People who emphasize teaching quality and the central importance of teachers are right to do so. Where some go wrong is in thinking that teacher quality is an innate characteristic. The effectiveness of a teacher is not some inherent competence, as the phrase "teacher quality" suggests. Teacher effectiveness is contextual. Why has the…

In her 2010 novel "Sangra por la herida," the Cuban novelist, poet, and essayist Mirta Yáñez constructs a panoramic view of metropolitan Havana, following the model of Latin American fiction starting in the 1980s based on a revised version of the detective novel. "Sangra por la herida" functions best as a narrative that…

Education was an instrument in Christian missions' and colonial powers' civilisation projects. At the same time, education was also instrumental in fostering opposition. This article approaches perceptions of education mainly from the perspective of Norwegian Lutheran missionaries in French colonial Madagascar during the 1940s. The focus is on how…

The 2016 presidential campaign and the election of Donald Trump has amplified divisive anti-immigrant sentiment and has further positioned "Mexicans as enemy." Trump's "Build That Wall!" declarative has stoked nativist ire through manufactured narratives that rarely, if ever, consider the United States government's role in the…

It is challenging to define who Michel Foucault was, whether he was a theorist, a philosopher, a historian, or a critic. In many of his books, and essays, Foucault denied being a philosopher or a theorist, nor did he want to be called a writer or a prophet. He described himself as an experimenter by saying that his work simply consists of…

Despite its popularity in education studies literature, interdisciplinary science education is mostly considered outside the multitude of social forces that drive education reform. This has contributed to a mythologizing of interdisciplinary science education and lead to assumptions about the necessity of its intervention into science education…

Scores of articles in "FORUM" have engaged for almost sixty years with a range of substantive issues relating to the grammar/secondary modern school divide, and to the movement for comprehensive reform. These articles constitute an invaluable resource for campaigners and historians. Highlighted and introduced here are half a dozen such…

Simulation can be used for teaching or practicing both technical skills (insertion of intravenous catheters, or suturing for example) and non-technical skills (communication and teamwork). A combination of full body, high and low technology simulators (mannequins designed to depict humans), body part or body system-specific task trainers (models…

After a brief historical reconstruction of the emergence of the market economy as a model of social order in Europe, dating back to the eleventh century--the century of the commercial revolution--the paper focuses on the decisive contribution of the Franciscan school of thought to furnish the theoretical infrastructure of the new mode of…

This examination emanates from the rise in nativist populism across the United States and Europe. Nativist populism is fueled by charismatic leaders who advocate isolationist, neoliberal policies that ostensibly aim to help the economic fortunes of those left behind by rapid globalization; however, these same policies could very well be creating…

This paper presents an outline of the history and the current orientation of informal learning in museums, museum pedagogy. This is the result of a lengthy process over the last two centuries, which became particularly intensive from the 1960s, in which museums looked for deeper ways to communicate with visitors, starting from basic presentation…

Dr. Zakir Husain is known as a self-less nationalist leader and also as an educationist "par excellence." Taking a cue from his educational ideas like the "Nai Talim," this article brings into focus his views on the medium-conundrum. Dr. Husain was very clear about the role of Indian languages and the relevance of mother…

In the years around 1900, more women were benefiting from a university education and using it as a pathway to acquiring research expertise and contributing to the development of scientific knowledge. Although numbers were small compared with men, it is clear that the idea of a female researcher was no longer an oddity. As illustrated by…

The centennial anniversary of John Dewey's "Democracy and Education" has been celebrated this year in a reconstructive and utility-based spirit. The article considers this spirit and the need to complement it with a critical-deconstructive and "use-less" prism that will reveal shortcomings in Dewey's and our own political…

Documentary history reveals that charter schools are a vestige of the socially divided school system of 19th-century England. The current charter school movement in the United States raises the danger to American democracy of splitting up the U.S. school structure and creating a separate system of schools for other people's children.