In volume 103 of "Modern Language Journal," Stephen May suggested that the "multilingual turn" has not fully delivered on its promises, pointing out second language acquisition (SLA) researchers' continued focus on parallel monolingualisms rather than on dynamic bi/multilingualism, the lack of theorization of historicity in…

This commentary was written while the author was visiting the 30th International Congress of Psychology in Cape Town, South Africa. Looking at the program, he could see that psychological research on non-Western populations and internationally comparative research seems to be much "en vogue"! However, much of the research he has seen…

This article argues that transformative learning becomes increasingly essential for educators in the changing landscape of the adult and higher education institutions of the United States that has continuously hosted highest numbers of international students among other countries. First, it presents a context discussing learning for…

This commentary focuses on school leadership as connective activity. Leadership is essentially about designing, managing and energizing the right connections, and untying the wrong ones, in order to make schools successful, equitable, happier places. The author's basic proposition is that school leaders who influence students and their communities…

This paper examines Hermann Hesse's penultimate novel, "The Journey to the East", from an educational point of view. Hesse was a man of the West who turned to the idea of "the East" in seeking to understand himself and his society. While highly critical of elements of Western modernism, Hesse nonetheless viewed "the East" through Western lenses…

There is a growing body of literature discussing evidence-based education, practice, policy, and decision-making from a critical perspective. In this article, drawing on the literature and policy documents related to evidence-based education in the USA, Britain, and Canada, I join this critique and offer an anticolonial perspective. I argue that…

From an epistemological perspective, Wilhelm von Humboldt's studies on the Oriental and East Asian languages and writing systems (Egyptian hieroglyphs, Sanskrit, Chinese, Polynesian) raise the question of his position in the Orientalist discourse of his time. Said [Said, E.W., 1978. "Orientalism. Western Conceptions of the Orient, fourth…

History has always witnessed the confrontation and differentiation of the East and the West and sometimes that of North and South, as in the rare examples of Africa, America, and Korea. Sometimes, this struggle occurred between classes or religions, and sometimes it occurred between nations. In this article, the author discusses how Turkey has…

Just as a contemporary professional person maintains copies of wills, real estate records, and court decrees, so did 15th-century B.C. residents of the ancient city of Nuzi. Such documents, then and now, are generally written by legal scribes. The Hittites of the 14th century B.C. maintained detailed manuals concerning the care and feeding of…

Places (in dialogue form) a discussion of the functions of silence with what purports to be an Eastern attitude, specifically that derived from several Chinese texts. Poses in contrast to the Eastern portion a purportedly Western, didactic discussion. Notes that the ancient question of the relationship of rhetoric and dialectic recurs. (RS)

Presents historical perspective suggesting that invitational theory shares many beliefs with ancient Eastern philosophies. Submits that teachers and other educators who embrace the invitational perspective may benefit from an understanding of Eastern principles. Briefly describes Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Zen Buddhism, and their relevance to…

The author considers the need for a philosophical foundation for gifted education and suggests the Tao Te Ching education can reconcile the dichotomies in the field and encompass the various cognitive, affective, ethical, and esthetic taxonomies in existence. (CL)

This paper examines in detail how the Western type of education was introduced and developed among the Igbo at the primary or elementary stage during the colonial period in Africa. (Author)

In the last 5 or 6 years, there has been an outburst of scholarly work published about traditional and contemporary Chinese rhetoric. Some of these pieces have appeared in communication journals and some in English and composition journals, and disciplinary boundaries may have prevented getting a good idea of exactly what, and how much research,…

Discusses the use of silence in the classroom to encourage reflective and creative thinking on the part of the students; notes the values of meditation and lists recent books that discuss it. (MAI)