For years now, public education, and especially public higher education, has been under attack. Funding has been drastically reduced, fees increased, and the seemingly irresistible political force of ever-tightening austerity budgets threatens to cut it even more. But I am not going to take the standard line that government financial support for…

This article is a response to criticism of my book "Big Ideas for Little Kids." The main topics addressed are: Who is the audience for the book? Can people without formal philosophical training can be good facilitators of elementary school philosophy discussions? Is it important to assess attempts to teach philosophy in elementary school? Should…

Political liberalism, conceived of as a response to the diversity of conceptions of the good in multicultural societies, aims to put forward a proposal for how to organize political institutions that is acceptable to a wide range of citizens. It does so by remaining neutral between reasonable conceptions of the good while giving all citizens a…

Concomitant with the rise of rationalizing accountability in higher education has been an increase in theoretical reflection about the forms accountability has taken and the ones it should take. The literature is now peppered by a wide array of distinctions (e.g. internal/external, inward/outward, vertical/horizontal, upward/downward,…

Academic disciplines have a critical role to play in higher education's response to the planetary challenges of the 21st century. Many academics have embraced the call for a fundamental reorientation of higher education around the goal of education for sustainable development. Individual faculty members who prioritize such a pedagogical goal,…

This article presents the general framework for a course at college level in which philosophy students learn to teach philosophy to students in elementary school. As well as addressing the rationale for such a course, the article outlines the organization of the course and the various requirements students in it must fulfill. In so doing, it…

Responding to Brighouse's comments, we discuss ways that institutions of higher education themselves can increase access for low-income students. We argue for the important role of community colleges and for bridge programs that colleges can establish with middle and high schools to ensure that students take the subjects necessary to prepare them…

This article seeks to apply Adam Swift's (2003) critique of private and selective schooling to higher education in the UK. The higher education sector in this country is highly differentiated, with high status, research-led elite institutions at the top of the university hierarchy, and newer universities, with far lower levels of funding and…

This article presents and discusses in detail the results from a longitudinal study of social studies teacher educators about the diffusion of technology in social studies teacher education. Data were obtained from the third distribution of a national survey that explores the beliefs, practices, and efficacy of social studies teacher education…

The purpose of the study was to determine the responsibilities and qualifications of social studies education faculty positions as listed in The Chronicle of Higher Education during the 2004-2005 academic year. Many of the listings conveyed expectations for social studies educators to teach undergraduate courses, supervise interns, write grants…

Believes that social educators must respond to alienation in society that is the cause of disconnections among people when trying to build a stronger democracy. Examines the idea of alienation within society and addresses how social educators can keep their values as they teach. (CMK)

Examines how the reading of two revisionist history text accounts concerning U.S. President Andrew Jackson influenced the historical interpretations and understanding of two prospective elementary teachers. Suggests that rhetorically powerful revisionist history texts may have the capacity to re-narrativize the thinking of prospective teachers…

Addresses ideas presented in the article "The Struggle for Democracy in South Africa: Race, History and Education" (David W. Hursh). Provides information from a South African perspective and highlights ideas Hursh omitted that are central to the race-related discourse in South Africa. (CMK)

Responds to the article "Race, History, and Education: South African Perspectives on the Struggle for Democracy" (Diane Brook Napier; Vincent T. Lebeta; Bheki P. Zungu.) Addresses the issues of disagreement and asserts that the authors were unfairly critical of the original essay. (CMK)

Focuses on the issue of technology within education. Addresses various issues related to e-learning and children, such as if computers really motivate children to learn quicker and better and if computers connect children to the world. Discusses the issue of distance education within the higher education environment. (CMK)