The paper focusses on three aspects of our work with the urban poor: utilization of participatory research methodologies to elicit local knowledge in forms that do not require traditional education; building capacities to create active organized citizenry through catalysing Settlement Improvement Committees, which are representative bodies…

This comparative case study was conducted to explore how family contributions are garnered and allocated at two socioeconomically different schools in Kansas and how those contributions mitigate or exacerbate existing inequities between schools. The Parent Teacher Association at each school was a focus of the study as it is the main avenue for…

Background: Mother-tongue education in South African primary schools remains a challenge to policymakers. The situation is problematic in multilingual "lok'shin" (township) schools where the "lok'shin" lingua is not recognised as 'standard' language. This article raises the controversial possibility of positioning of…

According to a proverb often referring to the misery that prevails in restricted if enlightened surroundings, "It is dark under the lamp." Urban areas have emerged as centers of excellence as far as economic development is concerned. People coming from diverse cultural, professional, and economic backgrounds live in cities. Gaps their…

In this article, I examine the lived experiences of two young women from urban slums in India who participated in an after-school program focusing on issues of gender inequality within their homes, communities, and schools. Through unstructured and semi-structured interviews and observations, this paper argues that young women from marginalized…

This article describes the goals, practices and underlying values of parents raising children in the violent context of Brazilian slums. The results show that mothers act within a multivocal moral framework, combining 'street cultural logic' with 'middle-class' perspectives. Survival and a strong sense of morality are taught through both…

This paper focuses upon the micro level of the pre-school classroom, taking the example of the Indian Integrated Child Development Service (ICDS), and the discourse of "child-centred" pedagogy that is often associated with quality pre-schooling. Through an analysis of visual data, semi-structured and film elicitation interviews drawn…

In state and central governments, there is a widespread perception that it is the rural areas that are in the greatest need of government assistance. By the same token, it is assumed that the educational problems are more urgent in rural areas. In this understanding, the taluka town is willy-nilly classified as urban, and little attention is given…

This study explored adolescents' reasons for involving themselves, or not, in risktaking behavior, in two vulnerable areas of North Jakarta. The sample was purposively selected among households with adolescents ranging from 12 to 18 years old living in the two areas. The study involved 401 parents (8% female; 92% male; mean age 45.3 years) and 414…

Purpose: The health challenges that characterise most of the migrants' urban slums raises a lot of concern for their well-being. Health-seeking behaviour becomes an important step towards maintaining a healthy life. The importance of contextual issues is necessary to help meet specific community health needs and programmes. Therefore, this study…

An idea took shape in the slums of Mumbai in the early nineties and went on to become a peoples' movement to address the problem of providing quality education for all of India's children. This piece profiles Dr. Madhav Chavan, the man who provided the dynamic vision for and creative leadership of that mission/movement. Dr. Chavan combined the…

India's linguistic diversity is reflected in classrooms across the country, where multiple languages are used by teachers and learners to negotiate meaning and instruction -- a multilingual, multicultural student body is the norm, whether in urban or rural contexts. This study documents teaching practices in English language and maths lessons in…

Research shows that children living with two biological parents outperform those raised in other family structures. A growing number of children do not live with two biological parents in sub-Saharan Africa, but few studies have examined the consequences. In this article, data from the African Population and Health Research Center collected in the…

Straddling between the purely political and the poetically artistic, I am arguing, is a Global Hip-Hop Nation (GHHN), which is yet to be charted and its cartography is yet to be demarcated. Taking two examples, the first a Hip-Hop song from within the Arab Spring and the second from the "favelas" in Brazil, my intent is to show what…

This paper focuses on the now-discarded practice of corporal punishment at Morris Isaacson High School, an important public school in Soweto. Corporal punishment, widely accepted by both students and parents, was central to the disciplinary regime of the school during the 1960s and 1970s. 'Morris' was one of the very few high schools in Soweto to…