The promise, embraced by governments around the world, is that the knowledge economy will provide knowledge workers with a degree of autonomy and permission to think which enables them to be creative and to attract high incomes. What credence should we give to this promise? The current economic crisis is provoking a reappraisal of both economic…

This dissertation elaborates the findings of a qualitative investigation of a year-long mathematics classroom in an urban, untracked, neighborhood (i.e., non-selective-enrollment) public high school in Chicago where students (all Latino/a and Black, from low-income families) and teacher co-created a classroom to "read the mathematical…

This is a critical time for the science education community as we embark on the creation and implementation of new national science standards. The purpose of this essay is to offer insight into how the language of curriculum standards, including that found in state science standards in the United States over the past 15 years, has posed barriers…

This work is based on the experience of the authors' involvement in the development of a Masters of Vocational Pedagogy program in Uganda and Southern Sudan between 2007 and 2011. This is also grounded in work with Vocational Education and Culture (VET) over many years. The terms VET and Culture are interdependent; both terms are highly contested…

Comparative research in multilingual urban primary schools indicates that the pedagogical and political goals of schooling may operate at cross-purposes. Classroom observations and teacher interview-discussions were conducted in classes for immigrant children in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where the language of instruction is French, and in classes…

The previous issue of "Blueprint" reported significant variability among state standards for education. Such variability means that depending where a student attends school, he might not cover the same material in a course called Algebra I, or Algebra II, or Grade 4, or Grade 6. Many citizens and leaders understand that having a single set of…

This article is a revised and abbreviated version of a session that the authors presented at the 25th annual Lilly Conference on College Teaching, November 19, 2005, in Oxford, Ohio. It arose from their joint conviction that while teaching is the greatest job in the world, teachers do not need to stay in it until death do them part. Beidler and…

These short essays address the political nature of teaching dance in higher education from various perspectives. Issues of identity, authority, power, expectation, and assumption are addressed within the context of the teacher-student paradigm. From personal perspectives, each author examines the ways in which who they are affects what and how…

I have taught Plato's "Republic" for several years although seminars on this text can be difficult and pose certain challenges, most especially with first year students new to university: the ancient Greeks seem a long way from the technocratic society we live in today. More importantly, the complexity of our relationship to each other…

Against a perspective of shame that would see it as something paralyzing, negative and destructive, I draw out a different account of the politics of shame in intercultural education. I explore the openings that are created for a productive politics of shame in the context of discussions surrounding intercultural education via tracing how…

In his response to Kruger, Le Grange claims that: (1) the South African discourse of fundamental pedagogics was closely allied with Christian National Education and functioned as a powerful educational doctrine in the service of the South African policy of apartheid education; (2) fundamental pedagogics bracketed political discourse; (3) the…

Given the importance of moving diversity agendas forward nationally and the lack of understanding about how to address the politics that almost always emerge when institutionalizing a diversity initiative, the author examined the method by which college presidents handled the politics related to moving a diversity agenda forward. She focused on…

This article describes the Canadian education system and provincial/territorial, national, and international large-scale assessment (LSA) programmes that currently operate within this large multicultural country. We highlight the policy implications of LSA programmes within Canada's 10 provinces and three northern territories, and how the country…

When Bloomberg gave his first State of the City address, in January, 2002, he announced his intention to seek mayoral control of the schools and abolish the infamous New York City Board of Education, which he called "a rinky-dink candy store." He joined a long list of New York mayors, educators, and business leaders who believed that the…

This article describes the reversal of the dismissal of an "unfunded-mandates" challenge to the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) brought by the National Education Association (NEA), several of its affiliates, and a number of school districts by the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. The decision in "School District…