Explores the importance of race in the United States as a means to questioning the necessity of affirmative-action laws. Presents different perspectives on the pros and cons of affirmative action in hiring practices and educational admissions. Asserts that the laws prohibiting affirmative action in Washington and California demonstrate the…

Presents three short Internet assignments that can be used in an introductory undergraduate U.S. government course. Explains that the assignments foster students' understanding of political science concepts, political behavior, and government structures while also improving students' information seeking skills. Provides results from student…

Examines various publishing efforts of the political right. Highlights include an annotated list of serials on topics including family values, economics, constitutional issues, civilian militia, and racism and antisemitism; an annotated bibliography of books; names and addresses of groups who watch and track the right; and World Wide Web…

Provides background information on four constitutional amendment proposals: (1) flag protection amendment; (2) school prayer amendment; (3) balanced-budget amendment; and (4) victim rights amendment. Evaluates each in terms of timeliness, the support base, and the strength of their opposition. Includes questions for discussion. (CMK)

Examines research and literature on race and ethnic groups published between 1911-2000, documenting how knowledge created by social scientists, historians, and intellectuals reflects social and cultural contexts and political and economic interests. Notes the competing paradigms and explanations developed in each historical period, explaining that…

Provides analyses of four political cartoons in order to suggest approaches to Gilded Age politics that reveal key issues, such as gender, religion, and ethnicity, as well as the struggles over material resources in a stratified economy. Maintains that political cartoons assist students in understanding the ideology of a past era. (CMK)

This paper utilises some of Foucault's notions to explore the use of the "disciplinary technologies" of film/video in social guidance programmes in schools to shape, constitute and control the morality of youth. As the first section elaborates, for Foucault, "technology" is the actual practice of power that involves "the government of individuals,…

Peace education is a key for establishing a consensual peace and maintaining it over time. There are 5 essential elements in building a lasting peace through education. First, a public education system must be established that has compulsory attendance for all children and youth, integrated so students from previously conflicting groups interact…

This launches a new periodic feature in Reclaiming Children and Youth. "Justice Alerts" examines current laws and policies against the twofold standards of solid science and moral values. This inaugural article explores the legal issues and political rhetoric surrounding random drug testing in schools and describes how science is being…

This article examines race-based propositions and the movidas used to garner electorate support for these initiatives, which amount to the "tyranny of the majority" trampling on the rights of the minority as has happened so many times during our nation's history in the name of democracy. Specifically, the passage of Proposition 227 in California…

This article draws on data collected through two focus groups and eight telephone interviews undertaken as part of an evaluation of a local Sure Start programme. Located in the context of New Labour's valorisation of parenting, and specifically mothering, the article explores the impact of Sure Start policy on discourses of motherhood in this…

The environmental education field in Mexico is a relatively new social space characterized by wide discursive proliferation and organized by regional hegemonies. In this context, a plurality of identification processes has taken place. There is not a singular environmental educator identity but a multiplicity of local definitions. In this paper, I…

In post-Mao China, wide-ranging reform programmes have affected almost every sphere of life. History education has been no exception, and in addition to attempts to revise teaching, learning and assessment methods, there have been preliminary forays into textbook pluralism and gradual devolution of curriculum development. History education…

Cultural geographers have described the 2000-mile, sun-baked, history-rich, heavily patrolled U.S.-Mexico border as the world's most dynamic international frontier. Compared to current flashpoint border regions, such as India-Pakistan or Israel-Palestine, "la linea," as it is called in Spanish, is remarkably peaceful. But disparities…

This article presents case studies of political literacy among primary pupils. While researching primary pupils' understanding of "enterprise", the researchers added interviews connecting this concept to the Iraq war. A sample of 10 non-representative Scottish primary schools from seven local education authorities has provided the…