The paradigm for formulating educational policy adopted by Bischoff and Shores, which appears to be the prevailing one, appears to offer no role to the citizen, rendering the paradigm suspect. The authors' honest admission of the limitations of social science knowledge undercuts the argument for the usefulness of research in this area.

There are so many generous and high-sounding phrases and ambitions in "A Crucible Moment: College Learning & Democracy's Future," the report by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), that to criticize them almost seems bilious and misanthropic. "A Crucible Moment," too, grounds its…

This article directs to the Dialogues of Leadership Education section of "Scholar-Practitioner Quarterly," Volume 4, Issue 4, wherein the contributing authors examined the question of priorities of leadership education for a democratic society. In this article, the author extends that earlier dialogue, and draws into specific relief the language…

Due to the eroding family composition of American families today and other important variables contributing to children's lack of social skills and inappropriate behaviors, the implementation of a Character Education curriculum is a greater need in schools today. This need is much more pressing than during the middle of the last century. Some…

In this essay Charlene Tan offers a philosophical analysis of the Singapore state's vision of shared citizenship by examining it from a Confucian perspective. The state's vision, known formally as "Our Shared Values," consists of communitarian values that reflect the official ideology of multiculturalism. This initiative included a White…

Jeremy Waldron, a professor of social and political theory at University of Oxford and also a professor of law at New York University, contends that laws against hate speech deserve further consideration, even if he doubts they "will ever pass constitutional muster in America." He contends that "The Harm in Hate Speech," as his…

This "crucible moment" in which democratic capitalism finds itself does not call for more government mandates to dictate progressive activism in higher education. Rather, this crucible moment calls higher education on its own initiative to focus on the moral foundation that both democracy and capitalism require. The foundation of democratic…

The primary priority for an educational leader in a democracy is decency. The author understands decency as showing compassion, respect, love, and caring for one another. That may sound soft and fuzzy, but she believes it is one of the harder things to do as a leader. It is fundamental to everything written about democracy--the need for dialogue;…

This article presents the author's response to "Tocqueville on Democracy and Inclusive Education: A More Ardent and Enduring Love of Equality than of Liberty" written by Steven Connolley and Rune Sarromaa Hausstatter. The author agrees with Connolley and Hausstatter that people need to stop and question the assumptions and values associated with…

This article presents the author's response to Connolley and Hausstatter's article "Tocqueville on Democracy and Inclusive Education: A More Ardent and Enduring Love of Equality than of Liberty." The perspectives of diversity treated in their article are both diversity among "people's abilities," and diversity of "opinions." According to Connolley…

This article presents the authors' response to the commentaries on their article. In reply to Julie Allan they contend that it is not so much the exposure to democratic ideas that they are against as much as the argument that democratic practices ought to be a central element in schooling. Moreover, they do not argue that introducing democratic…

This article presents the author's response to "Tocqueville on Democracy and Inclusive Education: A More Ardent and Enduring Love of Equality than of Liberty" written by Steven Connolley and Rune Sarromaa Hausstatter. Connolley and Hausstatter frame their critique of inclusive education and its relationship to democracy, liberty and equality using…

There is a close interactive relationship between social mobility and educational selection. On one side, the character, direction, speed, level, methods and trends of social mobility affect the aims, goals, functions, scope, strategy, content and methods of choice in education. On the other side, the goals, basis and means of choosing education…

This essay explores the ways in which the ancient Greek concept of parrhesia, defined as "frank speech and telling the truth as one sees it," can help facilitate the development of both intellectual courage and democracy as a way of life. It theorizes dimensions of parrhesia for the purpose of better educating a civic self-image rooted…

This article presents an interview with Susan Ohanian, an educator and tireless advocate of educational social justice for young people, and a peerless guide to engaging in the "good fight" for creating socially just schools. When asked how a teacher can "fight the good fight" without giving up, Susan counseled educators to find a friend and ally,…