In this paper, characteristics of mathematics classrooms in the East Asian countries of Hong Kong and Japan are discussed based on an analysis of the data of the TIMSS 1999 Video Study. The data shows that although students in these East Asian countries did not talk a lot in the classroom, they were exposed to more instructional content. The…

In foreign language education where culture has been integrated as a core curricular component, a "categorical approach" to the concept of culture has been the mainstay. Depending on the orientation of the times, academic debate has been focused on what category of culture should be emphasized in the second language classroom. "Behavioral culture"…

The number of women attending institutions of higher education in Iran has been steadily increasing since 1989. Growing enrollment rates for women in colleges and universities have sparked wide social and political debates in that country. The basic question of why young Iranian women might even choose to pursue tertiary education, however, has…

Prior to entering a U.S. bilingual teacher preparation program, Mexican teachers ("normalistas") were assessed regarding their ethnic identity, self-conceptualization, and teaching efficacy. The findings indicated that normalistas' ethnic identity is tied to country of origin, rather than their adopted country. Five salient conceptualization…

This article evaluates the credo "integration while maintaining one's identity" with the help of psychological arguments. First, it explores the requirements of being a good citizen in a liberal democracy. Following Rawls, we state that justice is the cardinal liberal virtue and that this virtue includes having the disposition to respect…

Because spirituality connects us to the most profound realities of life, it has an integral role to play in education. Public education and spirituality, as distinct from the teaching of or expression of religion, are not mutually exclusive. Indeed, spirituality is both epistemological and ontological. It constitutes one of many legitimate ways of…

This paper discusses the implementation of Nunavut compulsory school attendance policy as part of the Nunavut Education Act (2002). Using a bottom-up approach to policy implementation in the literature and the author's six years teaching experience in Nunavut, the paper argues that the compulsory school attendance policy may not achieve its…

The purpose of this paper was to understand how Turkish mothers make meaning of the disability of their children with Mental Retardation (MR). Thirteen Turkish mothers who had at least one child with MR were the participants of the study. A qualitative interpretive framework was used for collecting and analyzing the data. The data were gathered…

In this article, the authors present a philosophical exploration of the import of a democratic ethic in making decisions concerning curricula. Specifically, the authors offer a guide for ethical decision making that is concerned with promoting fairness and acting on social justice principles. The ethical responsibilities of educators are explored,…

This article discusses transition planning for students with special needs from diverse cultural backgrounds. First, an overview of individualist versus collectivist values is presented. Then, a comparison is made between individualist and collectivist values and how they may impact transition planning with respect to family involvement,…

Using the Rasch Rating Scale model, data collected from 200 ninth grade students in North Sulawesi Indonesia were analysed. This analysis sought to validate instruments developed to measure the Democratic Climate of Civic Education Classrooms (DCCEC) and Student Engagement in Civic Education Classrooms (SECEC). Category used, item and person…

This article examines emerging norms of good practice for Australian university governing boards and issues that university governing boards could address to develop effective governance cultures. It firstly considers the ways in which support for many Australian university governing boards has become professionalised over the past decade. At the…

This article describes an innovative curriculum module the first author created on the two-way exchange between statistics and applied ethics. The module, having no particular mathematical prerequisites beyond high school algebra, is part of an undergraduate interdisciplinary ethics course which begins with a 3-week introduction to basic applied…

It remains to be seen how a task force from the American Political Science Association will contrive an equality of voice for the politically apathetic, but that goal, they say, is crucial to the continued workings of American democracy. Robert Weissberg wonders how muffling the appeals of those actively engaged in the political process will sit…

In May 2001, students in the author's Advanced Placement (AP) United States History class were embroiled in a controversy surrounding the AP exam, in particular, having access to the exam's Document Based Question (DBQ) and free response portion prior to the test's administration. Prior to the exam, the College Board had provided a fifty-year time…