The paper considers T.S. Eliot's "dissociation of sensibility" thesis, considering its philosophical value and attempting to defend it against published objections. While accepting some of the criticisms, it is argued that Eliot's argument is sound to a significant extent. Eliot's account retains explanatory power with regard to an enduring…

This article argues that as adult educators we should not be outside the remit of our own theorising. It begins with an earlier effort to construct an ethical grammar to audit the probity of working to change others through adult education. This is situated in terms of contemporary debates about the possibility of truth and certainty in…

This article argues that there has been a clear shift in leadership approaches from those where the leader is in control and commanding i.e., power-based leadership to one where there is empowerment. Here the power comes from the followers and is shared. Burns concepts of transactional and transformational leadership are used interchangeably with…

The thesis of this essay is that globalization is a phenomenon that humankind must be educated for understanding as a process of global evolution. The new world evolving is being defined as requiring a new sense of collective cooperation amongst the peoples of the Earth, if we are to continue to exist on the planet. Educators are in the midst of…

Comments on the article by E. Diener, R. E. Lucas, and C. N. Scollon (see record 2006-05893-003) which provided a revision of the adaptation theory of well-being. The current author suggests that consideration of the emerging distinction between hedonic and eudaimonic well-being was missing from the original article and is worthy of scholarly…

As even its defenders admit, reflection in education suffers from a lack of conceptual clarity. In this essay, Henk Procee provides a philosophical analysis of the central concepts in this domain. In the current literature, these concepts are usually taken from the pragmatic school of John Dewey and from critical social theory associated with…

This article compares and contrasts the theories of three major writers on societal change: Chirot discusses the economic power struggles within and among core, peripheral, and semiperipheral societies, Toffler exposes a future in which major power shifts could have cataclysmic results, and Bruner emphasizes the importance of education to temper…

The belief that there is one right way or method of inquiry to pursue truth as it is constructed has been rejected by postmodernism. Postmodernism challenges and opens up the central idea that only one set of limits are possible in supporting professional practice. Postmodernism designs a way to look at concepts through the context of meaning. The…

The purpose of this article is to illustrate how theory and particularly the theoretical perspective of social constructionism can influence the ways in which scholars conduct qualitative research studies in the area of family systems. The authors argue for the importance of theory in qualitative research projects and promote researchers' clear…

Comments on the six articles contained in the special issue of the American Psychologist (January 2007) devoted to leadership, written by W. Bennis (see record 2006-23492-002); S. J. Zaccaro (see record 2006-23492-003); V. H. Vroom and A. G. Yago (see record 2006-23492-004); B. J. Avolio (see record 2006-23492-005); R. J. Sternberg (see record…

Citizenship and its education is again gaining importance in many countries. This paper uses England as its primary example to develop a Habermasian perspective on this issue. The statutory requirements for citizenship education in England imply that significant attention be given to the moral and social development of the learner over time, to…

Comments on the article by J. S. Hyde (see record EJ733581), which concluded that males and females are similar on most psychological variables. Zuriff suggests that Hyde missed the fact judgments of similarity and difference are psychological, not scientific, and that Hyde was dismissive of dismissal of any gender difference that is dependent…

An intelligentsia plays an essential role in any civilized human community. While their role to societal development cannot be underplayed, there seems to exist a lack of unified opinion with regard to the nature of intelligentsia, most especially in Russia. The importance to find the exact definition of the term "intelligentsia" was…

The paper argues that a social theory of disability can best be developed through the use of the concept of oppression. Emphasis is placed on the importance of the social origins of impairment in such an analysis. Ways in which the approach utilizes data gathered from other theoretical perspectives is indicated. (Author/DB)

Examines the limits of field theory in argumentation studies, addressing several issues: whether fields are primarily logical types or organized social arenas; sources of symbolic authority within fields; and roles of description and normativity in development of field theory. Forwards P. Bourdieu's notion of social practice as an alternative that…