Educational Research: the Educationalization of Social Problems


Book Description

Pushing ‘social’ responsibilities on schools is a process that has been underway for a long time. This phenomenon has been studied more in Europe than in North America and the U.K. and has been labelled Pädagogisierung. The editors have chosen to use ‘Educationalization’ to identify the overall orientation or trend toward thinking about education as the focal point for addressing or solving larger human problems. The term describes these phenomena as a sub-process of the ‘modernization’ of society, but it also has negative connotations, such as increased dependence, patronization, and pampering. In this book distinguished philosophers and historians of education focus on ‘educationalization’ to expand its meaning through an engagement with educational theory. Topics discussed are the family and the child, the ‘learning society’, citizenship education, widening participation in higher education, progressive education, and schooling movements such as No Child Left Behind. ‘Smeyers’ and Depaepe's book offers great insights into one of the most ambivalent phenomena of today's educational world and especially educational policy. The contributions assembled represent perspectives of some of the most respected scholars in the field. Their manifold critiques of the educationalization of social problems are rather convincing. Our time is definitely ripe for such analysis!’ Roland Reichenbach, Center for Educational Studies, University of Basel, Switzerland ‘This is a challenging, critical and analytical treatment of the tendency of contemporary administrations to overburden educational institutions with the expectation that they will provide the solutions to an increasingly diverse range of social and economic problems. It brings together the theoretical resources of a distinguished international group of philosophers and historians of education and deserves the careful attention of educational policy makers, practitioners and researchers alike.’ David Bridges, Von Hügel Institute, St Edmund’s College, Cambridge, England This publication is realized by the Research Community (FWO-Vlaanderen / Research Foundation Flanders, Belgium) Philosophy and History of the Discipline of Education: Evaluation and Evolution of the Criteria for Educational Research. Also realized by the Research Community are Educational Research: Why ‘What Works’ Doesn’t Work (2006) and Educational Research: Networks and Technologies (2007).







Black Feminist Thought


Book Description

In spite of the double burden of racial and gender discrimination, African-American women have developed a rich intellectual tradition that is not widely known. In Black Feminist Thought, Patricia Hill Collins explores the words and ideas of Black feminist intellectuals as well as those African-American women outside academe. She provides an interpretive framework for the work of such prominent Black feminist thinkers as Angela Davis, bell hooks, Alice Walker, and Audre Lorde. The result is a superbly crafted book that provides the first synthetic overview of Black feminist thought.




Environment and Social Justice


Book Description

The environmental justice movement, an organized social and political force in America in the '80s, is a global phenomenon today as activists worldwide try to understand the relationship between environment, race/ethnicity and social inequality. This volume examines domestic and international environmental issues.




How Can We Solve Our Social Problems?


Book Description

Updated with recent issues such as the national debate on health care reform, this Second Edition of How Can We Solve Our Social Problems? gives students a sense of hope by demonstrating specific, realistic steps we can take to solve some of the most pervasive social problems in America today. Author James Crone maintains a sense of sociological objectivity throughout and helps students realize that we can take steps to solve such key social problems as poverty, racial and ethnic inequality, unequal education, and environmental issues. The book's first two chapters define "social problem,," provide a theoretical background, discuss the daunting barriers we face in attempting to solve social problems, and demonstrate how sociology can help.




Managing Social Issues


Book Description

Western societies face complex social issues and a growing diversity of views on how these should be addressed. The traditional view focuses on government and public policy but neglects the initiatives that non-profit and private organizations and loca




Agenda For Social Justice


Book Description

The Agenda for Social Justice: Solutions for 2020 provides accessible insights into some of the most pressing social problems in the United States and proposes public policy responses to those problems. Written by a highly respected team of authors brought together by the Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP), it offers recommendations for action by elected officials, policy makers, and the public around key issues for social justice, including a discussion of the role of key issues of sustainability and technology in the development and timbre of future social problems. It will be of interest to scholars, practitioners, advocates, and students interested in public sociology and the study of social problems.




Society on the Edge


Book Description

Leading historians trace the changing fortunes of the social science of social problems since World War II.




William R. Freudenberg, a Life in Social Research


Book Description

True to the nature of the Gedenkschrift, this commemorative publication celebrates the work of sociologist Dr. William Freudenburg, one of the founding editors of RSPPP and Dehlsen Professor, University of California, Santa Barbara.




The Behavioral Foundations of Public Policy


Book Description

Includes bibliographical references and index.