Founded in the forested mountains of China's remote Jiangxi Province in 1958, the Communist Labor University, along with some 100 branch campuses, introduced uneducated farmers and peasants to basic agricultural science and farming techniques through an innovative work-study program until 1980. Drawing on a wealth of archival materials, John Cleverley here explores the inner workings of this unique Chinese institution and the direct personal involvement in its affairs by the nation's key c...

Throughout history certain theories of childhood have influenced the way we have understood, cared for, and educated our young. These theories form the bases of our attitudes toward children, and underpin our popular childrearing pracitces. Yet they have passed through history fort eh most part unexamined. In Visions of Childhood, the authors unveil the central and often surprising notions that have shaped our conceptions of childhood in the Western world.Bringing the skill...

Taking Our Place tells the story of Aboriginal education and the Koori Centre at the University of Sydney. Within its short history, the university has embodied both the virtues and vices of Australia's public attitudes to Indigenous people. The university's early teaching and research focused on Aboriginal people as ethnographical specimens, a race frozen in time.More than a century would pass before two students identified as Aborigines, Charles Perkins and Peter William...