Book Review

This essay considers how teaching and learning may have functioned in late antique Roman classrooms by examining two texts: one is from the teacher’s perspective, the other – which, until recently, was unedited – provides some access to the student’s perspective. Despite much recent scholarly work on education in antiquity, there has been no attempt to bring teachers’ and students’ perspectives together through two contemporary sources from the Latin-speaking West. The first text is by Servius, a late antique teacher, whose Commentary provides detailed analysis of Virgil. The other comprises the Colloquia, containing ‘real life’ dialogues in Latin and Greek set in a school context. Through this comparison, the author aims to shed some light on what may have happened in a Latin-speaking classroom in late antiquity.     

Parental or policy maker misunderstandings? Contextual dilemmas of pre-schooling for poverty reduction in Malawi

With the move towards achieving universal primary education, focus is increasingly shifting towards early childhood development. Within this, debates are apparent between those who view education at this stage holistically, with concern that it should not be directly linked with primary schooling, and those who view it more explicitly as contributing towards achieving universal primary completion by ensuring that children will be appropriately prepared for studying at this level. Moreover, it is apparent that views of different stakeholders vary. Evidence from Malawi indicates that national policies are closely linked with the international agenda, with a focus on holistic approaches. However, parents view pre-schooling in a narrower way, as an important step towards preparing their children for studying successfully at the primary level. Rather than considering this as parental ‘misunderstanding’, we argue that this perspective shows a greater awareness of local realities and is, therefore, more likely to support an escape from poverty.     

TEACHING FOR BELIEF: POWER AND PEDAGOGICAL PRACTICE

The politics of pedology when teaching for belief in culturally diverse settings inevitably draws attention to the power dynamics in the encounters of teachers and students. The quest for a pedagogy that is not oppressive or coercive provides the impetus to a liberative proposal for teaching practice.     

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION AT THE EDGE OF HISTORY

This article suggests that religious education discourse in the future must be multilingual if it is to prepare people to participate in a postmodern world of religious diversity and secularism. Five “languages” are suggested, including those native to the religious education of particular religious communities, the language of interreligious education, the language of public religious education, a postreligion religious education language, and the language of academic religious education.     

Cultures Matter

“The center of gravity of our culture is shifting from a culture of labor to a culture of play, yet we are totally unprepared for this step. Our educational policies practically ignore the problem. . . If ever any great human emergency demanded statesmanlike management and the self‐sacrificing labor of men of goodwill, the coming of the tidal flood of leisure, the first dripples of which are already lapping at our doors, is such an emergency.” ¹ 1. Hugh Hartshorne, “Religious Education and Community Co‐operation,” Religious Education, January, 1933, pp. 40‐41