This article presents the goals, philosophy, and theory of the Direct Instruction model. The theory stresses the learning of generalizations with multiple examples through a highly structured curriculum. Connections between theory and practice are illustrated with a variety of examples of thinking operations from Direct Instruction programs.…

This article explores the implications of recent British government initiatives for pupils who experience difficulties in literacy development. It focuses on the contradictions between the inclusive requirements of the National Curriculum and the prescriptive pedagogy of the National Literacy Strategy. The effect of these contrasting policies and…

There have been persistent criticisms of Rorty's "liberal ironist" as the postmodern picture of the educated in the liberal utopia. While the modernist (Enlightenment) liberal Thomas McCarthy, who believes in universal rationality as the basis of public morality, criticizes Rorty's view of the liberal ironist for fostering the poverty of public…

Education is thought to provide a certain outcome--a "promise". I argue that a promise that education will counteract cultural and social disintegration involves a risk of engendering narrow social and cultural incorporation. On what reasonable basis could education contribute to civic life, when contemporary Western society is…

Whatever the meaning of the "post" these days, it is pervasive, elusive and marked by a proliferation of conflicting definitions that refuse to settle into meaning. Efforts to accommodate/incorporate the "post" in educational research have not been easy. In the pages of the "Educational Researcher" alone, McLaren and Farahmandpur (2000) warn…

After 12 years, the long overdue translation of Derrida's "Du droit a la philosophie" has just been made available in English. It is a collection of essays, interviews, and conferences produced by Derrida between 1974 and 1990. They focus on questions of education and research, in schools and universities, with a critical reflection on academic…

It has been nearly fifty years since the publication of "So Little for the Mind," Hilda Neatby's controversial conservative attack on what she understood as "progressive education." This paper argues that Neatby's book remains important reading despite its limitations and its context. Neatby's work represents what I call a…

In order to justify the discipline to administrators and prospective majors, many philosophy departments have begun to emphasize the "transferable skills" that students can develop in their courses problem-solving and communication skills, the ability to argue and write well, and the capacity to engage in systematic analysis. However, designing…

In this article I propose a theory of musical meaning and experience which takes into consideration the dialectical relationship between musical text and context, and which is flexible enough to apply to a range of musical styles. Through this theory I examine the roles played by the school music classroom which, despite the multiplicity of…

Character education in higher education is a challenging enterprise. There are concerns regarding academic freedom, debates about the role of the university, and criticisms of purported indoctrination. Character education initiatives in the past have often erred by neglecting what is known about individual human development, at one extreme, or by…

Education has become a domain of considerable ideological division. Today the mantra is freedom and choice, yet at the same time, a push to "back to basics" is observed. This author attempts to trace the contours of this division by taking two steps back from the contemporary fray. One step is to situate present day discussions in a larger…

The spiritual identity of the academy is historically based, and changes in that identity pose special problems for the search for truth in contemporary times.

A long-standing accountability system in Tennessee is now subject to change.

This article on pedagogy in the classroom seminar combines the basic principles of dialogue and liberation as expressed especially by 20th-century thinkers Bakhtin and Freire. It argues for a pedagogy of educational growth and facilitation of ideas. Through learner-centered knowledge, dialogic interaction, open exploration, mutual respect, and…

In recent decades, a number of factors have contributed to the growth of alternative educational programs in urban settings. Public perception of cities as dangerous places and national media attention to high profile incidents of school violence are two influences. Here, Tallerico and Burstyn center on a subset of in-depth interview data provided…