In the field of English language learning, research proves that culturally relevant reading materials improve students' language acquisition, learning motivation, self-esteem, and identity formation. Since English is the language of instruction in many distant countries, such as Swaziland, even when English is not the native language of those…

This article explores the underlying and epiphenomenal manifestations of milieus and contexts that serve to control and undermine, or provide pathways to, the discussion of controversial issues in classrooms. Given the importance of teaching and discussing controversial issues, as an essential lever for democratic citizenship education, I draw on…

Abject generational hardship is a systemic phenomenon which denies people a higher quality of life by limiting their access to basic life necessities. The article focuses on a group of ten girls between the ages of 10 and 14 living in a peri-urban community outside of Maputo. The first part outlines the importance of engaging girls through…

This research on the Educacion con Participacion de Communidad (EDUCO) rural schools in El Salvador examined the nature of the reform and its impact on parent involvement and engagement for the local community; the underlying economic and political ideologies of EDUCO; and interpreted these findings to uncover the implications of the reform for…

The Ministry of Education in the country of Thailand recently announced the establishment of two distinct educational tracks--a conventional/ traditional track and an unconventional/progressive/alternative track. This decision was perhaps guided by the success of innovative pilot education programs in the country, collectively called "the…

Education contributes, in peace time and war time, to the cultivation of human capital as well as social capital of the society. It is in this light that this article seeks to explore the close interplay between education and the community in the present-day stateless Somalia. In order to explore how the Somali community has coped or is coping…

Recruiting and educating international students is a growing characteristic of the landscape of American higher education. "Open Doors 2006" indicated that 564,766 international students were enrolled in American higher education institutions in 2005-06 and that international students currently represent 3.9% of the total enrollment. Undoubtedly,…

Prompted by the author's experience as a participant in an organized partnership with "Adivasis" in south Orissa since the early 1990s; Gayatri Spivak's intimation that the "subaltern can not speak" (Spivak, 1988) [and the "theoretical asphyxiation" of a subaltern politics ably contested in Parry's work as a "deliberate deafness to the native…

Case studies as an instructional strategy have been used in many disciplines, including law, teacher education, science, medicine, and business. Among the benefits of this method of instruction are involving students in learning, developing their critical thinking skills, promoting communication, and engaging in critical analysis. Case studies are…

The system of higher education in the United States offers an opportunity that is not available in quite the same way to any of the major English-speaking competitors for international students: a nationwide network of community colleges. This network affords the option to present to students abroad a much more affordable baccalaureate degree…