The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has just rolled out a document spelling out five major social, economic and environmental goals it wishes to achieve by 2020. These goals are lofty indeed but they can be achieved only with reliance on not only an enlightened citizenry but on 40% of the population that should have received…

In the present study, the burn-out levels of teachers working in elementary and secondary educational institutions and their attitudes and beliefs regarding classroom management are investigated with respect to gender, job seniority, class size and the types of schools they have been working in. This is a survey method research and quantitative…

Suggests that unproblematized Eurocentrism characterizes adult education; explores the works of Cornel West and Lucius Outlaw, who racialize adult education discourse. Considers implications of their perspectives on critical thinking and offers recommendations for challenging the myth of neutral nonimpositional adult education. (Contains 74…

Structural equation modeling of data from 396 African-American and 291 white students at one predominantly white and two historically black colleges found that, contrary to suggestions of antiintellectualism, African-American students do not lack academic motivation and do not have lower self-esteem and academic self-concept. Educational…

Proposes a new approach to educational research with the Roma people based on intersubjective dialogue and egalitarian relationships between researchers and subjects. Frames these suggestions within the context of historical discrimination against the Roma and their disaffection with schooling. (Contains 88 references.) (SK)

A literature review explores how scholars have approached the study of popular culture--as text or lived experience. Examines the concepts of youth culture, individual agency, and cultural citizenship. Argues that the importance of popular culture lies in its role as a site for democratic practice. (Contains 88 reference notes.) (SK)

Research has done little to advance understanding of who accesses the violent imagery in popular culture. The narrow perspective provided by mass-produced media violence must be broadened by critical viewpoints that provide information people need to participate in the democratic process. (Contains 85 reference notes.) (SK)

Postmodern media culture widens the gap between school and children's external environments; it challenges the critical objective of media education. Students' efforts at media production manifest a more playful concept of knowledge and learning, requiring a more comprehensive postmodern approach to media education. (Contains 47 references.) (SK)

An ethnographic study of African American first graders showed how their use of media material is linked to family and community memberships. Storytelling and play involved recontextualization (borrowing, translating, retelling) of the material. Context shaped their participation in school literacy practices. (Contains 70 references.) (SK)

An ethnographic study examined oral poetry venues in black communities in Oakland and Sacramento as African Diaspora participatory literacy communities. These literary centers in out-of-school contexts served as sites for the development of cultural identity and the practice of multiple literacies. (Contains 43 references.) (SK)

Positions the school as a site through which cultural responses to material conditions are played out. Identifies responses to three waves of modernization--universal schooling, postindustrial society, and commodified electronic culture--that are accompanied by specific cultural forms such as youth culture. Suggests that these forms are sites for…

Explains the work of the Puerto Rican government's educational agency in promoting the first governor's ideas about culture and democratic citizenship. Sets these initiatives within the context of Puerto Rico's ambiguous political status and discusses the role of government-sponsored cultural projects. (Contains 86 references.) (SK)

Draws on articles in this special issue to find implications for educators of developments in popular culture, cultural globalization, and electronic images. Addresses questions concerning the reproduction of culture, identity, and community within contemporary educational debates. (Contains 48 references.) (Author/SK)

Discusses gaps in the provision and quality of education across Commonwealth countries and between the Commonwealth and other countries. Outlines a research agenda on issues related to access to education (home, community, school, personal, and political barriers); inclusive education (both for children with disabilities and cultural minority…

Examples from upper primary classrooms in Scotland and Jamaica demonstrate the subtle ways in which teachers support or restrict the classroom use of community languages (Scots and Patwa) through their broad or narrow implementation of language policy. The metaphor of fractals, derived from complexity theory, can form a sensitive and appropriate…