Acting White

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Stephen May

"The first edition of Language and Minority Rights, an outstanding interdisciplinary analysis of the questions and issues concerning minority language rights in modern nation-states, is now regarded as a key benchmark in the field of language rights and language policy. Its core arguments have shaped the discussion of language rights over the last decade. This new edition substantially revises and updates this provocative and groundbreaking book, addressing new theoretical and empirical developments since its initial publication, including the burgeoning influence of globalization and the relentless rise of English as the current world language. Stephen May's broad position, however, remains largely unchanged. He argues that the causes of many of the language-based conflicts in the world today still lie with the nation-state and its preoccupation with establishing a 'common' language and culture via mass education. The solution, he suggests, is to rethink nation-states in more culturally and linguistically plural ways while avoiding, at the same time, essentializing the language-identity link. This new edition, like the first, adopts a wide interdisciplinary framework, drawing on sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, sociology, political theory, education and law"--

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Unaisi Nabobo-Baba

In Knowing and Learning: An Indigenous Fijian Approach, author Unaisi Nabobo-Baba has employed a decolonized 'vanua research' method to explore how her people, those of Vugalei, in southeastern Vitilevu, acquire and transmit knowledge. By documenting the various dimensions of knowledge and their value and applications in Vugalei society, the author enables the indigenous voice to be heard. Nabobo-Baba's finding have obvious implications for formal education models - and she discusses how they impinge on evrything from school architecture to teaching methods, curriculum development and educational research, and how they go some way toward explaining the apparent failures of the past affirmative action strategies. This ground-breaking book provides an 'insiders' view of how an idigenous society percieves itself and the world around it, and is set to raise the level of debate on the development of Fiji as a post-colonial nation.

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Helen Bradford

"Effective planning and observation are absolutely fundamental to young children's learning and development. The learning opportunities for children need to be relevant for their age group, realistic and challenging. Drawing on recent research, Planning and Observation with Children Under 3 explains why the planning cycle is so important and looks at the links between observation, planning and assessment. Taking a holistic approach to supporting children's learning, this book shows how a range of observation strategies can provide insight into children's social, emotional, physical and cognitive development and practically demonstrates how practitioners can develop appropriate planning and observation techniques for babies and toddlers. Features include: - case studies and examples - focus points for readers, encouraging reflective practice - suggestions for staff development - activities to engage readers and develop their observation techniques - an easy-to-follow and accessible inside layout Providing a wealth of practical ideas and activities, this handy text encourages explores all aspects of planning and observation with the under threes to help practitioners ensure effective outcomes for the youngest children in their care. This guide will benefit Early Years professionals, students in Early Years and Early Childhood studies and anyone working with babies and children under three"-- Provided by publisher.

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Clare Painter

"This book presents a rich naturalistic case study of one child's use of language from two-and-a-half to five years, drawing on systemic functional theory to argue that cognitive development is essentially a linguistic process and offering a new description and interpretation of linguistic and cognitive developments during this period."--Jacket.