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…

Across the United States, a counter-network of teacher activists is engaged in the development of grassroots organizing structures to advocate for social justice, resist the privatization of public education, and increase union democracy. The United Caucuses of Rank and File Educators (UCORE) is a national network of more than 20 union reform…

In this article, we analyse the school developmental work of a project team in Norwegian upper secondary schools. The team aims to improve teaching and learning by making use of new technologies. The aim of the article is to explore the "black box" of developmental work practices by analysing the interactions between the team members to…

As a part of a huge intervention in teacher education programs in Pakistan the author had a firsthand experience of how the "habits of mind" hinder in changing the practices and cultures of teachers and institutions respectively. It has been a part of traditional teaching in Pakistan that only one text book is followed by teachers and…

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…

Sociocultural theory is increasingly popular as a paradigm for research in education. A recent member in this family of theories is introduced--cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT)--that shows much promise to complement and invigorate the field of educational change, a large, multi-faceted, and persistent problematic. In particular,…

Outlines a new direction for graduate study in curriculum. Sees curriculum theory as a form of social theory, thus relating curriculum discourse to knowledge and social practices that produce and legitimize particular forms of social life. Suggests ways a new program might be constructed and discusses the obstacles it would face. (Author/RDN)

In this paper, in response to Ajay Sharma's paper titled "Portrait of a science teacher as a bricoleur: A case study from India" and associated reviews, I address the value of bridging two narrative styles for describing teacher development, discuss questions of over-essentializing an Indian school context, propose that teacher and…

Since 1898 the work of defining and realizing development in Puerto Rico has been carried out within the context of a political-economic relationship with the United States under colonialism. This book focuses on an assessment of the relationship between the history of educational reform policies in Puerto Rico and the issue of economic…

In this article we describe the mutual development of a school system in a poor rural county with one of its teachers. We recount the conditions leading to the coordination and writing of a Technology Literacy Challenge Fund proposal to ameliorate inadequate computer technology and initiate pedagogical change. We apply the expansive methodology of…

This curriculum analysis of black South African education considers conflict and change in historical, contemporary, and postapartheid contexts. Part 1, "The Historical Context," interprets curriculum evolution, beginning with the evangelical curriculum for slaves in 1658 and concluding with formalization of racism in the apartheid…

Symbolic leadership and culture are the guiding concepts of nine selections presented in this 1987 yearbook. In part 1, "Organizational Perspectives on the Work of Leaders," Terrence E. Deal predicts that future educational organizations will depend upon leaders who have shaped cultural patterns from traditions, current realities, and…