Persson's (2012a) article offers a timely contribution to the science of giftedness through questioning the validity of research emerging from within this paradigm. Using evidence from a number of disciplines he demonstrates that what is regarded as gifted behaviour in one culture could be regarded as quite ordinary within another. He therefore…

The author finds the target article "Cultural Variation and Dominance in a Globalised Knowledge Economy" to be a thoughtful exploration of an important topic for all social scientists, certainly including those who study gifted development and education. Roland S. Persson (2012a) raises many questions about policy and practice in giftedness…

As part of the special edition recognizing the 40th anniversary of "Educational Management Administration & Leadership" this article reviews the coverage of leadership and diversity issues in the journal. The majority of articles concerning diversity have focused on gender, with attention turning to the wider concept of diversity since the year…

The attention in the West, especially in the United States, now accorded Islam and those who conduct themselves according to its precepts betrays woeful ignorance of both. As Graham Fuller has persuasively argued in his recent book, "A World Without Islam", Western culture owes much to Islam as well as to Muslims and would be greatly impoverished…

Lesson study developed organically in Japan over a period of 140 years, whereas in Indonesia, lesson study was introduced as a top-down initiative. This research explores beyond general cultural differences by illustrating how the daily concerns of teachers and their social interactions differ in Japan and in the case of an Indonesian school, the…

This review essay draws on Nancy Fraser's work as featured in "Adding insult to injury: Nancy Fraser debates her critics" to explore issues of schooling and social justice. The review focuses on the applicability and usefulness of Fraser's three-dimensional model for understanding matters of justice in education. It begins with an overview of the…

In this commentary, the author finds the interdisciplinary approach of Roland S. Persson's (2012a) target article refreshing. Persson's (2012a) additional emphases on ethnocentricity, cultural bias and strong threads of influence from the global economy also are helpful. They shed light on some strong contextual influences that shape the…

The purpose of this study was to examine how frequently adult education English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and English for Academic Purposes (EAP) teachers in Florida used specific culturally responsive teaching practices and how important they believed those practices were to their teaching. Using Ginsberg and Wlodkowski's…

There exists a need to better understand the applicability of Marriage and Relationship Education (MRE) initiatives with diverse populations. This study presents findings from focus groups with Latino men and women (N = 16) who participated in MRE classes. A critical theory approach guided the researchers who used grounded theory methodology to…

The way training is delivered in a corporate environment has a tremendous effect on its results. This study investigated the role of culture in the learning styles of adult French and American learners working in an international corporate setting. The assumption was that Americans prefer to learn from action-oriented methods and are more…

The main goals of this article are twofold. The first is to explore whether the General Education Development (GED) program has the potential to meet the academic requirements cited by the scholarship in the area of mathematics for First Nations upgrading programs. Secondly, this paper explores how the GED program influences identity in students…

This paper describes and conceptualizes the meaning of lifelong learning from two cultural perspectives--East and West. It examines the different principles underpinning lifelong learning that explain why and how elders in the two cultures engage differently in continued learning. Finally, it discusses the cultural impact on elder learning by…

All over the world, international development organizations try to increase professional capacity of local staff. These attempts are thought to fail because of financial constraints, but this is just part of the story. Professional development and adult learning theories approach learning from a western perspective, while many developing societies…

The concept of voice permeates perspectives on reading and writing and has helped guide both literacy research and teaching. However, what voice is for scholars, researchers, and teachers takes many guises, some in apparent contradiction to others. We offer a theoretical perspective on the concept of voice, situating it within sociocultural…

We report the relationship between the cultural and educational challenges of immigrant adult students. Thirty-five recently arrived adults in a bridging course completed a self-administered, online computer interview to rate their exploration and commitment to their heritage and Australian cultures, and express their experiences with their own…