In the United States, corporate school reform or neoliberal educational restructuring has overtaken educational policy, practice, curriculum, and nearly all aspects of educational reform. Although this movement began on the political right, the corporate school model has been heralded across the political spectrum and is aggressively embraced now…

The Waiting for Superman (WFS) cultural project and its push to transform the public school system has had great appeal among those sympathetic and unsympathetic to the victims of exclusionary and exploitative school agendas. To address the workings of hegemony in the WFS cultural project the authors examine three general scenes in the WFS trailer…

The National Assessment Program--Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN)--is conducted through standardized tests that are administered to all Australian students in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9. It was implemented in 2008 by the same Labor government that introduced My School (www.myschool.edu.au). Enjoying bipartisan political support and popular with the public…

This article discusses how the white savior syndrome renders the misrepresentation of the potential of people of color to resist and lead the transformation of oppressive conditions within their own social context. Indigenous resistance requires endogenous (internal) leadership such that all social justice actions derive from and continue to flow…

David Guggenheim's latest documentary, "Waiting for 'Superman'," stops only an inch away from insisting upon the total razing of the public school system. Guggenheim stated that, with the release of this film, he was "trying to attack... this mental block that a lot of Americans have--which is that the problems with our schools are too complex,…

This article examines the relations between two contrasting education phenomena that occur generally and that have come to light in the geographic location where the author teaches and works. This first phenomenon is the proliferation of interest in issues of diversity and equity through education policies, theories, practices, and initiatives.…

In this article, the author presents his reflection about the song "Don't Cha" by the Pussy Cat Dolls (2006), which makes a strong statement in a postmodern way about women, and sometimes men, who see themselves in the world as central players in a dramatic narrative that highlights their own victimization as happy, powerful, and glorious. These…

This article presents an interview with Gary Olson on the changing contexts of the humanities in this modern world. He emphasizes that the humanities are absolutely essential when it comes to the very real-world problems. He explains that what he is saying not just applies to terrorism and economic crisis; the humanities equip everyone to deal…

This article presents the author's response to Henry Giroux's "The University in Chains: Confronting the Military-Industrial-Academic Complex." Henry Giroux has written a provocative assessment of the contemporary challenges facing the United States as a society, which over the course of the 20th century had assumed the role of leader and exemplar…

In this article, the author suggests that a Foucaultian analytics of power may be used to explain not only how white, middle-class parents make school choices, but also the effects such choices have on these parents. This essay looks at an empirical moment in which a group of white, middle-class parents responded to a change that occurred in their…

Where the education of subaltern multicultural student collectives is concerned, the case of contemporary developments in the discourse of reform in Spain is particularly poignant. A critical engagement with that discourse and its greater sociocultural context reveals some of the subtle ways in which cultural alterity comes to be represented. And…

This essay is the author's battle cry for help in revitalizing democracy. It deals with the institutions in which the future citizens are being educated. It deals with the undemocratic way in which schools are run. Given the time and space, the author would like to narrow the focus of his battle even further and argue for a revitalization of…

Tao Xingzhi (1891-1946) was an outstanding modern educator, whose theory and practice of life education represented a radical discourse in the Chinese debate on modern education and national reconstruction. Although he is most often known as a Deweyan reformer in the mainstream of American studies, in his theoretical maturity Tao can more…

Investigates the ways that backlash pedagogy, a centerpiece of educational reform, accepts substantial inequality as a neutral baseline for educational practice and reform and, simultaneously, enshrines the status quo. The analysis draws on several theoretical lenses (cultural-historical activity theory, critical race theory, and ethnographic…

Describes the diverse assumptions and practices defined under the banner of cultural studies, suggesting how the field might have important consequences for individuals concerned with reforming schools and colleges of education. The paper addresses how progressive educators might contribute, examining how the field could be included in the larger…