This volume broadens the horizon of educational research in North America by introducing a comprehensive dialogue between Eastern and Western philosophies and perspectives on the subject of curriculum theory and practice. It is a very timely work in light of the progressively globalized nature of education and educational studies and the increasingly widespread attunement to Eastern educational theories in the West. By introducing Eastern perspectives, this book questions taken-for-granted thinking in Western educational thought about the foundations of teaching and learning, curriculum theory, educational policy, and educational issues such as teaching for social justice, service-learning initiatives, human rights and environmental education, and the teaching of content area subjects. It provides an important opportunity for scholars from different countries and different disciplines to establish a solid yet accessible foundation of East-West inquiry that furthers the scope and depth of curriculum studies and to disseminate the insights from this book in the venues in which they work. Researchers, faculty, and graduate students in the fields of curriculum theory, curriculum and instruction, educational foundations, philosophy of education, international/comparative education, and multicultural educational studies will welcome this book. It is appropriate as a text for upper-level courses in these areas.

Online learning has been touted as one way of reducing the cost of higher education while simultaneously addressing the increasing demand for educational opportunity and providing access to hitherto “left out” populations. Many universities are defying tradition by offering completely online degrees for global participants. As such, research is needed to improve the design of online and virtual learning environments to ensure that they are inclusive and culturally adaptive for the global education marketplace. The Handbook of Research on Cross-Cultural Online Learning in Higher Education shares paradigms, perspectives, insights, challenges, and best practices for the instructional design and delivery of cross-cultural adult web-based learning experiences and examines adult learner characteristics and competencies critical for the design of these applications. The content within this publication covers trending topics including virtual learning, culturally adaptive environments, and online education and is intended for instructional designers, faculty, administrators, students, and researchers.

A radical departure from previous chronicles of education for people with disabilities, this book views special education from a broader perspective. Its central thesis is that cultural values and expectations play a dominant role in understanding the structure and function of special education. While theories of the social construction of disability have been written about in a growing body of research since the 1960s, no attempt has been made to create a cross-cultural framework. This work offers such a framework. Eight chapters, written by educators in each country's educational system cover the following nations: China, Great Britain, Hungary, Japan, Iran, Pakistan, United States, and Zimbabwe. Historical discussions in each chapter provide a context for current practice. An index and illustrations are also included.

This book maps and discusses the increasing internationalisation of teaching and learning at universities around the world. This phenomenon brings both opportunities and challenges, introducing what can be radically different teaching, learning and assessment contexts.

Racial and ethnic disparities in health care are known to reflect access to care and other issues that arise from differing socioeconomic conditions. There is, however, increasing evidence that even after such differences are accounted for, race and ethnicity remain significant predictors of the quality of health care received. In Unequal Treatment, a panel of experts documents this evidence and explores how persons of color experience the health care environment. The book examines how disparities in treatment may arise in health care systems and looks at aspects of the clinical encounter that may contribute to such disparities. Patients' and providers' attitudes, expectations, and behavior are analyzed. How to intervene? Unequal Treatment offers recommendations for improvements in medical care financing, allocation of care, availability of language translation, community-based care, and other arenas. The committee highlights the potential of cross-cultural education to improve provider-patient communication and offers a detailed look at how to integrate cross-cultural learning within the health professions. The book concludes with recommendations for data collection and research initiatives. Unequal Treatment will be vitally important to health care policymakers, administrators, providers, educators, and students as well as advocates for people of color.

Winner of the BMW Group LIFE Award for Contribution to Intercultural Learning, 2007 The research student population of higher educational institutions continues to expand to include people from an ever-widening range of cultural and educational backgrounds. However, many research methods courses are still directed at the traditional student population. This book examines aspects of postgraduate research from a cross-cultural perspective, analysing the dilemmas faced by international students when defining a research question, choosing research methods, collecting data, deciding which language to use and writing their theses. Through an exploration of how international students re-examine their beliefs and research practices during their study in the UK, this book challenges the assumptions of all those engaged in educational research, addressing key questions such as: How do our teaching and learning experiences shape our approach to educational research? How do we judge ‘good’ educational research? What does it mean to be critical? The book uses the real-life experiences of international students to illuminate the kinds of challenges they may face. It supports both students and their supervisors, showing students how to approach cultural differences, and supervisors how to deal sensitively with the problems encountered by overseas students in their research.

This book represents an original and innovative series of insights, ideas and questions concerning inclusive education and cross-cultural understandings. Drawing on historical and cultural material, policy developments, legislation and research findings, the book provides a critical exploration of key factors including inclusive education, human rights, change, diversity and special educational needs. The contributors focus closely on how these factors are defined and experienced within particular societies.