Student affairs, as an integral part of universities, has taken on a key position in contributing to social justice as one of the central imperatives of higher education in South Africa. This article sketches the development of this role and outlines some important tasks for contemporary student affairs. Three conceptual models within the social…

After nearly half a century of authoritarianism characterized by Chinese nationalism and Mandarin promotion, democratization in 1990s Taiwan was accompanied by a Taiwanization movement featuring calls for the revitalization of local languages and the promotion of linguistic equality. To that end, the government began planning for local language…

This article explores the legacy of John Dewey, reconsidered and reconstructed within the challenging context of neo-liberal globalization. A free-market approach to the delivery of public education and other social services has come to dominate public policy, with increasingly well-documented and potentially devastating consequences. As prospects…

This paper reviews the long attempt to transform teacher education in Thailand. Although a brief summary of educational systems and models of teacher preparation from 1892 to 1973 has been provided, the prime focus of the paper is on presenting changes in teacher education from 1974 to the present day, against the backdrop of key political and…

In this article, I explore the incongruence between the federal government's proposed First Nations Education Act and the approach of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) regarding language and culture education. I also examine research concerning potential outcomes of their approaches to determine what would be most beneficial to learners.…

In an earlier study of learning on a practice-based postgraduate programme participants indicated that certain artefacts were critically important in enabling them to gain "permission" to act differently in their schools. Picking up on this suggestion, this study begins to explore how looking at the composition of texts by teachers as a…

This research examines how the conservative movement has used both conservative think tanks and the media to gain entry into the field of education policy. The study examines how the conservative movement has attempted to use think tanks as legitimating organizations to enter the education policy arena by (a) measuring the historical growth in the…

This article considers the place of theory within education in two contexts -- Sweden and the UK -- and advances the argument that both governments and academics themselves have contributed to a 'theoryless' education. Examples are offered from the fate of education science in Sweden and, in the UK, from responses to the Research Excellence…

No Child Left Behind radically shifted the balance of power in American education policy-making from the states to the federal government, not because a new consensus had emerged to make such a shift, but because both Democrats and Republicans were angry with the nation's teachers, holding them responsible for a massive increase in the costs of…

The Elementary and Secondary Education (ESEA) flexibility program initiated in September 2011 holds several implications for special education accountability and, by extension, state education agencies and the technical assistance providers who support them. The U.S. Department of Education has approved ESEA waiver applications for a majority of…

The development of global education as a grassroots movement for educational change has always been subject to the influences of prevailing economic and political forces. Perspectives are offered on how the formative years of global education in the United Kingdom and Canada were shaped, including the impacts of controversies and tensions among…

In a shrinking world, in which a neo-liberal discourse has permeated sub-Saharan African higher education, critical reflection is required to assess the merits and demerits of globalisation. Research, intensive discussion and hearings conducted over a two-year period by the Task Force on Higher Education and Society, convened by the World Bank and…

This paper discusses the changing nature of China's higher education by turning to the changes that happened to China's higher education system brought about by implementing different government policies of higher education. The implementation of the policies, the restructuring of universities and independent colleges in 1952, the enrolling of…

What roles can and should teachers' unions play in the deliberations, debates, and conflicts over school reform in a time when education sits at the center of so much of our economic, political, ideological, and cultural tensions? Lois Weiner's new book, "The Future of Our Schools: Teachers Unions and Social Justice," speaks…

The number of women in higher education is growing. Yet, challenges exist for female faculty in the academy. The purpose of this study is to examine the strategies used by female faculty in parks, recreation, sport, tourism,and leisure programs as they negotiate their careers in higher education. Data were collected using an online survey that was…