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Purpose -The purpose of this work is twofold. First, the vagueness of e-learning terminology is explored as a premise that the uncritical use of language reflects uncritical approaches to e-learning. North American practitioner literature is then reviewed to examine the way(s) in which e-learning vocabulary and metaphors reveal the attitudes and values that executive decision-makers and analysts bring to bear on organizational e-learning strategies. Design/methodology/approach -Trade and industry publications related to e-learning in the workplace are written both by and for executives and e-learning analysts. A swath of these publications and web sites, along with three major white papers from the OECD, Canada Conference Board and NGA/ASTD were analyzed for major themes. Findings -This review finds practitioner literature dominated by concerns about cost and technology in strategizing and implementation to the near exclusion of learner considerations. It is argued that a broader conceptualizing of e-learning's impact is required for effective analysis. Originality/value -This review lends perspective to the values and priorities of executive decision makers in practice, showing that a broader understanding of workers' learning and affective needs is required if e-learning is to be applied effectively toward developing creative, productive, satisfying and sustainable learning organizations. Organizational decision makers should seek the input and perspective of multiple stakeholders to ensure that e-learning strategies are appropriate not only in terms of financial and technological feasibility but also in the interests of lasting positive effects on employees and organizational culture.

This article examines the strong interest in the scholarship of teaching that has developed since Ernest Boyer introduced the idea in 1990. Although there are many benefits to be realized from a greater emphasis on teaching in higher education, the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) “movement” has been subjected to little critical scrutiny. This work, however, proposes that SoTL is inextricably tied to the entrenchment of neo-liberalization in higher education. Marshall’s (1996) notion of “busno-power,” an extension of Foucault’s thinking on governmentality, is used to demonstrate how SoTL may be viewed as a force that shapes both instructors and students into “entrepreneurial learners” who conceptualize education primarily for its use value. The article concludes with a consideration of how this eventuality may be guarded against by using Foucault’s methods to situate SoTL sociologically, and historically.

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This article discusses how teaching faculty in a western Canadian university respond to the growing number of Chinese international students in their classrooms. Interviews (n=21) and survey data (n=60) reveal that professors struggle to communicate academic expectations across language and cultural barriers; develop cross-cultural content; engage students in active learning in the classroom; and provide effective feedback on written work. This in-depth account shows how faculty negotiate demands to both adapt to and create an “internationalized classroom” in the absence of institutional supports. Unsurprisingly, we confirm that adaptation is a struggle. Faculty rely on a combination of personal experience, disciplinary grounding, and stereotyping to inform their efforts. We conclude with a discussion of the limited utility of “Confucian Heritage Culture” (chc) as a path to meaningful change. Though frequently invoked to describe the preferences and behaviors of Chinese students, the homogenizing and misleading assumptions of the chc framework prevent faculty from recognizing the contemporary reality of these students’ country of origin and leads them to neglect individual student learning styles and needs.