Disinformation has become a core concept in communications research, related to media, technological and political phenomena that complexify its definition and diagnosis. Although its approach has been mainly quantitative, focus groups have also been used to understand the perception of the audience of this particular issue. This research is part…

After more than a decade of democratic citizenship education in public schools in South Africa, the Department of Basic Education (DoBE) has still not produced sufficiently plausible ways for how democracy and citizenship ought to be taught in classrooms. I argue that the recent "practical guide" on how to cultivate "responsibility…

The study explores the civic identities of Romanian youth. Children born after 1989 have no memory of the communism; yet, they are the children and students of those who were educated under communism. Data sources were small group interviews with 21 youth and results indicate that participants believe "civic engagement is possible and…

This essay explores the ways in which the ancient Greek concept of parrhesia, defined as "frank speech and telling the truth as one sees it," can help facilitate the development of both intellectual courage and democracy as a way of life. It theorizes dimensions of parrhesia for the purpose of better educating a civic self-image rooted…

Explores management of expenditures for public education in welfare state. Faced with fiscal overload, Scottish government is seeking to curb expenditure by engaging the compliance of both professional educators and parents under the guise of school self-management. The government's case rests on a (democratic) rhetoric of choice and ownership but…

Examines whether lists of "effective school" characteristics are universally valid or internationally transferable. Demonstrates difficulties when applying Western school-improvement strategies in the context of South African schools struggling to establish some acceptable, minimal level of functional effectiveness. Describes three…