The authors observe that students in school who exhibit challenging behaviours are given labels such as "severe behaviour," "troubled," or "violent" and that these negative labels have repercussions on students. School administrators also employ zero tolerance policies without addressing the root causes of negative behaviour. Using students'…

This paper argues that recent Charter decisions concerning the off duty expressive conduct of teachers have involved a narrow or "orthodox" interpretation of the reasonable limits on such expression. The author illustrates what he describes as a "messy area" by taking us through the controversial and well-known examples of Shewan and Shewan; the…

The managerial strategies of governance prevalent in the private sector have become more and more normalized within educational institutions. These strategies, according to Dutch philosopher Zygmund Bauman, are "denial of proximity," "effacement of face," and "reduction to traits." This article describes these managerial tactics within an…

It has been nearly fifty years since the publication of "So Little for the Mind," Hilda Neatby's controversial conservative attack on what she understood as "progressive education." This paper argues that Neatby's book remains important reading despite its limitations and its context. Neatby's work represents what I call a "big dream" in…

This paper adopts a sociocultural perspective on learning (Vygotsky, 1978, 1986) to explore connections between the concept of voicing (Bakhtin 1981, 1986) and a Year four student's second language learning in Australia. Results are drawn from a qualitative study conducted in the Australian outback, through ethnographic research strategies, which…

Using Canadian data from the 1998 Cross-National Survey on Health Behaviors in School-Aged Children, the present study examined the effects of school experiences on injury and leisure activities among Canadian students. Health outcomes were classified into two categories: injury (with and without medical treatment) and leisure activities (time…

This article is based on a doctoral study of educational change in the School of Education (SOE) of the University of Cape Town (UCT) in South Africa. It is an exploration of "a moment in time" that bore witness to institutional and human transformation in South African higher education. This transformation involved a development from the late…

This paper revolves around two recently decided cases by the Supreme Court of Canada that illustrate how that Court views fundamental legal rights in terms of public policy and administrative decision making by creatures of statute in a free society. The protagonists in each case differ, as do the legal arguments, but the salient socio-political…

This article argues that bullying is a human rights violation and should be a social studies curriculum concern. It treats bullying not only as a school incident but also as part of any systematic, continuous violence in any context. There is a discussion of legal implications, applicable educational theory, and attempts to deal with bullying in…

Mi'kmaq is a First Nations language spoken in Atlantic Canada and the north-eastern United States--and like most surviving indigenous languages in North America, it is at risk. The small community of Wagmatcook, Cape Breton, determined to see Mi'kmaq return from the brink of extinction, has implemented 2 initiatives that are changing the fate of…

Research investigating the relationship between classroom environment and self-handicapping was conducted in Australian and Canadian high schools. A sample of 2,006 students responded to a questionnaire that assessed student perceptions of classroom environment and self-handicapping. Simple and multiple correlational analyses showed that classroom…

There are sharp differences in the economic, educational and political conditions among the NAFTA countries. This paper focuses on the difference in cultural and value orientations in Mexico, Canada and the United States. Education is increasingly market driven, which poses a challenge in balancing the integration of education with international…

"Wahkohtowin," a Cree word meaning kinship or the state of being related, is a fundamental concept for understanding Indigenous culture and traditional beliefs (Ermine 2001). This article describes how three researchers in western Canada incorporated this concept into a research project that compared Indigenous and non-Indigenous students'…

Focuses on two definitions of competence pertaining to education: (1) collective or (2) subjective conceptions. Explores the implications of both views of competence. Addresses the paradox of classroom assessment that relates to the two notions of competence. Includes references. (CMK)

Investigates beliefs of four teachers of at-risk students. Discusses possible school failure and future high poverty communities as related to the students' family backgrounds. Identifies child abuse in the home, alcoholism, and single or absent parents as most frequent contributors to at-risk student behavior. (CMK)