Public schools have mirrored postmodern social transformations that have challenged our provincial notions of common values and defined roles. Postmodern innovations-inclusion, multiculturalism, full-day kindergarten, character education, and distance education--are the offspring of our new cosmopolitan society. Most have greater social than…

The social condition known as postmodernity has an impact upon education in that it creates global marketplaces, increased marginalization of more workers, and privatization of institutions, including educational institutions. The postmodern culture revolves around the excesses of marketing and consumption and the social relations of…

This book takes up the question of what shape high school English studies should take in the coming years. It describes an English program that blends philosophical depth with classroom practicality. Drawing examples from commonly taught texts such as "Macbeth,""To Kill a Mockingbird," and "Lord of the Flies," the…

The challenge of "ruralizing" teacher preparation programs is to teach teachers to think with sufficient critical intent to violate professional norms that have been unhealthy for rural schools and communities. Universities are institutions with cosmopolitan rather than local purposes. Over the centuries, the mission of higher education…

This collection explores the way in which critical theory and practice can unite in a common vision of democratic hope. Separate viewpoints are drawn together to constitute a democratic platform for an enlightened critical education agenda. Case studies from narrative and critical ethnography explore the multicultural and power struggles of…

This theme issue of the serial "Educational Foundations" contains five articles devoted to the "Images of the Foundations." In "Through the Disarray of Social Foundations: Some Some Notes Toward a New Social Foundations" (Erwin V. Johanningmeier) traces developments in the field and challenges a move beyond the images…

The concept of "subjects" has posed a philosophical dilemma and polarised debate within early childhood education. Consequently, little attention has been paid to teachers' and children's subject knowledge and the role these might play in early childhood curriculum and pedagogy to extend and enhance children's learning. This article…

Oppositional feminist ethnography does have something to offer those in adult education. Because adult educators adhere to a mission of social justice, concern over issues of power, knowledge construction, positionality, identity, and voice have become more prevalent. Although discourses dealing with equity are increasing, those in the field still…

This paper examines the experience of some of the teachers participating in the Multimedia Portables for Teachers Pilot, one of 25 projects composed the United Kingdom Education Department's Superhighways Initiative. The Pilot put 1,138 high-specification portable computers in the hands of practicing teachers in a range of schools. The teachers…

Characterizes much of the current postmodernist art design as capricious and self-indulgent. Explicates three fundamental concepts from the modernist school: a notion of order; clarity of form and space; and significant contrast. Criticizes current design for its emphasis on novelty and systematic violation. (MJP)

Presents an overview of uncertainties and challenges facing academics in the late 1990s. Discusses postmodern attacks on conventional assumptions about knowledge, decline of academic disciplines, increasing demand for vocational relevance, new modes of virtual pedagogies, diversification of education and training, transition to mass higher…

Criticizes the traditional approach to art education that emphasizes formal properties such as line, color, and shape. Proposes that teachers develop student abilities to go beyond the visual level of artworks and gain access to the complexity of meanings that art possesses. Includes contemporary art examples and corresponding analyses. (MJP)

The concepts of four poststructuralist/postmodern authors are examined in terms of their implications for higher education and the academy's values of merit, community, and autonomy. Twelve reactions to postmodern thought are then presented. A summary of postmodernism's legacy for higher education concludes the discussion. (Author/MSE)

Reviews issues related to multiculturalism in art education. Contends that there is a tension between art associated with Western Civilization and art from a multicultural perspective. Concludes that art education must have separatist, integrationist, and multicultural orientations. (CFR)

Postmodern social changes, ways these changes have contributed to the assumption of additional child-rearing functions by schools, and the modeling role of Catholic and other religious schools are discussed. Controversies in secular and religious schools arise from the transition from modern to postmodern values, not from parents'/schools' bad…