Discusses a recent study of the nature of today's college students that revealed the importance of teaching hope as a means of empowering the transitional generation now attending college. This qualitative study reveals the nature of hope and despair and its effect on the learning process from the perspective of 32 college students. (Contains 19…

In response to a Critical Notice published in these pages by Roberts (Vol. 32/1,2001), this article notes several specific reservations with regard to Shor's model of empowerment as outlined in "When Students Have Power" (1996). The original book documents one critical educator's attempts at negotiating power in a college classroom setting. While…

Most school districts conduct annual leadership retreats for their school boards, central and site leadership teams and their business and community partners. Holding leadership development retreats for students, on the other hand, is a new and somewhat revolutionary idea. This article describes a series of leadership retreats where faculty worked…

An algebra teacher changes the dynamics of her classroom by recognizing the conflict between students wanting the freedom to make their own decisions and teachers wanting to limit that freedom and wanting to control the students. The adoption of self-paced classroom instruction where students had to master each concept before proceeding to the…

Student self-assessment is a popular practice for enhancing student empowerment in the assessment process. However, in recent times various writers have questioned whether the practice of student self-assessment automatically enhances student autonomy. Some writers have even warned that students' participation in the assessment process may…

Although U.S. schools typically express commitment to preparing students for the responsibilities of democratic citizenship, most American youth are socialized for adult civic life by an institution that defines them as passive and subordinate and treats them in ways that are anything but democratic. In contrast to such counterproductive…

This critical literature examines the methodology of teaching and learning developed by Dr. Maria Montessori. Maria Montessori always believed that children are a unique being and they always surprise us with their unseen capabilities. In order to fully develop those unseen capabilities, we must give them freedom of choice to explore their…

Purpose: The primary purpose of this paper is to provide a concrete example of how experiential learning approaches (from internships in global policy institutes to visiting communities in rural Amazonia to meeting with officials from inter-governmental organizations) can be implemented in order to most effectively meet specific educational goals…

We discuss a recent peer-learning project we undertook as co-conductors of the Young Conservatorium Wind Orchestra at Griffith University. Drawing on current educational theory on peer learning and material from our conducting practice and research, we explore how this approach offers professional conductors the opportunity to work together in an…

This study examined the implementation and outcomes of a laptop program initiative in a predominantly low-income, minority school. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected, analyzed, and compared with students in non-laptop classrooms within the same school. Results of the study revealed that in the hands of well prepared teachers,…

Black student retention in institutions of higher education is an important 21st-century issue. Thompson, Gorin, Obeidat, and Chen (2006) asserted that Blacks are still underrepresented in institutions of higher education and graduate at lower rates than Whites and Asians over a 5-year period. According to the American Council on Education, at the…

A Reading-for-Empowerment project used a critical social science approach. Phase I of the project was an in-depth study of successful lives to discern the critical factors which lead to success. Four graduate counselor trainees at South Carolina State University examined the autobiographies of Maya Angelou, Zora Neal Hurston, John H. Johnson, and…

This paper situates dialogue with students about their learning (descriptive feedback) within the larger frame of reflection, examining how teachers involved in inservice teacher education have used descriptive feedback and noting its impact on their teaching and on students' learning. It presents case studies of teachers and describes the role of…

This paper presents a structured group intervention for increasing social justice awareness, knowledge, and advocacy skills with upper elementary, middle school, or junior high aged students. The paper presents the "Empowering Students for Social Justice" model and describes a general framework that includes goals and activities for an…

This paper discusses three examples of the use of student voices to inform external-partner activities in Chicago's public schools. The text is based on a collaborative effort directed at diagnosing the needs of the Chicago schools. The article focuses on the perceptions of the probation process as reported by student-focus groups. Some of the…