This paper discusses ways in which examiners position themselves in relation to doctoral students' knowledge. The epistemological thesis of Habermas is utilized and its well-established connections with the world of formal learning re-stated. Against this conceptual framework, the examiner reports are appraised with a view to identifying the ways…

The intent of this article is to inform readers about ways in which scholarly inquiry can be expanded. An overview and a refinement of a research approach called "service-bonded inquiry" are provided. Service-bonded inquiry is a response to the call for changing the way research is interpreted, conducted, and evaluated. At the heart of this…

Using ethnographic interviews this study reveals that a great deal of discontent and criticism surfaces when Moroccans who live in Belgium and the Netherlands speak about the education their children receive in these countries. They often see Western schools and society as immoral and racist while they portray themselves as first-class educators.…

OFSTED and schools are largely agreed on what is meant by "spiritual development" for schools though debate continues at the theoretical level on the broader question of what might be meant by a spiritual education. In this article, it is argued that cross-curricular "spiritual development" as a form of spiritual education is…

Ideas relating to identity and belonging are central to the public discourse around citizenship that has emerged in Ireland and internationally in recent years. One thread of that discourse relates to the role of national identity in societies that are increasingly diverse and multicultural. In view of the growing importance of citizenship…

Britain is an increasingly secular society, yet religious education is a compulsory school subject. Is its compulsory status justifiable? Religious education was made compulsory in 1944 partly so as to support the moral values underlying democracy. This civic justification faded after the war, but even today one official justification of religious…

This article explores the relationship between the religious based moral reasoning of Judaism and Islam and college student subjects' attitudes toward political entities involved in Middle East conflict, Israel and Arab states. Subjects learn about the moral positions by observing parts of an interactive, Internet dialog among Christian, Jewish,…

Schools are ethical organizations. The daily schedule of educational administrators is filled with ethical dilemmas and moral decisions. As reflective practitioners, school leaders know that the decisions that are made and the values that underlie those decisions are filled with moral implications for the entire school community. In this paper,…

"A Study of Heroes: Making a Difference Using Your Heart, Intellect, and Talents" is a program originally developed in diverse school communities. Students learn to distinguish between the concepts of hero and celebrity and to discover the real heroes in their own families, schools, communities, and most importantly--within themselves. This…

One perpetual concern among Indigenous Australian peoples is authenticity of voice. Who has the right to speak for, and to make representations about, the knowledges and cultures of Indigenous Australian peoples? Whose voice is more authentic, and what happens to these ways of knowing when they make the journey into mainstream Western academic…

This article discusses William James's notion, propounded in his "Varieties of Religious Experience" (1902), that authentic religious experience should be evidenced in mature moral functioning--"the value of saintliness". Support for this and his other ideas relevant to the intersection of morality and religion was adduced from a review of current…

Research suggests that the majority of U.S. undergraduate students have engaged in some form of misconduct while completing their academic work, despite knowing that such behaviour is ethically or morally wrong. U.S.-based studies have also identified myriad personal and institutional factors associated with academic misconduct. Implicit in some…

Community building has been a key concern for a wide array of educational projects. Recently, educational theories concerned about social justice have begun to challenge assumptions about community in U.S. education by criticizing its tendencies toward assimilation and homogeneity. Such theories point out that a communitarian agenda excludes the…

Today many people experience more frustration and confusion about many moral issues and norms than their ancestors. Traditional values and norms do not seem to serve Christian adults in today's situation. Christians are therefore challenged to develop Christian moral norms and values relevant to contemporary society and culture. In this article,…

This article explores the concept of the "vocational" in contemporary educational discourses, and argues for the centrality of vocational aspects of learning in making meaning. The existing tensions are seen to lie between discourses that place the vocational at the bottom of a hierarchy of knowledge and value, and discourses concerning…