In this article the authors explore a language and literacy community mapping project carried out by public school teachers in southern California. They chronicle the knowledge produced by teachers about the depth and diversity of language and literacy resources present in the neighborhoods surrounding their various urban school sites. (Contains 6…

This article describes a study of the tactics used by faculty and staff grassroots leaders at colleges and universities to create important changes that increase the capacity for leadership. The study identifies how academic and administrative staff, as employees within an academic culture, have access to grassroots leadership tactics that honor…

Adobe Youth Voices (AYV) is a global educational program sponsored by the Adobe Foundation, the philanthropic arm of software maker Adobe. The education-based initiative teaches underserved kids aged 13-18 how to use digital media to comment on their world, share ideas, and take action on the social issues that are important to them. The AYV…

Urban communities, with their myriad systemic problems of poverty, social dysfunction, and diminishing public and private resources compounded by endemic health and economic disparities, provide the single psychologist practitioner with a rewarding opportunity to become involved in urban community activities and to make a positive impact. Finding…

Over the past several decades indigenous people in Canada have mounted hundreds of collective action events such as marches, demonstrations, road blockades, and land occupations. What the general public knows about these events and their causes overwhelmingly comes from the mainstream mass media. For this reason, media coverage of these events…

Religious individuals commonly make sizable monetary sacrifices by contributing to their congregations. This social action resides in the overlap of religious and economic realms of behavior, creating a certain tension. Following a Weberian approach to social inquiry, I treat religious giving as social action whereby individuals direct their…

In 2001, three high school graduates from Shandong province sued the Ministry of Education, claiming that the province-based quota system used in college admission in China violates the constitutional principle of equal protection. This paper traces the emergence, evolution, and termination of the lawsuit as well as its aftermath, giving…

Over the past few years, the notion of "facilitation" has been increasingly gaining attention and acceptance in Japan, especially in the context of education and training. Today, Japanese educators think and talk about facilitation, even if it is not yet clear what facilitation is. Interestingly enough, the term "facilitation"…

Social work educators have the challenging task of preparing students to be ethically, morally, and socially responsible professionals. As professionals in the 21st Century, social workers are faced with ever increasing complexity and change. Teaching philosophies are at the foundation of what educators do in the classroom. Research about teaching…

Most students think about social justice issues, whether schools encourage this focus or not, and they look to the adults in their lives to help them decide what to do about them. Educators should encourage authentic conversations about difficult issues, embrace the question, What can we do about it? and teach students to act. Teachers can…

In recent years, much research has documented the benefits of parent involvement and offered strategies on how educators can encourage parents' trade; participation in their children's education. While the literature has brought much needed attention to school-family relationships, little is known about parents who are activists for educational…

In this study, we applied an ecosocial semiotic theoretical framework to the analysis of graffiti literacies in the Vila Madalena neighborhood of Sao Paulo, Brazil, to inquire about the nature and processes of "conscientizacao" (critical awareness) for adult street dwellers who had no or little ability to read and write (as traditionally…

The authors review an eight-year collection of journal articles from "Theory and Research in Social Education," "The Social Studies," "Social Education," and "Social Studies and the Young Learner". Their research yielded 37 articles, of which 20 were published in "Social Studies and the Young Learner" from 2000 to 2008. The authors describe three…

According to the author, teaching for social justice entails the acquisition of the following learning outcomes: (1) knowledge of the meaning, historical development, and application of human rights; (2) ability to analyze human rights from multiple perspectives; and (3) willingness to address human rights issues in local, global, intercultural,…

Despite their diverse national backgrounds, 28 interviewees speak similarly about the complexity of the cultural realities with which they live, and refuse to be pinned down to specific cultural types. While nation is of great importance, unless personally inspiring, it tends to be an external force which is in conflict with a wide variety of…