Articulates many reasons to teach about Sub-Saharan Africa in social studies classes. Although the region will become increasingly important because of global interdependence, it suffers widespread misunderstanding concerning its history and culture. Discusses the region's need for economic development and the quest for political democracy. (MJP)

Reprints the Bill of Rights as instituted in the 1996 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. Most of the provisions have been summarized but the basic rights (which cannot be rescinded in even in a state of emergency) are reprinted in their entirety. Includes topics for discussion and research. (MJP)

Shows the acute dilemma facing a country with a widely spoken indigenous language, Kiswahili, in circumstances where a foreign language, English, has become the de facto language of instruction. Discusses the background of this policy and suggests an alternative, bilingual policy that gives equal weight to Kiswahili and English. (MJP)

This commentary focuses on four common issues of concern that affect special education research in different countries: how philosophies, laws, and ethics influence special education research, how policymaking and research affect each other, how research topics are selected, and who conducts special education research with what methodologies.…

Argues that the media portrayal of Africa remains highly selective, focusing almost solely on negative and violent stories. Positive stories (local initiatives, political reform) go unreported as does much of the Western powers involvement in famine and destruction. Includes a list of sources on African current affairs. (MJP)

Ethnographic study describes the professional development of seven unlicensed or nonqualified teachers involved in a community teacher education project in two informal settlement community schools near Johannesburg, South Africa. Data from observations and interviews highlight the teachers' initiative in pursuing their own professional…

Correspondence institutions in United Kingdom and South Africa have enrolled Mauritian students in various courses and programs at different levels for more than 50 years. The institutionalization of second-generation distance education (DE) using print and audiovisual media had modest beginnings with the inception of the Mauritius College of the…

This paper uses the device of imagining Education personnel at the World Bank engaging in study and discussion that causes them to rethink their 1999 Education Sector Strategy document. The Bank's educators discuss issues that lead them to see that the World Bank's assumptions of human capital theory are deficient. Having studied the severe…

This article examines the interplay between school factors and teacher job satisfaction that influences educational outcomes by comparing two Non-governmental Organisation (NGO) schools in Cambodia. This small-scale qualitative case study was conducted over a period of eight weeks in 2005 in two NGO schools in a suburb of Phnom Penh. The findings…

Globally, gender norms and power differentials profoundly affect both girls' and boys' sexual attitudes, practices and health. One avenue for enabling young people to reflect on traditional gender arrangements that endanger their health--and to lay the groundwork for satisfying sexual lives--is sexuality and relationships education (SRE).…

Although circumstances that can activate burnout are common in all subjects, those who teach social studies may be more susceptible to it because the profession requires teaching for democratic values and critical thinking, even when cultural influences and the political climate are not supportive of those objectives. In this article, the author…

In 2002, Tanzania renewed its 1974 commitment to universal primary education. This paper explores differences in the current policy-formulation context, examining how development discourse and aid practice have shifted the space and scale of public governance in Tanzania, legitimising international agendas and the participation of non-Tanzanians…

The authors studied the prevalence of heavy drinking among students in 21 developed and developing countries using an anonymous survey of 7,846 male and 9,892 female students aged 17 to 30 years. There were wide variations in the prevalence of drinking among countries, and the highest rates of heavy drinking (defined as 5 or more drinks for men…

For most of Minnesota's 150 years of statehood, its distinctive economic advantages were largely a function of its natural resources, such as timber, taconite and tourism. Today, while these and other resources remain cornerstones of the state economy, it is clear that the intellectual capacity of Minnesota's people is emerging as a promising…

The challenges to teacher educators in sub-Saharan Africa are acute. This paper describes how the Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa (TESSA) consortium is working within institutional and national policy systems to support school-based teacher professional development. The TESSA consortium (13 African institutions and 5 international…