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To examine the mathematics classroom experiences of students considered to be "at-risk," we conducted case studies of four students in grades 7, 8, and 9 in North-western Ontario. The case studies revealed that their mathematics classes offered few opportunities for active, engaging learning or activities that students experienced as being relevant. Their teachers, who generally used traditional practices, seemed reluctant or unable to adopt reform-based teaching methodologies. Based on the diversity of the observed students' characteristics and learning needs, and the challenges these impose on classroom dynamics, we suggest earlier intervention for at-risk students as well as more substantial professional development for teachers. (Contains 4 figures and 2 notes.)

Spike is the only television network in North America “for men.” Its motto, “Get more action,” is suggestive of pursuits of various forms of violence. We conceptualize Spike not as trivial entertainment, but rather as a form of pop culture that erodes the gains of feminists who have challenged the prevalence of normalized hegemonic masculinity (HM). Our paper highlights themes of Spike content, and connects those themes to the literature on HM. Moreover, we validate the identities and lives of men who cannot or refuse to subscribe to the pressures of hegemonic masculinity.

Bullying behaviours remain common in schools despite an abundance of policies and programs aimed at curbing them. In this paper, the author argues that such policies and programs are problematic not because they are flawed in themselves, but because they draw from the dominant and usual ideas about what bullying is taken to be. These ideas are presented as more fundamental problems that contribute to "wheel-spinning" where efforts to reduce bullying are concerned. Key concepts that inform such ideas, specifically "safety" and "diversity", are interrogated. The paper advocates for a new framework by which to think about and conceptualize bullying that moves away from those that highlight behavioural and developmental perspectives. Implications for education administration, especially with regard to supporting marginalized students, are explored. (Contains 2 figures and 4 notes.)

James Scheurich argues that practices of policy--normalized over time through repetition--serve three purposes. They structure social problems for which policy is designed to address; construct certain people, implicitly or explicitly, as problem individuals; and shape policy solutions. Following Foucault, he offers what he calls Policy Archaeology Methodology as an approach to policy analysis that emphasizes how particular social problems (but not others) are socially constructed in certain ways within certain political and social contexts. The purpose of policy archaeology as a mode of analysis is "to investigate...the grid of conditions, assumptions, forces which make the emergence of a social problem...possible". Drawing from his method of inquiry, I identify, through examination of policy documents, how the problem of bullying in schools has come to be understood in certain ways (the dominant narrative) and how policy solutions are constrained and limited accordingly, thereby confounding their purpose. I suggest that Scheurich's perspective provides a way of addressing bullying that accounts for complexity in ways that current approaches mostly do not even consider. (Contains 1 note.)

The province of British Columbia has a dubious history where support for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) issues in education is concerned. Most notable is the Surrey School Board's decision in 1997 to ban three picture books for children that depict families with two moms or two dads. The North Vancouver School Board has also generated public controversy. In 2004, a brief kiss between two women in a student drama production raised the ire of some parents and staff, resulting in its removal from the play. In a separate case, the BC Supreme Court quashed a 2002 ruling of the BC Human Rights Tribunal that awarded $4,000 to Azmi Jubran, a former student, who sued the Board for not providing adequate protection against years of homophobic bullying and harassment by his peers ("Jubran v. Board of Trustees," 2002). The message from these cases is clear: LGBT students, and those targeted with homophobic violence, need support and resources from their schools. The school districts of Victoria and Vancouver, however, have not shied away from taking steps to address homophobia in their schools. Drawing from a 1999 study conducted by the McCreary Centre Society in Vancouver, BC, the Greater Victoria School Board (GVSB) developed and implemented educational opportunities for administrators, provisions of increased safety for LGBT students, and support of student-led initiatives such as Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs). Meanwhile, the Vancouver School Board (VSB) engaged in the process of adopting similar regulations. In 2004, the Board passed a policy and action plan that outlines steps for improving safety and inclusion for LGBT students, staff, and their families. Although it is probable that such recommendations may not find similar levels of support in rural areas in North America as they have in Victoria and Vancouver, it is still incumbent upon all school trustees and administrators, who seek to foster safety for all students, to initiate discussion on LGBT issues in education. The trustees and administrators of the GVSB and VSB have demonstrated such leadership on a politically potent issue. Other rural and urban school boards can use their policies and initiatives as templates from which to address LGBT issues in their particular regions.

As scholars in the early stage of academic careers, the authors appreciate the opportunity to reflect on the state of the field, as D'Augelli and Grossman so cogently summarized. In this paper, they took up what they see as significant implications from their conceptual, practical, and ethical navigation that may compel one to shape their current and future research projects. Specifically, the authors reflect upon their statement: "As more research is conducted, researchers will surely develop other strategies to address the problems one face or confront new challenges, e.g., "youth living in rural areas or geographic areas that are more socially conservative."

The issue of bullying features prominently in educational administration, academic research, journalism, and public discourse. In this paper, I present a critical examination of research on bullying by addressing dominant themes and preoccupations in the literature. I argue that the proliferation of policies and programs purported to reduce bullying in schools are anchored by what appears to be a common, but problematic, understanding of the notion of bullying. Such policies and programs are utilitarian but misguided. Here, I problematize the very notion of bullying and contextualize it within broader frameworks of educational administration and social oppression. By contrast, I highlight educational theorists who conceptualize school violence in social and political terms rather than psychological, behavioral, and individualistic ones. (Contains 3 notes.)

During the past ten years, attention on bullying has intensified among educators, parents, journalists, and educational researchers in the wake of high-profile incidents of bullying in some Canadian schools. Safe schools policies and programs have proliferated as a result. However, the issue of homophobia-a pervasive form of bullying-tends to be absent from public discussion, anti-bullying programs, and so-called safe schools policies. This essay explores the politics of bullying and of related policies and programs. The author challenges educational leaders to initiate and support measures to confront homophobic bullying, even against certain opposition, in order to promote safety for all students.

Michael J. Bayly. (Ed.). (2007). Creating Safe Environments for LGBT Students: A Catholic Schools Perspective. New York: Harrington Park. 152 pages. ISBN-13: 978-1-56023-606 (paperback) In her introduction to Michael J. [...]

Alvin M. Schrader and Kristopher Wells. (2007). Challenging Silence, Challenging Censorship: Inclusive Resources, Strategies and Policy Directives for Addressing Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Trans-Identified and Two-Spirited Realities in School and Public [...]

It is usually assumed that being gay or lesbian and being Christian is contradictory. The eight men who participated in this qualitative inquiry demonstrate otherwise. I investigated the ways in which these men integrated their gay and Christian identities meaningfully into their lives. From the interview data, I discerned and describe in this paper a variety of strategies that these men adopted in order to facilitate identity integration of seemingly mutually exclusive identities. In the bid for social and political equality with heterosexuals, gays and lesbians typically have not received support from Christians, at least not from politically active Christians, many of whom participate in explicitly antigay campaigns. Given such a contentious context, I discuss the personal and political implications of integrating gay and evangelical Christian identities. KEYWORDS. Gay men, evangelical Christian, identity integration, strategies, social politics, social justice

The Method of SharedConcern: A Positive Approach to Bullying in Schools by Ken Rigby Victoria, AU: Australian Council for Educational Research, 2011, 152 pages. ISBN: 9781742860077 (paperback) Fuelled by news [...]

In human societies, past and present, expressions of fear are widely associated with weakness and tend to be discouraged, if not shamed. Yet, fear illuminates not only danger and the need to find safety, but potential for achieving goals and meeting challenges. Fear is, then, instructive and beneficial for learning about one's identity, sense of achievement, and capacities for transformation. Through a narrative inquiry approach, this paper explores participants' perspectives on how looking at fear in ways other than weakness supports their potential for personal growth and engagement in the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]