In the past ten years radical educators have developed several theories around the notions of reproduction and resistance. In this article, Henry Giroux critically analyzes the major positions of these theories, finding them inadequate as a foundation for a critical science of schooling. He concludes by outlining the directions for a new theory of…

This article examines major categories of classical and critical Marxism and reviews issues emerging about their usefulness for radical social theory. These issues are analyzed with regard to how they have influenced the course of radical education theory. Finally, a theoretical discourse for developing an alternative radical theory of education…

A critique of existing conceptions of citizenship education is presented. The major conceptual areas that must be clarified are discussed in order to provide the foundation for a reconstructed theory of citizenship education. (Author/MLF)

Some theorists are rejecting the traditional model of curriculum and raising questions about the relationship between schools and society. (Author/MLF)

Mainstream conservative and liberal views are inadequate for a discourse about moral education. More appropriate methods for linking schooling and ethics are the following: (1) link ethics and morality to politics; (2) define those maxims necessary for moral adequacy; and (3) develop a radical view of authority that will transform pedagogical…

Compares the ways in which traditional and critical educational theorists relate the issues of school knowledge and control to the notion of power. Analyzes some of the major contributions each of the various positions has made to understanding how power and knowledge function in school life. (HTH)

Examines dialectical tensions existing between teacher-education programs and the dominant society through a set of concepts that link and demonstrate the interplay of power, ideology, biography, and history. Analyzes the rationality presently dominating these programs. Includes implications of and methods for overcoming this rationality.…

Three authors review the book by Harold Entwistle about the theoretician of Marxist social theory, Antonio Gramsci. Conclusions are that the book does not accurately reflect Gramsci's view on education. (KC)

Analyzes Gramsci's work on education, discussing right-wing attempts to subordinate public education and the role of cultural politics in spearheading this assault. The paper examines attempts by right-wing theorists to appropriate Gramsci's views on education for conservative educational work, noting implications of Gramsci's work for defending…

Examines the concept of ideology as a basis for a theory of emancipatory pedagogy. Argues for a critical theory of schooling based on a view of ideology that recognizes people's ability to know, criticize, and act upon the world. (Author/MJL)

Discusses the sociopolitical function of the school, shows how that is accomplished in the classroom, and explains that present practice supports student alienation. Recommends an alternative set of values and social processes for use in the social studies promoting equality, community, and humanistic social interaction. (CK)

Changing historical conditions posit new problems, define different projects, and often demand fresh discourses. In some cases, theories fashioned in one historical moment seem hopelessly out of date, if not irrelevant, in another. Any critical theory both defines and is defined by the problems posed by the contexts it attempts to address. The…

Outlines the current situation in critical pedagogy, and examines the relation of language to formation of subjectivity and praxis. How language works to construct and mediate reality and interacts with experience is explored, and provisional elements of a critical pedagogy that has the potential to create active learners are presented. (SLD)

Examines the contributions of the "Frankfurt School" members to the development of critical theories of social education in the United States. Drawing from their sociohistorical analyses, Horkheimer, Marcuse, and Adorno theorized that the dominance of scientific, rational thought in the twentieth century was leading to highly technological,…

Argues that understanding the crisis of youth must be central to any notion of literacy, pedagogy, and cultural politics. Offers suggestions for the political and pedagogical roles educators might play in addressing the crisis of youth as part of the broader crisis of public life. (NH)