The measurement of socio-economic gender inequality has not received much attention from the development literature despite its great relevance and important policy implications. In this article we present two new indices to measure gender inequalities that overcome some of the limitations inherent in the UNDP gender-related indices and other indices presented in the literature. The proposed ne…
In post-conflict contexts characterized by large-scale migration and increasing levels of legal pluralism, customary land tenure risks being deployed as a tool of ethno-territorialization in which displaced communities are denied return and secure land rights. This thesis will be illustrated through a case study of the Indonesian island of Ambon where a recognition of customary tenure — also ca…
The concept of Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) is gaining increasing attention among scholars as well as conservation and development practitioners. The premises of this innovative conservation approach are appealing: private land users, usually poorly motivated to protect nature on their land, will do so if they receive payments from environmental service buyers which cover part of the l…
The issue of child labour in the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) economy is attracting significant attention worldwide. This article critically examines this 'problem' in the context of sub-Saharan Africa, where a lack of formal sector employment opportunities and/or the need to provide financial support to their impoverished families has led tens of thousands of children to take up work…
Is the analysis of patron–client networks still important to the understanding of developing country politics or has it now been overtaken by a focus on 'social capital'? Drawing on seventeen country studies of the political environment for livestock policy in poor countries, this article concludes that although the nature of patronage has changed significantly, it remains highly relevant to th…
Both social capital and microfinance are central to mainstream development interventions, and both are predicated on the need to recognize the importance of social factors in development. Microfinance institutions mobilize social capital in the form of a group guarantee, and aim to support the development of sustainable financial institutions and income generation. Women are targeted in part be…
Since the 1970s, a series of demand and supply related changes have led to significant labour market transformations which have brought about a sustained increase in female employment throughout the world. While similar transformations have also been underway in Turkey, the country appears to be one of the rare exceptions to worldwide trends. During the last two decades both female labour force…
The use of various creative art forms in the research process is reflective of the turn towards interpretative practices that make visible certain aspects of the social world. Theatre, especially, has the capacity to convey meanings that pertain to the flux of social relationships. Reported in this paper is a particular use of theatre that is located in a history and tradition of liberatory soc…
This article is a scholarly reflection of a novice researcher conducting an action research investigation as a professional developer working with a group of elementary teachers. By the third analysis cycle, the researcher-practitioner became overwhelmed due to the amount and variety of qualitative data, and to the additional complexities caused when situational context needed to be considered.…
This paper deals with the use of action research in a postgraduate teacher education programme. The first part of the article presents the initial education of secondary teachers in Greece, as well as a postgraduate university programme that could be viewed as an alternative pre-service teacher education (PTE) programme, as implemented in a partnership between a tertiary education institution a…
Much has been written about the potential of action research (AR) to advance social justice and emancipatory change. However, since its original promulgation in the 1940s and despite its increasing popularity and acceptance in many academic fields, AR in general, and educational AR in particular, appear to have fallen short of significantly advancing these ends, particularly in the industrializ…
In post-secondary curricula, the introduction of research paradigms that emphasize community inclusion and social action is increasingly valued by scholars. However, there is only a modest amount of scholarship regarding how the delivery of such material should be structured, or the challenges and/or successes with various course models. In this article the authors synthesize the existing liter…
The action research methodology used in this article is referred to as ‘intervention research’. In specific terms, it is called the Socio-Economic Approach to Management (SEAM). The SEAM approach is both participatory and collaborative. It is a pragmatic oriented action research methodology and it belongs to the French action research tradition with roots in the UK and the work of Tavistock Ins…
Finland is experiencing increased immigration and therefore increased cultural diversity in its schools. This paper examines the multicultural education discourse in Finland by analysing the national and municipal curricula for the comprehensive school, educational policy documents and teacher education curricula. The focus is on how multicultural education is talked about and whether it is aim…
The aim of this paper is to discuss two perspectives in relation to intercultural education and diversity in Sweden. One of the perspectives concerns the historical and current situation of the five Swedish national minorities with a special focus on education. The second perspective is related to religious diversity and education, as connected to an increasingly democratic, plural and inclusiv…
This paper explores the dominant approach to education of ethnic minorities in Denmark. Using the concept of hegemony and the political-science distinction between monocultural and multicultural positions as approaches towards a situation of increasing linguistic, ethnic and cultural diversity, the paper shows how a monocultural approach has become hegemonic in policy initiatives and legal docu…
In this paper, the development of educational policy and curricula in relation to the development of a multicultural society in Iceland are critically discussed. Neither policy nor national curriculum guides refer particularly to multicultural society, multicultural or intercultural education. Implementations of equity principles are not clear in the curriculum guides. These facts leave schools…
By focusing on different subsequently implemented strategies for literacy teaching in the Norwegian primary and lower secondary schools, this paper offers a historical overview of some important aspects of learning conditions for minority children. On this basis, the paper addresses the interrelationship between different strategies of literacy teaching and integration in a more general sense.
The 2009 vote for the presidency and local councils was marred by fraud, provoking a political crisis and casting a deep shadow over upcoming parliamentary elections. The Afghan experience calls into question whether voting should occur before other essential reforms are in place.
Democratization is never easy, smooth, or linear, but as Indonesia’s experience in building a multiparty and multiethnic democracy shows, it can succeed even under difficult and initially unpromising conditions.