There is a growing recognition in teacher education that in order to work toward a more equitable and just society, programs of teacher education must explicitly engage with the political commitments of teachers and teacher educators (Cochran-Smith, 2005). They must prepare prospective teachers to address "societal structures that perpetuate…

The work and lives of teachers have always been subject to external influence as those who are nearing the end of their careers will attest, but it is arguable that what is new over the last two decades is the pace, complexity, and intensity of change as governments have responded to the shrinking world of economic competitiveness and social…

English-Language Learners (ELLs, English-Learners, ELs) are a particularly challenging sector of the student population in United States schools. They constitute an increasingly larger presence in most school districts, growing 51 percent in ten years to 5.1 million in 2006. Despite becoming more common, schools have yet to figure out ways to meet…

One of the main challenges confronted by higher education in the 21st century is to internationalize its programs and to make students more globally competent. This challenge is not new, but it has become increasingly complex. Gutek (1993) explains how the efforts to internationalize the university in the United States became particularly…

Based on his reading, research, and experiences as both a classroom teacher and teacher educator, the author accepts Dewey's ultimate recognition that the problem is not simply that teachers are unaware of alternatives to schooling as usual, and that better teacher education is the solution to making schools the sites of more active learning. The…

The author has argued that the central concern for the Frankfurt School of critical theory remains a foundationally necessary task for ecopedagogy generally: to understand the domination of nature in all of its complexity and totality as part of an ongoing transformative inquiry (inclusive of both theorization and transgressive action) into the…

In this article, the author addresses the challenge to teacher education programs to resist swings in the pendulum and help new teachers sustain progressive, responsive, school-based reform efforts that seek to address the unique needs of every student even as external demands for standardized measurements of learning remain firmly in place in the…

Robert V. Bullough, Jr.'s article demonstrated in an impressive way how autobiographical accounts, as well as single person narratives, are intertwined with much larger issues in society, international politics, and economical interests, as well as consequences for people in general and educators in particular. The way he proves capable of…

In their call for proposals for this themed issue, the editors maintain that higher education institutions should graduate future P-12 teachers who think globally, have international experience, demonstrate foreign language competence, and are able to incorporate a global dimension into their teaching. In contrast, the authors argue that future…

In the last 20 years, public education in the United States has been transformed under the pressures of high-stakes testing. Some argue that right wing ideologues are out to privatize the public school system in order to wring as much profit from the system as they can. Others argue that the new reforms are needed because for too long, teachers…

Criticism of the public schools has been unrelenting since "A Nation at Risk" was published in 1983. From that pivotal moment to the present the business community has played a crucial role in setting the parameters of the critique of the schools and shaping the reform agendas that have been proposed and implemented. However, this author has found…

This article examines the standardized high-stakes testing in the wake of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) movement. It focuses on the political economy of the testing industry; that is, a look into the ownership, intent, and regulation of the private forces that produce, provide materials, prep sessions, and tutorials for and evaluate, report on,…

This article aims to help those who support the pivotal role of public education in promoting a critically informed and actively engaged democratic citizenry understand what the American Federation of Teachers (2006) inaccurately describes as "The John Stossel Agenda." In his "20/20 Report," "Stupid in America: How Lack of Choice Cheats Our Kids…

In this article, the author examines the ways in which the claim to subaltern status has led to a partial withdrawal from state-run institutions and to a practice of schooling that is meant to equip the children of authoritarian populist parents both with an armor to defend what these groups believe is their threatened culture and with a set of…

In this essay, the author suggests that worldwide disasters are providing the means for business to accumulate profit. From the Asian tsunami of 2005 that allowed corporations to seize coveted shoreline properties for resort development to the multi-billion dollar no-bid reconstruction contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan, from the privatization of…