Bottom-up reform as a policy strategy for decades has faltered in implementation. This article starts from the premise that these disappointing results stem from researchers' and practitioners' almost exclusive focus on implementation in schools or on what some call "the bottom" of hierarchical education systems but not shifts in policy…

The civic community perspective focuses on local social and economic institutions that buffer communities from external, often global forces. Important community organizations such as locally oriented business establishments, civic organizations, associations, and churches are emphasized. These critical entities are posited to benefit a…

Social inclusion, multi-agency projects in education in the United Kingdom increasingly seek to work with participation from children, families and communities and through partnerships with other agencies. In this paper, the complexities of such developments are examined. The paper looks at the wider context of preventative and social inclusion…

This article describes the annual William Inge Festival at the William Inge Center for the Arts which spawns creative arts in the 21st century workforce. In April 2006, the festival will celebrate its 25th anniversary and its tradition of honoring American playwrights, including Garson Kanin, August Wilson, Arthur Miller, Edward Albee, Neil Simon,…

This study, which was conducted during the summer of 2005, employed in-depth interviews using open-ended questions to develop an understanding of the history, purposes, and roles, curricula and programs, successes and challenges, and futures of the two Wisconsin tribal colleges: the College of Menominee Nation (CMN) in Keshena and the Lac Courte…

"STOP the Violence--Students Taking on Prevention" is a program designed to involve students and address school violence at its core from the peer-to- peer perspective. Developed by members of the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), the program empowers young persons to recognize, report, and reduce the potential for youth…

When students use classroom skills to build a wheelchair ramp, or teach their peers CPR, or grow vegetables for a food bank, or create children's books for preschoolers, or research and share local history, or educate the community about healthy living, or build and maintain nature trails, they are engaged in service learning (and are called…

On the basis of insights provided by Whitehead and John Cobb, I show how the People's Free University of Saskatchewan (PFU) is a working model of free, open, community-based education that embodies several characteristics of Whitehead's philosophy of education. Formed in opposition to the growing commercialization at the original "people?s…

Throughout Vermont, at every grade level, students are finding innovative ways to get involved with issues that challenge their communities and affect their future. The efforts reflect a 2000 state commitment to education for sustainability. Vermont educators often describe sustainability as a lens through which to analyze use of resources. By…

Many states use test results to hold schools accountable, with the stakes for children, teachers, and administrators becoming higher. High school principal Kimberly Reeves had to show substantial progress in raising achievement scores to keep her school off the state's low-performing list and to help the district maintain positive community…

On the basis of extensive research on university-community collaborative education projects in southern California and southern Sweden, this article proposes two roles and a research strategy and approach as elements essential to sustained collaboration. Recognition and fulfillment of the roles of "spider" and "firesoul," while…

Most technology teachers describe their budgets for equipment and supplies as either insufficient or very tight. Money, unfortunately, often plays a deciding role when it comes to selecting activities, especially new ones. Grants help with funding--and they can also provide a way for teachers to revitalize their classes, and even themselves. In…

This article highlights a violent incident in the history of British student protests and outlines the judicial process that resulted. A wider consideration of student protests of the late 1960s and early 1970s, both in the UK and overseas is offered, together with some consideration of the significance of this particular case. At the time of the…

This paper begins with the observation that, for a variety of social, political, and economic reasons, many universities are beginning to rethink the nature of their relations with local communities and asks about the place of Faculties of Education in such processes of reconsideration. It describes recent initiatives at York University as…

This article focuses on the development of the Transforming Community Project, which draws staff, students, and faculty into discussing the history of race at Emory University and in the United States. The project's creation followed a difficult year of racial strife and suspicion at Emory that was unprecedented in its recent history. The strain…