The need for the inclusion of socio-scientific issues (SSI) into science curricula has been generally accepted, but relatively few science teachers have incorporated SSI into their courses. Most science teachers feel that their most important task by far is to teach the principles of science, and any substantive pedagogical changes represent a…

Little change has been noted over 10 years of research into teacher knowledge and confidence to teach science in the early and primary years of schooling. There is a significant body of research demonstrating that early childhood and primary teachers lack confidence and competence in teaching science. However, much of this research blames the…

The "tabula rasa" of this article's title is a Latin term meaning "clean slate." For centuries before January 6, 1907, and continuing more than 100 years since, teachers have walked into classrooms of young children convinced they know full well what is good for them, and what should be poured into their minds and by what means. But on that day,…

In a sequential mixed methods design, we sought to examine the relationship between teachers' beliefs and their instructional technology practices among technology-using teachers who worked at technology-rich schools to ultimately describe if change in practice toward a student-centered paradigm occurred. The integrated mixed-methods results…

This chapter examines the cultural influences and applications of women's social capital networks on women's knowledge construction, community development, and autonomy within their cultures and the adult learning context.

In this essay, Steven Burik discusses Jacques Derrida's position with regard to the place of education in philosophy within the university system, and then relates these thoughts to comparative philosophy. Philosophers find themselves constantly having to defend philosophy and the importance of teaching philosophy against pressure from the powers…

The purpose of the present paper is to examine the relations between Carl Bereiter's and Marlene Scardamalia's knowledge-building approach and social practices. It is argued that technology enhances learning through transformed social practices. In order to truly contribute to educational transformation, pedagogical approaches have to be embedded…

In this article, the author describes the growth and acceptance of achievement tests, such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), over the past century, advocating that many SAT claims of equity, uniformity, technical reliability, and prediction, over traditional measures of academic achievement have been found to be illusory. Summarizing a series…

The demise of the Communist Party's monopoly over education in Europe created a new dilemma for educational leaders in post-Communist states. They faced a difficult question: How should a nation-state that accepts ideological pluralism handle the difficult relationship between religion and education? As is well known, Western liberal democracies…

This article explores how the contexts of secondary English teaching in Ontario, Canada, interacted with one teacher's identity to produce teaching perspectives and practices that were monocultural in nature and limited in their multicultural and antiracist emphases. In doing so, the article contributes to educational research that explores the…

This article introduces the life and work of Tsunesaburo Makiguchi (1871-1944), a Japanese teacher, school principal, educational philosopher, author, activist, and Buddhist war resister. Quite likely, readers are unfamiliar with Tsunesaburo Makiguchi or his ideas. His writings on education covered three main areas, human geography, community…

Philanthropists have long funded a wide range of educational research, practice, and policy initiatives, primarily through namesake foundations. Some observers have criticized these efforts as doing little to change the status quo in education and have called for more aggressive action on the part of this sector. Out of this critique has emerged a…

Postmodernism means different things to different people. Linguistically, it must refer to some sort of reaction to unbridled or overzealously modern attitudes or practices. Charles Jencks shows how postmodern architects, for instance, have reacted against the cheap utilitarian designs they view as symptomatic of "Protestant"…

In this paper I wish to comment upon the use of polemical argument in philosophy of education and education. Like Foucault, I believe that a whole morality is at stake because polemical argument obfuscates the search for truth at the expense of truth and the other's veracity, integrity and dignity. The use of polemics is illustrated by two…

None of the respondents to NIACE's Big Conversation offered a non-instrumental defence of education. In this article, the author contends that it seems "education for its own sake" is no longer valued--even by those who should care most. The author has just been invited to speak at a conference where a keynote speech is entitled "What is education…