The author's experience of three common academic activities--the production of a portfolio, the preparation of a CV and the submission of a research assessment report--are related respectively to authorship, authenticity and authority. A comparison is made of how the "being of" an academic is expressed in these three textual enactments of academic…

Following the 2005 London bombings, there is widespread public debate about diversity, integration, and multiculturalism in Britain, including the role of education in promoting national identity and citizenship. In response to official concerns about terrorism, a review panel was invited to consider how ethnic, religious and cultural diversity…

In 2007 the concept of citizenship was officially incorporated into teacher education in Denmark, as part of a compulsory subject called "Christianity studies, life enlightenment, and citizenship". Thus, at least to some extent, the notion of citizenship is expected to find its way into the educational and political vocabulary of future teachers…

This article explores the informal learning processes and the changes in the values of a group of 200 Latin American immigrants to Canada. Results show that the majority of the respondents underwent at least one political or civic learning process, like increasing tolerance or environmental responsibility. The findings also suggest a number of…

This article explores the issues of citizenship, diversity and national identity in the context of the introduction of citizenship education in the UK. It considers the historical context of national identity in the UK and notes that the "British national identity has historically implied diversity". It also analyses the views of British national…

This paper explores the politics of education in countries affected by conflict. Drawing particularly on the Palestinian experience, it looks at the power relations among internal and external actors that shape the curriculum-building process. In the increasingly politicised world of international aid, especially in the Middle East, it challenges…

This article analyses the obituaries of 100 academics published in the British quality press in 2007 to see what they tell us about the changing nature of contemporary academic work, and how it is presented in this particular genre of writing. It concludes that the influence of Oxbridge and the American higher education system, and the dominance…

This paper explores how the English language privileges and empowers certain epistemologies and ontologies in international higher education in the UK. The author discusses how the English language is used to construct assumptions and practices to legitimise particular ways of constructing knowledge. The main argument is that language provides a…

This article comments on keynote speeches given by Keith Ajegbo and Audrey Osler. The programme of study for citizenship derived from the Crick report and did not emphasise race equality and national unity for security. Osler argues that the Ajegbo review addressed teaching of ethnic, religious and cultural diversity but did not confront the…

This introductory piece highlights key themes raised by Sir Bernard Crick and Professor Tariq Ramadan. Firstly I consider why citizenship is on the agenda and how these discourses are increasingly linked to discourses of diversity and identity. Secondly, I consider understandings of integration, especially with respect to Muslims, and thirdly,…

This paper analyses three crucial research skills: problem identification, data collection and hypothesis formation. It concludes that science research students should be taught about the creative process as they are under pressures that can inhibit creative thought. They should also be taught the importance of tacit knowledge for learning how to…

In the present paper the authors will describe the development of school evaluation policies in the context of recent Japanese education reform. In doing so, the applicability of Neave's "Evaluative State" thesis shall be examined. And then they will move on to the discussion as to how the policies will work in schools. Drawing on the findings of…

This article considers social and educational policy responses to increasing ethnic diversity in the Republic of Ireland and related concerns about the intensification of racism in Irish society in the "Celtic Tiger" era. Drawing on approaches which emphasise the extent to which discourses on "race" and multiculturalism are woven into a more…

Rhetoric, or persuasion, was recognised in classical times both as central to education and as dangerous when misused. Since the time of Kant, a feature of western thinking has been the creation of a special language to accompany a special idea. Making language prior to or separate from its referents is of its nature an authoritarian activity. The…

This paper has developed from research that the author initiated. The data were derived from an outreach project that aimed to increase awareness of and participation in higher education amongst Muslim women within a major English city. The paper elevates some of the author's findings into a general discussion on the role of higher education (HE)…