In the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011--2015), the Chinese Committee of Science, Technology and Education, the main body for the central government's innovation policy, highlights the strengthening of the scientific--technological base and the upgrading of domestic innovative competences, and places the industrial focus on seven new strategic…

As critical pedagogy becomes more mainstream on the educational landscape in the United States, it is important to revisit the original tenets of critical pedagogy and explore their current manifestations. Since the beginning of "criticalism" from the theoretical/foundational work of the Frankfurt School of Critical Social Theory,…

One of the tasks of Jean-Paul Sartre's later work was to consider how an individual could live freely within a free community. This paper examines how Sartre describes the process of group formation and the implications of this discussion for education. The paper begins with his metaphor of a bus queue in order to describe a series. Then, by means…

While the court-approved use of race in college admissions rests on the ability of institutions to produce educational benefits associated with diversity, existing research provides little practical insight for institutions, particularly with regard to the types of relations that foster such benefits. The authors review current research and…

This article represents four emergences through which to explore the significance of lifelong learning. Drawing in particular on complexity theory and actor-network theory, it seeks to develop an understanding of the reductions and emergences, and purifications and translations to which lifelong learning is subject. To do this, the article also…

Recently, a growing contingent of "evolutionary sociologists" has begun to integrate theoretical ideas and empirical findings derived from evolutionary biology, especially sociobiology, into a variety of sociological inquiries. Without capitulating to a naive version of either biological reductionism or genetic determinism, these researchers and…

Cyberbullying may be one of the "diseases" of the 21st Century. Despite efforts to curtail its incidence and prevalence over the past 20 years, its direct and indirect harmful effects have made it a public concern about the wellbeing of children, adolescents, and adults. Empirical studies as well as psychological theories have addressed…

This article reviews empirical studies of the role of college roommate relationships in students' mental health and college adjustment. We propose a systemic conceptualization of roommate relationships that highlights roommates' interdependence and origins of roommate relationship dynamics. We discuss practice implications for student…

Using the Social Cognitive Theory as a theoretical framework, this study evaluated a 4-month, individual cognitive-behavioral intervention program to decrease burnout and increase self-efficacy, engagement, and performance among university students. The main objective of the intervention was to decrease the anxiety the students coped with before…

Silencing race dialogue in urban classrooms is painful for students of color. The author of this article, an urban teacher, documents her resistance to colorblind racism by strategically including race in daily classroom practices. She argues that acknowledging emotionality and Whiteness are essential steps that teachers must take to reinvest in…

This article introduces a theory describing the relationship between factors that increase social isolation and deviance. The theory is examined in the context of virtual visitation. We integrate social exchange, anomie, and strain theories to argue that as communication is impeded between two actors, the less satisfied either will be with the…

Conducting research on early education development at rural sites in South Africa is challenging. This is partly because it is difficult to capture the vast array of factors that impact on the lives of people in rural communities. In this article the author reports on some of the difficulties, showing how cultural historical and activity theory…

This article explores the influence of relationships on student achievement by examining empirical evidence and by adopting a social psychological theory. Initially, the issue is addressed from a national, Swedish context. Thereafter, two general questions are raised: (1) What is the influence of relationships on student achievement, according to…

Labour conflict in school districts is a largely neglected area of educational research. This study examines the perceptions, actions, and decisions of union and district leaders using social movement theory to describe, analyze, and interpret contentious contract negotiations in three school districts in the Pacific Northwest region of the US.…

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,…