This paper is concerned with the work of Leo Strauss, specifically his two essays on liberal education. Strauss is often claimed to be a founding thinker of neoconservatism and while much scholarship has been produced analyzing his work, very little discusses his essays on liberal education and how these fit within his larger project. This essay…

The contention of this article is that the biologically derived versions of the nation of "blood and soil" only tell a narrow and singular version of the story of nation states. The substantive historical and contemporary realities necessitate the telling of much broader stories which are inclusive of good citizenship values derived from diverse…

We must show the developing countries of the world that we have not only a workable form of government, but a sustained faith in the democratic creed; a faith that can meet and conquer the challenges to democracy. (Author)

Presents the author's reflections on the importance of the United States Constitution and on the Constitution Bicentennial as an opportunity to stimulate public awareness and appreciation for the Constitution. (MCG)

This article draws on exploratory qualitative interviews with German education policy experts. We ask whether, as Germany faces new challenges, changes have occurred in respect of the education ideal of the democratic citizen; perceived implications for civic education and schooling are also drawn out. Interviews were conducted with senior…

Media education has been around for quite some time in the West (Bazalgette et al. 1990), but it only started to gain acceptance in Asia (Cheung 2005), particularly in Hong Kong, in the last decade. Recently, it has been gaining more attention in Hong Kong thanks to the curriculum reform in which liberal studies will become one of the four core…

The need for education for (as opposed to about) sustainability is urged from many sides. Initiatives in this area tend to focus on formal education. Governmental, supra-governmental and non-governmental bodies all expect much of this kind of education, which is to transform children--and through them society--in the direction of sustainability.…

This article describes a study that explores efforts to promote democratic practice in a diverse school context. More specifically, it documents administrative endeavors to include members of the school community--teachers, parents and students--in the various school processes by encouraging inclusive communicative practices. The findings of the…

America's sense of community is broken down; its sense of connectedness and the collective is "collapsing." That these senses ever existed is a matter for considerable debate. But, as the new millennium gains momentum and neoliberalism seeks expansion, the author argues that a focus on rekindling these concepts of community,…

This article explores governors' perceptions of the role played by school principals in the democratic governance of secondary schools in South Africa. The South African Schools Act No. 84 of 1996 has mandated that all public schools in South Africa must have democratically elected school governing bodies, comprised of the principal (in his or her…

It is widely agreed that formal learning can influence people's social attitudes and can encourage them to take part in civic activities. Less investigated, however, has been the question of whether these effects flow from any kind of education, or whether particular subjects of study are more relevant to civic values than others. The 1958 and…

The way that immigration is talked about in the public sphere has direct bearing on the ways that health, education, legal, and political institutions enact policies to deal with this phenomenon. Looking at the major media output on questions of access to higher education for undocumented immigrant youth in Massachusetts, this study shows the…

Should the 21st-century university have a core curriculum? The report of the Secretary of Education's Commission on the Future of Higher Education said nothing about general education, the learning that educated Americans should share. Instead the Spellings commission report highlighted broad access and measurable "value added" as the major…

The humanist tradition in Western education systems is increasingly coming under critical scrutiny by posthumanist scholars, arguing that Enlightenment humanism accommodates a number of serious shortcomings such as being essentialist, exclusive, and unable to meet its own criteria of value pluralism, tolerance, and equity for all. This article…