These days politicians and scientists refer to the importance of consensus for understanding society's new ideological need, but the path to consensus is difficult. Political differences account for the wide variety of approaches to the problem. The United Russia Party supports a "conservative European" ideology, while the Communist…

The idea of using values as a means of guiding our research decisions and judging the validity of our claims of knowledge is well established in literature on the self-reflective genre of action research. Values in action research should always result in virtuous behaviour--to promote the general social good. However, ideas of what constitutes the…

The social landscape of the United States can be mapped by using a series of cultural fault lines. This topography portrays conditions that descriptions of the surface fail to illuminate. Many of these schisms are the by-product of ideological positions that diminish personal responsibility and thoughtful civic discourse. If left unattended, these…

This article examines the meanings ascribed to democracy by 74 township children in primary and intermediate schools outside Cape Town. The Xhosa children's racial and historical accounts form the qualitative substance to postulate democracy as "ubuntu" (respect). Embedded in a 'struggle for recognition', democratic belonging, being, and…

Solutions to social dilemmas require cooperation. Given that there are commonly multiple avenues for cooperation, sometimes social dilemmas require coordination of strategies in addition to sufficient cooperation to be successful. This study examines one social dilemma where such coordination is necessary: supporting the general welfare. Using…

Disclosure and lying to mothers and fathers about different activities, as defined within social domain theory, were examined as a function of Latino family values in 109 Puerto Rican lower socioeconomic status middle adolescents (M = 15.58 years, SD = 1.18) living in the United States. Questionnaires revealed that teens sometimes disclosed to…

This case disrupts some of the prevalent myths about families from low-income and poor households held by educators. Recognizing the inherent tensions, this case demonstrates the importance of creating equitable and inclusive learning environments. We presented some of the challenges faced by Marcus, a progressive principal, as he attempts to…

Family obligation is an important aspect of family relationships among families from Mexican backgrounds and can have significant implications for adolescents' well-being. Prior research and theory regarding youths' obligations offer conflicting hypotheses about whether it is detrimental or beneficial for adolescents' well-being. In the current…

Montessori educators follow Montessori's lead and use the word "work" to describe the child's concentrated attention with a hands-on material. But this word may lead to communication problems with parents and those in the non-Montessori world: educators, administrators, accreditors, and so on. These communication problems are…

Multiculturalism is more accurately described as "multiracialism" in Singapore as the government classifies everyone based on four racial identities according to one's paternal line: Chinese, Malay, Indian, and others. Exploring the principle and practice of multiracialism in Singapore schools, this article points out that the surface…

The author finds Roland S. Persson's (2012a) paper to be timely, fascinating, important and powerful. At risk of mixing metaphors, it provides much food for thought and a penetrating lens through which all those vested in the optimal realisation of human potential would be prudent to review their own perceptions, boundaries of belief and…

In 2008 the school dropout rate in Central Appalachia was at 27% and the drug problem was epidemic. An investigation centered on a sample of Central Appalachian residents who had been discharged from the local outpatient clinic for opiate dependency revealed insights into their educational experiences and an understanding of drug dependency and…

In this paper, we explore how white Catholic men talk about the indirect dilemma of non-intervention for black ethnic outgroups. We illustrate how they mobilise global categorisation (all humanity) and use various forms of denial to deal with their non-involvement. Having analyzed representative fragments of their prejudice avoidance talk, we…

Immigrant parents bring their values, language, culture, religion, and educational backgrounds to our schools, enriching our educational environments. The literature on immigrant parents, however, uses a deficit model. This study explored the value of and knowledge of immigrant parents on the margins of the public education system. Data were…

Adolescent African American females face multiple obstacles that hinder their educational success. High school completion and college attendance rates remain lower for African American females than those for other racial and gender groups, while pregnancy rates for African American teens are higher. Group work holds promise for meeting the…