The author explores the articulations of six social studies student/teachers after a viewing of "When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts". The film, a documentary about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina on the people in and around New Orleans, constitutes an encounter with what Deborah Britzman (1998) calls "difficult…

This article highlights a multidisciplinary collaborative program between the University of Botswana and the University of Tromso, Norway, focusing on San research and capacity-building. After 12 years of operation, this program led, in April 2010, to the creation of a new "Research Center for San Studies" at the University of Botswana.…

Government agencies and professional organizations have attempted to improve education research by creating common standards for judging research quality. However, the absence of agreement regarding research quality has limited the effectiveness of this approach. This article argues that, rather than focusing on standards, policy makers should…

Although much has been written about the complexity of educational change and reform elsewhere, the educational reform movement in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a relatively recent phenomenon with little systematic documentation as yet; educators are still searching for a clear understanding of their roles. However, it is clear that the…

A substantial literature has studied gender differences in political participation in Western industrialized democracies, but little is known about such gaps in sub-Saharan African nations. Using 2005 Afrobarometer data, this paper presents a systematic investigation of the gender gap in political participation across 18 sub-Saharan African…

This article looks at the evolution of the social studies curricula in Pakistan, which are of critical importance in shaping the outlook of many young Pakistanis, who are affected by this polarised discourse. The author argues that this trend of polarisation springing from dynamics of education also effectively contributes to a widening social…

This is a qualitative study that was conducted to gain a better understanding of the experiences of professors in Colleges of Education who were former K-12 teachers. The study presents the responses of eighty-nine professors from across the United States. Coding based on the university setting (national, large regional, small regional) in which…

This study is based on lecturers' and students' perception on educational policy implementation factors and quality education in Nigerian universities. Educational policies have always been formulated purposely to guide the present and future thinking, actions and decisions of managers. The potency of policy is not in formulation but in its proper…

The author is grateful that this journal has taken on the production of a special theme issue entitled "Immigration and Teacher Education: The Crisis and the Opportunity." In her estimation, the "crisis" is not so much that the United States may indeed continue to enroll more immigrant children and youth in its schooling system…

Few studies have looked at the consequences of standardized writing tests to students' understanding of what it means "to be" a competent writer. Using research techniques drawn from performance studies and art therapy, this qualitative study of middle class, honors students invited them to explore their understanding of what it means to…

Over the past fifty years, U.S. school reform has been dominated by three major movements, aimed at promoting equity, increasing school choice, and using academic standards to leverage improvement. These reforms are equity-based reform, school choice, and standards-based reform. While all three have changed schooling in notable ways, none has…

Nearly thirty years after the Cold War era commission's report titled "A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform," educators and historians must evaluate its relevance and its contribution to the shifting educational paradigm in the United States.

As liberal democracies include increasingly diverse and multifaceted populations, the longstanding debate about the role of the state in religious education and the place of religion in public life seems imperative now more than ever. The maintenance of religious schools and the planning of religious education curricula raise a profound challenge.…

This study uses descriptive data from the U.S. Department of Education to examine the composition of the private school sector in localities with sizeable school choice programs. If existing school choice programs are attracting educational entrepreneurs and unlocking the potential of new school models, the authors should expect to see significant…

During the late 1990s public pension funds across the United States accrued large actuarial surpluses. The seemingly flush conditions of the pension funds led legislators in most states to substantially improve retirement benefits for public workers, including teachers. In this study we examine the benefit enhancements to the teacher pension…