In evaluating local policy implementation, workaround stories--accounts of deliberate efforts to evade, subvert, or even break rules or procedures in order to get the job done--are valuable evaluative indicators. By "backward mapping" (Elmore, 1979) from frequently mentioned workarounds, we can identify flawed elements of policy- or…

Racial minority evaluators increase the democratic capacity and potential of institutions to the extent that they draw on their experiences and those of other marginalized communities. Their reflection on these experiences helps to disclose institutional power dynamics that are often veiled in neutrality. Of course, this depends on sound…

Status quo is defined as "the existing state of affairs"; therefore, status quo can be identified as positive or negative depending on the circumstances in any particular situation. Many educational authors have written about this timeless subject, and these authors' viewpoints are presented concisely in this project. With the help of movie quotes…

L2 pragmatic instruction in grammar and writing is an area of second language acquisition that is underutilized by many teachers. This paper follows the process of one teacher as the instruction of the pragmatic speech act of requesting is integrated into a low-level grammar class. First, an argument is made for the importance of including…

Peer sexuality educators' accounts of their work reveal two approaches to empathy with their students: affinity and alliance. "Affinity-based empathy" rests on the idea that the more commonalities sexuality educators and students share (or perceive they share), the more they will be able to empathise with one another, while…

This article presents the development of a new simulation activity, the Game of Social Life. The activity introduces students to concepts of social stratification based on multiple dimensions of poverty, including inequalities related to housing, education, occupational status, social power, and health outcomes. The game was administered to…

The movement towards "openness" in education has tended to position itself as inherently democratising, radical, egalitarian and critical of powerful gatekeepers to learning. While "openness" is often positioned as a critique, I will argue that its mainstream discourses--while appearing to oppose large-scale operations of…

The study investigated destructive leadership behaviors (DLBs) and their influence on K-12 workplace attitudes (subordinate consideration for leaving their job, job satisfaction, and levels of stress). Quantitative survey method was used to gather data from experienced professional educators. Analyses of data show that the practice of DLB exists…

This paper takes up Judith Butler's calls to suspend the desire to completely know the other, and discusses these in relation to the pedagogic relationship in the classroom. It draws upon existing accounts of performative reinscription as a politics to disrupt exclusionary schooling practices and discusses these alongside Butler's theories of…

Traditional Rhetorical Genre Study (RGS) methods are not well adapted to study exclusion because excluded information and people are typically absent from the genre, and some excluded information is simply unrelated to the genre because of genre conventions or social context. Within genre-based silences, how can scholars differentiate between an…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to study circulating power and in/visibility. In the unfolding Maltese education scenario of decentralization and school networking, suffused with entrenched power, with added layers of leadership and more subtle levels of accountability, this paper explores the underlying power relations among the top…

This article explores the development of pedagogical content knowledge in relation to one teacher's experience in learning to engage in a Vygotskian approach to teaching second language (L2) pragmatics known as "concept-based pragmatics instruction" (CBPI). The teacher, Mrs. Hanks, was a PhD candidate in second language acquisition at…

The transgressive use of language by out-group speakers, or crossing is used in a variety of ways to achieve both affiliative and disaffiliative ends among youths. However, crossing can also be used as an affiliative resource in asymmetrical power relations between teachers and students. Reporting on the findings of a 1.5 year ethnography of an…

Public and scholarly debates on what it means to be a successful teacher are characterized by increasingly pronounced differences in how various political, legislative, and professional groups define successful teaching. In response to pressures posed by these polarized discourses, critical pedagogic research on education contrasts contested views…

The purpose of this study is to study how race, gender, values, attitudes and power perceptions of leaders contribute to the recruitment, retention, and training of African American female superintendents. This study is focused on African American female superintendents and their experiences that led to the acquisition of the position. The…