The past 50 years have witnessed a growing presence of critical theory within different social science academic departments across the western world. The joint existence of a theory committed to exposing and criticizing various inequalities of the social order within academic institutions based on traditional hierarchies and prestigious…

This essay examines the evolution of cosmopolitanism in relation to the individual and the broader scope of society. Cosmopolitanism seeks to affect changes in cultural norms through the cultivation of self-awareness, identity, empowerment, and agency. Coupled with education, these powerful tools contribute to shaping a global society. Examining…

After reading Scott Seider and Howard Gardner's essay "The Fragmented Generation" (2009) in a college freshman writing class, students responded by providing their own labels for their generation. This article includes excerpts from their essays. Following these excerpts is the instructor's theoretical justification for this kind of classroom…

The article discusses the narrative of four women in academia spanning a ten-year relational journey. As a performance collaborative autoethnography, it explores and presents theories of subjectivity and transitional space. Through journals, e-mails, and dialogue, the authors are "trying on", "being in", and "becoming" feminist poststructural…

Marks on Paper, a type of popular theater developed in British Columbia, helps literacy learners change personal beliefs about themselves, generates a sense of belonging, helps them break out of isolation, and transforms them through empowerment and action. (SK)

Passive learners rarely play a role in their own education, but follow whatever their teachers decide is best for them. Active learners are self-motivated, independent people who take responsibility for themselves. (JOW)

Actions that promote confirmation and empowerment of parents, students, and teachers improve the learning climate. The school principal plays a pivotal role in generating a positive atmosphere that encourages such actions. (IAH)

Societal expectations often teach women to separate their identities from their bodies, which distorts their self-image, resulting in shame and alienation. Adventure programs can create an environment of unconditional acceptance and trust where people can speak their inner fears. Two women who had negative body images relate how adventure…

For many teachers and theorists of composition, the ingrained reluctance to use "I" came to stand as a powerful symbol of all that was alienating and disenfranchising about an institutionalized educational system that seemed more concerned with student discipline than empowerment. Consequently, the cultivation of the use of "I"…

Addresses feminist pedagogical issues concerning whether the instructional methods and content of self-defense courses truly result in the empowerment of women in response to violence against them. Reviews research on the utility of learning resistance techniques, lists recommendations for self-defense teaching methods, and outlines a sample…

A phenomenological study examined experiences of eight urban American Indian women participating in a 6-week intervention aimed at reclaiming and adapting Native women's traditional roles as part of bicultural resynthesis. Psychoeducational methods were used to uncover past ethnic shame, facilitate a return to American Indian pride and identity,…

Notions of white supremacy, racism, sexism, and patriarchy constitute the power relationships and hierarchical structures of colonialism. Power is accessed when certain cultural forms are made to prevail over others, thus producing racialized and marginalized identities. The will to control what is different is the main tenet of colonialism.…

This paper addresses the decline of teacher, student, and parental power over the past several decades and the importance of moving away from the remedial models of teaching at-risk learners to approaches which accelerate their achievement. It supports the need for collaborative ventures, and especially those which join the power of teachers and…

This paper raises issues relating to disability and citizenship, especially those concerned with difference, discrimination, power, and the politics of identity. It adopts a social model of disability that is critical of individualized, homogenized, deficit views of people with disabilities and urges an equal opportunities approach in which the…