(2013). Educational Equity in the Access to Post-Secondary Education: A Comparison of Ethnic Minorities in China with Aboriginals in Canada. Interchange: A Quarterly Review of Education, v44 n1-2 p45-62 Dec. This study provides insight into equity issues in post-secondary education by exploring and assessing the history, the reality and the potential developments in higher education for minority students in China, in comparison to post-secondary education for aboriginal students in Canada. It highlights access to post-secondary education by these minorities in both countries in terms of educational policy enactment, orientation, and its enforcement. The study examines both commonalities and differences in the educational policies of both countries to shed light on how each country is able to grapple with the issue of equity in their respective post-secondary educational systems in response to the principles of liberty, equity and dignity as outlined in the "Universal Declaration of Human Rights". This study employs a historical approach to identify the common trends by examining issues concerning access to post-secondary education for ethnic minorities in China and the… [Direct]
(2013). The Perceived Impact of Education Policy on the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities in Two Contrasting Schools. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, State University of New York at Buffalo. It has been nearly four decades since the passage of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (1975), yet some of the most fundamental issues still remain. Reauthorized in 1997, and again in 2004, as the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), this act requires all children with disabilities be offered educational opportunities in the least restrictive environment (LRE). Despite decades of federal and state legislation, inclusion is still one of the hottest topics in education. Not only is inclusion a human right, but the practice is also heavily supported by decades of research. With new federal and state policies mandating sweeping reform across the country, students with disabilities will undoubtedly face changes in their education. What effect does state policies have on the inclusion of students with disabilities? This study explored how policy implementation affected the inclusion of students with disabilities in two contrasting school districts. This was done through a… [Direct]
(2018). Effective Literacy Instruction for Learners with Complex Support Needs. Second Edition. Brookes Publishing Company What are today's best methods for teaching literacy skills to students with complex support needs–including autism, intellectual disability, and multiple disabilities? This comprehensive guidebook has up-to-date, evidence-based answers for pre- and in-service educators. Developed by Copeland and Keefe, the experts behind the landmark book "Effective Literacy Instruction for Students with Moderate or Severe Disabilities," this thoroughly reimagined follow-up reflects 10 years of groundbreaking research and advances in the field. Readers will discover current recommended practices on critical topics, including how to build vocabulary, increase word recognition, enhance fluency, address cultural and linguistic diversity, and use academic standards when designing instruction. Readers will also get the guidance needed to put theory into practice: powerful lesson planning strategies, practical examples, and case studies that bring key principles of instruction to life. Whether… [Direct]
(2009). Service-Learning in Communication Education: A Case Study Investigation in Support of a Prisoners' Human Rights Organization. Education, Citizenship and Social Justice, v4 n3 p179-194. This article offers a case study of a graduate class in communication research methods with a service-learning approach. Students were engaged in evaluating the public information campaign of a nonprofit organization exposing human rights abuses in US prisons. They gained hands-on experience in the use of a variety of basic research methods and offered their client insight into its current and potential audiences. With a community partner to serve, the students understood the importance of systematic research inquiry and its value to nonprofit organizations. The project demonstrates the value of service-learning in communication education and describes how best practices can be applied for the development of similar courses in the discipline…. [Direct]
(2024). Sociology and Moral Character: Diagnostic, Agnostic, or Gnostic?. Journal of Moral Education, v53 n4 p617-630. This article suggests three orientations within sociology toward issues of morality and character development. The first stems from Durkheim, one where sociological tools diagnose the operation of any society and its constituent parts, including typifications of the individual. This tradition holds that sociologists can help diagnose society-specific problems and failings and participate in addressing them. The second is Weberian, the notion that sociologists need to be value-neutral in their science. This approach is more agnostic in terms of prescribing fixes to social structures and attempts a more dispassionate analysis of social systems. The third traces to some origins of the field highlighting moral injustices in contemporary society, holding that there is, in fact, a 'right' way to understand human character and potential. Some adherents of this echo ancient gnostic proclamations of holding true insight into the nature of natural and social life, while other, more DuBois-ian… [Direct]
(2011). Girl Time: Literacy, Justice, and the School-to-Prison Pipeline. Teaching for Social Justice. Teachers College Press This original account is based on the author's experiences with incarcerated girls participating in \Girl Time\, a program created by a theatre company that conducts playwriting and performance workshops in youth detention centers. In addition to examining the lives of these and other formerly incarcerated girls, \Girl Time\ shares the stories of educators who dare to teach children who have been \thrown away\ by their schools and society. The girls, primarily African American teens, write their own plays, learn ensemble-building techniques, explore societal themes, and engage in self analysis as they prepare for a final performance. The book describes some of the girls and their experiences in the program, examines the implications of the school-to-prison pipeline, and offers ways for young girls to avoid incarceration. Readers will learn how the lived experiences of incarcerated girls can inform their teaching in public school classrooms and the teaching of literacy as a civil and… [Direct]
(2013). Daisaku Ikeda's Philosophy of Peace, Education Proposals, and Soka Education: Convergences and Divergences in Peace Education. Journal of Peace Education, v10 n3 p303-322. In this article, the authors introduce and explicate Daisaku Ikeda's contributions to peace education. Ikeda is a Buddhist leader, peacebuilder, school founder, and prolific author whose six decades of contributions to peace education have had a global impact in practice but have remained unexamined in the extant, particularly Anglophone, literature. Using excerpts and bilingual discourse analysis of the Ikeda corpus, the authors focus on five aspects to trace the past, present, and future of Ikeda's contributions to peace education: first, they trace the biographical roots of Ikeda's contributions to his early educational experiences and encounter with Josei Toda (1900-1958). Second, they outline the Nichiren Buddhist philosophy informing Ikeda's approach to peace education. Third, they explicate in the context of peace and peace education Ikeda's concept of value-creating, or Soka education ("soka kyoiku") relative to value-creating pedagogy ("soka kyoikugaku")… [Direct]
(2012). Classroom of Hope: The Voice of One Courageous Teacher on the US-Mexico Border. Journal of Peace Education, v9 n1 p49-64. In this study, the authors present peace education as a new model for twenty-first century educators that embraces both pedagogical changes and practical relationships between teachers and students and fosters universal human rights. This case study recounts the lived experience of one novice teacher in a classroom on the US-Mexico border. Her middle school students' lives are embroiled in unprecedented violence in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, located only a few miles from El Paso, Texas. The case study underlines the need for redefining identity in the teacher-student relationship; focusing on teacher agency in students' lives; seeing teachers as peace educators in terms of listening, caring, being non-judgmental, and engaging in reflective practice. In light of the growing need for peace education in an era of increased transnationalism in preK-12 education, institutional change is a necessary component, including redefinitions of the roles of principals and counselors. New models for… [Direct]
(2016). The Worldwide Incorporation of Women and Women's Rights Discourse in Social Science Textbooks, 1970-2008. Comparative Education Review, v60 n3 p501-529 Aug. The invisibility of women in educational curricula and the effect this has on perpetuating women's marginal status in society has been well documented. This article examines (1) whether and how mentions of women and women's rights have expanded and changed in textbooks cross-nationally and over time and (2) to what extent these outcomes are driven by (a) national factors of individual countries, such as economic, political, and social development, or (b) global or transnational dynamics. We employ a quantitative analysis of the representations of women in textbooks by examining over 500 secondary school social science textbooks from 74 countries published between 1970 and 2008. Descriptive analyses reveal a steady increase in mentions of women and women's rights in textbooks around the world. Results from multilevel models indicate the explanatory power of nation-states' linkages to global norms of human and women's rights in additional to national characteristics…. [Direct]
(2012). E-Learning Teacher Training Courses for Differentiated Instruction in Multicultural Classrooms: Reflections upon the Participants' Experiences. Journal of Educational Technology, v9 n3 p14-26 Oct-Dec. The focus and purpose of this paper is to present an e-learning teacher training course, including its aims and main results from teachers' interviews. The case study presented here examines the effectiveness of an in-service training seminar which was targeted toward teachers at multicultural schools. It concerns qualitative research that stresses interpretative and subjective dimensions of texts which comprise multiple meanings, resulting from multiple readings and interpretations. The structure of the paper is set out in three parts: First, the educational framework within which the study was developed is presented, then, the methodology connected with its development is described, and finally, teachers' replies are presented and discussed. The e-learning teacher training course was created within the frame of an Intercultural Education programme, focusing on differentiated instruction. Participating teachers were asked to create teaching scenarios in the direction of… [PDF]
(2012). The Impact of Migration on National Identity in a Globalized World: A Comparison of Civic Education Curricula in England, France and Ireland. Irish Educational Studies, v31 n1 p51-66. This article examines the extent to which citizens of migrant origin are included within discourses of national identity in civic education curricula in England, France and Ireland. We explore how much space is given to citizens of migrant origin in discourses of national identity in civic education curricula and how they fit with central values normalized by a higher degree of recognition in schools. Although early immigration systems assumed that incorporation of migrants into the national polity would take place via socialization in education, the failure to include citizens of migrant origin in the contemporary "imagined community" articulated in civic education discourses risks marginalizing some citizens which gives rise to a sovereignty gap. The disparity between legal and cultural belonging of some individuals in Western Europe presents a major challenge for education systems which are tasked with making national identity discourse resonate with a globalized… [Direct]
(2011). International Law as Remedy: When the State Breaches Child Protection Statutes. Child & Youth Services, v32 n3 p254-275. While legislative frameworks prescribe the legal obligations of the parents to protect and nurture their children, there is no equivalent legal framework requiring and sanctioning the conduct of agents of the state who act in loco parentis. In consequence some children continue to be "at risk" and may even be in greater danger once the state has intervened. This is a problem that is not confined to one or two countries, but a matter of global concern that touches most developed and developing nations alike. In this article I ask what remedies are available for addressing this perennial problem and suggest that one option is to use the existing human rights framework embodied in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCROC) which specifies the rights of children. I outline the reporting UN mechanisms and provide an example of how evidence and argument can be used as part of that reporting process with a view towards securing some of accountability…. [Direct]
(2011). Child Sexual Abuse: Community Concerns in Urban Tanzania. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, v20 n2 p196-217. The aim of this study was to explore community perceptions about child sexual abuse in Tanzania. Thirteen focus group discussions were conducted with adult community members. The core category, "children's rights challenged by lack of agency", was supported by eight categories. "Aware but distressed" portrayed feelings of hopelessness, "lack of trust in the healthcare and legal systems" reflected perceived malpractice, "decreased respect for children's rights" referred to poor parental care and substance abuse, "myths justifying CSA" illustrated cultural beliefs to rationalize child sexual abuse, "disclosure threatened by fear of stigma and discrimination" aligned the manifestations that prevent disclosure, "actions driven by economic circumstances" described the economical dependence of victims, "urging a change in procedures" reflected informants' wish to ally with local governance and pressure groups,… [Direct]
(2016). Queering Social Work Education. University of British Columbia Press Until now there has been a systemic failure within social work education to address the unique experiences and concerns of LGBTQ individuals and communities. "Queering Social Work Education", the first book of its kind in North America, responds to the need for theoretically informed, inclusive, and sensitive approaches in social work education. This original collection presents the thoughts, reflections, and recommendations of a diverse range of queer social work scholars, students, and educators. Part 1 opens with essays on LGBTQ history, activism, and theory, as well as on the profession's current relationship with LGBTQ communities. Part 2 offers insight into the experiences of queer social workers and students through first-hand accounts of oppression, resistance, and celebration. In Part 3, contributors reflect on the challenges ahead for making social work education–and by extension, the profession–more inclusive of queer individuals. Combining LGBTQ history and… [Direct]
(2010). Making Meaning out of Human/Animal: Scientific Competition of Classifications in the Spanish Legislature. Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, v30 n3 p205-213. In the summer of 2008, the Spanish legislature resolved to grant great apes (though not all simians) basic human rights. While the decision to grant such rights came about largely through the lobbying efforts of the Great Ape Project (GAP), the decision has potential reverberations throughout the scientific world and beyond in its implications for shaping determinations of "what is human." Such implications do not appear to be lost on various groupings of scientists who have spoken about their opinions about the case and the project in general. These groupings of scientists, I argue, using the work of Mary Douglas and others, can be compared to "tribes" actively advancing and defending their classifications of the "human" in a bid for a retention or expansion of power. (Contains 24 notes.)… [Direct]