E. Wayne Ross

Negotiating the Politics of Citizenship Education

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Social Studies: Wrong, Right, or Left? A Critical Response to the Fordham Institute's Where Did Social Studies Go Wrong?

deliberation—rather than coercion,appeals to emotion, or authority—offersa means for resolving differences ofopinion and a foundation for curriculumand pedagogy that is attuned to theknowledge, skills, and values that citi-zens need in a society pursuing a demo-cratic ideal.As the work of John Dewey illus-trates, deliberation is the heart of whatconstitutes democracy and should be thehallmark of social studies education.From Dewey’s work, we can distillthree criteria for determining the degreeto which a society (that is, individuals inassociation) is moving in the directionof the democratic ideal, and these samecriteria, which follow, can be used tojudge our efforts as social studies edu-cators:• participation in formulating policyis widespread;• groups that make up societyencourage and actively elicit the devel-opment of the powers and talents intheir members; and• relations among social groups aremultiple and supple (Boisvert 1998).The more porous the boundaries ofsocial groups, the more they welcomeparticipation from all individuals, andas the varied groupings enjoy multipleand flexible relations, society movescloser to fulfilling the democratic ideal.In other words, the curriculum andinstructional goals of democratic socialstudies must embrace pluralism in itsmany forms.How does contemporary society (aswell as the social studies educationcommunity) measure up to the guidingideals of the above criteria? Achievingperfection in democracy and socialstudies education will, of course,remain elusive, but without examiningour circumstances in light of guidingideals we could never engage in thework to eliminate the elements that pre-vent the growth of democratic life.In this light, the authors of these spe-cial issues of

The Promise and Perils of E-Learning

The digital revolution is transforming culture, communication, and commerce, but nowhere is faith in technology% power more clearly demonstrated than in the classroom. E-learnhg is about much more than just plugging in a classroom computer. Some advocates predict that computers and modems will replace pencils and books and others believe that brick-and-mortar schools (and all but elite universities) will soon be obsolete. In a recent article for Education Week, Peter J. Stokes, vice president of Eduventures.com, a market-research company in Boston, describes elearning as,

Justice and Global Citizenship Education

In this chapter, we examine justice and global citizenship. More precisely, we discuss how globalization can shed some light to discussions on universal justice and how different approaches to justice can inform more democratic approaches to global citizenship education. We examine three different discourse on justice: economic, recognition and democratic justice. For each discourse, we outline the conceptual underpinnings and we discuss the key implications for global citizenship education. We conclude by examining points of encounter that might help us to identify more justice-oriented practices for global citizenship and education.

A Sense of where you are

When the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Dr. Dewey, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying about Where Ideas Come from and Love Critical Pedagogy

I had certainly challenged any number of established doctrines and institutional policies, but didn’t think of myself as a dissident, rather as an active citizen. My scholarship was, at least on the surface, rather politically tame, grounded in Deweyan philosophy, highlighting the importance of agency and taking actions that encouraged democratic ways of thinking and living both within and beyond schools.