In the first part of the paper, the author discusses his observation that teachers perceive any form of theorizing in schools to be intellectually dependent on educational researchers. Teachers assume that their access to educational theories depends on a group external to themselves and that theory has little practical value in the classroom. In…

The role of schools in promoting a democratic social order is obscured by confused attempts to embed moral dialog in society and by the loss of communities wherein such discourse prompts social action. Schools can assist by realizing the full participative decision making that reconstitutes democracy as a cultural form. (CJH)

Analyzes the structure of young children's social comparison exchanges in two preschool settings, focusing on the precursory and sequent phases of social comparison exchanges manifested by young children during play in preschool. (HOD)

Argues that policy-oriented educational research produced a new kind of knowledge: third order knowledge. Defines third-order knowledge as knowledge of and for experts whose purpose is the legislation and regulation of everyday lives. Proposes that expert knowledge motivates a critical analysis contextualized in a historical study of…

Seeks an approach to pedagogy that sees sociology as a discipline with explicit moral concerns. Draws on data from a case study of undergraduate students taking courses in social theory. Presents a model of generalized and concrete other which provides a framework for understanding sociology and its teaching methods. (Author/PAL)

In this article, we explore how students' agency relates to both highly structured and open-ended learning environments. This is done by analysing how students' understanding of tasks evolves through their activities in relation to the representations inscribed in two technology-rich learning environments. Based on the sociocultural approach to…

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…

After the Second World War, the field of cultural anthropology underwent an explosive development. Sociologists, psychologists, educators, and economists all added to the increasing interest in a discipline which began by assuming that culture is the foundation of social structures and that every institution manifests itself as a system of…

Ideas from postpositivist thinking have been particularly challenging for comparative education scholarship and its metanarratives. Analysis of articles in major comparative education journals in the 1990s examines the integration of ideas from 10 poststructuralist thinkers and explores in detail the appropriation of Foucault's ideas and…

In this response to commentaries by Ali Sammel, Jhumki Basu and Alberto Rodriguez, I present my perspective on three important issues raised by the commentators. These issues relate to the role of a researcher in her field settings and society, the critique of science and science education as oppressive dominant discourses, and co-opting…

This book is the result of a seminar on emancipatory education and the action research projects in the Department of Didactics at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa. The book starts with questions regarding the nature of action research. This first chapter discusses the meaning of some crucial organizing concepts, asks questions…

This volume represents the results of an effort to reconsider school desegregation research from a "situational" perspective--one that recognizes macro and micro processes, objective and subjective forces, and proximal and distal influences. Part I is an introduction, "The Desegregation Situation," written by Jeffrey Prager,…

There is not much evidence that supports the notion of the self-fulfilling prophecy as applied to teachers' expectations of students. The "Pygmalion" study is often cited by courts and in the media; but it is highly criticized in scholarly circles, and its findings could not be replicated. (VM)

Provides a general overview of research on the sociology of school knowledge which has focused on the dynamics of class, gender, and race. Presents a framework for analyzing how these ideological dynamics produce the stratification of culture and people in education. (KH)

Agrees with Brian Rowan that ideas about teaching and learning have powerful implications for many aspects of school administration and that professional preparation must centrally engage these ideas. Presents three complementary themes from contemporary research that raise additional considerations and point in other directions: the sociocultural…