Not-with-standing the current topoi of the Knowledge Society, a particular "fact" of modernity is that power is exercised less through brute force and more through systems of reason that order and classify what is known and acted on. This article explored the system of reason that orders and classifies what is talked about, thought and…

The word "liberal" derives from the Latin "liber," meaning "free," and describes a mind unencumbered by either prejudice or indoctrination. The adjective "liberal," however, has become, at least in some circles, synonymous with anti-capitalism, anti-business, and therefore anti-American. This author has…

The thought on many an academic's mind today is how to stop it. The "it"? The barrage of reports, papers, and interviews stating that higher education needs to embrace "disruptive change," treat students like customers, and become more entrepreneurial. In short, colleges must adopt a business model, or like blacksmith…

Philanthropic involvement in education politics has become bolder and more visible. Have foundations changed funding strategies to enhance their political influence? Using data from 2000, 2005, and 2010, we investigate giving patterns among the 15 largest education foundations. Our analyses show growing support for national-level advocacy…

Changes in the public service sector during the last stages of the twentieth century contributed to an international reconfiguration of state-centric governance. Supported by the discourses of individualism, marketization, national governance, and competition, this (re)shaping of governance presents a specific dilemma for the political identity of…

Special Education 2000 (SE2000), New Zealand's first official special education policy, declared the aim of achieving a "world class inclusive education system". It would seem that, by implication at least, the intention of the policy was to achieve full inclusion of all disabled children in mainstream educational settings and thus,…

Can simply talking about policy strengthen democracy? Drawing on data collected for case studies of one Canadian and two U.S. grassroots organizations, we demonstrate that taking part in policy dialogues hosted by grassroots organizations enables participants to gain greater clarity regarding policy issues, policy processes, and citizens'…

Drawing from the work of "cultural memory" and "racial formation theory" (Omi and Winant 1994) we explore the ascension of Barack Obama as an illustration of how "race" is understood and remembered. This article focuses on the public media discourse of the 2012 Obama re-election to illustrate how the narrative morphed…

In concert with Singapore's ambitions of a global city well engineered to the human capital needs of the transnational knowledge economy, its schools in recent years have emphasized the teaching of critical thinking. Such efforts, however, are not without tensions and contradictions. Given that such a curricular ideal is underpinned by liberal…

This article is the text from a talk given to the conference The Primary Curriculum: English, mathematics and science in 2014 on 27 February 2013 at Canterbury Hall, London, organised by the National Association for Primary Education (NAPE). In it the author argues that the current consultation process is flawed as there is an ideological divide…

Naming and naming practices take place at various sites associated with international politics. These sites include border crossings, migrations, diasporas, town halls, and offices of political parties representing minorities. This project is an investigation of these and other sites. It takes seriously questions of names and naming practices and…

Educational developers are engaged in identifying and resolving tensions in their working roles that are often portrayed as multi-faceted and ambiguous. Similar uncertainties exist when individuals undertake research as insider members of the communities that are the subject of their research. They also experience significant ambiguity around…

Peter McLaren is, as the back cover of his (2005) Capitalists & Conquerors: a critical pedagogy against empire says, "professor of urban education at the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles". Peter is also now a Distinguished Fellow in Critical Studies at Chapman…

Background: This paper offers critical commentary on the culture of "performativity" that has dominated educational discourse over the last 20 years, affecting the way in which researchers, teachers, pupils and parents think and act toward Physical Education and sport (PESP) in schools. It is a culture that, in the UK, is likely to…

In the mid-eleventh century Chinese intellectuals argued about history, and left their competing narratives to us in print. They contested how history should be written, and what relevant lessons ought to be adapted to the changing society of Song (960-1279) dynasty China. They were particularly concerned with the history of the long-lasting Tang…