This article -- initially published in Spanish by "Toma Uno" in 2012 -- explores the Catalonian project Cinema en curs, an annual, recurring and now international programme of film education that takes place with students aged 10-18 in schools and colleges. First detailing both the rationale and methodology motivating the project, the…

This essay reflects on the use and value of Voices of Baltimore: Life under Segregation, a documentary film that captures and preserves the rich oral histories of seven African Americans from the Mason-Dixon border area of Baltimore, Maryland who attended segregated schools and lived through desegregation before and following the 1954 Supreme…

Audiovisual media are part of children's daily life. They build and/or replace a part of the reality that is sometimes preceded. This paper is interested in one of the elements of the audiovisual binomial, the soundtrack, in order to analyse its meaning and sense from the children's point of view. The objectives are: to determine if the…

Within the literature on teacher education in the United States, relatively little research has been conducted on how preservice teachers conceptualize popular depictions of the profession or issues related to the "extended professionality" of teaching. In this study, the authors explore the reactions of elementary, middle, and secondary…

Historical documentary film usually offers content in a format that students find more engaging than traditional historical texts. In the classroom, documentary film can be positioned within a historical thinking framework to study a broad concept like civil rights while facilitating students' source work and skill development. While social…

Context: The documentary film about U.S. education reform, "Waiting for 'Superman'," was met with acclaim and controversy when released to theaters in 2010, and again when launching its grassroots "host a screening" campaign in 2011. The campaign ran concurrent with 2011 state legislative sessions, during which several states…

Over the last 20 years, independent filmmakers have produced insightful documentaries of high profile political campaigns with behind-the-scenes footage. These documentaries offer inside looks and unique perspectives on electoral politics. This campaign season, consider "The War Room"; "A Perfect Candidate"; "Journeys With George;" "Chisholm '72";…

"Ten Years On" is a 30-minute video documentary discovered in the course of researching progressive primary education, school architecture and pedagogy. It was locally produced for professional rather than commercial use at a significant historical moment for educational politics and primary practice. Here, we explore the possibilities…

David Guggenheim's latest documentary, "Waiting for 'Superman'," stops only an inch away from insisting upon the total razing of the public school system. Guggenheim stated that, with the release of this film, he was "trying to attack... this mental block that a lot of Americans have--which is that the problems with our schools are too complex,…

Well in advance of its official release, the education film "Waiting For Superman" has attracted a level of attention that could make it one of the year's most-watched documentaries--and one of the most controversial among educators, some of whom question its depictions of the American school system and how to improve it. Made by…

The documentary "Waiting for Superman" has become one of those rare things, a (supposed) documentary that generates a wider audience. It also is one of the more recent embodiments of what Nancy Fraser (1989) labels as the "politics of needs and needs discourses." Dominant groups listen carefully to the language and issues that…

Some tragedies are so emblazoned in people's minds that years later they can recall where they were when they first heard the news. The assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., the Challenger explosion, and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks are among these events. So also is the Columbine High School tragedy of April 20, 1999.…

Scientists' involvement in education has increased in recent years due to mechanisms such as the National Science Foundation's "broader impacts" expectations for research projects. The best investment of their effort lies in sharing their expertise on the nature and processes of science; film is one medium by which this can be done…

Council for American Private Education (CAPE) is a coalition of national associations serving private schools K-12. "Outlook" is published monthly by CAPE. This issue contains the following articles: (1) Obama Budget Proposes Dramatic Changes for ESEA (Elementary and Secondary Education Act); (2) Push Continues for DC Voucher Program;…

Three criteria for meaningful student learning--construction of knowledge, disciplined inquiry, and value beyond school--are assessed as authentic learning outcomes for an implementation of a digital documentary project in two fifth grade history classrooms where teachers' practices are constrained by a high-stakes testing climate. In all three…