This chapter will provide an overview of how the Norwegian school institution has evolved from the early 1980s and up to the current situation. During nearly four decades, partly as a result of economic globalization and free markets, economic norms and values have gained greater influence over school philosophy and public sector governance. Since…

The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) is the Department of Defense component charged with providing high-quality education for military-connected students domestically and overseas. DoDEA operates 160 schools in eleven countries, two territories, and seven states and serves over 70,000 students. The Blueprint for Continuous…

This article presents the case for a progressive education that embraces notions of democratic values in the classroom, and an education for democratic citizenship. Informed by John Dewey's and Martin Buber's philosophies of education, and Homi Bhabha's concept of 'third space' work, the article examines the problematic and contested issues of…

The word chic refers to something fashionable or stylish. Chic varies for individuals and groups and with time and place. Something chic may have desirable or undesirable long-term consequences. Disability and extremism are also changeable concepts, depending on comparison to social norms. People with disabilities should have the option of being…

This paper explores the challenges facing educators in a time when modern technology, and especially modern social technology, has an increasingly powerful hold on our lives. The educational challenge does not primarily concern questions concerning the use of technology in the classroom, or as part of the learning environment, but a changeover in…

This article interprets interview-based research to reveal an incongruity between coinciding discourses of the twenty-first-century global marketplace and aspirations to universal equality, both contained within the claim that American university students must study abroad to become "global citizens." It argues that there are deep…

The aim of this paper is to consider the ways in which civic republican theory can provide a meaningful and useful account of social justice, one that is which holds resonance for educational debates. Recognising the need for educationalists interested in civic republicanism to pay greater attention to ideas of justice--and in particular social…

The "trans-" perspectives offered in this special issue are heady stuff. Post-structuralism (philosophy) meets the digital age (electronics), meets globalization (economics), and meets translingual practice (linguistics) to create a perfectly utopian or placeless space for future exploration. I want to first add my voice to the…

Austerity politics in Britain are edging towards compressed learning and teaching identities, driven by competition for resources and normative standards. Policy changes since 2010 have impacted particularly on the arts, and have had an adverse effect on cultural diversity across society. This situation has international resonance for those…

How can and will educators in any setting work with young people of all ages to enable them to develop the ability to interrogate--without denigrating--the claims of candidates, the newsmaking of media, the needs of their neighbors, and the fears of their family members? The answer I offer and defend here involves two dispositions--creative…

The aim of this chapter is to discuss the parameters for a construction of a scholarly Cultural History of Education in South Africa. The historiography of South African education reflects the context (demographic and otherwise) of the country. Three clearly distinguishable paradigms are evident: a conservative Afrikaner paradigm, a liberal…

Experiences of withheld and of granted recognition constitute an integral part of everybody's learning biography, as the experience of recognition is crucial to all processes of socialisation and identity formation. In consequence, the last two decades have seen a considerable interest in recognition theories, initially particularly in the field…

Criticisms of autonomy-based justifications of toleration as an educational aim and as a political principle assume that personal autonomy can provide only a partial justification of toleration and that it serves as a basis for illiberal educational enforcements of a particular conception of the good. In this article, I defend an autonomy- and…

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a widely spread diagnosis. The dominant paradigm of ADHD is biomedical where ADHD is defined as a brain disorder. At the same time, the legitimacy of the diagnosis is being questioned since it is unclear whether or not ADHD can be deemed a medical disorder in itself. The aim of this article is to…

Philosophical dialogue requires an approach to teaching and learning in science that is focused on problem posing and provides space for meaning making, finding new ways of thinking and understanding and for linking science with broader human experiences. This article explores the role that philosophical dialogue can play in science lessons and…