This article is a response to Robin Barrow's John Wilson Memorial Lecture "On the duty of not taking offence". The present article takes issue with some of Barrow's claims and explores further the implications for moral education of some current views on the giving and taking of offence. Accounts are offered both of "inherent offensiveness" (an…

Comments on the article "Psychology and Phenomenology: A Clarification" by H. H. Kendler. This article calls for clarifications regarding its characterization of Heideggerian phenomenology. Kendler drew on his admittedly "limited understanding" (p. 322) of Heidegger and rested his critique upon a critical confusion that pervaded his…

This essay examines critically the conceptual and normative underpinnings of various views about educational quality, emphasizing the centrality of different assumptions about educational aims. Two distinctions play a key role in the first part of the paper: that between transcendent justifications of educational aims, versus socio-cultural…

Critical social theory is a multidisciplinary knowledge base with the implicit goal of advancing the emancipatory function of knowledge. It approaches this goal by promoting the role of criticism in the search for quality education. Through critical social theory in education, quality is proportional to the depth of analysis that students have at…

It is said that aestheticians today, including art critics and philosophers, are yearning for some kind of salvation for contemporary art. This salvation would come in the form of a return to aesthetic experience that would act as a foundation enabling resistance to pure discursive reflection and intertextuality. These debates concerning…

Some impressive video movies have appeared as supplemental material in recent issues of the "Journal of Cell Biology (JCB)", and in this article, the author reviews several of them. In general, the JCB format provides each video clip with its own caption, in addition to any contextual references in the article itself, and a separate descriptive…

Much has been promised from the government about providing a more contemporary and streamlined system for child care at the beginning of the 21st century. In this article Calder critically evaluates the origins of the incoming Integrated Children's System and questions how welding two faulty and discredited systems from the 1990s together can…

Literary criticism no longer aims to appreciate aesthetics, which is to study how humans respond to art. The problem plaguing the literary academy is that literature is reduced to an idea or a moral and theory has become institutionalized in literature departments and continues to be taught.

Education is presented with a challenge when faced with criticism of modern science and adoption of a pluralistic view of environmental education and education for sustainable development. In dealing with this challenge, a practical understanding inspired by the later works of Ludwig Wittgenstein is suggested as a complement to more traditional…

This paper explores ways in which Western literature can be taught to Non-western students. This paper demonstrates that non-western values do not have to be overcome but rather Western values can be highlighted and reinforced to deal with literary complexity. Values and ideals such as freedom, self-identity, religion, feminism, and equality are…

Large-scale assessment programs are becoming increasingly common throughout Canada and the United States. Given the emphasis on inclusive education in North America, special education students are largely expected to participate in these programs. However, several challenges exist for educators, policymakers, and psychometricians with respect to…

Research on the use of approvals/disapprovals in classroom teaching has highlighted praise as more effective than criticism, specific evaluation more valuable than general, and gender differences. This study investigated the use of positive/negative and specific/general evaluation and gender effects in instrumental music lessons in higher…

The author reacts to three reviews by Carolyn Enns, Stephen Wester, and P. Paul and Mary Heppner on "The Counseling Psychologist" Major Contribution "Summarizing 25 Years of Research on Men's Gender Role Conflict Using the Gender Role Conflict Scale: New Research Paradigms and Clinical Implications." The reviews provide support for assessing the…

Purpose: This paper aims to provide a critical analysis of the European Commissions and the member states attempts to introduce a European Qualifications Framework and national frameworks respectively. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is based on a review of policies and substantive desk research in countries that have applied a…

Taking up a theme raised by Stuart Cunningham in a recent issue of the "AUR"--that the innovations of Australia's humanities, creative arts, and social sciences are not getting the recognition that they deserve from the nation's government--this paper, dealing only with the social sciences, offers a cautionary note. If the social…