This article discusses the theory and practice of applying critical feminist pedagogy in a teacher's training college. It is based on an analysis of the education of students in an early childhood teaching program (BEd) that seeks to promote social justice through education. This article discusses the areas of the student's education that…

Empowering settings are important places for people to develop leadership skills in order to enact social change. Yet, due to socio-cultural constructions of childhood in the US, especially constructions around working class and working poor children of Color, they are often not seen as capable or competent change agents, or in need of being in…

The objective of this qualitative research work is to detect the needs, aspirations and feelings of pupils experiencing local environmental problems and elaborate them through the prism of a socially critical educational approach. Semi-structured focus group interviews are used as a research method applied to four primary schools located near…

An innovative DVD of classic nursery rhymes and stories empowered at-risk kindergarten children to control in the home when and how much they listen, promoting better listening, reading, and overall literacy comprehension skills. Coupled with modest teacher training, and limited use in the classroom, the DVD generated dramatic vocabulary growth in…

It is essential for teachers to provide a setting where student interaction is fostered as a mediational tool for learning, thus expediting the natural transfer of language and knowledge among students (Cummins, 1979). Doing so provides students a way of learning in an additive environment (Soltero, 2004). Could such a classroom have the potential…

Within inclusive education research, the call to foster participation stems from a generalized vision for promoting democratic practices within classrooms, prompting the concern for eliciting student "voices." In this ethnographic study, I explore the utility of "voice" as a workable construct in securing participation within inclusive classrooms.…

Children's artwork displays are a distinct and key feature of early childhood classrooms. The artwork produced by young children in the classroom is often linked to the educational program. After the completion of the art projects, early childhood educators face the challenge of displaying the children's artwork. With minimal research available on…

There has been much debate on the politics and pedagogies of bilingual education in K-12 schools, but conspicuously absent in this debate are institutions of higher education. English-only ideologies are deeply embedded and rarely questioned in U.S. institutions of higher education, which predominantly require English language proficiency to…

This study investigates the process of praxiological transformation developed in an early childhood education institution, in Portugal, within four activity rooms. It is a single case study using action research, context-based staff development and participatory childhood pedagogy as means to change educational practices. It undertakes thorough…

The Pen Green Tracer Study questions the difference we may or may not have made to children's lives. An initial cohort of young people, now aged between 11-20, revisited their nursery in 2010. Their stories prompted discussion on parental involvement and advocacy within the education system, key worker attachment, and children's sense of self. Our…

The 160 third, seventh, and eleventh-graders involved in this study agreed, almost unanimously, that reading was "important." Participants cited the empowering benefits of reading as they justified this opinion. However, with regards to the enjoyment of reading, fewer middle and high school participants reported "liking"…

With an ever growing diverse population and access to new technologies, it is no revelation that education is undergoing a significant transformation in the twenty-first century. What remains a struggle is equipping students to meet modern expectations while trying to provide a platform for learning that does not perpetuate the same inequalities…

This volume contains a collection of selected papers submitted to the 19th Annual International Conference of the Bulgarian Comparative Education Society (BCES) held in June 2021. The 19th BCES Conference theme is "New Challenges to Education: Lessons from around the World." The book includes 40 papers written by 66 authors from 15…

This paper describes a "crazy about crocheting class" and shows how crocheting became a literacy event that promoted student empowerment and classroom community while engaging second grade students in authentic literacy practices. We document how crocheting evolved from a classroom management activity that also encouraged fine motor skills to a…

Using classroom observations and teacher interviews, this study examined how three young children, considered classroom leaders by their teachers, created complex dilemmas for their teachers through their interactions with teachers and peers. Findings showed that the children's powerful influence on their peers could be both positive and negative,…