In a world where the kind of things that are easy to teach and test have also become easy to digitise and automate, it will be our imagination, our awareness and our sense of responsibility that will enable us to harness the opportunities of the 21st century to shape the world for the better. Tomorrow's schools will need to help students think for…

The Small Island Developing State of Jamaica, in the Caribbean region, is facing significant environmental, economic, and social challenges. Violence has become a serious challenge for Jamaica and several other countries in the region; the level of violence against and among children is particularly disturbing. Perhaps even more troubling is the…

Currently, there is no clearly delineated field that could be described as "the anthropology of morality". There exists, however, an increasingly visible and vocal interest in issues of morality among anthropologists. Although there has been a lack of explicit study, it has become clear that anthropologists have, in fact, been concerned…

In 1837, Margaret Prior became the first female missionary for the American Female Moral Reform Society. She traveled throughout the poorest neighborhoods in New York City--entering barrooms, brothels, and sickrooms. Based on an analysis of Prior's missionary reports, published in the society's periodical and included in her memoir, this essay…

The number of schools offering the programmes of the International Baccalaureate (IB) hit 3000 in July 2010. Since 2004 the IB has aimed for further growth within a "wider access" and "greater impact" paradigm. A "further" 7000 schools are expected to be involved by 2020. However, there is now considerable concern about growth, especially within…

In May 2008, the worst earthquake in more than three decades struck southwest China, killing more than 80,000 people. The complexity of this earthquake makes it an ideal case study to clarify the intertwined issues of ethics in engineering and to help cultivate critical thinking skills. This paper first explores the need to encourage engineering…

This article explores the purposes and impact of internationalization in higher education, with a particular focus on the impact of adopting Western models. The authors provide two examples that reflect different perspectives of character--examples that illuminate the need to contextualize and adapt Western assumptions and practices. If…

Character education has been part of the educational and societal landscape for millennia. Through consensus, school communities teach and model traits that influence the character and moral development of children. Children learn character traits from others--both good and bad--whether that is intended or not. To avoid leaving character education…

"Educational Theories, Cultures and Learning" focuses on how education is understood in different cultures, the theories and related assumptions we make about learners and students and how we think about them, and how we can understand the principle actors in education--learners and teachers. Within this volume, internationally renowned…

Author Jing Lin contends that there is a great need for educators to reconceptualize education in the 21st century. Here, she discusses the danger of global wars, environmental breakdown, moral vacuum and nihilism in society, and the problems in current debates on school reform. This book calls for a school that facilitates the formation of a…

Discusses some of the problems associated with the differences between facts and values, particularly when dealing with environmental issues. Argues that, as people learn more facts about the environment, they acquire more of an ecological world view, resulting in a broader consensus on issues and environmental policy. (TW)

Building a strategic direction for education ultimately rests on the extent, to which we resolve the key issue addressed by UNESCO's International Commission on Education for the 21st Century (the Delors Report): what kind of education is needed to create the kind of world, we want to emerge in the future? Certainly, globalisation brings with it…

Identifies a dilemma in moral education in the Republic of Korea. Recognizes this dilemma in the Korean language, family relationships, and schooling in relation to tradition. Explores causes in terms of Korean historical, cultural, and religious foundations. Argues there is potentially serious confusion in Korean moral standards and choices. (CAJ)

Maintains that the competitive and quality-focused global 21st-century economy is developing very quickly. Discusses some of the attributes of this economy, and outlines some of the qualities young people will need to prosper. These include leadership, partnership, focus on systems, process orientation, and continuous improvement. (MJP)

This task force report is designed to focus attention on the young adolescent learner and provide direction for developing appropriate and meaningful social studies instruction for the middle school. Schools at the middle level characteristically focus on the unique developmental needs of young adolescents. A number of these needs are listed, in…