In March 1958, a tense six months after the launch of the Russian satellite Sputnik I sent a shockwave of fear and purpose through the United States, an essay published in the Franklin Institute (TFI) monthly member newsletter, "The Institute News," opened with an oddly defiant, even dismissive tone ("Sputnik, Teachers &…

This paper examines how stances and understandings pertaining to whether home education is civically legitimate within liberal democratic contexts can depend on how one conceives normative roles of the secular state and the religious neutrality that is commonly associated with it. For the purposes of this paper, home education is understood as a…

The use of social media in academics' lives is well documented; however, researchers have a limited understanding about whether, why and how academics' social media use changes over time. Through interviews with 12 scholars, we identify multiple reasons that lead them to change their use of social media over time. Specifically, scholars report…

Nancy Thomas is director of the Institute for Democracy & Higher Education at Tufts University's Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life. In the Question & Answers (Q&A) presented in this article, New England Journal of Higher Education (NEJHE) Executive Editor John O. Harney asks Thomas about her insights on higher education, citizen…

Democracies rely upon politically knowledgeable citizens for their legitimacy and to sustain themselves. In Australia, policy initiatives have addressed concerns about the low levels of political knowledge among young people. Yet research about how young Australians acquire political knowledge, beyond schools, is scarce. The present study…

This two-part investigation extended research demonstrating the civic impact of college students' spiritual commitments. The initial study served as a large-scale assessment (n = 768) of political involvement using a new Inventory of Political Activity. The smaller-scale, follow-up study (n = 129) used two validated measures of spiritual…

This article will highlight the distinctive role of Cavell in renewing a dawn of American philosophy. Following Emerson's remark, 'the inmost in due time becomes the outmost', Cavell develops his distinctive line of antifoundationalist thought. To show how unique and valuable Cavell's endeavor to resuscitate Emerson's and Thoreau's voice in…

In this article we offer reflections on the final report of the Commission on Religious Education (CoRE) that was published in England in 2018. We expose and problematise the prominent place of understanding in the report, not only as an educational method, but also the underlying world view of the report itself, a world view which we characterise…

International students provide many benefits to colleges and universities, but the campus climate they encounter is not always welcoming. The present study used a theoretical framework guided by predictors of prejudice to investigate a key aspect of climate: domestic students' prejudice against internationals on campus. In a sample (N = 389) of…

This article is a response to a theoretical and philosophical examination of agonistic deliberation in classrooms, which requires accepting the legitimacy of perspectives that are outside of prevailing societal norms and the expression of political emotion. The author argues that students must develop certain dispositions to achieve productive…

Results from ICCS 2016 show that more than two-thirds of the students in the participating Latin American countries reported that they would support a dictatorship as a form of government if it brought order and security, or if it brought economic benefits. This brief looks closer at these findings in order to identify possible explanations and…

How can and will educators in any setting work with young people of all ages to enable them to develop the ability to interrogate--without denigrating--the claims of candidates, the newsmaking of media, the needs of their neighbors, and the fears of their family members? The answer I offer and defend here involves two dispositions--creative…

The aim of this chapter is to discuss the parameters for a construction of a scholarly Cultural History of Education in South Africa. The historiography of South African education reflects the context (demographic and otherwise) of the country. Three clearly distinguishable paradigms are evident: a conservative Afrikaner paradigm, a liberal…

Criticisms of autonomy-based justifications of toleration as an educational aim and as a political principle assume that personal autonomy can provide only a partial justification of toleration and that it serves as a basis for illiberal educational enforcements of a particular conception of the good. In this article, I defend an autonomy- and…

Following the 2007 shooting at Virginia Tech, policymakers have sought ways to improve safety on college and university campuses nationwide. Among the more recent proposals is to permit concealed handgun licensees to carry on campus. To date, eight states have enacted legislation implementing this measure. A limited body of research considers the…