This paper reviews some of the critical assessments of the Bologna Process, notably by Neave and Amaral and Teichler. Other secondary material referred to includes Reinalda and Kulesza, Corbett and Greatrix. It is arguable that the Bologna Process is part of the generally over-bureaucratic and very costly context of European Union (EU)…

According to prevailing models, experiential learning is by definition a stepwise process beginning with direct experience, followed by reflection, followed by learning. It has been argued, however, that stepwise models inadequately explain the holistic learning processes that are central to learning from experience, and that they lack scientific…

Howard Gardner's theory of Multiple Intelligences has had a huge influence on school education. But its credentials lack justification, as the first section of this paper shows via a detailed philosophical analysis of how the intelligences are identified. If we want to make sense of the theory, we need to turn from a philosophical to a historical…

Literary studies is in the doldrums. Wave after wave of revisionism has washed over literature departments in the last few decades, bringing a miscellany of new methods and critical tools, from cultural materialism to critical race theory, deconstruction to disability studies, the new historicism to the new formalism. Yet, even as people's ways of…

Aneta Pavlenko (henceforth A.P.) is a pioneer in the study of "languages and emotion" in general and "emotions and bilingualism" in particular. If I voice in this commentary some disagreements, I do so in order to engage in a constructive discussion, conscious of how much she has done in this area, and also, of how much we share in our respective…

In this article, the author responds to the comments made by Robert Bain and Jesus Garcia to his article entitled "Reinventing Social Studies." He says instead of discussing his suggested solutions to the problem, Bain tells everyone that there are and have been no problems in social studies education, that American citizens are well prepared, and…

Environmentalists are accustomed to using the rhetorical appeals of guilt and sacrifice to advocate their agendas. I argue that the motivations of guilt and sacrifice do not mirror the goals of sustainability, and are easy for anthropocentric-resourcist ideology (ARI) agendas to counter. When it comes to actual environmental policy change,…

This paper is founded upon the premise that "common sense" understandings about boys persist within schools and, given this continuing circulation of such understandings, advocates the need to critique such conceptualising. It does so on the grounds that such understandings, and the essentialist discursive knowledges informing these, fail to take…

This article presents the author's response to the six authors in the special issue of "Action, Criticism and Theory for Music Education" concerning her book "Music, Informal Learning and the School: A New Classroom Pedagogy." In this response, the author focuses on some general observations that came to mind whilst reading the…

The religious thought of Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy is a well documented but often overlooked example of unorthodox Christianity. This paper uses the example of Tolstoy's religious thinking to question the integrity of the current representation of Christianity in UK schools. It also uses Tolstoy's criticism of orthodox Christianity to suggest a…

The current study examined whether the personality traits of self-criticism or dependency moderated the effect of stressful life events on treatment response. Depressed outpatients (N = 113) were randomized to 16 weeks of cognitive-behavioral therapy, interpersonal psychotherapy, or antidepressant medication (ADM). Stressful life events were…

Henry A. Giroux is recognized as one of the fifty most significant thinkers on education in the 20th century. He is also considered a scholar of immense influence in a number of fields internationally, hardly an inconsequential accolade in a century noted for a glut of educational and social thinkers. Yet, its wide-ranging and ever-expanding…

The purpose of this study was to critique in-print, post-1990 copyrighted stepfamily self-help books in order to provide guidance to helping professionals who work with these complex families. Of the 63 books reviewed, trained coders were able to strongly recommend 13 books for being well organized, for relying on clinical or empirical sources of…

This paper considers from an Australian perspective the tensions for Christian schooling in the notion of educational excellence and whether, ultimately, it is possible for a Christian school to promote itself as a centre for educational excellence and remain authentically Christian. The language of excellence is prevalent in Western society, and…

While developing critical literacy in our students is a priority for all of us, Wilhelm believes that we must develop a critical literacy of teaching, as well. He asserts that this can best be achieved by 1) teaching through an inquiry context, and 2) taking on a teacher-researcher stance to think both reflectively and reflexively about our…