This policy brief aims to problematize the curricular issues that have traditionally framed schools from the 1600s onward. These framings have taught literacy as decontextualized skills, disconnected from students' lives, their consciousness, and their joy. This tradition has resulted in poor achievement, less rigor, and a lack of intellectual…

"Globalisation and National Identity in History Textbooks: The Russian Federation," the 16th book in the 24-volume book series "Globalisation, Comparative Education and Policy Research," discusses trends in dominant discourses of identity politics, and nation-building in school history textbooks in the Russian Federation (RF).…

This regional dossier aims to provide a concise, description and basic statistics about minority language education in a specific region of Europe. Aspects that are addressed include features of the education system, recent educational policies, main actors, legal arrangements, and support structures, as well as quantitative aspects, such as the…

How is epistemology related to the issue of teaching science and evolution in the schools? Addressing a flashpoint issue in our schools today, this book explores core epistemological differences between proponents of intelligent design and evolutionary scientists, as well as the critical role of epistemological beliefs in learning science.…

The mobility of scientists and the concerns surrounding "brain drain" are not new. Even in the Ptolemic dynasty, the first king set out to attract and influence the movements of scholars to shift the centre of learning from Athens to Alexandria. Yet after all this time, there is still much policy discourse and debate focused on attempting to…

The role of play in human development has long been the subject of controversy. Despite being championed by many of the foremost scholars of the twentieth century, play has been dogged by underrepresentation and marginalization in literature across the scientific disciplines. "The Oxford Handbook of the Development of Play" marks the first attempt…

Each edition of the IDRA Newsletter strives to provide many different perspectives on the issues in education topics discussed and to define its significance in the state and national dialogue. This issue focuses on Student Engagement and includes: (1) Engaging Ourselves to Engage Our Students (Josie Danini Cortez); (2) The Family Friendly…

The Bradley Commission on History in Schools was created in 1987 specifically in response to the widespread concern over the inadequacy, both in quantity and in quality, of the history taught in elementary and secondary school classrooms. This book explores the conditions that contribute to, or impede, the effective teaching of history in schools.…

This document focuses on the ideas, forces, and events that move the National School Boards Association (NSBA) forward through the years since its founding in 1940 (with its long roots extending back into the middle of the 19th century). The first chapter of this history of the NSBA, "The Antecedent Years," focuses on the years…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) House and Senate Pass Budget Blueprints: Plans Would Increase Spending by More than $20 Billion Over the President's…

Reviews the role of history in the U.S. social studies curriculum. Explains that differing interpretations of history and the purposes of history have had a significant impact on the structure of the K-12 social studies curriculum. Argues that the time is ripe for historians and social studies educators to renew cooperative efforts. (CFR)

"International Education and Foreign Languages" reviews the Department of Education's Title VI and Fulbright-Hays Programs, which provide higher education funding for international education and foreign language programs. This book offers a timely look at issues that are increasingly important in an interconnected world. It discusses the…

In the late 1970s following a military coup, Chile, with its population brutally suppressed, became the first testing ground for the changes that now define neo-liberal recommendations by international funding agencies such as the IMF and World Bank. The changes were dramatic and extensive. The population could not negotiate the terms of change.…

The aim of this book is to track the historical elements of change in educational policy formation and implementation in relation to the specifics of responses to change, the possibilities of change, and attempts to achieve it. Chapter 1 assess whether the future is in past historical change or is simply illuminated by it. The notion of an…

Asserts that social studies practitioners and researchers often misinterpret their history as an extension of the present. Discusses issues and progress in the small, but growing, field of research into the history of social studies education. Concludes that the field's history has been neglected. (CFR)