The term "critical literacy" refers to use of the technologies of print and other media of communication to analyze, critique, and transform the norms, rule systems, and practices governing the social fields of everyday life (A. Luke, 2004). Since Freire's (1970) educational projects in Brazil, approaches to critical literacy have been…

This paper suggests that, in contrast to the great reports such as Crowther, Newsom Robbins and Plowden, recent government papers relating to education in England pay little attention to values that should shape the standards to be achieved, the knowledge to be transmitted and the virtues to be nourished. Whilst legislation over the past 60 years…

Critical pedagogy is an instructional approach to teaching that employs a theoretical framework by which social injustices are critiqued. This type of pedagogy encourages the learner to critique obstructions to the learner's full participation in society, and encourages critical collective action, through the engagement of the learner's…

This paper examines youth restiveness in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, and the challenges it posed to Nigeria democracy and foreign investment. Non-parametric statistical and content analyses were essentially used as tools of analysis. The results showed that dissatisfaction of the people of Niger Delta especially the youths on the level of…

Gender equality in education has held a prominent position in global policy making over the last decade through international frameworks and declarations such as the Dakar framework of Action on Education for All and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This paper draws on interviews conducted with participants who hold a gender brief in…

Ableism is discrimination on the grounds that being able bodied is the normal and superior human condition. In contrast, being "disabled" is linked to ill health, incapacity, and dependence. These understandings become institutionalized in the beliefs, language, and practices of nondisabled people and create barriers to equitable social…

This article is a commentary on several issues relevant to critical race theory (CRT), education, and race-related discourse. In this article, we hope to contribute to the dialogue on race and education, and raise a few thought-provoking questions regarding ways of seeing and thinking about CRT as both a theoretical and practical tool when focused…

Highlander Education and Research Center's remarkable history is a source of inquiry and fascination for adult educators and community organizers alike. Scholars seeking to dissect Highlander's success have visited the Center to uncover the history, place, and methodology. Founded in 1932 by Myles Horton and Don West as an adult education center…

This article serves as a condensed history of the evolution of "critical literacy" and offers a context--social, cultural, and economic--that allows readers to understand its purpose and impact on teaching practices. This "family of approaches...share[s] a commitment to the use of literacy for purposes of equity and social justice.…

This paper examines narrative methodologies as one approach to exploring issues of gender, education and social justice and, particularly, insights into "undoing gender". It furthermore examines the possibilities of exploring gender and its multiple intersections in a range of global and policy contexts through the use of personal…

Frances Alice Kellor (1873 - 1952) is most famous for leading the Americanization movement that greeted immigrants from 1906 to 1921. The movement has been damned as coercive in the name of conformity in the historical literature. This dissertation argues that Kellor's Americanization movement promoted immigrants and immigration, Americanized…

Amidst calls for libraries to regain their socially progressive roots and connections to community, this study analyzes two interwoven cases of nonformal, community education in northeastern Nova Scotia, initiated by libraries that aimed to revive those links. Through a reading circle and a people's school, librarians used historical materials on…

In this article, I report a qualitative study that sheds light on how adult learners of English as a Second Language (ESL) are constructing new national identities in the context of the challenges associated with immigration. In particular, I trace how the common threads among their conceptions of citizenship compare with those embedded within…

In the wake of the general election, the new government--and the United Kingdom--face a range of pressing challenges. In this article, the author sets out what he believes to be the principal challenges and calls for action to create a learning society. The agenda set out would, if followed by the new government, pave the way to a genuine learning…

Today recent polls have indicated that the Canadian public considers the environment and climate change as their top concern (De Souza, 2007), perhaps eclipsed only by recent economic fears. In keeping with the historical responsiveness of adult educators, environmental adult education (EAE) is widespread across North America. However, this area…