South Carolina's persistent resistance to a federal, centralized national government is noteworthy throughout U.S. history. Accordingly, South Carolina's assumption of its powers governing education reserved to the states under the 10th Amendment focuses on commerce and free-market notions of competitive advantages rather than education's value to…

Although scholars have examined the effects of global tests on national and regional educational governance, few researchers have studied their impact on education in the Arabian Gulf. This research fills the knowledge gap by studying the international spectacle of PISA, TIMSS and PIRLS results in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) -- two…

Studies in education over the past decade highlight the hijacking of educational agendas by neoliberal rationalities and logics. I illustrate these processes in relation to transnational campaigns for girls' education, where the purpose of "education" is reduced to producing wage-based labor and an accumulation of skills that enhance…

This paper analyses the language-in-education policies implemented to integrate international immigrants into the Catalan language community in Vic, Catalonia. It focuses on the Catalan Government's "Languages and Social Cohesion Plan" (LIC) plan, Vic city council's local education plans, which were adopted as part of LIC plan, and the…

The conversational research interview constitutes a complex and fraught context for personal accounts, and the methodological literature of the past few decades has acknowledged this. Theoretical discussions about representation, ethics, and power in interviews have been extended in empirical studies of actual interaction. Particularly useful for…

Examines phatic processes in elderly people's response to the question "How are you?" as "negotiation" following the conversation analysis tradition of research on greetings and troubles-telling, rather than as conventionalized and desemanticized discourse. Implications for gerontological and medical research of discourse…

Examines the rating scale and the testing procedure of the oral interview for evidence of discourse competence. The paper suggests that a careful examination of the processing capabilities might serve as a valid indicator of their discourse competence. (24 references) (GLR)

Focuses on sources of distortion and other inaccuracies in the work of oral historians and explains that such problems result from efforts of informants and historians to make a narrative more easily understood by the audience. Considers various efforts by oral historians to minimize distortion by using greater care and rigor in conducting,…

A study investigated the rating scale used in the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) oral interview, focusing on the concept of vocabulary underlying assessment. The study examined the differences in strategies used by fluent native speakers and non-fluent non-native speakers to avoid disruption of communication in real conversation when…

Reviews recent research on the use of language in the mass media, focusing on the work of Teun van Dijk, A. Bell, Roger Fowler, and Norman Fairclough, as well as research on broadcast interviews, talk shows, and advertising. An annotated bibliography discusses 16 important works in the field. (58 references) (MDM)

This third of three articles on the ways in which people formulate their observations presents an analysis of the perspective or attitude dominating the discourse of an interview. The analysis is conducted according to a paradigm that views the speaker as the controller of discourse perspective. The relationships found in the analysis are…

The authors of a new book on the relationship of discourse and French language instruction, bringing different language backgrounds and professional perspectives to the issue of language teaching theory and practice, are interviewed. Discussion focuses on the role of discourse analysis in language teaching. (MSE)

This book examines existing European environmental education and agricultural practices friendly to the environment. Focus is on studies conducted in five countries Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain--that aimed to define new knowledge qualifications related to environmental issues in producing alternative agricultural products…