This study demonstrates the potential for teacher research to lead to critical inquiry and change in social studies classrooms. It presents four portraits of experienced social studies teachers engaged in critical teacher research. These teachers posed critical questions about the means and purposes of schooling, while engaging their students in…

This paper presents an exploratory study of MSW students who self-identified as having political/religious world views differing from what they perceived to be dominant at their school. A goal was to learn about conditions that fostered or inhibited authentic speech for those students. A secondary goal was to learn how students dealt with their…

This article describes the new Occupational & Life Skills (OLS) program at Bellevue Community College in Bellevue, Washington. The OLS-Venture program, as it is now called, grew out of a series of continuing education classes in personal finance, cooking, and related life skills for people with autism, obsessive-compulsive disorder and other…

This article describes a project that positions high school students as teacher educators within an undergraduate secondary certification program. A brief review of researchers' arguments for listening to students and a description of the project contextualize the perspectives of graduates of the program who teach or have taught in city schools.…

Art matters. Theater, film, paintings, writing--all forms of creative expression are an important part of people's lives. It is often through art that people reach understanding about themselves and about one another. Drama can help children find their voice. It does this because it offers an alternative form of communication. Using anything from…

We examined test-expectancy as it applies to fill-in-the-blank tests. We randomly assigned 60 college students to take a fill-in-the-blank vocabulary test in one of three conditions. Two groups took the test with a word bank available; we told one group but not the other that they would have a word bank. The third group took the test with no word…

Strong mental and behavioral health supports on campus can improve the academic performance of students and increase their resilience and ability to handle stress, with reduced suicide rates, substance abuse, and eating disorders, but this study reveals that students with mental health disabilities continue to face barriers to accessing counseling…

Using classroom observations and teacher interviews, this study examined how three young children, considered classroom leaders by their teachers, created complex dilemmas for their teachers through their interactions with teachers and peers. Findings showed that the children's powerful influence on their peers could be both positive and negative,…

How can teachers teach digital citizenship when the digital landscape is changing so rapidly? How can teachers teach proper online social interactions when the students are outside their classroom and thus outside their control? Will encouraging students to engage in global collaborative environments land teachers in hot water? These are the…

School environments offer a particularly difficult setting for fostering youth-adult partnerships because of the sharp power and status distinctions among students, teachers, and administrators. Drawing on interview and observational data examining 13 student-voice initiatives in northern California, this research examines the type of supports…

Introductory activities create a positive environment, enhance performance and set the tone for the rest of the program. Taking time for the group to get comfortable and learn each others' names will pay off later. An engaging opening activity designed to get the group interacting and sharing names, backgrounds and goals in an intriguing way can…

Hipolito-Delgado and Lee's article entitled "Empowerment Theory for the Professional School Counselor: A Manifesto for What Really Matters" represents an important contribution to the school counseling literature for two reasons: (1) It helps to expand a growing knowledge base related to the work school counselors can do to foster the…

This paper examines empowerment as a strategy, from the resource-based perspective, for the development of Greek tertiary education. As the literature suggests, empowerment enables individuals to make decisions and simultaneously take responsibility for their actions. Moreover, it increases the quality of research and teaching procedures as well…

High school teacher John Golden interviews social justice educator Linda Christensen. Golden and Christensen begin by expanding on an understanding of social justice and a teacher's role in the social justice classroom. They continue by addressing complicated issues of student empowerment, meeting state standards, and choosing appropriate texts…

In today's reform context, much attention is placed on policies and outcomes and far less emphasis on understanding the social and cultural processes in schools. Using case-study methodology, I examine relationships between low-income, urban high school students of color, and the school adults with whom they interact. Using grounded theory,…