Imagination in Education was a qualitative inquiry that explored the effects the implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) had on imagination within high school cultures. The central question for this study was: How do New York City Department of Education (NYC DOE) high school principals conceptualize imagination within their…

Drawing upon theories that reconceptualize toys and artifacts as identity texts, this study employs mediated discourse analysis to examine children's videotaped writing and play interactions with princess dolls and stories in one kindergarten classroom. The study reported here is part of a three-year ethnographic study of literacy play in U.S.…

Participating in the Disney Planet Challenge (DPC) program allowed this author's 22 fourth-grade students an opportunity to be involved in a real-world problem: how to protect a threatened species and become its advocate. Using many different technology tools, the students informed their community about a threatened species--the Blanding's…

An emphasis on diversity is one of the greatest challenges in my teaching. Everyone, myself included, enters the course with a set of expectations for human behavior, and literature can be very disruptive of these expectations. International literature, for example, often disrupts the narrative expectations of readers who were trained by stories…

This article explores how young Korean immigrant girls (age five to eight) living in the United States interpreted American popular culture by discussing their interpretations of Disney animated films. In particular, it scrutinizes these girls' understanding of the idea of monarchy--in this case, the process of and the qualification for a…

Although several studies have examined popular culture, the perspectives of young children from various cultures still have not been discussed at length in such studies. In order to listen to these children's voices, this paper focuses on young immigrant Korean girls in the United States. It particularly examines their interpretations of marriage…

This paper discusses young Korean immigrant girls' understanding of American popular culture in a small-scale qualitative study in order to disclose young American immigrant girls' perspectives on such culture. In particular, this paper explores how these Korean girls (age five to eight) perceive female body images in American popular culture -…

The use of movies and television in teaching is growing in popularity. Although a number of publications describe movies for use in the classroom, no single suggestion has been offered as an example that covers all the basic concepts of an organizational behavior course. Disney's "Remember the Titans" is that movie and, as such, is a valuable tool…

The "Shrek" films are a popular worldwide and economic success. Drawing on an analysis of the film as well as responses from undergraduate students enrolled in a children's literature course, we analyze "Shrek 2" as a teaching machine in which normative discourses of gender and sexuality circulate under the guise of "girl power". We argue that…

This paper presents a strategy for expanding a university's international participation. An effort to correct international exchange imbalances evolved into a unique international program and partnership with Walt Disney World.

Fourth grade students "know about" Pocahontas, but is this knowledge based on historical fact, or on information from the media, specifically the Disney movies "Pocahontas" and "Pocahontas II"? To address this question within the context of the New York State Social Studies curriculum and the New York State English…

This article talks about the Disney Theme Parks & Resorts College Program. The program attracts a variety of students each year from different backgrounds, major and career goals to the Walt Disney World Resort outside of Orlando, Florida, for a semester of living, learning and earning. The program has provided a foundation for thousands of…

Children's perceptions of a distant locality are gauged before the introduction of a link with a school in that distant locality. Changes in the perceptions are recorded after a variety of exchanges between the schools. The implications are considered for children, teachers and teacher trainers.

Classroom instruction about other cultures all too often resembles the Disney version of "It's a Small World" with Fantasyland-like cultural stereotypes, ceremonial activities, and traditional dress that can lead to serious misunderstandings about the depth and complexity of global societies. Social studies instruction presents the…

Torey Hayden's portrayal of classroom behavior management in her teacher lore, autobiographical writings about teaching children with emotional and behavioral disorders, is examined. Five of her books were sampled: "One child", "Somebody else's kids", "Just another kid", "Ghost girl" and "Beautiful child". Each of these books unfolds within the…