Michael Apple has changed educational review and study significantly over the past 35 years.  He has written numerous books and articles, centering upon education and power, curriculum theory and research, cultural politics, critical pedagogy, as well as advancing the development of the democratic school.  Challenging social and political orthodoxy Michael Apple has altered the way scholars and educators approach schooling in North America, situating school life and schooling at the centre of educational theory and practice and, undeniable, social critique.  This essay reviews and appraises some of these changes.  It follows Michael Apple’s scholarship, acknowledging the theorists profound influence over educational theory and the critical process.

Keywords: Critical Pedagogy, Michael Apple, Education, Resistance, New Sociology of Education.

National identity can be a difficult concept to define in Canada, a difficulty that may be particularly prevalent for Canada’s Aboriginal people.  Identity, whether national or ethno-cultural, may be problematic to conceptualize for Aboriginal people because of dominant post-colonial influences that are reflected in everyday life.  Identity, an individual's collective understanding of themselves as a unique, separate entity is frequently associated with ethnic and racial affirmations of distinctness.  Consequently, Canada’s national identity may be fragmented by its various ethnic and racial groups.  Canada’s Aboriginal people, who have been impacted by a history of European influence through colonization, have consequently struggled with the notion of Canadian identity, a struggle that is prevalent in the field of education.  The following will be an exploration of the issues associated with Canadian identity, and how Aboriginal identity relates to that conception of citizenship development for Aboriginal students in Canadian schools.  To support this exploration, this article will explore: (a) identity development in a postcolonial and transcultural society, (b) identity negotiation in contemporary Canadian society, and (c) the implications for citizenship development in Canadian education.

In the fall of 2008, the Provincial Government of Saskatchewan announced mandatory treaty education for all students in K-12 schooling.  Given the foundational importance of treaties and the treaty relationship to Canada, and ongoing reconciliation efforts with First Nations people, this initiative is to be celebrated.  However, a central concern exists regarding the implementation of treaty education in Saskatchewan schools. To that end, this paper discusses research, with 348 predominately white, teacher education candidates at the University of Regina, regarding their knowledge, (mis)understandings, and experiences with treaty education, in both grade school and university contexts.  Using critical race theory as a lens through which to conceptualize and make sense of the research, along with theories of ignorance as an epistemological exercise, the paper illustrates the imperative of enacting treaty education given (white) settler students struggles(and refusals) to connect their own social and economic privileges to treaties. 

Keywords: Treaty education; critical race theory; curriculum

This article presents a critical discussion of the controversy surrounding the perceived changes to the Saskatoon Public School Board’s assessment policy in September 2010.  Utilizing Critical Discourse Analysis (Fairclough, 2005; Gee, 2005) and a critical framework of curriculum reform (Apple, 1996, 2000), an analysis of media representations, government statements, and curriculum documents suggests that the general public outcry, the Saskatoon Public School Board’s reaction to the controversy, and the government’s response exemplify a tacit understanding of the socialization purposes of school in preparing students for the world of labour.  This article further examines the influence of "conservative modernization" (Apple, 1996; Lankshear & Gee, 1997; Gee, Hull, & Lankshear, 1996) on Saskatchewan educational policies and the capacity of Saskatchewan schools to innovate.