This article examines the role of leadership in establishing a school climate where ethical deliberation undergirds educational decision-making. A major focus is on educational leaders who can facilitate planning for more inclusive educational settings for minority group students, however, shared leadership and empowerment of teachers and…

A study evaluated effects of a staff training package on the number of choice responses and performance responses made by adults with disabilities in a community purchasing activity. After training, all four staffers generalized offering choices and promoting performance across settings and adults with disabilities and maintained the skills.…

Presents seven elements of a safe classroom in controversy-driven courses, where students can exchange ideas rather than emotions as they learn and discuss. The elements are: collegiality, empowerment, role modeling, preparation, shared purpose, reflection, and commitment. Explains how teachers can create and nurture safe classrooms, describing…

A major challenge in implementing educational change is redefining leadership and power. A broader conceptualization of leadership includes teacher empowerment, shared decision making, and facilitation. Ideas valuable to facilitating leadership for change include not relying on one leader, not relying on force to oppose force, and honoring the…

A phenomenological study examined experiences of eight urban American Indian women participating in a 6-week intervention aimed at reclaiming and adapting Native women's traditional roles as part of bicultural resynthesis. Psychoeducational methods were used to uncover past ethnic shame, facilitate a return to American Indian pride and identity,…

Provides guidelines for implementing portfolios in the social studies classroom that focus on the Vietnam era and incorporate Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences. Outlines the portfolio project, lists eleven portfolio components, and addresses the intelligence of each. (CMK)

Participant responsibility in outdoor education programs is placed on a continuum from passenger status through participant and partner to practitioner. Corresponding leader roles are directive, coaching, supporting, and delegating. The disempowering effects of the passenger approach to risk management and the value of teaching a group to manage…

Discusses ways to nurture students' creative responses for building four categories of external assets for their education: supportive environment, student empowerment, boundaries and expectations, and constructive time use. Describes three strategies for promoting creative response: InQuest procedure, RAFT technique, and simulated journals. (JPB)

Examines the experiences of a group of urban, bilingual teacher-researchers. Considers how teacher research raised teachers' awareness about political dimensions of their own practices and how these teachers took steps to improve their practices and school settings. Proposes that teacher research empowers teachers to think and act like…

Explores whether Postgraduate Certification in Education student teachers felt that the Individual Action Planning (IAP) process either gave them personal control or controlled them. Concludes that neither elements of empowerment nor discipline are an adequate conceptualization of IAP, although from the student perspective feelings of 'control'…

Explores the origins and significance of the "victim" debate within global feminism. Focuses on the divide produced by the victim debate by examining the evolution of two development planning platforms. Discusses issues facing women in a China under reform and the relevance of the victim debate in the Chinese context. (CMK)

Focuses on the use of student self-assessment in the classroom. Considers using evaluative questions that enable students to think about their work and their growth as learners. Addresses self-evaluation forms for student use. Provides example evaluative questions and self-evaluation forms. (CMK)

Provides a narrative account of the development of a solutions-focused approach to school improvement. Describes the process whereby an urban primary school harnessed the collective energies of all staff (teachers and support staff) to bring about improvement, and considers the role of democratic leadership in reconceptualizing the school as a…

Discusses the benefits of using adolescent literature in the social studies classroom and the importance of student choice. Describes the creation of a multilevel social studies book room and the use of flexible literature circles in the classroom. Outlines techniques for preparing teachers and obstacles teachers encountered implementing the…

The increase in grandparent-headed households is receiving much attention as needs and concerns of these grandparents becomes more widely known. This article describes an empowerment training project and its curriculum that was developed for a group of African-American grandparents. The program resulted in strengthened parenting skills, and…