Shifts in the demographics in North American colleges and universities over the past decades have created much more diverse and multiethnic campuses. Some praise these trends for creating more dynamic environments. However, not all are happy with the "infiltration" of traditionally white, male enclaves, such that newcomers are met with hostility,…

This article explores experiences that led individuals to become teacher leaders advocating for under-served students in urban schools. Cohort members in an urban teacher leadership master's degree programme engaged in systematic critical reflection about becoming leaders for equity, describing the influences of their families and communities,…

Higher educational practices in post-Soviet Central Asia remain predicated on an authoritarian conception of expertise rooted in an objective and universal science. While the substance of such education has changed since the Soviet era, the form of education remains rooted in Soviet-era discursive ideological practices, practices that encourage…

Before Europe--as a continent--could seriously think of creating a common European Higher Education Area grave differences between the former West and East had to be dealt with. The fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989 made it possible to start reforming totalitarian educational systems and introduce principles of democratization and academic…

Australian public universities are hybrid public-private institutions. Though established and regulated by government, they have always enjoyed substantial academic autonomy and for most of their history raised some of their revenue privately. Both these aspects have become more marked over the last twenty years, with increased regulation of…

Community engagement was a relatively unknown concept in South African higher education until the late 1990s. In response to the call of the White Paper on the Transformation of Higher Education (1997) for "feasibility studies and pilot programmes which explore the potential of community service in higher education" the Joint Education Trust…

Building on the analysis in his "Managing Civic and Community Engagement" (McGraw-Hill/Open University Press, 2007), the author offers an international perspective on the ways in which universities relate to their various communities. Relevant issues of leadership, policy and management are approached through key areas such as: the "narrative" of…

UK universities currently face three main challenges, related to the linked factors of development, deficit and duty. This article focuses on the final feature in the context of the former two. Specifically, it addresses the potential and problems associated with university-community partnerships, distinguishing between concepts of "outreach" and…

This article presents a manifesto to discuss how bilingual--Hebrew-Arabic--education can work for Israel, challenging its reality and changing it. It presents the new comprehensive programme for bilingual education initiated and operated by the Jewish-Arab Centre at the University of Haifa, discussing it in the light of both theory and practice.…

This article makes the following claims: (1) the goal for universities should be to contribute "significantly" to developing and sustaining democratic schools, communities, and societies; (2) by working to realize that goal, democratic-minded academics can powerfully help American higher education in particular, and American schooling in general,…

The rise of a community engagement movement offers a range of possibilities for universities to function as "sites of citizenship". These include contributing to community social and economic infrastructure, supporting equity and diversity within higher education, and education for democratic citizenship. This article provides an overview of the…