Includes bibliographical references.

Introduction : mapping and understanding the contexts / Kagendo Mutua and Cynthia Szymanski Sunal -- Linguistic difficulties in learning science concepts in a multilingual elementary school in Benin / Issaou Gado and Doris Simonis -- Taboo subject boldly bared : a feminist analysis of sexual harassment as a major hindrance to learning among high school girls in Kenya / Anne Kanga -- Science education reform in Rwanda : a window to understanding change though dilemmas / Jaya Earnest and David Treagust -- Historical amnesia? : the politics of textbooks in post-apartheid South Africa / Sasha S. Polakow-Suransky -- Beginning teaching in Jamaica : challenges and assistance / Tom Ganser -- The effects of critical thinking instruction on the critical thinking dispositions and critical thinking skills of students enrolled in ninth-grade English / Gayle V. Dancy-Benjamin and Suzy Green -- A comparison of public elementary school teachers' and parents' perception on actual and preferred parental involvement in St. Thomas / Valerie P. Charles-Welsh, Suzy Green, and Rita J. Howard -- Visions of reform in elementary science education in Cyprus / Lucy Avraamidou -- The instruction and acquisition of cognitive skills in Israel : difficulties and accomplishments / Billie Eilam -- A decade of science education research in Lebanon, 1992-2002 : issues and trends / Saouma B. BouJaoude and Fouad Abd-El-Khalick -- Education, the military, and politics in Turkey : transitions in Turkish education after the coup d'état of 1980 / Ismail Guven -- Teacher education in Turkey : issues and trends / Margaret Sands and Dannelle Stevens -- Teacher and teaching characteristics for acceptance : a unique synthesis / Michalis Koutsoulis -- Epilogue / Elizabeth Blue Swadener.