Justice issues in early childhood education contexts abound; these include substandard developmental opportunities and resource inequalities that disproportionately affect marginalized communities. However, "interpersonal" justice matters are often underexplored in both conceptual and empirical scholarship. It is essential to prioritize…

According to John Banas and colleagues, the research on laughter in the classroom indicates that a classroom full of laughter increases learning. In contrast, Plato argued that laughter is a vice and chastised those who would give in to it. Nonetheless, between the ancient concept of laughter as vice and the modern concept of laughter as learning…

In this essay, the author analyzes two theoretical perspectives--incorporation and abjection--that inform official knowledge generally and high school American history textbooks specifically. While contemporary textbooks increasingly depict the experiences of historically marginalized groups such as women, African Americans, Latinos, American…

The author's sixth grade teacher, Mrs. Hunter, showed him that adults who held positions of power over children could be duplicitous. After several uneventful months, she started singling him out in hurtful ways for no apparent reason. On top of the established threat of being paddled arbitrarily, Mrs. Hunter started to humiliate him in front of…

The English Enlightenment philosopher John Locke (1632-1704) is one of the most prominent figures in the development of liberal Anglo-American political thought. Locke's writings had a significant influence on the American Revolution and founding principles of the United States in fundamental ways. The author argues that Locke's influence is…

The year was 1909. The United States was in the throes of tremendous social and institutional changes: a rapidly diversifying population, dramatic shifts in political and economic structures, the rise of Progressivism as a paradigm for social reform and social control, and the intense and often grating sounds of a public education system really…

Inspired by the late John Gardner, in May 2000 the "Alliance for Regional Stewardship" (ARS) was formed as a "peer-to-peer network of regional leaders working across boundaries to solve tough community problems." According to the ARS, regional stewardship is the leadership needed to address the complex problems of one's time.…

Schooling in the U.S. is increasingly understood through the lenses of science and accountability. From the National Research Council's Scientific Research in Education (SRE) to the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), colleges and schools have faced a marked increase (or steady reinforcement) in practices which conform to principles of scientific…