This article describes two Socratic Seminar discussions, one focused on questioning just war and the other offering a perspective on how to end war. These discussions are the focus of this article because they show the complex and nuanced thinking and questioning students engaged in about what might constitute a just war (if anything) and how war…

Research demonstrates that teachers' cultural perspectives influence how they teach sexuality education; however, it is not clear how this occurs. Therefore, in my study, I explored how Xhosa teachers' cultural perspectives influenced their practice of teaching sexuality education to adolescent Xhosa learners. I purposively selected 9 female Xhosa…

On a February morning, Ms. Nelson (all names pseudonyms) was preparing her eleventh-grade class for a new unit with the goal of crafting arguments about the people and issues present in the classic novel "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe. As, teacher educators Eileen Shanahan and Min-Young Kim were observing in the classroom, it was…

This study considers how students change their coherent conceptual understanding of natural selection through a hands-on simulation. The results show that most students change their understanding. In addition, some students also underwent a transformative experience and used their new knowledge in a leisure time activity. These transformative…

This article examines an action research project on inter-faith dialogue within the sensitive context of Catholic pupils being taught Catholic religious education in state-funded secondary schools. Twenty pupils in S3 and S4 (Year 10 and Year 11) participated in a series of three paired conversations that focused primarily on science and religion,…

Student self-concept of math ability (SCMA) and math utility value shape course-taking patterns, achievement, and entree into mathematics-intensive college majors (Eccles & Wigfield, 2005). The development of SCMA and math utility value are embedded in social contexts (Marsh et al., 2005). School racial climate is a particularly important…

The implementation of Common Core State Standards (CCSS) across the country necessitates revising the English curriculum, asking teachers to incorporate and analyze more perspectives in the classroom as society becomes more diverse. The authors wondered if this reform might provide an opportunity to examine social equity by studying an anchor…

The author experienced the introduction of the Internet as a high school student. Reflecting on that experience, he now realizes that he did not understand the possibilities offered by chat rooms, instant messaging, and other Internet-based communication tools to increase sociopolitical connectedness. As the teacher of an eleventh grade social…

The influence of media on adolescents' health practices and behaviors, including personal values, beliefs, and perceived norms cannot be overstated. Youth media consumption continues to increase. Media messages are carefully designed to persuade the consumer to believe or do something. Some of the most persuasive media messages can be found in…

This study was aimed to investigate the potential negative impact that positive (e.g., praise and rewards) and punitive (e.g., sending students to the office) disciplinary techniques, commonly used within the Schoolwide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) approach, have on students' prosocial motivation, and how aspects of…

This study is a part of a larger study that examined using socioscientific issues (SSI) as a form of effective science teaching. The purpose was to investigate how teaching a year-long curriculum using SSI affects science learning outcomes. In this report, we examine the effects of a SSI-driven curriculum on the development of students' moral…

In this study, we examine how transformative leadership enables students from a low-income and multicultural neighbourhood to learn about democracy, responsible citizenship, and community engagement at school. As part of a graduate seminar on critical pedagogy and cultural studies in education, in-depth group interviews were conducted with…

This paper draws on a large Australian commissioned research study that mapped classroom pedagogies called "productive pedagogies". The model of pedagogies derived from an admixture of theory and empirical observations and worked together what Fraser (1997) calls a politics of redistribution and a politics of recognition in its desire to…