Considers classroom instruction in a Catholic junior high school as part of an intricate ritual system supporting the values of the larger society. Corporate capitalist values associated with "becoming a worker" closely complemented values associated with "becoming a Catholic." Together these create the "ritual…

Proposes an integration of critical theory and humanistic education. Strengths and limitations of each are discussed, and a model for liberatory education is proposed. The model is illustrated with an example from a fifth grade classroom. Further dialogue among humanistic educators and critical theorists is recommended. (Author/VM)

Describes education as an alienation of mind from body, thought from action, reason from feeling, and self from other. Traditional definitions of education relate it only to society's productive--not reproductive--processes. Reconstructing education is only possible if we acknowledge the workings of gender in educational theory. (KH)

Presents dominant approaches to English teaching as reinforcing social inequality by excluding works considered marginal with respect to mainstream society. Suggests teaching students to critically appropriate the expression of different cultural experiences, providing them with the skills they will need to define and shape, rather than simply…

Discusses cultural models, prototypical scripts that constitute the meaning of language as used by a particular group. Argues that the role of the second language teacher is to encourage students to focus on and develop beyond the cultural models of their home cultures and of the mainstream school culture. (FMW)

The hidden curriculum in schools affects students' behavior. Observations from over 60 classrooms show differences in the way students from various academic tracks and socioeconomic backgrounds react to ambiguous situations. The analysis demonstrates that teachers and schools maintain the socioeconomic status quo rather than working for a more…

Reviews anthropological studies and demonstrates how the term "literate" has replaced the term "civilized" and how literacy is currently used to distinguish between different social groups in modern, technological societies. Discusses how teachers of English are actually teaching a set of oral and written social practices associated with the…

Discusses a rationalist approach to curriculum and the inherent underlying organizational premises. Outlines a critical approach to the culture of an educational organization. Considers curriculum as a component of culture and provides data from two postsecondary institutions. Discusses implications of a critical view of the organization and the…

Describes the deficit theories and skills approaches shaping how teachers, administrators, and students conceive of basic writers. Critiques research on cultural conflict in the classroom and the theory that students must be initiated into academic discourse. Explores John Ogbu's "oppositional culture" theory to better understand basic…