The unfolding of Paulo Freire's philosophy, uniqueness, and the lens through which he viewed the world, which ultimately brought this gentle spirit of a man onto the world stage, began at a young age in his hometown of Recife, Brazil. Remarkably grounded in the wisdom of humility, yet gifted with a determined strength, deep insight, and perceptive…

Seton Hall University's new core curriculum includes a pair of Signature Courses and a third-year Signature Course developed within departments, two composition classes, a university life course, and five proficiencies. This article describes the process leading to the development of this new curriculum and provides advice on general education…

Successful curriculum development in any school subject requires a clear and established set of elements: agreed and widely appreciated goals; effective criteria for the selection of important knowledge content; and an explicit and well-integrated explanatory base for authentic problem-solving related to the subject goals. The article shows that…

This paper sets out the theoretical and methodological approach of a study of the politics of persuasion and the mobilisation of interest in relation to the Trust schools initiative in England. Drawing on the discourse theoretical approach of Laclau and Mouffe the paper argues that the politics of consensus associated with New Labour reconfigures…

Scholarly research is crucial to teaching and learning because it keeps the work of teacher educators and the teaching and learning in schools of education dynamic. Research fosters habits of critical reflection, encourages teacher educators to learn throughout their careers, and ensures that concepts in teacher education adapt to current…

This article presents an in-depth analysis of two commemoration events in a first-grade classroom of a bilingual school in Israel. The two events presented--the commemorations of the Holocaust Day and the Memorial Day--derive from a longitudinal ethnographic study of integrated bilingual schools in Israel. The analysis of these events shows…

Researchers, policy makers, and practitioners share a sincere interest in improving the human condition. Academics may be tempted to fault irrationality, ideology, or ignorance for the failure of research to inform policy and practice more powerfully, but policy makers and practitioners want academics to tell them "what works" in order to find a…

The authors want to figure out what happened in Australian post-secondary education over the last 50 or so years and to predict what sort of arrangement their great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren, will encounter 50 years hence. To put this modest project another way: what in 2060 might a historian (assuming there are, then,…

School reformers have made forward strides in the last ten years, and public debate has acquired a bipartisan cast. But just how successful have reform efforts been? The editors of "Education Next" assess the movement's victories and challenges. Two essays are presented in this issue's "Forum": (1) "A Battle Begun, Not Won" (Paul E. Peterson,…

Today, the influence of economic thought on educational theory is evident. It seems to weaken, however, the further we travel back in history. In this article, Tal Gilead examines the historical origins of this influence. He shows that it first emerged in French educational thought during the second half of the eighteenth century. Through…

The past few decades have witnessed international pressure to get more children in the world educated, for longer. The view that school education is core to definitions of good childhoods and successful youth transitions is increasingly widespread, globally and locally. However, structural inequalities persist and migration for education has…

Like a lot of people, the author has been trying to get his mind around David Cameron's Big Society agenda, and what it means for his own institution, City Lit. There has already been a lot written about this subject, especially in the press, much of it reflecting a degree of scepticism. Where to start? The author thinks the Prime Minister tried…

Issues pertaining to children often struggle to become public policy priorities. A clear demonstration of this phenomenon is the degree to which children are supported in the federal budget in comparison to other priorities. If issues pertaining to children struggle for the policy spotlight, subissues pertaining to them face an even greater…

Use of local environments and stakeholders to illuminate the school curriculum, and increase ownership of it, has been demonstrated by international research as an effective means by which to make the curriculum more relevant and engaging to students. Localism is a key tenet of the Government's policy platform, and in education policy the…

This paper explores some of the processes through which an educational policy agenda can be generated in the media sphere. It casts light on the roles of journalists and various types of expert in these processes as they pertain to critical literacy. I argue for the usefulness of cross-field performance as a concept which helps to illuminate the…