Through examining the concept of rights in emergent South Africa policy, this article illustrates how philosophy can serve democratic policy in pursuit of the public good. Although the South African Schools Act establishes some institutional conditions for a right-based educational system, curriculum inadequacies may undermine this objective.…

Argues United States schools are in danger of failing to promote democratic values and democratic modes of thinking. Looks at policy mandates and the erosion of democracy, noting that critical reading of texts has taken a back seat to "teaching the basics," and that texts themselves have become a primary control mechanism in the de-democratization…

Tested experience with diversity as the key to teaching tolerance by studying 2,184 eighth grade social-studies students attending 7 public and 24 private schools in New York City and Fort Worth, Texas. Private schools currently perform slightly better at encouraging interethnic friendships and developing support for democratic norms. (Contains 23…

Describes the Reading and Writing for Critical Thinking (RWCT) Project. Provides an illustration of the RWCT framework of evocation, realization of meaning, and reflection, focusing on how literacy activities can develop fundamental ideas about democracy. Considers the implication of "democratic pedagogy" and includes a lesson plan on democratic…

Describes Lawton (Michigan) Elementary School's "Road to Success" program, which emerged from concern for students' knowledge of civics and ability to participate as effective citizens. Explains that an important aspect of the program is its focus on Core Democratic Values. (CMK)

The politics of division arises from applying formal organizational theories of governance, management, and leadership to schools. Rational-choice theory and cultural pluralism lack the unifying power of civic virtue. Creating a politics of virtue requires that we renew commitments to our nation's democratic legacy. Principals must practice…

Current conceptualizations of (Canadian) community college leadership associate leadership with hierarchical organizational structures. Today's community college leaders must respond to external changes and their effects and solve actual problems that have damaged these institutions. Managerial teams offer a less hierarchical, more democratic…

Discusses fostering democratic principles in the literature classroom, moving from reader response to democratic community, listening and democracy, listening together as teachers, and democratic reading and the integration of thought and feeling--all stemming from the work of Louise Rosenblatt and applied to the classroom and teacher/student…

Describes a team-taught, interdisciplinary college honors course on politics and literature, including the origins and theoretical underpinning of the course, issues related to the intersection of the disciplines, evolution of the teacher's role in the course, and outcomes. Concludes that despite the difficulties of interdisciplinary team…

Argues that a commitment to supporting student First Amendment rights can and should be a primary educational goal, helping to instill in students an appreciation for responsible citizenship in a pluralistic society. Discusses definitions of "obscene,""vulgar," and "indecent," and how a school should respond to situations involving charges that…

Examined practices in a constructivist graduate teacher education program, documenting changes in teachers and their practice and analyzing connections between program practices and teacher change. Data from field notes, teacher and faculty interviews, classroom observations, faculty ratings of teachers, and artifacts helped develop a model for…

Judicious Discipline is a comprehensive, democratic classroom-management approach based on constitutional principles that balance personal rights against social needs. After rights and responsibilities are introduced, students learn to govern their own behavior by assessing their actions in terms of time, place, and manner. Class meetings help…

During the past dozen years, the author has spent hundreds of hours discussing the relationship between education and democracy in seminars with groups of school- and university-based educators. Serving the public good in a democracy means serving the common weal, that of both the individual and the collective. The citizens of a democracy must…

In this article, the author reflects on his participation in a project in democratic educational renewal in an inner-city high school in Cincinnati, Ohio in the 1990s. He frames the case study within a number of broader questions in democratic educational research and theory having to do with the need to construct narratives of hope without…

Contemplating the root of the word "idiocy" leads the author to explore the challenge that democratic societies face of developing public-minded citizens. The schools, he argues, are the most likely institutions to succeed in that task. Schools in societies that are trying in various ways to be democracies, such as the United States,…