The formal recognition of prior learning (RPL) has long been lauded and even, one might suggest, doggedly pursued as a tool of social justice and equity within education sectors across the world (Harris, 1999; Wheelahan, Miller & Newton, 2002; Castle & Attwood, 2001; Cleary et al., 2002). It can accredit skills and knowledges that have…

In this article, the author tries to piece together the context in which she wrote "Feminist Poststructuralism and Discourse Analysis" (Gavey, 1989). The article grew out of her attempts to find a different way of doing psychology, after 8 or 9 years of studying and wrestling with the discipline. It is partly a personal story, but also a story…

This paper examines the concept, pervasive policy and practice of learning outcomes, as increasingly adopted and officially supported in third-level educational institutions. It begins by outlining the context and development of learning outcomes from European and Irish educational policy perspectives. We go on to explore how learning outcomes…

This paper critically analyses the neo-liberal discourse informing global education policy and practice. We use postcolonial theory to deconstruct the contexts for global educational partnerships, highlighting how issues of power and representation are central to their development and the learning that takes place within them. Teacher development…

The modern university developed as an institution legitimated by external referents, including national culture and its emancipatory potential. Today's university, however, has been largely destabilized as these referents have become, at the very least, significantly less compelling relative to larger concerns about economic competitiveness and,…

Both modern and postmodern approaches to knowledge view tradition and authority with suspicion, even contempt, though each approach does so in different ways. Our profession vacillates between those epistemological orientations, struggling to find direction and meaning. Leadership, in particular, is in a quandary; what does leadership look like in…

This essay examines Eleanor Estes's critically neglected 1960 novel "The Witch Family", arguing that the novel anticipates some of the major preoccupations of later children's literature in its early concern with issues of textuality. While Estes is largely known as a writer of simple family stories, "The Witch Family" is an innovative work of…

Postmodern and evidence-based practice (EBP) are compared and contrasted with the primary aim of adapting evidence-based practice with a more flexible epistemological lens. We begin by reviewing the epistemological underpinnings of postmodern and EBP within the field of marriage and family therapy (MFT). We next discuss how these contrasting…

In this article, the author merges biographical notes, autoethnography and experimental writing to situate his migrant self as a self that "performs through writing," i.e. planned, experimental writing that subverts the centrality of the monolingual heterosexual identity. He explores the intersections of time, desire, and power across…

The construct of self-awareness is highly valued by the counseling profession. However, the foundational assumptions that support this construct have not been systemically examined and critiqued. The author provides an overview of self-awareness in light of humanistic, psychoanalytic, and postmodernist ideologies. The author concludes that the…

This research used poststructural theories to examine a crucial issue of teacher-learning in rural border schools that are under pressure from high-stakes school accountability, fewer resources, and significant numbers of English language learners (ELLs). The methodology was based on a multiple case study of four intern teachers who participated…

This study sought to determine whether clinical psychology doctoral students hold uniquely stigmatizing views of adults with substance use disorders (SUDs) compared to adults with other clinical disorders. Through the use of clinical vignettes and attitudinal measures, three hypotheses investigated clinical psychology doctoral students' attitudes…

In our work as educators, we all aspire to be effective. We also aspire to be wise. If teachers are to represent and advocate for education, we must become the stewards of a discourse that nurtures education's possibilities. This book explores how teacher dispositions are defined, developed, cultivated, and assessed. The authors in the volume…

"Happy Chinese" or kuaile hanyu is an educational melodrama produced by the Chinese TV channel CCTV in 2009. Aiming to improve foreign learners' Chinese language skills, the plot revolves around Susan, an American, staying with her former Chinese classmate's family. "Happy Chinese" proposes both language and cultural learning.…

This article presents a discussion of how postmodernist, poststructuralist and critical educational thinking relate to different theories of power. I argue that both Critical Theory and some poststructuralist ideas base themselves on a concept of power borrowed from a modernist tradition. I argue as well that we are better off combining a…