This paper sets out to show that the concept of literacy is evolving and its conventional definition, "reading and writing," is no longer adequate. Literacy is now subjected to constant redefinition to reflect criteria for social, political, religious, and economic relevance and expectations. The definition must be reframed to capture the…

Even as libraries face the economic downturn, a record-setting number of people attended the American Library Association (ALA) annual conference in Chicago, July 9-15. The tough economy, however, was felt in the number of exhibitors, which declined from the previous record set in 2007 in Washington, DC, and in anecdotal evidence that suggested…

Changes in the kinds of technology used in modern society are changing the ways in which people think. Russian students, like those elsewhere, are increasingly thinking in terms of short, unconnected forms of knowledge and are losing the ability to see connections, to think holistically. This presents a special challenge to education in Russia.

This article examines the relations between two contrasting education phenomena that occur generally and that have come to light in the geographic location where the author teaches and works. This first phenomenon is the proliferation of interest in issues of diversity and equity through education policies, theories, practices, and initiatives.…

While most of Gramsci's party work is well known to education scholars of Gramsci, and the educational aspects of his writings have been repeatedly analyzed, what remains a constant in education-based Gramsci studies is the nearly universal minimization of this work for what it was, namely party work. For Gramsci, it would have been unthinkable to…

This chapter traces the development of short-cycle higher education in Bulgaria. An emphasis is placed on (a) the evolution of nonuniversity short-cycle institutes and (b) the challenges of bridging the gap between secondary and higher education and creating links between vocational and academic learning pathways. The case study of Bulgaria may…

This article examines the status of school counseling in Lebanon. An overview that points out some weakness in the educational system, such as high dropout and repetition rates, is presented. Calls for counseling have been voiced partly because of the psychological consequences of social change, such as political instability in Lebanon. A sample…

The year 2008 marked the 11th anniversary of Hong Kong's return from the UK to the People's Republic of China. In this decade, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has repeatedly emphasised the importance of the development of national identity and patriotism in school education, and has at the same time introduced diverse…

The mandatory curriculum mooted by the Israeli Ministry of Education for implementation is designed to include the most important body of knowledge to be taught and acquired by every student in the educational system. In addition to the knowledge present in the mandatory curriculum it also includes the learning skills and social values necessary…

This article examines some of the pertinent challenges arising out of personal experiences encountered through teaching religion and theology within an African environment. What the author describes as the "new Africa" in his title is a continent that has transitioned from slavery and colonialism into a global fraternity of democratic…

This article presents the rich history of community psychology in Latin America, describing how the field was systematically built during the second half of the 20th century. Discussed are social and political influences such as the critique of individualistic emphasis dominant at that moment, Paulo Freire's popular education, critical sociology…

Individually experienced demands of current social change in the domains of work and family were assessed in a large sample of adults from two Western and two Eastern federal states of Germany. For each domain of life, a cumulated index was computed representing the load with highly endorsed demands and this was compared across political regions,…

In order to broaden the range and increase the significance of their work, some English language teachers have embraced critical pedagogy, which seeks to effect political and social change through education. It is not clear, though, certainly in the previous paper, how such an aim can be achieved, or whether the outcome would be the one…

Bilingual education in the United States has been a controversial educational practice since its national inception in 1968. The persistent tension over what kinds of educational programs will help bilingual students can be found across and within states. These disagreements ultimately affect bilingual teacher education programs, as they must…

This article challenges the common-sense observation that Japanese and American education have been moving in "opposite directions" in recent times. Drawing on postcolonial discourse studies and cultural studies, the article extracts from this observation an Orientalist binary epistemology that continues to set discursive limits on the…