suspending critical judgment. Patriotism does not imply automatic assent to the specific views and policies of the leaders of the regime to which one is loyal. To be topical…

In this article, the author discusses bell hooks' "Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom" in relation to transformational initiatives in urban high schools. As an external coach in schools and school districts, the author has been engaged the past few years in a variety of transformational initiatives, mostly in urban areas…

This essay examines the recent debate over the politics of American education, particularly the accusation of liberal bias by members of the Right such as David Horowitz and Students for Academic Freedom. It draws parallels between the contemporary movement for an "Academic Bill of Rights" and the historical context of the "Powell…

College administrators across the US are learning that chatter on e-mail, blogs, and social-networking sites can turn even minor faux pas into major controversies. The issue is discussed with reference to the firing of a teaching assistant whose Web site lampooned the president of Columbia College Chicago and left the institution facing serious…

Since the late 1990s, the Independent Women's Forum (IWF) has run two major campaigns on the campuses of American colleges and universities. One, entitled "Free Cupid!," attempts to combine gender egalitarianism with conservative notions of heterosexual romance. The second campaign, entitled "Top Ten Things Your Professors Do to Skew You, "…

Parents and taxpayers are frustrated by reports of students who have failed to master the reading, writing, and thinking skills they expect of college graduates. They are searching for evidence of how much or how little students learn at competing institutions. And they are wondering why a third of full-time college graduates don't finish a…

Missouri is the "Show Me" State. And with this goal in mind, the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) offers this report card to examine the state of higher education in Missouri. If the nation is to ensure its continued preeminence in higher education, policymakers, trustees, alumni, and taxpayers must know what is going on in…