In her audio essay for the the National Public Radio's series "This I Believe," Iranian-American author and professor Azar Nafisi celebrates the affective power of empathy. In the essay, Nafisi refers to actual people in Darfur, Afghanistan, Iraq, Algeria, Rwanda, and North Korea, but she turns to classic nineteenth-century American novel to…

This study explores conditions promoting girls' education in ethnic Tibetan pastoral highlands of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau of western China. Global discourse and cross national evidence on the transgenerational benefits of girls' education has shown prioritizing girls' education to be the most effective strategy of breaking the vicious cycle of…

Increased voter turnout among youth in recent national elections notwithstanding, youth engagement in political life in the U.S. has been shown to be on the decline in recent years. This trend, as well as relatively low voter turnout in the U.S. among all age groups, makes this collection of articles on youth civic engagement and political…

As with many forms of evaluation, empowerment evaluation can be viewed as an ideology that promotes a particular set of social and professional values. Judging the quality and utility of empowerment evaluation thus requires a critical appraisal of the implications of adopting those values.

We live in powerful times and are experiencing a conceptual emergency. The imperative to learn is evident. Yet in spite of advances in knowledge about how we learn, our application of that knowledge in practice remains patchy at best. A key part of the challenge is to encourage government itself to participate in the learning process, and to…

We investigated the associations among perceived fidelity to family-centered systems of care, family empowerment, and improvements in children's problem behaviors. Participants included 79 families, interviewed at two time points across a one-year period. Paired samples t-tests indicated that problem behaviors decreased significantly across a…

This article examines the level of empowerment and autonomy children can create in their play experiences. It examines the play discourses that children build and maintain and considers the importance of play contexts in supporting children's emotional and social development. These aspects of play are often unseen or misunderstood by the adult…

This article traces three features of contemporary educational thought that at first sight appear to be quite different and distinct, but are, it is argued, linked in a discursive formation that constitutes a regime of truth in educational thinking and policy. Using Foucauldian categories, it argues that a discursive formation connects the…

While researchers and concerned adults alike draw attention to relational aggression among girls, how this aggression is associated with girls' agency remains a matter of debate. This paper explores relational aggression among girls designated by their peers as "popular" in order to understand how social power constructs girls' agency as…

Dutch society and educational policy see citizenship education as being an important task of education. The first section of this paper discusses the concept of citizenship and citizenship education, and analyses educational developments in the Netherlands. Following on from this introduction the second part of the paper puts forward a critical…

To tackle low achievement and a 22% freshmen student withdrawal rate, a Seattle, Washington, high school gradually restructured its vision, policies, and curriculum. A committee fashioned the Bridge project, providing all freshmen with access to opportunities promoting academic achievement, responsibility, school spirit, fellowship, acceptance,…

This paper explores the effectiveness of theme-based instructional (TBI) method as a means of honing the writing skills and the motivation for writing of 36 pre-degree ESL learners in a Malaysian tertiary institution. The method which focused on development of language skills through discussion of themes provided the teacher a direct and effective…

"Six Pillars of Dynamic Schools" uncovers an often overlooked truth--effective change is the product of hard work and dedication. There is no silver bullet; no matter how many programs, software packages, or new initiatives a district uses, the magic won't just "happen." Dynamic schools result from consistent and redundant focus on the fundamental…

Using William Glasser's five basic needs as a foundation, "The Classroom Manager" provides a theoretical base to guide readers in the understanding and development of an effective classroom management program. The topics of survival, belonging and love, power, fun, and freedom are explored through definitions, practical recommendations and case…

In Singapore, "decentralization" and "school-based reforms" are key words within the current education reform agenda. This article argues that a key success factor in this agenda is transformational leadership in school. With more autonomy given to the school, transformational leadership at the school level will facilitate the…