Dismantling the Disabling Environments of Education: Creating New Cultures and Contexts for Accommodating Difference challenges assumptions that view people of difference to be "abnormal," that isolate attention to their difference solely in the individual, that treat areas of difference as matters of deficiency, and that separate youth of difference from the mainstream and treat them as pathologized. As outsiders to mainstream special education, the authors of this collection take a more social and cultural perspective that views the surrounding social environment as at least as problematic as any point of difference in any individual. Most of the scholars contributing to this volume work with preservice and inservice teachers and grapple with issues of curriculum and pedagogy. One of the primary audiences we hope to reach with this book is our colleagues and practitioners who have not made special education or disability studies the focus of their careers, but who, like we, are determined to engage with the full range of people who attend schools. Dismantling the Disabling Environments of Education: Creating New Cultures and Contexts for Accommodating Difference can be a valuable text for undergraduate and graduate courses in teacher education, as it addresses key issues of inclusion, diversity, equity, and differentiated approaches to educating the full range of students.

A comparison of the development of expertise in preschool teaching in China, Japan, and the United States. In Teaching Expertise in Three Countries, Akiko Hayashi shows how teachers from Japan, China, and the United States think about what it means to be an expert teacher. Based on interviews with teachers conducted over the span of fifteen years and videos taken in their classrooms, Hayashi gives us a valuable portrait of expert teachers in the making. While Hayashi's research uncovered cultural variations in the different national contexts, her analysis of how teachers adapted their pedagogy throughout their careers also revealed many cross-national similarities. Younger teachers often describe themselves as being in a rush, following scripts, and "talking too much," while experienced teachers describe themselves as being quieter, knowing children better, and being more present. Including a foreword by scholar of early childhood education Joseph Tobin, Teaching Expertise in Three Countries provides a foundation for understanding the sequence and pathways of development over the first decade of teaching in three national contexts, demonstrating the value of the field of comparative education in the process.

A comparison of the development of expertise in preschool teaching in China, Japan, and the United States. In Teaching Expertise in Three Countries, Akiko Hayashi shows how teachers from Japan, China, and the United States think about what it means to be an expert teacher. Based on interviews with teachers conducted over the span of fifteen years and videos taken in their classrooms, Hayashi gives us a valuable portrait of expert teachers in the making. While Hayashi's research uncovered cultural variations in the different national contexts, her analysis of how teachers adapted their pedagogy throughout their careers also revealed many cross-national similarities. Younger teachers often describe themselves as being in a rush, following scripts, and "talking too much," while experienced teachers describe themselves as being quieter, knowing children better, and being more present. Including a foreword by scholar of early childhood education Joseph Tobin, Teaching Expertise in Three Countries provides a foundation for understanding the sequence and pathways of development over the first decade of teaching in three national contexts, demonstrating the value of the field of comparative education in the process.

Dismantling the Disabling Environments of Education: Creating New Cultures and Contexts for Accommodating Difference challenges assumptions that view people of difference to be "abnormal," that isolate attention to their difference solely in the individual, that treat areas of difference as matters of deficiency, and that separate youth of difference from the mainstream and treat them as pathologized. As outsiders to mainstream special education, the authors of this collection take a more social and cultural perspective that views the surrounding social environment as at least as problematic as any point of difference in any individual. Most of the scholars contributing to this volume work with preservice and inservice teachers and grapple with issues of curriculum and pedagogy. One of the primary audiences we hope to reach with this book is our colleagues and practitioners who have not made special education or disability studies the focus of their careers, but who, like we, are determined to engage with the full range of people who attend schools. Dismantling the Disabling Environments of Education: Creating New Cultures and Contexts for Accommodating Difference can be a valuable text for undergraduate and graduate courses in teacher education, as it addresses key issues of inclusion, diversity, equity, and differentiated approaches to educating the full range of students.

Published twenty years ago, the original "Preschool in Three Cultures" was a landmark in the study of education: a profoundly enlightening exploration of the different ways preschoolers are taught in China, Japan, and the United States. Here, lead author Joseph Tobin--along with new collaborators Yeh Hsueh and Mayumi Karasawa--revisits his original research to discover how two decades of globalization and sweeping social transformation have affected the way these three cultures educate and care for their youngest pupils. Putting their subjects' responses into historical perspective, Tobin, Hsueh, and Karasawa analyze the pressures put on schools to evolve and to stay the same, discuss how the teachers adapt to these demands, and examine the patterns and processes of continuity and change in each country.

Featuring nearly one hundred stills from the videotapes, "Preschool in Three Cultures Revisited "artfully and insightfully illustrates the surprising, illuminating, and at times entertaining experiences of four-year-olds--and their teachers--on both sides of the Pacific.

Published twenty years ago, the original "Preschool in Three Cultures" was a landmark in the study of education: a profoundly enlightening exploration of the different ways preschoolers are taught in China, Japan, and the United States. Here, lead author Joseph Tobin--along with new collaborators Yeh Hsueh and Mayumi Karasawa--revisits his original research to discover how two decades of globalization and sweeping social transformation have affected the way these three cultures educate and care for their youngest pupils. Putting their subjects' responses into historical perspective, Tobin, Hsueh, and Karasawa analyze the pressures put on schools to evolve and to stay the same, discuss how the teachers adapt to these demands, and examine the patterns and processes of continuity and change in each country.

Featuring nearly one hundred stills from the videotapes, "Preschool in Three Cultures Revisited "artfully and insightfully illustrates the surprising, illuminating, and at times entertaining experiences of four-year-olds--and their teachers--on both sides of the Pacific.

Initially developed in Japan by Nintendo as a computer game, Pokemon swept the globe in the late 1990s. Based on a narrative in which a group of children capture, train, and do battle with over a hundred imaginary creatures, Pokemon quickly diversified into an array of popular products including comic books, a TV show, movies, trading cards, stickers, toys, and clothing. Pokemon eventually became the top grossing children's product of all time. Yet the phenomenon fizzled as quickly as it had ignited. By 2002, the Pokemon craze was mostly over. "Pikachu's Global Adventure" describes the spectacular, complex, and unpredictable rise and fall of Pokemon in countries around the world.

In analyzing the popularity of Pokemon, this innovative volume addresses core debates about the globalization of popular culture and about children's consumption of mass-produced culture. Topics explored include the origins of Pokemon in Japan's valorization of cuteness and traditions of insect collecting and anime; the efforts of Japanese producers and American marketers to localize it for foreign markets by muting its sex, violence, moral ambiguity, and general feeling of Japaneseness; debates about children's vulnerability versus agency as consumers; and the contentious question of Pokemon's educational value and place in school. The contributors include teachers as well as scholars from the fields of anthropology, media studies, sociology, and education. Tracking the reception of Pokemon in Japan, the United States, Great Britain, France, and Israel, they emphasize its significance as the first Japanese cultural product to enjoy substantial worldwide success and challenge western dominance in the global production and circulation of cultural goods.

"Contributors." Anne Allison, Linda-Renee Bloch, Helen Bromley, Gilles Brougere, David Buckingham, Koichi Iwabuchi, Hirofumi Katsuno, Dafna Lemish, Jeffrey Maret, Julian Sefton-Green, Joseph Tobin, Samuel Tobin, Rebekah Willet, Christine Yano

Initially developed in Japan by Nintendo as a computer game, Pokemon swept the globe in the late 1990s. Based on a narrative in which a group of children capture, train, and do battle with over a hundred imaginary creatures, Pokemon quickly diversified into an array of popular products including comic books, a TV show, movies, trading cards, stickers, toys, and clothing. Pokemon eventually became the top grossing children's product of all time. Yet the phenomenon fizzled as quickly as it had ignited. By 2002, the Pokemon craze was mostly over. "Pikachu's Global Adventure" describes the spectacular, complex, and unpredictable rise and fall of Pokemon in countries around the world.

In analyzing the popularity of Pokemon, this innovative volume addresses core debates about the globalization of popular culture and about children's consumption of mass-produced culture. Topics explored include the origins of Pokemon in Japan's valorization of cuteness and traditions of insect collecting and anime; the efforts of Japanese producers and American marketers to localize it for foreign markets by muting its sex, violence, moral ambiguity, and general feeling of Japaneseness; debates about children's vulnerability versus agency as consumers; and the contentious question of Pokemon's educational value and place in school. The contributors include teachers as well as scholars from the fields of anthropology, media studies, sociology, and education. Tracking the reception of Pokemon in Japan, the United States, Great Britain, France, and Israel, they emphasize its significance as the first Japanese cultural product to enjoy substantial worldwide success and challenge western dominance in the global production and circulation of cultural goods.

"Contributors." Anne Allison, Linda-Renee Bloch, Helen Bromley, Gilles Brougere, David Buckingham, Koichi Iwabuchi, Hirofumi Katsuno, Dafna Lemish, Jeffrey Maret, Julian Sefton-Green, Joseph Tobin, Samuel Tobin, Rebekah Willet, Christine Yano

In many school districts in America, the majority of students in preschools are children of recent immigrants. For both immigrant families and educators, the changing composition of preschool classes presents new and sometimes divisive questions about educational instruction, cultural norms and academic priorities. Drawing from an innovative study of preschools across the nation, Children Crossing Borders provides the first systematic comparison of the beliefs and perspectives of immigrant parents and the preschool teachers to whom they entrust their children. Children Crossing Borders presents valuable evidence from the U.S. portion of a landmark five-country study on the intersection of early education and immigration. The volume shows that immigrant parents and early childhood educators often have differing notions of what should happen in preschool. Most immigrant parents want preschool teachers to teach English, prepare their children academically, and help them adjust to life in the United States. Many said it was unrealistic to expect a preschool to play a major role in helping children retain their cultural and religious values. The authors examine the different ways that language and cultural differences prevent immigrant parents and school administrations from working together to achieve educational goals. For their part, many early education teachers who work with immigrant children find themselves caught between two core beliefs: on one hand, the desire to be culturally sensitive and responsive to parents, and on the other hand adhering to their core professional codes of best practice. While immigrant parents generally prefer traditional methods of academic instruction, many teachers use play-based curricula that give children opportunities to be creative and construct their own knowledge. Worryingly, most preschool teachers say they have received little to no training in working with immigrant children who are still learning English.