Reproducing or Challenging Power in the Questions We Ask and the Methods We Use: A Framework for Activist Research in Urban Education

Many have argued that educational research does little to change (and may actually reproduce) the social-structural inequalities shaping the quality of high-poverty urban schools. Building from this premise, this paper asks: How can university-based scholars of urban education do research that encourages, produces, or informs change in urban schools and the conditions that shape them? I examine two broad aspects of urban educational research: the questions we ask and the methods we use. In both cases, I critique the dominant paradigm of technical rationality—one in which school failure is approached as a localized technical problem unveiled through neutral, objective, and experimental research methods. In contrast, I propose a paradigm of “political rationality” (Klees, Rizzini, & Dewees, 2000, Children on the streets of the Americas: homelessness, education and globalization in the United States, Brazil and Cuba. New York: Routledge) that approaches school failure and research practice as political issues situated within and shaped by social relations of power. Innovations in urban education research that reflect the logic of political rationality include: more contextualized and politicized analyses of urban schools, and the expanded use of engaged, collaborative, and participatory research methods. Drawing on this work and my experience implementing a participatory research project, I propose a framework for activist research in urban education, and critically evaluate the limits and possibilities of such work to effect change in urban schools.Kysa Nygreen is a UC President's Postdoctoral Fellow in the Community Studies Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA.     

“三个代表”与20世纪世界社会主义运动的历史经验

江泽民同志关于“三个代表”的重要思想,是在深入思考和总结中国共产党80年历史经验和20世纪社会主义运动历史经验的基础上做出的科学结论。20世纪世界社会主义运动经验教训证明：是否代表先进生产力的发展要求,是否代表先进化的前进方向,是否代表最广大人民的根本利益,决定着共产党的兴衰成败。     

工程变更及其计费审核

随着工程招标投标的进程不断深入和规范，工程结算审核的重点逐渐变为对工程变更的审核。依照有关文件精神和个人工作实践经验，阐述工程变更方式及其原因，论述工程变更的审核办法及工程施工中必须注意的有关计费事项，以便合理地确定和有效地控制工程造价，避免不必要的工程核算扯皮。     

民国二十三年的《人言》周刊

《人言》是邵洵美所办七大刊物中之一种，是一本关注社会生活的同人杂志。我们通过《人言》了解时人对于世界的认识与想像，进而帮助我们完成对民国二十三年的再想像。我们看到灾难中不同人的不同感受，看到时潮中观点的默默演化，看到旧事物消亡过程的漫长和各种势力在其中发挥的作用。     

Closing the Achievement Gap in Disadvantaged Communities: Lessons from Successful Schools

Abstract

The fact that all children must attend school has characterised South Africa over the past two decades. While many schools are struggling to address this challenge, others have made strides and progress in closing the gap between groups. This article recounts how these secondary schools have been able to narrow the achievement gap and sustain their success over time. The three schools described here are all large public schools that serve disadvantaged communities in Mpumalanga, South Africa. Data was collected during meetings with the three schools which consisted of two rounds of focus group and one whole group session. These meetings helped the researcher to gather important information about each school’s characteristics, school change process, school climate, role of the curriculum and instructional practices in promoting learner achievement. While each of the participating schools has unique characteristics, a set of important common practices emerged.     

Policy discourses and changing practice: Diversity and the university-college

This study reports the results of research with respect to policy and diversity, as part of a larger case study of a Canadian university-college. The study details an examination of policy discourses as a vehicle for institutional change and provides insights into the everyday experiences of educators, their perspectives on policy and change, and the contested territory of diversity (i.e.,race, gender, class, disability,and sexual orientation) in an institution. The paper begins by considering the university-college and the context of the college and institute system in Canada. The paper briefly reviews state policy and the context that state public policy provides in principles of valuing diversity. Policy discourses were generated from the narratives of educators, from an institutional committee and from ‘outsiders’ to committee processes and to the institutional culture. Drawing from narrative auto/biographies (Gluck, S.B. and Patai, D., Women’s Words: the Feminist Practice of Oral History. London: Routledge, 1991; Stanley, L., The Auto/biographical I. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1992; West, L., Beyond Fragments. London: Taylor and Francis, 1996), policy stories are presented which illuminate the contention surrounding policy, practice and institutional change. A discourse of fairness is discussed in relation to hiring practices and how the perception of fairness actually contributes to the practice of discrimination. Discursive power relations (Foucault, M., Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings 1972–1977. London: Harvester Press, 1980; Smith, D., The Conceptual Practices of Power. Toronto: University of Toronto, 1990) are considered in interpreting these stories and reveal the complex, competing forces affecting individuals engaged in the change process. The paper concludes by identifying a number of factors that contribute to the hindrance and advancement of the goals of diversity within an educational institution.     

五四新文化运动与民族文化传统关系问题再探讨--以20世纪儒家思想的新开展为例

对于以儒学为代表的中国文化传统而言,五四新文化运动具有一定程度的内发性,在一定的意义上可以看作是中国文化传统所内蕴的生命力的现代表征;在基本的精神方向上,20世纪儒家思想的新开展与五四新文化运动保持了内在的一致性;在中国文化近现代化的发展链条中,现代新儒学对于中国文化的现代重建正可以说是接续了五四新文化运动的历史任务,与五四新文化运动一起共同构成了中国文化近现代化的发展链条之中具有紧密联系的有机环节.因此,所谓五四新文化运动是"全盘反传统"的和"五四新文化运动造成了传统的断裂"的论断都是有待商榷的.     

吴稚晖旅欧时期的教育思想浅析

吴稚晖在旅欧时期由于受西方近代社会思潮、尤其是无政府主义的深刻影响,使他把教育看作是一个国家盛衰的“总因”,认为配称教育二字者只是科学工艺,近代中国的落后挨打就在于科学工艺发展的迟滞。在批判国内旧式教育的同时,他编报印书,普及科学常识以提高国民素质,鼓吹科学工艺以倡导青年劳作。特别是他创造性发起的留法俭学运动和创办海外中国大学,为近代中国培养了一大批急需的高科技人才,在近代中国教育史、中外文化交流史上写下了光辉的一页。     

对中小学实施英才教育的思考

纵观当今世界，英才在国家的发展中起着举足轻重的作用，而英才的涌现需凭借英才教育的大力发展，因此，必须从时代的发展，人的发展，以及教育自身发展的高度充分认识实施英才教育的重要性，使英才教育成为我国教育发展不可或缺的重要的战略目标，当前，在我国发展英才教育还存在诸多困难，既要充分解放思想，更新教育观念，又要做好教育制度的创新工作，为英才教育的发展创造条件，为英才的脱颖而出开辟新的天地。     

从电影《MULAN》看中西文化的融合与冲突

美国迪斯尼动画电影《MULAN》带来巨大的经济效益的同时，也在中西文化融合方面跨出了一步。通过对故事情节的改编加工，加上现代媒体的炒作，一个不同于中国传统的木兰形象在中国似乎也得到了认可。本文通过对电影的人物、情节、语言、文化背景等方面的分析认为：整部电影通过对一个东方典型的塑造达到了成功，这是文化融合和认可的表现；另一方面，东方文化的被动被改造也是我们必须警惕的，在故事的背后，中西文化的融合与冲突也因此凸现了出来，美国以至西方文化对东方带来的影响值得我们深思。