Purpose: This paper conceptualizes a just leadership learning ecology through an analysis of one nontraditional site of leadership preparation: the Highlander Research and Education Center (originally founded as the Highlander Folk School). Methodology: Drawing on cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) and institutional theory (IT), we examine…

The paper explores the work of Peter Jarvis related to learning with particular reference to his definitions of learning and his models of the learning process. This exploration will consider different approaches to experiential learning and demonstrate the contribution Jarvis has made, noting how his writing on the subject has changed over time.…

Drawing from Albert Bandura's social cognitive theory, Tschannen-Moran, Woolfolk Hoy and Hoy (1998) proposed an integrated model of teacher efficacy to aid the understanding of this complex construct. This framework, despite its richness and usefulness in framing teacher efficacy research within the education landscape, is barely examined in the…

Critical peace education literature has focused attention on how programmes that promise to teach peace contribute to and contest existing power relations. However, using social theory to work out the relationship between peace education programmes and their context is only beginning. This paper uses a document review and interviews with experts…

This article revisits the newly "discovered" island that world culture theorists have repeatedly utilised to explain their theoretical stance, conceptual preferences and methodological approach. Yet, it seeks to (re)connect world culture with the real world by replacing their imagined atoll with a real one--the island-nation of Japan. In…

Neo-institutionalist theory of global "isomorphism", or so-called World Culture Theory (WCT), has been much debated in comparative education. One notable feature of the debate is that the vast majority of its participants belong to a handful of closely knit comparative education communities. Ironically enough then, a debate that…

The importance of the specific environment for understanding the microgenesis of psychological processes is well documented. It can be argued, however, that the theoretical framework of cultural psychology which is usually referred to as cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) underconceptualizes this aspect, thereby hampering its ability to…

Chinese scholars have not yet achieved consensus on the specific theories that should be part of a Chinese HRD theory base. A review of the Chinese HRD literature has identified four theory domains frequently mentioned as a possible foundation for the discipline: management, economics, sociology, and psychology/learning. Considering Swanson and…

This paper presents a social practice theory of learning and becoming across contexts and time. Our perspective is rooted in the Danish tradition of critical psychology (Dreier, 1997; Mørck & Huniche, 2006; Nissen, 2005), and we use social practice theory to interpret the pathway of one adolescent whom we followed as part of a longitudinal…

Western educational researchers have eagerly accepted activity theory (AT) also known as cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) to collect and analyze data in rich description of complex situations. As this theory is applicable to a wide variety of disciplines, this review is limited to education and specifically to qualitative studies of…

Increasing postsecondary access depends in large part on enhancing underrepresented students' writing ability, or college writing readiness. However, what exactly constitutes college-level writing is not clear-cut, complicating efforts to improve secondary preparation. This article examines recent efforts to define postsecondary writing,…

This paper explores the role of International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGOs) in adult education as one instrument of global civil society to effect social change. Postcolonial theory is utilized to explore the complex relationships between the concepts of "globalisation", "global civil, society", and "adult education for social change". In…

Japan is known to be a country that manicures its socio-cultural borders. In this article I will examine discourses regarding openness, closedness and cultural diversity in relation to policies and practices that draw heavily on mythologies of English language as an inroad to greater openness and diversity. To do this I will examine two English…

Increases in diverse clientele have caused counselor education to enhance its focus on multicultural pedagogy, using the Tripartite Model (TM) to impart multicultural learning. While knowledge and awareness are important, it also is important to enhance skill development in counselors-in-training. Counselor educators have a unique opportunity to…

In this article, the author discusses three books whose shared concern is what constitutes an "individual". Each, in its own way, challenges the idea that "identity" is fixed or uncomplicated. The books, in trying to find the underlying cause of what makes up an individual's "identity", advocate strongly the need…