This article presents the preliminary findings of a pilot study of the practice, uses, and effectiveness of traditional medicine in Ghana. Based on in-depth interviews with local key practitioners and users of traditional medicine, the article points to some of the educational significance of local cultural knowledge on the environment and the…

The prevailing conception and practice of education perpetuates a civilization saturated with a deep sense of ontological disconnect and axiological crisis in all dimensions of human life. We examine the disconnect from body, senses, and world in the practice of education. We explore the possibilities in the burgeoning contemplative education…

As co-editors of this theme issue of this journal, the authors have accepted that knowledge systems and teacher education programs are deeply interconnected. Further, they claim that teacher education programs must incorporate in theory and practice the fact that knowledge systems are a determining factor in the effectiveness of a teacher…

This article describes an articulation of a Waponahki intellectual tradition from the experience of a Waponahki woman attempting to position Indigenous knowledge systems in the academy. The author shows how the Waponahki intellectual tradition of weaving baskets can serve as a theoretical framework and foundation for understanding Waponahki…

Misrepresentation, appropriation, and denigrating Indigenous knowledge is still common practice in educational institutions despite efforts of critical educators to challenge these practices. One such challenge was to papier mache totem poles in an education institution's library in a faculty of education that houses teacher education programs. A…

This study raises the question of how the Canadian educational system can avoid promoting cultural or ideological racism in a student population that is increasingly Indigenous and immigrant. It responds to this question by pointing to the need to expand knowledge systems in teacher education programs, presenting a multi-thematic discussion that…

Nonstandard entry programs into higher education include worthy goals and problematic processes. Although effective practices in teacher education would seem to be well established, complications arise when good intentions intersect with university protocols, issues of power, history, rights, and cultural complexities. This article reports on an…

Given the economic, political, and social conditions in the world today and the increased diversity in Canadian classrooms, schools require teachers who have a strong sense of self-awareness and understanding of global issues. This article is based on empirical research involving preservice teachers from an Atlantic Canadian university. The…

The purpose of the present study was to test a Self-Determination Theory (SDT) process model in relation to involvement in physical activity and competitive performance among students (N = 190). In this model, perceived autonomy support from teachers and coaches was expected to be positively related to autonomous motivation, perceived competence,…

This article discusses understandings of girls confronting sexism in a Swedish multiethnic urban school. The empirical study includes school observations, conversations and formal group interviews with 15-16-year-old pupils from seven classes in four schools. The article provides an analysis of one of the schools, where the fieldwork showed gender…

This article investigates mental representations of literary characters and their relations with other aspects of response to literature and age, gender, and expertise. A Saga chapter and the beginning of a contemporary novel were presented to 16 participants from each of three age groups (13 years, 17 years, adults) equally divided by gender and…

The paper reports and discusses a government-initiated nationwide assessment of writing proficiency among Norwegian compulsory school students. A sample-study of 7th and 10th grade students are discussed and reported with regard to challenges in measuring writing skills in a valid and reliable manner. For the 7th graders the results showed a…

This paper is based on a study of 7,372 students in grades 5-10 (aged 11-16) in a representative sample of Norwegian compulsory schools. The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between students' reported socio-economic status (SES) and their perceived social inclusion (SI) in school in the whole sample. We also considered separately a…

The present study aims to describe the extent and forms (integrated versus segregated) of special education support offered to pupils in comprehensive schools in Sweden over a period of 29 years and to study relations between support, background variables and goal attainment in Grade 9. The study is based on about 35,000 children born in 1972,…

This article critically examines adolescents' perceptions of the job market in Vancouver, British Columbia. Employing document analysis, interviews with teachers and students, and classroom observations, the article explores how adolescents in four urban schools understood the difference between having a job and a career in the context of the…