Researchers and evaluators increasingly use focus groups as a culturally responsive (CR) method to facilitate empowerment -- especially among vulnerable groups. Yet, the expansion of this practice muddles the concept of empowerment and purposes for using focus groups for empowerment. Of particular need is a clear differentiation of the purposes…

School-based social activism projects have much potential to foster civic engagement, self-efficacy, and positive youth development. Social activism projects may also be a means by which children, a group that is disempowered due to their age and dependence on adults, might seek to positively impact social and community problems. The current study…

This paper uses Nancy Fraser's concept of participatory parity to reflect on data gathered by and from third year students in a final year research module in the Women's and Gender Studies Department at the University of the Western Cape in 2015. During the course students developed a research proposal, collected and shared data with other…

This one-year qualitative study examined the ways in which five Chicana/o and Latina/o teachers committed to social justice perceived their roles in their college-going work with Latina/o students, as well as the challenges threatening their efforts with students. Building on Stanton-Salazar's (2011) concept of "empowerment social…

Social workers' unique skills and professional perspective can contribute to improved practices in psychopharmacology, yet it is unclear how social work programs prepare students for this area of practice. This study examined instruction of psychopharmacology through a national Web-based survey of MSW program directors and instructors of…

This original, qualitative research analyzed in-depth interviews with five undocumented, college-age, Latino DREAM Act advocates in a single state. An organizational empowerment framework was utilized to explore processes allied with such advocacy. Four emergent themes transcended the data inductively: (1) Challenging Social Injustice, which…

This qualitative case study explored the perceptions and practices of three teachers who teach social justice concepts in kindergarten and 2nd grade classrooms in an urban school district in the Northwest region of the United States. The research sought to answer the following central questions: (a) What do teachers perceive about how instruction…

Twenty years after South Africa's democratisation, Nelson Mandela's passing has prompted scholars to examine his legacy in various domains. Here we take a look at his legacy in education discourse. Tracing Mandela's thoughts and pronouncements on education we find two major emphases: a view of education as a practical means to economic…

There is a growing body of literature about the qualities of professional teacher educators (TEs) and their impact on preparing professional teachers. However, English Language Teaching (ELT) research has fallen behind in this regard, despite the fact that different programs worldwide suffer from different limitations, due to certain aspects…

Despite public commitments internationally and nationally to include the voices of all stakeholders, the voices of teachers have continued to be marginalized in the literature and in policy-making related to global educational development. The purpose of the current study is to examine the process of invoking teacher voice using a sample of…

Policy and research have been advocating the importance of teachers in achieving equity and teachers are called to act as agents of social justice. This issue remains central to the development of a post-apartheid South Africa, where a need for reconciliation and healing still dominates the society. Such a landscape requires adequate support…

Scholars have criticized teacher education programs for using action research (AR) to improve candidates' technical skills rather than promote its emancipatory goals. The author argues candidates who conduct critical AR promote its emancipatory goals and indicate a commitment to act as change agents for social justice through education. This…

Using New York City schools as a case study, this study draws on interview data from principals, district consultants and administrators, and principal's union representatives to explore the relationship between market-based reform and colorblindness in educational policy. The study is informed by colorblindness theory, which explores the subtle…

This study examined instructional and attitudinal changes influencing faculty members in a proprietary college after the parent company divorced itself from day-to-day leadership decisions during a "teach-out." A teach-out is the process of school closure, when the college stops enrolling new students, but teaches out currently enrolled…

Is empowering peace education primarily about providing individuals with skills to respond to violence they experience and capabilities to enhance their own lives? Or is inspiring social transformation to alter forms of injustice that contribute to violence an equally valid and important dimension of an empowering peace education program? This…