This paper discusses the importance of pilot studies in the development and implementation of a research project, focusing on the use of a pilot study to revise conceptual and methodological issues in dissertation research on higher education leadership. It examines the hermeneutic circle, as described by M. Heidegger, that stresses the importance…

Examines the work of Jurgen Habermas and Arthur Danto and develops a conceptual structure that views art education as an interpretive and reflective network that bridges school and life experiences. Contends that visual arts contribute to the development of reflective capacities. (CFR)

Examines professional and nonprofessional service providers to the homeless and their influence on local policymaking. Because professionals must supply precise information to government funding programs, they are more influential in interpreting homelessness to the public, yet promote a false sense of control over the situation by reducing the…

Suggests that a grand reflection on the paradigms of reality and the predicaments of life is needed in order to deal with the current discontent of humanity. Asserts that people must act on the world and reconstruct it to make it moral, just, and humane. Offers an agenda for educational leaders to help meet the needs of their communities.…

In this chapter, the authors review three distinct theoretical discourses--educational measurement, hermeneutics, and sociocultural studies--to support the development of validity theory for the routine use of assessment by professionals working in complex, dynamic, and always partially unique educational environments. They review validity…

In this paper we examine the discursive resources that year 4 and year 8 students draw on to construct meanings for health. Drawing on students' responses to tasks in the New Zealand National Monitoring Project (Crooks & Flockton, "Health & Physical Education", University of Otago Educational Assessment Research Unit, 1999) we…

India is currently faced with the formidable task of fulfilling its commitment towards Education for All. This paper presents findings of a multi-level study, which explored the various meanings, and efforts towards inclusive education in an Indian context. Using an ecosystemic framework, it discusses the many complex ways in which efforts have…

This article examines the hermeneutic, narrative, and social co-construction of cultural understanding as two educators shared their teaching and learning experiences in Japanese and Canadian schools. Our dialogic inquiry reveals how perceptions of practices in one culture--including curricula in non-core, academic subjects, stances on student…

In this article, the authors investigate visual and tactile ASL-English interpreters' influences on interactive discourse through an interactional sociolinguistic analysis of videotaped, interpreted interactions. They examine the participation framework of each of the interactions to determine whether the interpreters' utterances influence the…

This book provides an introduction to poststructuralism by examining a range of interrelated themes central to the field of education that focus on the critique of reason and the problematic nature of the subject. The first chapter examines the history of poststructuralism in terms of the broader canvas of European formalism, futurism, surrealism,…

This study investigated whether or not students apply educational theory to practical situations when they are involved in a learning process that starts from their own educational experiences and "Gestalts," the holistic unity of knowledge, feelings, values, and meanings linked to concrete situations encountered before, and colored by…

Formal and informal assessment of interdisciplinary courses in learning communities indicate that communicating across disciplines is a problem that can diminish the effectiveness of these courses. A new discipline called the Science of Creative Intelligence (SCI) has been used for 27 years at Maharishi University of Management (Iowa) to…

This paper develops a theory of listening in democratic dialogs inspired by the work of Hans-Georg Gadamer and John Dewey. The theory requires the acknowledgement of a prominent role for risking and reconstructing social habits in open dialogs across gender, racial, and ethnic differences. (SM)

Discusses stories as a powerful source of knowledge about both the conventional, hierarchical nature of supervision and the transformative alternative that recasts it as a critical, collaborative practice. The paper examines three recurring themes concerning supervisor role (authority, critic, and resource) and one theme concerning the teacher's…

Discusses the recent controversy emerging over California's first serious attempt at rewriting traditional history texts from a more multicultural perspective. Analyzes the opposition to the idea of a common U.S. history and the solutions offered in its place. (CJS)