School politics in Sweden has recently moved in a conservative direction, emphasising the importance of conventional school subjects, stronger teacher authority and more discipline in the classroom. At the same time, consensus on the utility of such measures is lacking in the school debate. The conservative approach is often criticised as…

Over the past 15 months, the Virginia Board of Education has been redesigning its public school students' high school educational experience to better prepare them to participate in the global economy. To lay the groundwork for this redesign, the Profile of a Graduate was developed. The profile in turn grew out of a broader review of Virginia's…

The competence and learning outcomes approach, which intends to improve effective performance of academic staff and students, is becoming dominant in today's higher education. This was quite different 15 years ago. This contribution aims to offer insight in the reforms initiated and implemented, by posing and answering the questions why the time…

In Italy the "Education and Training System" is undergoing a period of complex reorganization. This occurs within a "European Integration Process" aimed at achieving a full "Citizenship right" and the maximum mobility among "Member States". Starting from the latest "European Directives", which make…

Students are coming to school with more and more exposure to digital tools, such as smartphones, tablets, and social networking apps (Rideout, Foehr, and Roberts 2010). Though teachers are trying to "catch up" with their students, many were not provided instruction in these skills during their preservice training, and technology is only one among…

Many scholars in the area of citizenship education take deliberative approaches to democracy, especially as put forward by John Rawls, as their point of departure. From there, they explore how students' capacity for political and/or moral reasoning can be fostered. Recent work by political theorist Chantal Mouffe, however, questions some of the…

Established in 2011, the Online School of Civic Education (the Online School) is intended to give Iranian teachers and educators the opportunity to reflect, experiment, and create classroom experiences aimed at teaching their students how to think, rather than what to think. The Online School was developed to provide teachers and educators inside…

Educators are increasingly aware of the importance of sustainability and the need to educate for sustainable change within higher education. This article addresses the growing need to focus on how teaching and learning can be re-oriented towards sustainability, and more specifically how educators can effectively address increasingly well-known…

Following the completion of this century's first decade, educators, policymakers, and researchers are attempting to predict future needs. However, is it possible to know what the education and global landscape will look like at the end of this century? Certainly, in 1900 one could not have comprehended the myriad innovations that would occur by…

This article focuses on the development of, and new theorising about, a strong democracy education intervention, the Just Community approach. Three questions frame the discussion: (1) Does democracy education change children and adolescents or do students in these programs change their schools, or is there a dynamic interaction over time? (2) How…

A fundamental obligation of schooling in a democracy is to educate youth in the skills, knowledge, and attitudes that are crucial to an informed and involved citizenry. If schools are to enhance a citizenship based on taking responsibility for one's thinking and actions, imaginative expression and critical thinking must be taught. (RM)

Democracy in western countries now depends on literacy at every level: censuses by which governments can plan for the future; elections which are the cornerstone of democratic choice; local meetings which have agendas and minutes--the whole apparatus of social living is organized and recorded through literacy. This paper is concerned with how…

Three important elements of a South African vision for high skills must be spreading skills improvements across the population in general, creating policy coherence and constructing new institutions. This article examines these issues through an investigation of the micro and small enterprise (MSE) sector and, in particular, through an analysis of…

Challenges the belief that knowledge of economics will help students make more intelligent decisions in their roles as citizens. Questions the usefulness of current research by economic educators. Urges that the tools of economic analysis which they teach about should also be used in the study of economics teaching itself. (Author/AV)

Reports results of task force survey. States that the goal of a political science degree program is to maximize students' capacity to analyze and interpret the significance and dynamics of political events and governmental processes. Offers recommendations in subject matter content, methodology, teaching, and skills. Concludes that the major…