Drawing on the parallel literature on increasing student voice in the field of education and on building youth-adult partnerships in the youth development field, this article examines the place of young people in efforts to increase social justice in school settings. Through an examination of thirteen youth-adult partnership initiatives, it…

In this article we suggest that the current popularity of student voice can lead to surface compliance--to a quick response that focuses on "how to do it" rather than a reflective review of "why we might want to do it". We look at the links between student consultation and participation and the legacy of the progressive democratic tradition in our…

It is no coincidence, that disengagement from school by young adolescents has intensified at precisely the same time as there has been a hardening of educational policy regimes that have made schools less hospitable places for students and teachers. There can be little doubt from research evidence that as conditions conducive of learning in…

Over the last two decades, researchers have presented convincing evidence that teachers are an important key to school improvement and to closing the student achievement gap. However, ensuring that all students are taught by quality teachers--those with the right talent, skills, and experience--is not enough. Teachers--even the best of them--must…

The classroom is at the heart of the often-mixed messages of school reform and school practice. Educators must make sense of these mixed messages in order to engage in the work of teaching. Viewing educators as social agents amid the complexity of educational discourse and practice provides a distinctly different lens on reform than those…

Alchemy is the magical or mysterious power or process involving chemistry, magic, and philosophy in transforming one thing into another. The term is often used to describe the medieval study that sought to transform cheaper metals into gold or silver. "Educational alchemy" is the process by which schools are converted into more effective learning…

In the current educational reform movement, schools have become the new scapegoat for the American economy's increasing failure to compete in the world market. The Bush Administration needs to articulate a vision linking public education to democratic imperatives, rather than the marketplace's narrow demands. Education for empowerment should be a…

Education is the only "business" in which the consumers (students) rather than the workers (teachers and administrators) do most of the work. For educational technology to fulfill its potential, we must change our views about work in schools. Technology must be used for the workers to improve connections and by the workers to enhance and extend…

Discussion of change within the university focuses on the radical rethinking of university culture, the importance of all members of the institution being "empowered" to identify their crucial and unique roles, and the concept of "learning organizations" committed to continuous improvement and a spirit of inquiry and continual learning. (Author/DB)

The education profession in Hong Kong has been experiencing waves of educational reforms since the early 1990s. A system of school-based management has been imported from Western countries without undergoing thorough discussion about the roles that teachers might play in facilitating it. The purpose of this article is to suggest a strategic mix…

Purpose: After decades arguing the necessity of transforming schools into collaborative workplaces, teacher collaboration has been taken up by various discursive logics offering different viewpoints of the concept. This article reviews some of these discourses and looks at their main arguments, pointing to the contradictions and tensions between…

With all the focus on accountability, test scores, and school restructuring, educators may lose sight of the ultimate goal of education: empowering all students to attain personal and professional success when they leave school. As such, educators should equip their students, not simply fill them with data. Educators should make their classrooms…

In this article, the authors describe the way that leadership research has dramatically changed over the last 30 years and how leadership development programs have not kept pace with some of the important changes. In particular, the authors propose that five revolutionary leadership concepts have been overlooked and should be included in future…

Presents a theoretical framework for analyzing minority students' school failure and the relative lack of success of previous attempts at educational reform, such as compensatory education and bilingual education. The author suggests that these attempts have been unsuccessful because they have not altered significantly the relationships between…

Discusses the purpose of science education for children of the very poor classes in caste-oriented developing countries such as Pakistan. Presents a case study of one teacher educator whose beliefs and practices sharply deviated from the norm--she believes that science education ought to be about empowering students to make physical and political…