Narratives encompass ways of thinking historically and several skills of the historian, and Tom Holt believes it is imperative that educators teach--and their students learn--how to construct historical narratives. Understanding and constructing history as narratives opens up the historical project for students. Moreover, demonstrating how…

This essay offers a rhetorical reading of entertainer Judy Garland's early life writing projects. The author focuses on two open letters Garland published in 1950, in which she talks to the public and press to let them know "the truth" ("Open") about her life and how much her audience means to her. As a troubled celebrity, Garland had for years…

In this article, the author relates his experience in a recent trip to Sweden. He was assigned to supervise a research student who is preparing a very interesting PhD about the role of the many different kinds of knowledge that have relevance to people in technology. His latest tutorial paper included a fascinating account of some examples of…

Although every research method has its challenges, there are some specific challenges to the reporting and publishing of narrative inquiry that seem to differ from those encountered in other methods. Some of these arise out of the epistemology of narrative, with its focus on individual experience and interpretive storying, and some arise from the…

Forced displacement has often involved the use of rhetoric, both by government institutions and by people who struggle not only to survive displacement, but also to resist it. In this article, the author offers first a theoretical framework that informs her thinking about displacement narratives. She briefly examines two published displacement…

In a recent themed issue of "Journal of Teacher Education" ("JTE" 63.4) about issues of disability, diversity, and teacher education, guest editors Marleen Pugach, Linda Blanton, and Lani Florian (2012) invite readers to participate in "honest, difficult, and much needed dialogue across the many diversity constituencies in teacher education" (p.…

The International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C.--a private museum that opened in July 2002 at the cost of $40 million--is rated as one of the most visited and popular tourist destinations in the nation's capital, despite stiff competition from the various public museums that are part of the Smithsonian. The popularity of the Spy Museum has a…

Recent social policy discourses in Aotearoa New Zealand focus on vulnerable children's well-being and the detrimental, long-term and costly impacts of child poverty. The discourse pervading much of the policy labels children and young people as "vulnerable" or "at risk" or "in crisis", a view, which we argue, is both…

The author argues that first-generation college students (FGS) have compounded challenges when they pursue graduate education. As a first-generation college student, he was not able to gather advice from family or his job supervisor, who had no experience with graduate school. Drawing from his experience and the existing FGS-related research, the…

This article presents an interview with Michael Shepherd, the 2011 NASSP/Virco National Assistant Principal of the Year. In the interview, Shepherd shares how the role of assistant principal is defined at his school. He also talks about how he practices instructional leadership. He puts a strong emphasis on instructional leadership and…

The author is part of the Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA) induction program--a California state program that is meant to offer support to new teachers as they exit the credential program and begin a job in a district. More than 80% of new teachers across the United States participate in some kind of induction program. At least 30…

Black male students "are" endangered. As a high school language arts teacher who has taught in a predominantly African American school, the author has witnessed the suspensions, expulsions, and overrepresentation of black males in special education classes for more than 30 years. In "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of…

Elizabeth Parker's reflection on her experience as a musician educator working with children in an urban non-profit context is an uncomfortable read for me. In a courageous act, Parker makes public her private misgivings about her past experience and allows scrutiny of them in the form of two public commentaries as well as the private musings of…

In this article, the author shares a short account of Bill Boyd's contribution to Australian research and practice in educational administration and education policymaking. The author has sought the views and recollections of some of the colleagues who worked closely with Bill. He has chosen to quote them at length rather than attempt to summarize…

Just as people focused on education in the United States call for more content-rich curriculums, elementary schools in many areas have squeezed history and social studies out of their school day. When social studies is taught, it's often characterized by overreliance on a textbook and "covering" isolated facts; extended, engaged reading…