I discuss the contributions of Harvey Siegel, Francis Schrag and Randall Curren to this volume. Their articles cast in bold relief the relation of High Stakes Testing to the goals of education, the nature of mind and the demands of justice. I argue that the connections are deep, but that the considerations these authors raise do not show that High…

Summarising the arguments of "How Not to Be A Hypocrite: School Choice for the Morally Perplexed Parent" (Routledge Falmer 2003), the article discusses three questions. The first is whether parents who disapprove of elite private schools to such an extent that they would vote to ban them are acting hypocritically or inconsistently with their…

Michael Hand's pithy and challenging essay (Hand, 2003) offers a neat, clear and powerful argument against "faith schools". I am in considerable sympathy with Hand's position. However, I think his argument can be strengthened, and weaknesses in it remedied or avoided. In this brief note, I offer some modest suggestions, which are intended as…

This paper takes issue with Swift's argument for the claim that parents who affirm equality of opportunity can justifiably buy advantageous private schooling if it is necessary to ensure educational adequacy for their children. We advance a number of reasons of justice and morality that support the view that egalitarian parents ought to accept a…

Adam Swift objects to private schools on the grounds of equal opportunity and efficiency, and to both private and selective public schools on the grounds of solidarity and improving the academic achievement of less advantaged students. I argue that private schools are not inefficient, and that a meritocratic ideal of equality of opportunity in…

School and government officials, system administrators and other policymakers offer a variety of reasons for engaging in high stakes testing: to monitor student performance, to measure teacher and/or school effectiveness, to ensure accountability, etc. Some of these reasons are good; others not. But the best reason--one that is never offered,…

I take up Silliman's challenge to explore the "moral logic" of "structural racism" largely absent in my book, "I'm Not a Racist, But..." I criticize and build on Glenn Loury's account of the normative assessment of racial inequality by examining three factors generating such disparities in educational achievement--stereotyping, performance-based…

The National Commission on Asian American and Pacific Islander Research in Education (CARE), consisting of a national commission, research advisory group, and research team at New York University, aims to engage realistic and actionable discussions about the mobility and educational opportunities for Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs)…

Founded in 1995, the Taiwanese Uhan Shii Theatre Group has created 12 distinctive reminiscence theatre productions and has performed locally in Taiwan as well as globally around the world. The company has developed its own theatrical aesthetics of memory, and their work not only represents the traditions of Taiwanese culture and habitus, but it…

The context for this paper is an on-going research project that sets out to examine the use of educational drama in the teaching of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in the upper stages of primary school. The drama lessons link with some of the key aims in ESD, with a particular locus in the Scottish education system. As 2005-15 has been…

As someone who writes plays specifically for young people, this author believes she has a responsibility to create texts which are structured to help young performers extend their performance skills. This can and should include effective use of linguistic devices as well as indicating possibilities for physical gesture. The author contends that,…

The Moving On project is an initiative of Griffith University and the Aftercare Resource Centre, a service agency established to meet the ongoing needs of ex-residents of institutional childhood care in Queensland. This collaborative action research project is funded by a three-year Australian Research Council Linkage Grant to explore the…

The small string of words "in place of" is problematic because if it denotes "instead of" then it is questionable whether conflicts and wars can ever be abrogated so long as there are relations of power. However, but if the string denotes a location, i.e. a war zone, then it is not inconsequential that we justify our eagerness for knowledge on…

"Performance of pain, performance of beauty" explores performance projects in war zones using Elaine Scarry's definitions of "pain" and "beauty" as a starting point. The way in which pain constricts the body and the experience that beauty can take a person beyond the body become a contested framework for considering two examples of performance.…

UK national initiatives in education, such as the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies, have been implemented to improve learning and raise standards. These initiatives place considerable significance on whole class interactive teaching, and political rhetoric makes great play of this pedagogic strategy. Teachers have been encouraged to use…