This paper serves as an introduction to this issue focused on the importance of work-life balance. Developments at work, in organizations and in society at large are drawing attention to the importance of work-life balance. Work-life balance cannot be understood unless we continue to understand the role that leisure plays in this relationship.…

In this article, the author discusses the importance of continuing to engage with students even when in an administration position. He states that a good superintendent has to be the personification of the resilient, reflective lifelong learner he or she wants the graduates to be. Sections in the article include: (1) Compelling Need; (2)…

The contemporary crisis in American Education that has resulted in Bush sponsored federal legislation for accountability and standardized testing is the setting for an essay introducing the work of French philosopher, Julia Kristeva. The comparison is between an "educated subject" that might well come to be constituted in schooling at…

In light of the complex notions of identity, this paper attempts to consider how to perceive the notion of world citizenship. The paper looks to discussions on the self and identity; focusing on the writing of Charles Taylor and Alasdair MacIntyre, with particular attention given to the notion of an integrated self. While philosophers,…

The current dominant concept of lifelong learning has arisen from the pressures of globalisation, economic change and the needs of the "knowledge economy". Its importance is not disputed in this paper. However, its proponents often advocate it in a form which places unrealistic demands on the individual without at the same time addressing their…

University educator P. L. Thomas recalls the significant figures in his professional life and, drawing from their example, exhorts us to "command the daily events of our own careers." He outlines specific actions that he believes English language arts teachers must take.

Suicide is a leading cause of death among youth, and schools have an important role to play in preventing suicide. Schools are the center of many adolescents' lives and they can influence students' personal and social development. Therefore, it is appropriate that the first line of suicide prevention strategies should lie within the educational…

Experience is an activity that arouses emotions and generates meanings based on vivid sensation and profound comprehension. It is emotional, meaningful, and personal, playing a key role in the course of forming and developing one's qualities. The psychological process of experience generation consists of such links as sensing things, arousing…

A greater acknowledgment of relational interdependence between individual and social agencies is warranted within conceptions of learning throughout working life. Currently, some accounts of learning tend to overly privilege social agency in the form of situational contributions. This de-emphasises the contributions of the more widely socially…

Through the application of life course theory to the study of sexual orientation, this paper specifies a new paradigm for research on human sexual orientation that seeks to reconcile divisions among biological, social science, and humanistic paradigms. Recognizing the historical, social, and cultural relativity of human development, this paradigm…

This study tested the validity of scores on the Personal Growth Initiative Scale (PGIS; C. Robitschek, 1998, 1999) with a Mexican American college student sample. Results indicated that the PGIS scores appear to be culturally relevant for this population, with scores on the PGIS having many similar relations with other variables that have been…

Methodological implications of a person-oriented, holistic-interactionistic perspective in research on individual development are outlined, desirable properties of a mathematical model of a phenomenon are discussed, and selected methods for carrying out person-oriented research are briefly overviewed. These methods are: (1) the classificatory…

This study compared perceptions of mentoring relationships among early adolescents, middle adolescents, and emerging adults. In ten focus groups, 56 middle school, high school, and college students described relational experiences that were analyzed thematically. Differences in the characteristics of the mentors nominated by the youth across the…

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) collaborated to produce a summary of two roundtable discussions on the critical relevance of child and adolescent development research to teacher preparation practices. The participants in the roundtable…

In this paper, the authors draw on Bronfenbrenner's theory of human development in order to examine western influences upon Russian education. They argue that while some have embraced western ideas about education and schooling, reflecting both the influence of specific educational theorizing and that of broader globalizing trends, many teachers…