Provides a lesson that enables students to explore the idea of historic sites as contested symbols and the meanings of liberty. Presents background information on the Lexington Common (or Green) as an historic site that has been utilized as a forum of political expression. Includes three lessons and copies of primary sources. (CMK)

Discussion of privacy focuses on digital environments and a more inclusive understanding of privacy. Highlights include legal and policy conceptions; legislation protecting privacy; relevant Supreme Court cases; torts and privacy; European and other efforts; surveillance and social control; information entrepreneurialism; Jurgen Habermas; free…

Developing an awareness of the many aspects of censorship and how it affects their lives is a powerful experience for middle schoolers. Most young people will concede that their values have been shaped mostly by their families. They discover that studying censorship is a tool for forming their own opinions about issues. For library media…

This paper revolves around two recently decided cases by the Supreme Court of Canada that illustrate how that Court views fundamental legal rights in terms of public policy and administrative decision making by creatures of statute in a free society. The protagonists in each case differ, as do the legal arguments, but the salient socio-political…

Character education in higher education is a challenging enterprise. There are concerns regarding academic freedom, debates about the role of the university, and criticisms of purported indoctrination. Character education initiatives in the past have often erred by neglecting what is known about individual human development, at one extreme, or by…

This article's main claim is that to support individuals' development toward becoming self-regulated learners requires certain amounts of other-regulation, i.e. scaffolding. Starting from this assertion, we discuss 6 issues that surfaced in the 5 articles of this special issue. First, we argue that designers need good reasons for taking freedom…

With the continued explosive growth of personalized websites, more and more public school administrators can expect to face situations in which inappropriate materials have been posted by a teacher, staff member or student. While failing to recognize employees' rights of free speech can result in legal liability, administrators also must be…

From northern California to southern Florida, there are just too many superintendents who are reluctant to touch religion with the proverbial 10-foot pole. Following the let-sleeping-dogs-lie approach to administration, they start to think about First Amendment solutions only after a fight breaks out. By then it is often too late to avert a bitter…

This article on pedagogy in the classroom seminar combines the basic principles of dialogue and liberation as expressed especially by 20th-century thinkers Bakhtin and Freire. It argues for a pedagogy of educational growth and facilitation of ideas. Through learner-centered knowledge, dialogic interaction, open exploration, mutual respect, and…

Extracts from the written conversation between research student and supervisor show the nature of educative research supervision. The authors argue that researcher-supervisor relationships are methodological in nature as they shape and influence the people, the project and the field. Such relationships, which construct meanings, are complex. A…

In this article, the authors state that liberal education depends upon--presupposes--unfettered thought, inquiry, and expression. This is necessary not only for the production of knowledge but also for the preparation of citizens in a diverse democracy. A vital campus is one where ideas meet, mix, conflict, engage, and emerge changed by the…

Different circumstances led institutions to increase their reliance on corporate practices. In searching for ways to curb the influence of corporate practices on higher education, it seems reasonable to look toward the faculty. Faculty, especially those who are tenured or on the tenure track, are regarded as "officers" of their institutions and…

This article evaluates the position of Christian schooling within a liberal democracy and the rights of Christians within a secular state. I challenge the fundamental liberal tenet of individual autonomy as the supreme goal of education and put the case that Christian schools are a vital part of a diverse, tolerant and inclusive society. Although…

Educational anthropologists have helped create symbolic spaces in which conversations can take place about children's lives, language, literacy, and learning. In the "New Word Order" children have no histories, no identities. Culture doesn't count. Home languages are considered interference. As the curriculum is narrowed by the use of…

The overarching goal of the social studies curriculum is to promote civic competence and to develop students' ability to make informed and reasoned decisions as citizens in a diverse and democratic society within an interdependent world. Philosophically, citizenship is the goal of social studies. Involvement in social action is the key for young…