Sixteen 1st-generation Asian Indian mothers and fathers were interviewed about the influence of immigration on retention of their own ethnic identity and their ability to promote a sense of ethnic identity in their 2nd-generation children. Data were analyzed with the consensual qualitative research methodology (C. E. Hill et al., 2005) and…

There have been many theoretical and practical efforts to include students with intellectual disabilities into the mainstream of school and community life. These initiatives are derived from, and limited by, individualized notions of disability. Alternatively, using data from an exploratory multiple-case study of gay and bisexual persons with…

Catholic schoolteachers face the pedagogical dilemma between remaining faithful to the doctrinal requirements of Catholic Church teaching while also respecting their professional responsibility to promote autonomous, critical thinking and consider the pastoral needs of their students. Although in practice many Catholic educators achieve a…

Based on data from eleven thousand faculty members, this study shows that general education courses place greater emphasis on developing intellectual skills, personal and social responsibility, deep approaches to learning, and diverse interactions. In contrast, other courses emphasize practical skills and are linked with greater levels of…

This study is part of a collaborative project examining the quality of life in Confucian societies in Asia. Our major findings suggest that, when our sixteen specific life domains are grouped into three life spheres, namely, material, post-material, and public, the Japanese people tend to be most satisfied with the post-material sphere of life and…

As likely as not, college and university presidents are in the news now for rather more uncomfortable reasons--for investigations into their seemingly greedy and extravagant ways, for compromising circumstances involving big-time athletic teams and corrupt coaches, for personal scandals, or for attempts to discuss pseudo-academic issues that veer…

This paper explores some key findings from the recent two-year evaluation of a national pilot to introduce Restorative Practices (RP) in Scottish schools. A Restorative approach emphasises the human wish to feel safe, to belong, to be respected and to understand and have positive relationships with others. It recognises the fundamental importance…

Volunteering is one of the strongest elements of shaping democratic change within the society. It is also an essential element in citizenship development and in re-establishing a sense of community. Volunteering empowers individuals, builds solidarity, encourages participation and protects vulnerable groups against social and economic…

The Swedish educational system states that work in schools should depict and mediate equality. One way of achieving this is through fiction, which according to the syllabus provides students with knowledge about the living conditions of women and men during different epochs and places. The present paper examines gender in a Swedish school,…

While "school culture" is a topical issue, there is some consensus on a knowledge deficit regarding its subterranean dynamics and influence on change effort. This article describes an exploration of the mediation of a values-related change effort by school culture in Irish post-primary schools from the perspective of a research project…

The following fictional account of a seminar on complexity science and its relevance for education makes use of several real events. The first is an actual seminar that took place during the spring of 2005, in the Department of Secondary Education at the University of Alberta. The second is the collective creation of the Complexity and Education…

The authors describe a five-day, literature-based thematic unit for second-graders on positive character traits, such as friendship, respect, perseverance, honesty, and cooperation, and how four books by Janell Cannon are integral to children's learning. (The authors offer suggestions throughout for adapting the unit for younger children.) They…

This article focuses on the problems of beginning teachers in the Arab sector in Israel. The participants were 146 beginning teachers, 5 mentors, and 5 advisors. The research measurements included an open-ended question and a semi-structured interview. Our research revealed many different cultural aspects related to most of the problems of the…

Service learning is an effective instructional strategy in preservice teacher education programs for engaging students more actively in the learning process. In spite of the extensive studies on service learning in teacher education programs and courses, few studies are devoted to investigating the implementation of service learning in special…

As an international city, Hong Kong has been a meeting place for the East and West for many years. In many aspects of life, Hong Kong is very westernized. Yet when it comes to the views, values and beliefs of how education works, teachers are still very Asian-oriented. This paper reports on what motivates teachers in Hong Kong, how they themselves…