In recent years, investment in youth services has been contingent on the measurement of predefined outcomes as 'proof' of effectiveness. However, this approach to impact measurement has been criticised for distorting practice and reinforcing inequalities. As youth work emerges from a decade of spending cuts, there is an urgent need for new…

This article reports on a larger mixed-methods study that examined the perspectives of regional teacher supervisors on their emerging roles and practices in a stage of educational reform in Oman. The study was carried out in the Educational Supervision Directorate in Muscat. Two research methods were employed: a survey distributed to 125…

School principals, contending with competing characterizations of parents in education policy and society, may view parents in a number of ways. Two common understandings portray parents as authentic partners or, in contrast, simply supporters of the school's agenda. This paper explores these characterizations by considering the possible link…

China is trying to develop better outcomes for students, build world-class institutions and ascend global university rankings. Beijing also wants to jettison the notion it is the workshop of the world and embrace a culture of innovation. Peter Jarvis thinks the world would be a better place if ordinary people were given convivial spaces wherein…

Engaging today's youth in civil discussions of contentious issues remains both a crucial element in democratically oriented education and extremely challenging to facilitate. The purpose of this article, which documents and presents pilot study findings from a dance workshop that engaged practicing teachers surrounding the issue of immigration, is…

This paper examines an account of a practitioner-initiated transformation of workplace-based social relationship within a grassroots adult education institution. This tripartite relationship among adult students, staff and teachers, abbreviated as AST, is a major driving force for activities and missionary functioning of the XinZhuang Community…

Discussions on discipline in education often accentuate corporal punishment or measures to infuse moral fibre. In addition, many authors argue that inculcating a particular value system can promote discipline in schools. This could however be profoundly problematic in the light of the Constitution. We argue that positive discipline in…

This article explores the arts' potential to transform the relationships between students and teachers, so that education becomes an "as if" world, where education is an act of social justice. Interweaving themes from the children's book "Click Clack Moo, Cows that Type" with theories of transformative pedagogy and their own…

This paper develops a basic conceptual framework of values and the valuing process. Section 1, Values and Value Claims, discusses the four different types of value claims (personal, market, real, and implicit) and their relationships. The second section considers the process of rational evaluation as a method of arriving at and supporting value…

"Democracy promotion" as part of a larger project of 'reconstruction' is hailed in mainstream academia and in policy circles as an essential component of rebuilding the state and civil society in post-conflict situations. Here "democracy promotion" refers exclusively to the promotion of political representation and…

This is a case study of a conflict management intervention in two secondary schools in post-apartheid South Africa. The feature of the intervention that we examine is the use of play as an educational strategy. The literature attests that play can facilitate change by allowing learners freedom to change their behaviour and opportunities to explore…

Building faculty or professional learning communities is an idea that has come of age. This article describes work being done within the Brigham Young University (BYU)-Public School Partnership to form and sustain such communities across higher and public education and in ways consistent with the four aims of the Agenda for Education in a…

The present paper describes a project that emphasized the use of case-writing by teachers engaged in an educational innovation. The aims of the paper are threefold: to provide a somewhat detailed description of the case-writing process, to explicate the varied functions of cases and case-writing by teachers, and to discuss an important feature of…

This document summarizes discussions at an invitational workshop on leadership for development in Nigeria. The following views on the essence of leadership were expressed: (1) the majority of current leaders tend to be selfish, self-centered, and incapable of performing their jobs effectively; (2) most current leaders have impeded the growth of…

Some enlightened approaches to encouraging staff participation and ownership culled from Oregonian school executives include 4 C's (comments, criticisms, complaints, and compliments) advisory committee, 5-minute stand-up staff meetings, potlatches (monthly dinner workshops), "5/10" (short-answer) reports eliciting teacher comments,…