This paper engages with conversations with two teachers who each build socially just pedagogies and engage in minor gestures in response to the socio-educational-political reality they were confronted with -- namely, a pupil disappearing from the classroom when her parents' application for immigration was rejected. In an assemblage connecting the…

The author envisions a democratic school as one committed to human dignity, a common good, social justice, and equity. It is also committed to creative individuality in which people have the right to think for themselves, to be fully informed about the important issues of the day, to hold beliefs of their own choosing, to have a say in what and…

In pursuit of preparing social justice educators, the authors argue for the inclusion of young adolescents and teacher candidates as "boundary-spanning teacher educators" who are both contributors to and recipients of professional knowledge and learning. The authors draw from a qualitative, longitudinal study on the impact of a…

This study aims to be an in-depth investigation, from an interpretative perspective, of eighth-year secondary school pupils' perceptions of equality, justice, and freedom--values that are considered fundamental to all democratic values. The study is designed according to the phenomenology model as a qualitative research method, and the…

This article presents a study that explored how race and racism impact teaching and learning and how civic education can be employed to promote racial justice. We argue the need to examine educators' perspectives on how increased awareness of existing inequities coupled with ongoing professional development can better equip them to understand…

The present empirical study seeks to explore the perceptions novice educators have toward the use of controversial public issues (CPI) in the secondary classroom. The research attempts to do this by examining the following research questions: (a) To what extent do new teachers associate the use of CPI in the classroom with broad principles of…

Conversations in middle school about digital citizenship tend to focus on the responsibilities of citizenship and the issues of surveillance, safety, cyberbullying, and internet etiquette. While these are important and essential conversations, digital citizenship education needs to consider youth political identity and democratic participation in…

This article describes a curriculum project designed to create opportunities for transformative educational experiences in relation to democratic and social justice ideals. The project used an empowering interactive art form, Forum Theatre, to explore the topic of bullying. Through the development of Forum Theatre scenes by eighth grade students…

Teaching in a democracy is challenging and filled with dilemmas that have no easy answers. For example, how do educators meet their responsibilities of teaching civic norms and dispositions while remaining nonpartisan? "Democratic Discord in Schools" features eight normative cases of complex dilemmas drawn from real events designed to…

This article reports on a focus group which was one of four principal focus groups held across the United States in Florida, Virginia, New Mexico, and Missouri as part of Voices 3, a national research project on the status of the principal and superintendent roles, sponsored by the University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA). In other…

The purpose of this project was to gain a better understanding of dimensions of trust and inter-relationships between those dimensions during the adolescent years. Drawing from survey data collected at the beginning and end of a semester in eighty middle- and high-school social studies classes, relationships were assessed between: social trust,…