This review essay brings Megan E. Tompkins-Stange's 2016 book "Policy Patrons: Philanthropy, Education Reform, and the Politics of Influence" into conversation with contemporary scholarship on philanthropic engagement in education policy. Rino Wiseman Adhikary writes in this review "Policy Patrons" presents an in-depth…

Noddings's radical choice for a particular stance in life is both what makes "Happiness and Education" a thought-provoking book and what also leads me to have some reservations. First, I briefly outline some of these reservations and focus on what I think are two important difficulties "Happiness and Education" faces:…

Three books are the subject of this review essay: (1) Avril Keating's (2014) publication, "Education for Citizenship in Europe: European Policies, National Adaptations and Young People's Attitudes"; (2) "The Political Classroom: Evidence and Ethics in Democratic Education", Diana Hess and Paula McAvoy (2015); and (3) "We…

This book makes the compelling argument that religion can be complicit in conflict and that a new secularism is vital to foster security. Using insights from complexity science, it shows how dynamic secularism can be used to accommodate diverse faiths and beliefs within worldly politics. Exploration of the interplay of religion and education in…

Books reviewed: "Teaching Toward Freedom: Moral Commitment and Ethical Action in the Classroom" by William Ayers and "Pedagogy of Indignation" by Paulo Freire.

Reviews the book, "Bringing in a New Era in Character Education," a collection of essays by prominent social critics and social scientists. Suggests that the book shows that the character education movement is a reaction to the moral vacuum created by the transformations of the middle and late 20th century. Notes that most of the essays…

Reviews seven new books that make a strong case for moral education, offering insights into problems facing today's young people and suggesting strategies for improving the moral climate in schools. (MLF)

Analyzes "The Idiosyncratic History of the University," a chapter in Allan Bloom's "The Closing of the American Mind". Focuses on Bloom's history of the university as explained through Socrates' philosophy. Concentrates on the role of philosophers in society past and present. Discusses the Enlightenment, Existentialism,…

Reviews four books that address the effects on Japanese schools of dominant cultural beliefs, particularly perseverance of these beliefs and its relationship to success, the primacy of the group, and the superiority of meritocracy. (SV)

Reviews "Appalachian Values," by author Loyal Jones and photographer Warren Brunner, which depicts the culture and values characteristic of Appalachian people. Although the book successfully illustrates the moral core of Appalachia, values are presented in a noncontroversial form, rather than as a part of individual or social conflict.…

The exploration of the uses of research by G. Russell and J. Bohan illustrates applied feminist research in the use of research results to give something back to the community. Their projects also show that it is possible to be creative in the way in which researchers do give something back to the community. (SLD)

Explores relationship between text and context in pragmatism that is related to differences between pragmatism and scientific realism, as identified by Ernest R. House (1992) and repeated by Jim Garrison, and considers association between pragmatism and aesthetics. Comments concerning pragmatism and educational reform are made by suggesting how…

This essay revisits Karl Jaspers' classic, "The Idea of the University." Jaspers was reinstated as president of Heidelberg University in 1945, and he presided over its rebuilding. His book, "The Idea of the University," written in 1946, was published in English 13 years later. It interprets an ideal of the university and…

Reviews "The Moral Dimensions of Teaching" (J. I. Goodlad, R. Soder, and K. A. Sirotnik, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1990), a collection of essays addressing the teaching vocation and the moral dimensions of the profession. These analyses ignore gender as a reason teachers do not have professional status and autonomy. (SLD)

Reviews volume on the role of values in adolescent development, mental health, and psychopathology. Describes and critically evaluates the book's three approaches (theory, science, and social commentary) to data from the longitudinal study "Children in the Community Project." Concludes that regardless of how findings are interpreted, the…