Teaching in a democracy is challenging and filled with dilemmas that have no easy answers. For example, how do educators meet their responsibilities of teaching civic norms and dispositions while remaining nonpartisan? "Democratic Discord in Schools" features eight normative cases of complex dilemmas drawn from real events designed to…

In this article, William Ayers reflects on his teaching experiences starting in 1965 when he found that teaching, from his first day until the present, has been linked for him to the persistent longing for freedom, and the never-ending quest for justice. He describes the "Children's Community"--"an experiment in freedom and…

From 1973 to 1976 the author served as history department shop steward for the Teaching Assistants Association (TAA) at the University of Wisconsin (UW), the oldest such union in the country and the first to bargain collectively and obtain a contract. When he arrived in Madison in 1971 to pursue a PhD in American history, the TAA already had a…

Located on a wildlife reserve in northern California, Butte College is an environmentally conscious community, complete with an extensive solar-power program and a transportation network built to keep cars off its roads. The college generates more solar power than any other community college in the country and is a nationally recognized leader in…

In this article, the authors discuss the contest of faculties on discerning the politics of social engagement in the academy. They begin by noting that the relationship between scholarship and social engagement is by no means obvious or unproblematic. They know, for example, that there are less conspicuous forms of scholarly engaged activities…

The relative importance to feminism of generation and feminist self-labeling was explored in a sample of 667 women riding buses to a 1992 March on Washington for Reproductive Rights. Specifically, generational (Generation X vs. Baby Boomers) and feminist self-labeling (strong feminists vs. weak feminists vs. nonfeminists) similarities and…

"What do you really mean by social justice art education?" This question constantly causes confusion among not only the students, but also the educators, researchers, and artists working at the intersection of art, education, and social justice. The labels for this work come in many shapes, among them, activist art, community-based arts, new…

Proponents and opponents of euthanasia have argued passionately about whether it should be legalized. In Australia in the mid-1990s, following the world's first legal euthanasia deaths, Dr. Philip Nitschke initiated a different approach: a search for do-it-yourself technological means of dying with dignity. The Australian government has opposed…

The United States today faces an economic crisis worse than any since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Nowhere is it sharper than in the nation's schools. Last year, California saw a perfect storm of protest in virtually every part of its education system. K-12 teachers built coalitions with parents and students to fight for their jobs and their…

In recent years, citizenship, particularly what it means to be an engaged and active citizen, has received considerable attention from researchers and theorists in the field of education. This burgeoning interest is not surprising, given that in most societies educational institutions have been accorded primary responsibility for educating young…

Indigenous peoples and other rural or remote populations often bear the social and environmental cost of extractive industries while obtaining little of the wealth they generate. Recent developments including national and international recognition of Indigenous rights, and the growth of "corporate social responsibility" initiatives among…

Relying on Latina/Chicana feminist and critical race theories of identity, and "testimonio" as methodology of knowledge production (Latina Feminist Group, 2001), the authors examine the complexity of their professional and personal identities as academics and members of families and communities to theorize their common experiences as…

Background/Context: On January 29, 2008 the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) approved a city-wide Africentric elementary school under their Alternative School policy, sparking a contentious debate. Calls for Black-focused schools also arose in 2008 in London in response to the disengagement of African Caribbean youth. The historical record…

This article explores an Arab American community arts organization as a site for promoting youth civic participation and social activism. Studying a citizenship education project outside the school walls, and focusing on the arts as a medium for this work, foregrounds the role of the symbolic for engaging youth as active participants in democratic…

New York City's new mayor, Bill de Blasio, represents a dramatic shift from his predecessor Michael Bloomberg in the area of education. Bloomberg was a national trendsetter on market reforms focused on privatization, testing, and competition. De Blasio was elected on an agenda of classroom investments, student supports, parent and community…