Participatory literacy programmes in developing countries are often seen as an important tool for women's empowerment and equality. This article problematises the way in which evaluation of progress towards these goals is couched in a linear trajectory, and often fails to uncover the messy reality of women's negotiations to achieve their own aims.…

Although prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) programs are predicated on maternal behavior change, little is known about sociocultural factors affecting maternal-child care practices in this arena. The authors used narrative methods (key informant workshops, questionnaires, focus groups, and case study analysis) to explore how…

This article develops an imbalance theory to explain physical violence against women in intimate relationships in South Africa. The theory proposes four typologies: dependence, compensation, submission, and transgression, through which imbalances in resource contribution and power distribution between spouses are hypothesized to contribute to…

This paper problematizes the discourse of internationalizing the curriculum using a critical framework of difference. The author draws on her transnational experiences as an international postgraduate researcher in an Australian university, an educator in Malaysia and her present experiences as an academic in an Australian university. The notions…

This paper argues that the texts, conversations, writings, and professional activities that construct our understanding of leadership come from an embedded, privileged perspective that has largely ignored issues of status, gender, and race. This perspective insidiously perpetuates a view of leadership that discourages diversity and equity. Two…

This document contains two extended papers and one shorter commentary that reflect a continuing debate between two schools of thought on literacy that have been called the "autonomous" and the "sociocultural.""The Persisting Power and Costs of the Literacy Myth" (Harvey J. Graff) argues that current discourse on…

This paper examines and analyzes a Human Services reform initiative in West Virginia and shows how various components responded to the reform particularly in identity construction. The analysis used an immunological metaphor within a Foucauldian understanding of power and knowledge. The study gathered data through participant and observer…

Evaluators frequently experience the dilemma of how to empower a program staff if the staff and other stakeholders are compelled to participate in activities that they don't believe they need or believe may actually harm the program. A framework is proposed to empower program staff and other stakeholders and to reduce potential dilemmas. The…

Schools have been intractable to change and the attainment of goals set by reformers. A major failure has been the inability of reformers to confront this intractability. As a result, each new wave of reform learns nothing from earlier efforts and comes up with recommendations that have failed in the past. Nine chapters explore why reform efforts…

Strategic planning is a rational, private-sector planning model that results in a document outlining the "ideal vision" for the individual, organization, and society. Public schools gained familiarity with strategic planning through the American Association of School Administrators, who sponsor the activity as a combination of rational…

The loosely coupled organizational approach is evaluated in this paper. This essay evaluates this line of research by focussing on an analysis of schools, which are usually considered to be the epitome of loosely structured organizations. It is argued that distinguishing the mode and degree of organizational coupling and control depends on where,…

This paper raises important questions about proposals for empowerment and shared governance in U.S. schools. Holding that consent is the key to understanding power and empowerment, the paper defines these concepts, discusses the purposes of empowerment, describes the types of empowerment being attempted, and outlines some predictable consequences.…

The bases of subunit power and the effects of that power on organizational decisionmaking are examined in a large midwestern State university. Departmental power is found to be most highly correlated with the department's ability to obtain outside grants and contracts. (Author/WM)

Department chairs occupy what is arguably one of the most important administrative spots in a higher education institution. As a group, they set the academic tone of the institution and greatly facilitate or hinder the accomplishment of its mission. The various types of department chairs are described: hopeful, survivors, transient, and…