Despite the many hours students spend studying science, only a few relate to these subjects in such a manner that it becomes a part of their essential worldview and advances their education in a larger sense--one in which they make a connection to the subject matter so that it becomes a source of inspiration and occupies a formative position in…

This paper is targeted primarily at doctoral students and others considering hermeneutics as a research strategy. Research using hermeneutics was carried out with occupational therapy educators and clinicians in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the UK. A total of 53 participants engaged in focus groups and individual interviews over a one-year.…

Family involvement in education often has been justified in terms of parental rights or positive educational outcomes. Such justifications are often cast as models and useful strategies to follow. Yet largely absent from the practical advice are the contextual dimensions that condition involvement in the first instance: namely, race, class,…

This paper provides a discussion of the role of school leaders in establishing democratic principles in a post-conflict society. Drawn primarily from the author's experiences in Kosovo, the paper briefly introduces the historical and contemporary socio-political context of the region, and then examines the role of school administrators in a…

In spite of the growing body of research on loneliness, the relationship between the phenomena of loneliness and boredom has not been sufficiently addressed, especially in respect to children. The question, "How does the child's experience of boredom stand phenomenologically in relation to the experience of loneliness?" is explored from a…

In a case study, I applied philosophical hermeneutic principles in an advanced level EFL writing class in Taiwan. A "fusion of horizons" occurs at the junction of two intertwined interpretations: one from our socio-historical tradition and the other from our experience of novel phenomena. I explored students' hermeneutic horizons in…

This paper explores how various perspectives influence inquiry in education. Normative perspectives function as implicit theories of inquiry as a researcher undertakes formal inquiry, and such theories should be acknowledged. Epistemological as well as methodological issues raised by conceiving of such theories as normative rather than merely…

Findings from a case-method study that explored educational administration students' perceptions of two administrative theories--micropolitical analysis and traditional social systems approach--are presented in this paper. Methodology involved presentation of a case to educational administration students who participated in group discussion and…

An analysis of the relationship between the history of the word "supervision" and the evolution of the American public education system, with a focus on women's roles, is presented in this paper. A historical overview of the role of educational supervision in the United States is followed by discussion of an alternative way of viewing supervision,…

This book is directed toward students in organizational-theory and problem-analysis classes and their professors, as well as school administrators seeking to examine their problems and policies from new perspectives. It explains and illustrates methodology for describing, documenting, and analyzing organizational problems. Part I, "Methodology,"…

This series of roundtable papers explores the attempt of writing instructors to empower students by teaching them both to write within the discourse of the academic community and to write critically against it, resisting its accepted forms of thought and discourse. (CJS)

Asserts that western civilization's belief in the differentiation between object and subject impedes a true multicultural discourse. Praises the postmodernist approach, that self-evident reality is actually a politically constructed text, as being useful in identifying subjectivity. Argues for acknowledgment, rather than displacement of,…

Illustrates the astonishing coordination of archaeological and scholarly activities surrounding the Dead Sea Scrolls. First discovered by Bedouin nomads in 1947, the Scrolls consist of a few complete manuscripts and over 80,000 fragments. Discusses the early Christian sect that produced the Scrolls, and provides current perspectives on the…

In this hermeneutical study, the authors focus on understanding the experiences of older Korean students who have come to the United States to pursue academic degrees at American universities. The purpose of this study is to describe the critical events related to their adjustment processes as well as to address some of the specific concerns of…

One of the most significant factors, determining effectiveness of any organization is an optimal management of the system, which is perceived as a social organization. Otherwise strategy errors in management potentially undermine the whole system of the organization. Assuming that management based on authoritarian relations may illusionary create…