Education & Pedagogy

Undeniably, education for sustainable development can justifiably be considered as a laudable educational practice because of its purpose to foster environmental awareness and responsibility, enhance economic sustainability, cultivate critical thinking and empowerment of people and build inclusive societies (UNESCO, 2017, "Education for sustainable development goals: Learning objectives"). In this article, I tease out three policy perspectives on education for sustainable development in the quest to cultivate a more tenable notion of higher education specifically related to the African context. First, I argue that any idea of African higher education ought to be constituted by a defensible philosophy of "ubuntu." Second, I show that an African philosophy of higher education, that is, "ubuntu," invariably connects with the enactment of sustainable development through the manifestation of democratic citizenship. Third, I argue that an African philosophy of higher education ("ubuntu") remains resistant to forms of injustice, inhumanity and exclusion that might ensue.

This paper presents a philosophical and praxiological enquiry into a flagship MSc programme in Outdoor and Environmental Education in the UK that emphasises co-creation of knowledge and reflexive practice among students and academic staff. Using a trioethnographic approach, it brings together critical reflections from three researcher-practitioners to examine the programme's philosophical foundations and consider whether and how its curriculum fulfils the aims it espouses, particularly in relation to climate, social and ecological justice. Drawing on critical and wild pedagogies, and informed by Indigenous movements in environmental education, the paper engages with contemporary educational philosophy to propose the concept of 'reforesting'. Building on Arendt's notion of natality, 'reforesting' is presented as a way of reimagining new beginnings through critical reflection and collective praxis in higher education. In doing so, the paper contributes to discussions about how education might respond to the climate crisis while sustaining an ethos of hope and solidarity.

Beginning in 2018, the General Assembly of Virginia has appropriated $28.4 million annually to increase degree production in Data Science and Technology, Science and Engineering, Healthcare and Education (STEM-H) fields across 14 of the Commonwealth's public four-year institutions. The General Assembly has included language that details corresponding requirements and expectations for each institution in the appropriation act since 2018. Collectively, the funding aims to produce an annual total of 880 new bachelors, masters, doctoral and first professional degrees above the 2016-2017 academic year baseline of approximately 22,000. As Virginia's coordinating body for higher education, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia is mandated to track each institution's progress and reports to the chairs of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance and Appropriations Committees annually. The narrative, tables and charts in this report describe the total awards produced by area/field and institution within the context of the General Assembly's goals.

This article offers critical reflections on the internationalisation of higher education and on global citizenship education (GCE) from the perspective of the Global South, particularly South Africa. Using a decolonial lens and drawing on critical scholarship from around the globe, the authors explore how coloniality of knowledge and Eurocentric epistemic hegemony in higher education relate to and impact on GCE. They present a new definition of higher education internationalisation developed in South Africa and explore how its decolonial framing of internationalisation can benefit GCE. They also discuss the relevance of "critical diversity" literacy, a framework developed by Melissa Steyn for citizenship education in heterogeneous societies such as South Africa, for GCE. They argue that such critical definitions and frameworks are valuable tools in conceptualising and practising internationalisation and GCE based on a plurality of experiences, worldviews, knowledges and perspectives, and committed to advancing social justice for all.

Research on ethnic minority young people in Western migrant contexts has demonstrated how their families and social status shape higher education aspirations. Little is known, however, about Arab women from immigrant families in this regard. Drawing on interviews with young Arab-Australian women, this paper examines their higher education perceptions, aspirations, and goals. Findings showed these women to be strongly influenced by their immigrant parents to pursue higher education that would earn their families societal respect and recognition. Furthermore, these women were determined to pursue higher education that would enable them to 'rise' by uplifting their social status as Arab minorities, and 'give back' by contributing positively to their communities and wider society. Notions of cultural and ethnic capital are utilised to highlight the relationship between higher education attainment and ethnic minority status, reflecting the high value placed on higher education by these young Arab-Australian women and their families.

In 2006, the author worked on a pre-service education course in instructional media and revised it to include ICTs and technology integration, as part of a national program to infuse ICTs throughout Namibia's educational system. The course was to be implemented in 2008 at all four Colleges of Education in Namibia responsible for the Basic Education Teaching Diploma, along with a parallel rollout of supporting technology infrastructure, support and teacher-educator training. In 2010, the author re-visited the Colleges of Education to assess the adoption of the course. Using the ISTE Essential Conditions for effective technology integration as a framework, this paper reports on the progress made towards meeting each condition as well as the relative impact the conditions made on the course implementation. (Contains 2 tables and 3 footnotes.)

Lifelong learning has become a prominent fixture in educational policy in recent years in many countries around the world. In terms of teacher education, it is now widely accepted that initial teacher education is insufficient for the lifelong professional needs of teachers. From September 2012, initial teacher education in Ireland will be offered as a radically different four-year BEd degree programme. This reform of initial teacher education offers immense potential for teacher educators to re-imagine their programmes in light of a range of guiding paradigms and theoretical frameworks, including lifelong learning. This paper provides a rationale for developing programmes in initial teacher education in the context of lifelong learning. A number of recommendations for lifelong primary teacher education are offered in light of current reforms that are taking place in Ireland. (Contains 2 notes.)

The dominant PDS models described in research literature are all based upon the pairing of traditional, college-based teacher education programs with traditional public schools. Though these PDS models have proven very successful in such contexts, there is significant question as to whether they can be successful when comprised of nontraditional teacher education programs and nontraditional schools. With greater numbers of future teachers seeking alternative means to licensure, it behooves PDS advocates and researchers to explore the fit between alternative teacher education programs and PDS models and, when there is not a good fit, to try to create hybrid PDS models for a new educational landscape. This study chronicles how one university attempted to match its nontraditional teacher education program first to the dominant PDS models and, when that failed, to a hybrid PDS model. The resulting PDS hybrid itself begs the following question: at what point does a hybrid PDS become a paradox?

In this article, I draw on interviews with graduates from an Outdoor and Environmental Education course to explore the ways in which their environmental ethics changed since leaving university. I do this in relation to the graduates' personal and professional experiences, particularly in the context of teaching Outdoor Education and Physical Education in secondary schools. By offering two alternative readings of graduates' experiences, this research contributes to existing education literature about the "wash-out effect" of teacher education courses once beginning teachers become immersed in schools. In the first reading I find evidence of regulatory and normalising strategies of society and school communities and a "plateauing" of graduates' engagement with environmental practices. In a second reading, framed by Foucault's theory of power and ethics, I discern acts of "tactical" resistance. This reading foregrounds strategies graduates use to negotiate the constraining spaces of schools.

Social justice is undeniably grounded in efforts at circumventing provisions that seek to uphold ostracism and exclusionary practices which have permeated South Africa and many other societies worldwide for extensive periods of time. Vast incongruities and/or inequalities between better resourced urban communities and neglected rural areas impinge on the provision of and access to education. This paper, grounded in a distributive paradigm that views social justice as a proper distribution of social benefits and burdens among members of society, traverses the positive and negative features of rural education related to social justice. It concedes that difference is an inherent, inevitable and indispensable feature of social existence and education, arguing that rural education needs to embrace difference, shape demands and model social benefits in accordance with the realities of a particular rural setting. This implies that social justice should be perceived as a humanising process--a response to human diversity in terms of ability, socio-economic circumstances, choice and rights.

Within the past two decades, mainstreaming culture in education has taken centre stage in Africa. This development has been facilitated by the fact that western education introduced in Africa during the era of colonialism marginalised indigenous knowledge systems. Although since independence African governments have made several attempts to reform education in order to make it more culturally relevant and responsive to the needs of Africans, the education system in Africa continues to reflect western values and knowledge sources. Non-western knowledge production sources continue to be neglected in universities in Africa. This paper discusses the philosophy behind the establishment of university-based adult education in Ghana and its trajectory since its establishment. The paper argues that although adult education is dynamic and transformational, there is a need to incorporate indigenous sources of knowledge. The paper proposes that cultural action models such as communalism and spirituality should be incorporated into the teaching of adult education.

The nature of the changing economic climate has resulted in drastic changes in the postsecondary education landscape. With record numbers of adult learners seeking to further their education, they are faced with numerous outlets, including traditional liberal universities and a variety of for-profit colleges and vocational schools that have shifted from their historical practice of operating primarily as certificate-granting programs to the practice of awarding degrees. While models of operation and sources of funding are largely different between the two educational models, similarities do exist, and staunch criticism and defense has arisen from both sides in regard to approach, results, and legitimacy. This article seeks to examine whether proprietary models of higher education are indeed legitimate alternatives to traditional institutions within the constraints of the current capitalist system, and it presents arguments from both sides while examining implications for students and society at large.

Education is the bedrock of an informed democracy and the bridge to lifelong opportunity. Texans rely on public education to develop a talented workforce and promote shared prosperity. To fulfill this promise to the next generation of Texans, the Legislature must ensure there is equitable and sufficient funding for all kids to get a quality public education, no matter where they live or their background. Texas is responsible for the education of more than 5.5 million students across 1,207 traditional and charter school districts which operate 9,088 campuses. The student body is diverse: 53% of students are Hispanic/Latino, 25% are white, and 13% are African American. Students' needs are also diverse: 62% of students are economically disadvantaged, 24% are emergent bilingual, and 14% receive special education services. This report explains how public education in Texas is funded and how recent legislative changes are shortchanging teachers, schools, and putting the state at risk.

'Education for all' is a prominent political slogan. And indeed, educational enrolment has expanded massively globally. Yet, countries have expanded education to very different degrees, in different forms, and at different points in time. We argue that this is not a coincidence, but the result of politics. We posit that governing political parties are the crucial actor shaping tertiary enrolment expansion. We explore which governing parties have facilitated or hindered higher education enrolment in 36 democratic countries since the 1960s. Methodologically, we innovate by using mixed-effects models, i.e. by setting up a model that treats the data as cross-nested in countries, years, and cabinets. This approach is preferable because traditional macro-quantitative approaches produce incorrect estimates. Our study thus offers new insights into the (party) politics of the 'education for all' agenda, thereby contributing to ongoing debates in education sciences, political science, sociology, and economics.

Liberal arts education in Chinese higher education can be traced back to the liberal arts tradition that existed in China's former Christian universities prior to the 1950s. The mission and goal of liberal arts education in Chinese contexts focuses on cultivating whole persons to serve their societies. Using data from documents and interviews, the study examines the liberal arts tradition for developing whole persons with a spirit of service in China's former Christian universities. It also explores to what extent the legacy has been carried on to the development of liberal arts education in contemporary universities in Chinese societies (Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan). The study provides insight into how some elements of whole person development from faith-based education could contribute to today's higher education reform in terms of the goals of global citizen cultivation.