Close encounters that foster change: What Alice Sheldon and PPE 2020 can tell us about educational futures

In the preferable educational future imagined here, the year 2030 has seen massive conceptual and structural change throughout systems of education. In the higher educational landscape envisioned only 10 years in the future, institutions of higher education have moved beyond the goals of valuing diversity, equity, and inclusion and beyond recognizing the importance of interdisciplinary curricula focused on sustainable problem-solving. It has embraced those as central tenets as it evolved into the nimble, culturally responsive, and innovative site of learning it aspired to be since the late 20th century. Our institutions of higher education are now designed to educate the adaptive creatives that all professions and future professions require ( Aoun, 2017 ). The catalyst for this transformative change is examined, though not in predictive ways meant to determine new educational policy. It draws from the pandemic, protests, and elections (PPE) that came to define 2020, and it explores a potentially powerful metaphor from a science fiction short story by Alice Sheldon to encourage a reframing of current education praxis. The focus here is on a brief, creative exploration of a future educational scenario that need not be that far out of our aspirational reach.

Best Practices? :

"The process of educating, of passing on the spirit of inquiry and wisdom in all its forms, is as old as humanity itself. From the oral tradition of Socrates and Plato, through the development of the Phoenician alphabet and Gutenberg's printing press, through the rise of the public school during the Industrial Revolution, and through the many inventions of the twentieth century, education has been an intersection of social practices, technological innovation, and competing ideological visions about children, learners, and what constitutes knowledge. Today's educational landscape is no different, with educators confronting the many challenges of globalization, diasporic cultures, and, the focus of this study, rapidly advancing digital technologies. It is my intention to use the pronouncements and initiatives of the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) to examine the ideologically-determined possibilities envisioned for emerging technologies. To this end, the CMEC will not serve as an exhaustive case study but rather as an example of how high level, heavily politicized policy choices are and will profoundly affect the structure, if not the very existence, of elementary and secondary public schooling in Canada. I will argue that the CMEC is an increasingly powerful coordinator on national pedagogical questions and is part of a broader trend towards privileging neoliberalist principles. Operating on both a contradictory and deterministic philosophy, I will argue that neoliberalism, embodied by the Council, is leading public education down the road not to a future where the liberal arts, individual needs and market criterion are balanced but rather to a more centralized, homogenizing, and weaker system which prizes economic utility over democratic virtues and individual growth. Further, not only is the position of the CMEC deeply paradoxical but, in the end, neither educational future it offers-radically child-centredness nor the hyper-competitiveness fostered by its policy initiatives-is in fact desirable."--Pages 1-2.

Best Practices? :

"The process of educating, of passing on the spirit of inquiry and wisdom in all its forms, is as old as humanity itself. From the oral tradition of Socrates and Plato, through the development of the Phoenician alphabet and Gutenberg's printing press, through the rise of the public school during the Industrial Revolution, and through the many inventions of the twentieth century, education has been an intersection of social practices, technological innovation, and competing ideological visions about children, learners, and what constitutes knowledge. Today's educational landscape is no different, with educators confronting the many challenges of globalization, diasporic cultures, and, the focus of this study, rapidly advancing digital technologies. It is my intention to use the pronouncements and initiatives of the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) to examine the ideologically-determined possibilities envisioned for emerging technologies. To this end, the CMEC will not serve as an exhaustive case study but rather as an example of how high level, heavily politicized policy choices are and will profoundly affect the structure, if not the very existence, of elementary and secondary public schooling in Canada. I will argue that the CMEC is an increasingly powerful coordinator on national pedagogical questions and is part of a broader trend towards privileging neoliberalist principles. Operating on both a contradictory and deterministic philosophy, I will argue that neoliberalism, embodied by the Council, is leading public education down the road not to a future where the liberal arts, individual needs and market criterion are balanced but rather to a more centralized, homogenizing, and weaker system which prizes economic utility over democratic virtues and individual growth. Further, not only is the position of the CMEC deeply paradoxical but, in the end, neither educational future it offers-radically child-centredness nor the hyper-competitiveness fostered by its policy initiatives-is in fact desirable."--Pages 1-2.

Improving Educational Quality through Optimizing the Potential of Educational Institutions in Indonesia

The quality of education in an educational institution will be greatly influenced by the potential of educational institutions and the governance system. The existing potential must be optimized to support quality improvement. Likewise, the education governance system will develop well when it is implemented through a good system by professional managers. The system has been designed in detail by the government which was stipulated by the Minister of National Education Regulation No. 19 of 2007 concerning "Education Management Standards by Primary and Secondary Education Units". This regulation was prepared by the government to regulate a good, balanced and sustainable governance system.The problem is determined to what extentthe ability of educational institutions to optimize the potential of the institution and optimizing inputs, processes, outputs and outcomes, starting from planning, organizing, actuiting, and controlling. This paper will discuss the improving educational quality through optimizing the potential of educational institutions in Indonesia in order to achieve shared ideals for a better educational future.

INVISIBLE LINES, INVISIBLE LIVES; EDUCATION OF AFGHAN MIGRANT CHILDREN AND THEIR FUTURE WITHIN IRAN’S BORDER

During the Soviet Union occupation of Afghanistan, the Taliban insurgency within this country’s borders, and a subsequent war with the USA, people inhabiting this land were forced to leave their country to cross the neighbouring borders with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Exploring their right place in Iran’s society resulted in the residency of approximately 3.000.000 of them, which has yielded both constructive and at the same time disturbing economic and educational experiences for both nations. Cultural similarities and deviations, in some cases mutual language, and common religion have been presented as the underlying reasons for integration opportunities and also challenges. This study explains how the trends for delivering education to Afghans in Iran have fluctuated so far, yet been remarkably more efficient than their departure point. The educational future of the second, third, and even fourth generation of Afghans in Iran has become a big question with regard to the economic status and political relations of the two countries. What this study manifests is the need to recognize and fill the gaps in the education of Afghans. This goal will be achieved through a review of human rights opposing geographical determinism, illiteracy, and mistaking prejudice and excessive behaviours in the host country.

FEMALE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ REFLECTIONS ON THEIR SOCIAL AND EDUCATIONAL FUTURE IN PAKISTAN

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of female university students about their social and educational careers and factors that may promote or hinder their efforts to achieve their targets. Method: Mixed method research design was followed to achieve the research objectives. Three thousand female university students were selected following a multiphase sampling technique to participate in the close-ended questionnaire that was used to collect the quantitative data in the first phase of data collection. Forty female students were randomly selected from the already selected pool of students in the second phase of data collection. An interview schedule was used to collect qualitative data from these 40 students. The qualitative data were analyzed with the help of NVivo following a thematic analysis approach Main Findings: The results showed that the female university students are ready to move forward in their education and contribute effectively in the social spheres of life. Various educational, social, academic, and financial factors that hinder achieving their goals are also identified. Applications of the Study: The results help to make educational activities more systematic, modern, and target-oriented. Novelty/Originality of the Study: The activity contributes to identifying solutions to problems that are associated with the female students’ empowerment and engagement in social and economic activities.

An Introduction to Dialogue for Intercultural Understanding: Placing Cultural Literacy at the Heart of Learning

This book is a result of an extensive, ambitious and wide-ranging pan-European project focusing on the development of children and young people’s cultural literacy and what it means to be European in the twenty-first century, prioritizing intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding. The book explores themes underpinning this unique interdisciplinary project, drawing together scholars from cultural studies, civics education and linguistics, psychologists, socio-cultural literacy researchers, teacher educators and digital learning experts. This chapter sets the context for the book by introducing the DIALLS project (Dialogue and Argumentation for cultural Literacy Learning in Schools) and its core aims and themes. It sets the tone of interdisciplinarity and its importance for an educational future where issues of living together, social responsibility and sustainable development transcend traditional categories of learning. DIALLS is seen as an opportunity for a synthesis of thinking, but our book allows each author to explore the goals of the project from their own interdisciplinary angle.

Educating Cultural Literacy with Open Educational Resources: Opportunities and Obstacles of Digital Teacher Collaborations

In this chapter, we set the context for how teachers can use the CLLP and its resources sustainably by introducing why it is important for teachers to engage in long-term collaboration to implement the core aims and themes of DIALLS in a meaningful way. In the following chapter, we will introduce research on the opportunities and obstacles of online collaboration among teachers. Considering that the goals of DIALLS deal with issues of living together, social responsibility, and sustainable development, we will emphasize how effective online collaboration not only among students but also among teachers can help make DIALLS have a long-lasting impact that shapes the educational future of Europe. Thus, we will emphasize how to promote a long-lasting community of practice for DIALLS teachers and how this community may enable them to become professional DIALLS teachers.