A basic premise of this essay is that music education practice is a form of--a broadly conceived notion of--political practice insofar as it creates situations where specific meanings are produced, attitudes built, identities shaped, and hierarchies of musical and social values constructed. Every music education practice expresses, and at the same…

This essay explores the limits and bounds of music education's professional "We". It argues essentially that music education cannot become more socially just until it becomes more inclusive of diversity--and this means diversity of musics, peoples, voices, values, and more. The author argues that until the current homogeneity of music education…

Educators are often frustrated when students appear not to have completed reading assignments carefully or attentively and seem unwilling or unable to give a fair and balanced critique of what they have read. This essay suggests that incorporating the practice of reading aloud may help both to point out where students are stumbling and to create…

This paper reflects on a first year communication project in a South African engineering foundation programme which attempted to bring a cultural studies perspective to the teaching of academic literacy practices. In the project, students identify everyday objects that have symbolic meanings and examine these in a range of physical, cultural and…

This paper reviews literacy learning conducted in two laboratory preschools in Hong Kong and Canada, and examines the link between cultural values and educational practices. Both preschools maintain that a constructivist view of child learning underpins their practice. However, the author's experience in these two settings illustrates how…

Education for citizenship has the teaching of controversial issues, the exploration of social values and the fostering of active participation at its core. This article focuses on a case study of 11-year-old pupils in a Scottish primary school, who were exposed to a new programme underpinned by values-based participation. The pupils initiated…

Issues regarding sexuality are often little discussed in high schools serving students from religiously conservative backgrounds. Frequently, parents and school administrators are uncomfortable with, and reluctant to discuss the topic, and as a result students have inadequate opportunities to engage in discussions about sex and relationships. This…

Given the power of instructional technology and the ubiquitous nature of technology in society and the workplace, what are the social implications associated with teachers' decisions to use, or not use, technology to enhance teaching and learning? Despite current U.S. educational goals and the documented effect of the achievement gap, little…

There have been many theoretical and practical efforts to include students with intellectual disabilities into the mainstream of school and community life. These initiatives are derived from, and limited by, individualized notions of disability. Alternatively, using data from an exploratory multiple-case study of gay and bisexual persons with…

The authors describe a five-day, literature-based thematic unit for second-graders on positive character traits, such as friendship, respect, perseverance, honesty, and cooperation, and how four books by Janell Cannon are integral to children's learning. (The authors offer suggestions throughout for adapting the unit for younger children.) They…

Service learning is an effective instructional strategy in preservice teacher education programs for engaging students more actively in the learning process. In spite of the extensive studies on service learning in teacher education programs and courses, few studies are devoted to investigating the implementation of service learning in special…

Teaching in socially just ways and in ways that produce social justice requires the recognition that learners need access to the knowledge deemed valuable by the content domains, even as the knowledge they bring to their learning must not only be recognized but valued. In this review, the author revisits that notion of teaching as the fusion of…

A recent trend in moral education, social and emotional learning, incorporates the mantra of emotional intelligence (EI) as a key element in an extensive program of character building. In making his famous claim that the good life would have to include appropriate emotions, Aristotle obviously considered the schooling of emotions to be an…

This article focuses on 40 elementary school teachers' efforts to involve their students in social justice-oriented service-learning experiences and the struggles and support they encounter in doing so. The service-learning activities described here begin with student interest and initiative and focus on advocacy and concerted efforts to right…

Citizenship is an important part of the development of young people. By enabling them to learn about their rights and responsibilities, to understand how society works, and develop knowledge and understanding of social and political issues, citizenship prepares them for dealing with the challenges they face in life. Through citizenship, young…