Compares students' perceptions of democracy through two similar class activities presented in second- and twelfth-grade classes. Finds that both groups of students defined democracy within their own contexts and settings; one difference was that the older students' perceptions and the issues they dealt with were broader. (CMK)

Offers a forum that is a student-organized role play addressing the controversy about whether prayer should be allowed in public schools. Expounds that the students are asked to incorporate information provided in this issue of "Update on Law-related Education" with independent research to form opinions on this controversy. (CMK)

Examined social influences on the reasoning and rhetorical strategies of fourth graders. Found that the use of argument stratagems snowballed, there were fewer and fewer lines of discussion between successive appearances of a stratagem, and the snowball phenomenon was more pronounced during discussions with open participation than during…

A law professor advises students on how to write effective publishable articles, beginning with choice of a claim and continuing with organizing the article; writing and rewriting, coherence, cohesion, and perspective; converting practical work (such as law firm memos) into student articles; publishing; and publicizing the article. (MSE)

Describes the district writing conference at the Center School District in Kansas City (Missouri) in which students in grades 3-6 wrote essays about a peer convincing their classmates that this person was worth honorable mention. Explains that the students' work was published in a district journal. (CMK)

We argue that the global digital divide, as measured by cross-national differences in Internet use, is the result of the economic, regulatory and sociopolitical characteristics of countries and their evolution over time. We predict Internet use to increase with world-system status, privatization and competition in the telecommunications sector,…

This article is based on a textual analysis of European Commission documents that, from 1993 to 2006, construct the discourses of lifelong learning and the knowledge economy. Exploring an apparent conceptual laxity, it finds absolute consistency in the construction of two categories of learner: the high knowledge-skilled learner…

Based on her study of the assessment and validation of final year projects in two academic departments--one located in a humanities faculty and the other in an engineering faculty of a South African university--Suellen Shay argues that the assessment of complex tasks is a socially situated interpretive act. Her argument centers on three questions.…

The strongly worded "Brown" ruling discussed at length the importance of public education in preparing students for their adult lives as workers and citizens. In contrast, the Coleman report muted the "Brown" decision's interpretation of public education as a paramount institution and argued instead that the variation in school…

This study focuses on the contribution of overall epistemological understanding to argumentation skills, after controlling for topic knowledge and interest, in eighth graders. Students were introduced to two controversial topics, global warming and genetically modified food, through the reading of a two-sided text on each topic. After reading,…

To illuminate the processes of creating learning communities, this study investigated the social context of an inclusion classroom by examining (a) how teachers established a community ethos, (b) how students responded with regard to the positioning of students with disabilities, and (c) how macro discourses possibly shaped interactional…

The family--via communication (or lack thereof)--is a primary avenue for sexuality education. While most research on family sexuality communication has examined the content of parent-child communication (e.g. topics discussed), relatively few studies have assessed the process, the way in which communication occurs. This paper presents an analysis…

To say an issue is academic can mean it doesn't really matter, not in the real world, anyway. Gary Brown takes a critical look at how higher education has become unreal for many students and what we might do to help re-engage our institutions with the world. (Contains 17 notes.)

Acceptance of claims made in scientific research articles depends on the "stance" authors take and their resources for "appraisal" (Martin and White, http://www.grammatics.com/appraisal). "Stance" has been defined as "the ways authors project themselves into their texts to communicate their relationship to subject matter and the readers",…

The media, which includes editorials, have been shown to play an important role in the definition of priorities in public agenda. In the domain of international matters, the public relies heavily on the media, and editorials play an even greater role. This article examines how explicit mentions of external sources of information function in the…