This book presents a unique opportunity to read many original source materials written by authors representing diverse points of view and a broad spectrum of history in the field of education. It offers a personal philosophical perspective on the work of teaching; the function of schools in our society; and the relationships between education and productivity. Unlike most introductions to the profession, the issues raised in this book bring readers face-to-face with themselves and with the challenging dilemmas they will confront as teachers. It provides exceptional coverage of community and the changing social, cultural, linguistic, and ethnic landscape of our society and its impact on schools, children, and teaching. In addition, the book answers the following questions: What are the relationships between culture, society, and education?, What are the dynamics of daily life in schools as institutions in particular organizational and community contexts?, In what ways are gender, language, culture, race, social class, and the relationship between school and work important to education?, and What orientations and strategies can teachers adopt that will enable them to become more transformative educators? For individuals contemplating a career in teaching.

United by the belief that the most significant factor in shaping the minds of young people is the cultural setting in which learning takes place, the twenty eminent contributors to this volume present new thinking on education across the boundaries of school, home, work and community.

More than any other field in education, the social and cultural foundations of education reflect many of the conflicts, tensions, and forces in American society. This is hardly surprising, since the area focuses on issues such as race, gender, socioeconomic class, the impact of technology on learning, what it means to be educated, and the role of teaching and learning in a societal context. The Encyclopedia of the Social and Cultural Foundations of Education provides a comprehensive introduction to the social and cultural foundations of education. With more than 400 entries, the three volumes of this indispensable resource offer a thorough and interdisciplinary view of the field for all those interested in issues involving schools and society. Key Features · Provides an interdisciplinary perspective from areas such as comparative education, educational anthropology, educational sociology, the history of education, and the philosophy of education · Presents essays on major movements in the field, including the Free School and Visual Instruction movements · Includes more than 130 biographical entries on important men and women in education · Offers interpretations of legal material including Brown v. Board of Education(1954) and the GI Bill of Rights · Explores theoretical debates fundamental to the field such as religion in the public school curriculum, rights of students and teachers, surveillance in schools, tracking and detracking, and many more · Contains a visual history of American education with nearly 350 images and an accompanying narrative Key Themes · Arts, Media, and Technology · Curriculum · Economic Issues · Equality and Social Stratification · Evaluation, Testing, and Research Methods · History of Education · Law and Public Policy · Literacy · Multiculturalism and Special Populations · Organizations, Schools, and Institutions · Religion and Social Values · School Governance · Sexuality and Gender · Teachers · Theories, Models, and Philosophical Perspectives · A Visual History of American Education

In this accessible introduction to Vygotskyian sociocultural theory, narratives illuminate key concepts of the theory. These key concepts, addressed across seven chapters, include mediation; Zone of Proximal Development; collaborative dialogue; private speech; everyday and scientific concepts; the interrelatedness of cognition and emotion, activity theory and assessment. An eighth chapter provides readers with an opportunity to consider two additional narratives and apply the SCT concepts that they have become familiar with. These narratives come from individuals in a variety of languages, contexts, ages and proficiencies. We hear from learners, teachers and researchers. Intended for graduate and undergraduate audiences, this textbook includes controversies in the field, questions for collaborative discussion and provides references to important work in the literature of second language teaching, learning and research. This book presents a unique introduction to Sociocultural Theory. Through the telling of fascinating stories the authors familiarize the reader with the concepts that are central to the theory and in particular to how the theory relates to the teaching and learning of languages beyond the first. It is an exceptional piece of scholarship that I think Vygotsky would have wholeheartedly endorsed." James P. Lantolf, the Pennsylvania State University, USA "This book is a most welcome addition to the growing literature on sociocultural theory. It is refreshing to come across such a reader-friendly book dealing with complex constructs. The book provides an overview of key concepts in sociocultural theory, and then, using a set of narratives, illustrates how these concepts can be used to explain phenomena in second language learning and teaching, As such, the authors have succeeded in producing an accessible and highly engaging introduction to sociocultural theory." Neomy Storch, The University of Melbourne, Australia "Sociocultural Theory in Second Language Education is a highly recommended and worthwhile book for all those who seek to understand how sociocultural theory is entailed in teaching practice. Using narratives of teaching recounted in the voices of language learners and teachers, Swain and her co-authors bring the major concepts of Vygotsky to life in clear and accessible ways. Contributing to the conceptual analysis of each story is information on allied concepts, key studies, controversies and discussion topics. This book is certain to be a mainstay in language teacher education programs and in courses on sociocultural theory and second language acquisition." Richard Donato, University of Pittsburg, USA The authors, each from a different background, share a passion for sociocultural theory. Each author brings stories, data and experiences from her area of expertise: second language pedagogy and teacher development (Linda); elementary classroom teaching with second language and bilingual students (Penny) and teaching and research in bilingual education and second language learning (Merrill). Penny lectures at the University of Toronto. Linda is an associate professor at York University in Toronto. Merill is a professor emeritus at OISE University of Toronto.

The chapters included in this book address two major questions: what are some of the methodological and theoretical issues in sociocultural research in urban education and science education and what sort of questions do technological and virtual contexts raise for these types of research perspectives. The chapters build off Ken Tobin's personal history of sociocultural research in science education and as they do each chapter asks philosophical, sociological and/or methodological questions that inform our understanding of the challenges associated with conducting research in experiential and virtual contexts.

We are pleased to introduce this inaugural volume in the PSCIE Series—Beyond the Comparative: Advancing Theory and Its Application to Practice—which expands on the life work of University of Pittsburgh Professor Rolland G. Paulston (1929-2006). Recognized as a stalwart in the field of comparative and international education, Paulston’s most widely recognized contribution is in social cartography. He demonstrated that mapping comparative, international, and development education (CIDE) is no easy task and, depending on the perspective of the mapper, there may be multiple cartographies to chart. The 35 contributors to this volume, representing a range of senior and junior scholars from various CIDE backgrounds and perspectives, celebrate the life and work of Paulston by addressing issues, perspectives and approaches related to charting the future course of the field. The volume reports on new research in several genres as well as conceptual analysis. As the title suggests, authors were encouraged to go “beyond” established canons of CIDE. The cover art, The CIDE Theoretical Compass, was conceptualized by the editors and depicts that theory selection and theory generation are an ongoing and important process in comparative, international, and development education (CIDE). The image was designed by artist Natalie Jacob, which positions the CIDE Theoretical Compass over Rolland G. Paulston’s 1993 concentric circle map.

This edited collection of chapters from invited scholars, explores issues of social justice and micropolitics in educational institutions. More specifically, it examines the ways in which social justice workers navigate, or can navigate, (micro) political systems in their quest to promote social justice. Issues of social justice and micropolitics are particularly important in this day and age as standardizing regimes and polarizing forces continue to erode the already perilous condition of the traditionally disadvantaged. While social justice workers make it a point to acknowledge the plight of the less fortunate, their well-meaning attempts to take action are not always successful. This requires that they acknowledge the realities of the micropolitical environments in which they work, and to take action in these arenas if they are to achieve their social justice goals. The title of the book, Working (With/out) the System, draws attention to the ways in which social justice workers/leaders (teachers, administrators, students, community members) navigate educational institutions and the wider social systems that are not always hospitable to changes that promote social justice. This volume describes the prospects, possibilities and actual practice of working with, working without, and working outside of educational organizations to promote social justice. Among other topics, the chapters probe: - the manner in which social justice-minded leaders navigate micropolitical environments - the ways in which social justice minded leaders promote and sustain social justice action within systemic contexts - the difficulties and successes that they experience.

This volume brings together conceptualizations and empirical studies that explore the socio-cultural dimension of new media and its implications on learning in the 21st century classroom. The authors articulate their vision of new-media-enhanced learning at a global level. The high-level concept is then re-examined for different degrees of contextualization and localization, for example how a specific form of new media (e-reader) changes specific activities in different cultures. In addition, studies based in Singapore classrooms provide insights as to how these concepts are being transformed and implemented by a co-constructive effort on the part of researchers, teachers and students. Singapore classrooms offer a unique environment to study the theory-practice nexus in that they are high achieving, implicitly grounded in the eastern cultural values and well-equipped with ICT infrastructure. While these studies are arguably the state-of-the-art exemplars that synergize socio-cultural and technological affordances of the current learning environments, they also serve as improvable ideas for further innovations. The interplay between theory and practice lends support to the reciprocal improvements for both. This book contributes to the continuing debate in the field, and will lead to better learning environments in the 21st century.

Distinguished multiculturalist Sonia Nieto speaks directly to current and future teachers in this thoughtful integration of a selection of her key writings with creative pedagogical features. Offering information, insights, and motivation to teach students of diverse cultural, racial, and linguistic backgrounds, examples are included throughout to illustrate real-life dilemmas about diversity that teachers face in their own classrooms; ideas about how language, culture, and teaching are linked; and ways to engage with these ideas through reflection and collaborative inquiry. Designed for upper-undergraduate and graduate-level students and professional development courses, each chapter includes critical questions, classroom activities, and community activities suggesting projects beyond the classroom context. Language, Culture, and Teaching • explores how language and culture are connected to teaching and learning in educational settings; • examines the sociocultural and sociopolitical contexts of language and culture to understand how these contexts may affect student learning and achievement; • analyzes the implications of linguistic and cultural diversity for classroom practices, school reform, and educational equity; • encourages practicing and preservice teachers to reflect critically on their classroom practices, as well as on larger institutional policies related to linguistic and cultural diversity based on the above understandings; and • motivates teachers to understand their ethical and political responsibilities to work, together with their students, colleagues, and families, for more socially just classrooms, schools, and society. Changes in the Third Edition: This edition includes new and updated chapters, section introductions, critical questions, classroom and community activities, and resources, bringing it up-to-date in terms of recent educational policy issues and demographic changes in the U.S. and beyond. The new chapters reflect Nieto’s current thinking about the profession and society, especially about changes in the teaching profession, both positive and negative, since the publication of the second edition of this text.

There are many reasons to be curious about the way people learn, and the past several decades have seen an explosion of research that has important implications for individual learning, schooling, workforce training, and policy. In 2000, How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School: Expanded Edition was published and its influence has been wide and deep. The report summarized insights on the nature of learning in school-aged children; described principles for the design of effective learning environments; and provided examples of how that could be implemented in the classroom. Since then, researchers have continued to investigate the nature of learning and have generated new findings related to the neurological processes involved in learning, individual and cultural variability related to learning, and educational technologies. In addition to expanding scientific understanding of the mechanisms of learning and how the brain adapts throughout the lifespan, there have been important discoveries about influences on learning, particularly sociocultural factors and the structure of learning environments. How People Learn II: Learners, Contexts, and Cultures provides a much-needed update incorporating insights gained from this research over the past decade. The book expands on the foundation laid out in the 2000 report and takes an in-depth look at the constellation of influences that affect individual learning. How People Learn II will become an indispensable resource to understand learning throughout the lifespan for educators of students and adults.