This study investigates the extent to which forms of prosocial behaviour and values of social responsibility are related to various domains of political culture among Australian youth. Using data from a survey of 1311 senior secondary students from the ACT and South Australia, it was found that 14 per cent had participated in one or more volunteer…

Encouraging students to reflect on their ethical principles and to develop a global outlook have been identified as key pedagogical goals in recent national reports on higher education. This article shows how instructors can use a current article from the "American Sociological Review (ASR)" to facilitate moral reflection and global awareness. The…

South Korean mothers' reactions to preschoolers' aggression and social withdrawal were examined within a cultural framework. With recent social, political, and cultural changes in South Korea, there appears to be a conflict between traditional values and the Confucian heritage on one hand, and Western influence on the other. Mothers (N=81) of…

Historically, rural General Practitioners (GPs) in Australia tended to be male, Anglo, middle-class and in nuclear family structures, whereas the contemporary workforce demographic is increasingly female and of diverse ethnicity. Demographic trends and changing social values of university-educated professionals directly affect services in rural…

This paper addresses the Fulbright experience of an American faculty member in Eastern Siberia, Russian Federation. Both course content and teaching method are contrasted with what is traditional and customary in that region. The author regularly kept a journal, enabling thoughtful post-experience reflection. Continued emphasis on the…

This paper reports on a research study that investigated the extent to which the Queensland secondary school subject Modern History adopts characteristics of socially critical environmental education. The study found that while the Modern History syllabus gives ample opportunities for students to focus their inquiries on "environment",…

This article investigates China's middle school and secondary school teacher expectations of student book use as an aspect of learning environments. A questionnaire was used to probe the following teacher expectations: physical accessibility of books, homework, mastery of texts and types of extra-curricular reading materials. Results showed…

This paper explores whether any of the traditional aspects of Chinese culture discussed in the marketing and cross-cultural literature still apply to today's generation of Chinese students in the seemingly westernized location of Hong Kong. It finds that most of the traditional cultural beliefs are still endorsed although Hong Kong students also…

Purpose: This study investigated the conceptions of governance that informed the practices of school trustees, and considered the extent to which those conceptions matched the policy imperatives that shaped New Zealand's school governance framework. Design/methodology/approach: Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 32 participants in the…

This paper provides a discussion of the role of school leaders in establishing democratic principles in a post-conflict society. Drawn primarily from the author's experiences in Kosovo, the paper briefly introduces the historical and contemporary socio-political context of the region, and then examines the role of school administrators in a…

Since the 1980s the mission of the national citizenship education curriculum in Pakistan has been the Islamization of society. The government curriculum guidelines require textbooks to emphasize Islam as the national ideology of the state of Pakistan. Recognizing the deleterious effect of an exclusivist curriculum on the civic unity of the nation,…

Building upon the late Pierre Bourdieu's belief that intellectuals had a major responsibility in bridging intellectual work and the operation of politics, this paper argues that intellectuals, especially those in higher education, need to recognise that youth is an important moral referent and political starting point for addressing a number of…

The use of computers in early years has become a contentious issue, with advocates calling for more Information and Communications Technology (ICT), more machines, better software, and more training for professionals, while other groups call for "a moratorium on the further introduction of computers in early childhood and elementary…

In view of the present state of affairs in the field, it is time for reassessment and professional debate about what sexuality education can and should be. There have been significant cultural shifts brought about by recent technological development, global awareness of sexual issues, and the characteristics of the current younger generation.…

The middle level years are an important period of transition for adolescents. Middle level students have giant hearts--they want to save the world, and they are learning how to reach outside of themselves to empathize and care about others. At Millburn Middle School in New Jersey, where the author is principal, staff members found a way to help…