Theory for Education provides a concise and clear introduction to key contemporary theorists, including their lives, major works and ideas. Written for the student in need of a quick introduction or for the scholar brushing up on details, this new volume in the theory4 series presents major thinkers whose work and ideas have shaped critical thinking in our time. Greg Dimitriadis and George Kamberelis underscore the particular relevance of these thinkers for the field of e...

What does it mean to be “patriotic” in the United States after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001? And how have the prevailing notions of patriotism—loudly trumpeted in the American media—affected education in American schools? In this spirited book, renowned educational leaders and classroom practitioners answer these questions with insights, opinions, and hard facts. They focus on critical issues related to patriotism and democracy in education, including the social studies curr...

For more than three decades Michael Apple has sought to uncover and articulate the connections among knowledge, teaching and power in education. Beginning with Ideology and Curriculum (1979), Apple moved to understand the relationship between and among the economy, political and cultural power in society on the one hand "and the ways in which education is thought about, organized and evaluated" on the other. This edited collection invites several of the world's leading education s...

In addition to providing an accessible introduction to postcolonial theory, the authors explore the enormous potential which postcolonial art offers educators—a wealth of material to draw upon for any rethinking of the school curriculum. Some of the artists discussed in this groundbreaking volume include:African-American critic and writer James BaldwinTrinidadian intellectual and activist C. L. R. JamesNovelist W...

Focus Groups: From Structured Interviews to Collective Conversations is a conceptual and practical introduction to focus group. As the title indicates, focus groups traditionally encompass a wide range of discursive practices. These span from formal structured interviews with particular people assembled around clearly delimited topics to less forma

Learning to Labor in New Times foregrounds nine essays which re-examine the work of noted sociologist Paul Willis, 25 years after the publication of his seminal Learning to Labor, one of the most frequently cited and assigned texts in the cultural studies and social foundations of education.

This book takes a serious look at the erosion of democratic public life and public education, and offers directions for re-imagining, re-designing, and re-inventing the current system. Bridging the disciplines of film studies, postcolonial studies, curriculum theory, and politics, these essays suggest new possibilities for curriculum, and shed new light on what shape public education could take in coming decades.

In response to the events following September 11, a number of leading cultural studies and interpretive qualitative researchers write from their own experiences and hearts. Their essays-by noted scholars Kellner, Fine, McLaren, Richardson, Denzin, Giroux and others-are collected in this volume, and were written in crisis within days and weeks of September 11. The immediacy of their writing is refreshing, and reflects the varied emotional and critical responses that bring meaning to this ca...

Most empirical researchers avoid the use of theory in their studies, providing data but little or no social explanation. Theoreticians, on the other hand, rarely test their ideas with empirical projects. As this groundbreaking volume makes clear, however, neither data nor theory alone is adequate to the task of social explanation—rather they form and inform each other as the inquiry process unfolds. Theory and Educational Research bridges the age-old theory/research divide by demo...

A fascinating guide to thinking theoretically about the social worldOrganized around the discourses of modernity, democracy, and citizenship, A Primer in Social and Sociological Theory: Toward a Sociology of Citizenship helps readers to develop skills in critical thinking and theory analysis as they explore nine central ideas of thought: modernity, society, self, religion, capitalism, power, gender, race, and globalization...

Anthony Giddens has been in the forefront of developments in social theory for the past decade. In The Constitution of Society he outlines the distinctive position he has evolved during that period and offers a full statement of a major new perspective in social thought, a synthesis and elaboration of ideas touched on in previous works but described here for the first time in an integrated and comprehensive form. A particular feature is Giddens's concern to connect abstract proble...

The modern university can trace its roots to Kant's call for enlightened self-determination, with education aiming to produce an informed and responsible body of citizens. As the university evolved, specialized areas of investigation emerged, enabling ever more precise research and increasingly nuanced arguments. In recent decades, however, challenges to the hegemony of disciplines have arisen, partly in response to a perceived need for the university to focus greater energy on its public ...