Different regions of the world are making increasing demands for educational reform, especially when institutions are dissatisfied with the level of proficiency of their graduates. Since the realization of how important English education is to global success, reform to English education is becoming progressively vital in societies all over the…

This enlightening handbook offers current, international perspectives on the conditions in communities, contemporary practices in schooling, relevant research on teaching and learning, and implications for the future of education. It contains diverse conceptual frameworks for analyzing existing issues in education, including but not limited to…

In this paper, two teacher educators work to understand their attempts to transform teacher-student relations by altering traditional grading practices. Using actor-network theory, the authors examine the social effects produced across and throughout a school of education when they changed the meaning and significance of grades. Detailed analysis…

Social justice is a concept that means equality and fairness. In education, this means equal access and opportunity for all students to maximize their fullest potential to become productive and contributive members of society. Within the last decade, the notion of teaching for social justice has become popularized in teacher education. Most…

Equality and equity are often mischaracterized as interchangeable terms in public education. This may explain why efforts towards reform and restructure are often not met with any real measure of success. "Equity, Equality, and Reform in Contemporary Public Education" provides emerging research on the reformation of education curriculum…

The author has attempted over the years to make a case for educators to work within a revolutionary critical pedagogy that examines the economic, cultural, social, and political purposes of education. Acknowledging the fact that education is a necessary but not sufficient weapon in history's arsenal of social revolution, it is clear that educators…

The first years of teaching can be demanding, as the novice works to gain familiarity with many aspects of professional work. Often, what they have been prepared to do in teacher education programs is not aligned with what is expected at them in schools. As a consequence, many teachers leave the profession or move away from the reform-minded…

The promise, embraced by governments around the world, is that the knowledge economy will provide knowledge workers with a degree of autonomy and permission to think which enables them to be creative and to attract high incomes. What credence should we give to this promise? The current economic crisis is provoking a reappraisal of both economic…

This book tells a fascinating story about the realities of urban education in America. It provides new insights on teacher selection and preparation, curriculum, school takeovers, federal legislation, the role of business, and the impact of the civil rights movement on urban schools. The result is a new perspective on what educational reform…

Nathaniel Stone, the principal of Lakeshore Community High School, was summoned to a meeting in the city. The gathering included more than a dozen influential leaders. The conversation that unfolded was, literally, unreal. Mr. Smith, a government official of sorts, called for the destruction of a social movement that was having a positive effect…

This collection brings together many of the world's leading sociologists of education to explore and address key issues and concerns within the discipline. The thirty-seven newly commissioned chapters draw upon theory and research to provide new accounts of contemporary educational processes, global trends, and changing and enduring forms of…

Reviews the constraints on implementing an issue-centered approach to social studies education and argues that schools play an important role in socializing students into society. Concludes that advocates of new theories of social studies education must take into account the realities of contemporary school and society. (SLM)

Many countries in the "developed world" are engaging in what has been described as a "systemic" reform of their education systems, due in part to the competitive economic pressures of globalisation. Much literature has been generated about globalisation, exploring the dynamic interrelationship said to exist between economic…

Educationists and teachers sought to develop forms of curricular provision which would be more appropriate to the economic, social and, indeed, political conditions of the twentieth century. Bridging of the gap between the theory and practice of education by convincing teachers of the importance of developing a theoretical underpinning to their…

The social role of schooling is to equip students with the tools that will enable them to control their own destiny. How this role can be attained is explored through discussion of the current social role of schooling, our conception of democracy, and recent criticism of public schooling. (DF)