The "world culture" framework posits a convergence in the organisation of education across the world. On the other hand, scholars observing teaching practices inside classrooms find significant variation among nations and regions of the world. This study examined the global change patterns of classroom practices at the between- and…

Social, emotional, and affective experiences are impossible to separate from thinking, doing, and being in the world. Increasingly, schools and community-based organizations are recognizing this truth through the adoption of programs that focus on the emotional lives of children and youth, especially when emotions are fraught, and lives have been…

In this paper, the author explored the teachers' experiences and their views regarding how assemblies are conducted in Botswana public schools. The author indicates that assemblies are a common feature in Botswana primary and secondary schools. The author adopted the Christian Privilege as the conceptual framework as espoused by Blumenfeld (2006)…

Western impressions of Japanese education are examined. Various aspects of Japanese art education--e.g., government control, a centralized school system, and standardized curriculum--and Japanese attitudes toward conformity are discussed. (RM)

Teaching conformity through coercion limits students' willingness to take risks and make decisions regarding their learning. In contrast, a Foxfire classroom environment that meets psychological needs empowers students to make choices about their learning, eliminates fear of failure, allows students to establish their own standards of achievement,…

Despite the success of Japan's educational system in terms of academic achievement, a closer examination reveals a rigid system that discourages student expression and creativity, stresses conformity, ignores differences in student abilities, and supports an intensively competitive entrance system for high school and college. Discusses negative…

The necessity for social studies professors and curriculum developers to recognize the reality of teacher attitudes and classroom situations is discussed. The author contends that teachers are not very reflective about what they teach and about the effect of their teaching on students. This lack of introspection can be traced to teacher education…

The paper examines the relationship of values to education and stresses the need to design socially relevant educational systems. Problems which have contributed to the failure of most educational systems to reflect overall cultural values are identified. These include that educators are often oblivious to social needs and are unwilling to suggest…

Comparisons between Japanese and American education show that Japanese students are better behaved and more conforming and do better on international math and science tests. Japanese education is more egalitarian in approach and funding, but its emphasis on examinations for getting into universities often puts great pressure on students. (RW)

Tacit educational assumptions based on power and control are compared to current professional knowledge on teaching, learning, and school organization. Points out that educational leadership is needed that engages in self-critical analysis of our current instructional practices. Learning environments must be based on an understanding of young…

The five essays in this book criticize the "deadening heart" of compulsory state schooling, described as a series of assumptions and structures that stamp out the self-knowledge, curiosity, concentration and solitude essential to learning--a system wherein education and schooling are mutually exclusive terms. The book argues that between schooling…

Public schooling fails by educating students to become dependent thinkers; by providing irrelevant curricula; and by weakening social institutions such as family, community, and religion. On the other hand, public libraries give students the freedom to choose what they want to read, encourage critical thinking, and be nonjudgmental of students.…

The four issues of "Skole" published in 1995 include articles examining alternatives to public education and the value of free schools. Free schools offer an unstructured curriculum in which comparisons between students are eliminated and students are empowered to be responsible for their learning. Proponents of this approach to…