(2022). The Role of Technical and Vocational Education in Social Reintegration: Insights from Colombian Ex-Combatants. Journal on Education in Emergencies, v8 n1 p110-137 Mar. Reintegration programs for ex-combatants around the globe promote their technical and vocational education and training (TVET). The aim is to help them develop skills, assume new social roles, and gain community acceptance, yet the experiences and perceptions of the ex-combatants who participate in these programs have been little explored. Thus, it is not known whether this group finds access to TVET useful in building new social networks, which is a critical factor in preventing further violence and achieving social cohesion. This in-depth interview study with female and male ex-combatants from Medellin, Colombia, who are at various stages of TVET engagement examined their perceptions of whether and how TVET contributed to their social reintegration. The findings illustrate that some forms of TVET promoted psychosocial recovery and build social bonds, whereas other types reinforced isolation and segregation. This study also found that the TVET programs overlooked the ex-combatants'… [Direct]
(1998). Tora no Maki III. Lessons for Teaching about Contemporary Japan. The elements of Japan, including history, geography, economics, civics, and cultural studies, are in this collection of original lesson plans. The lessons are meant to provide original content about Japan to augment and supplement an existing unit of study and evoke a spirit of inquiry and introspection. The 24 lessons are as follows: (1) "Family Traditions and Practices in Modern Japan" (Mirian Acosta-Sing); (2) "It's Part of Being Japanese" (Sue Baines); (3) "The Hiroshima Greeting Campaign" (Mariam Baradar); (4) "The Use of 'Mizuhiki'" (Kristi L. Berndt); (5) "Signs and Symbols of Peace" (Margaret Calder); (6) "Japanese and American Families: A Comparative Study" (Mary E. Connor); (7) "Child Development and Education: Whose Responsibility?" (Jana S. Eaton); (8) "Japanese Consumerism: Consistencies, Changes, Challenges" (Sherry L. Field); (9) "The Japanese Cherry Tree: Global Roots and Local… [PDF]
(2022). High School Students' Perceptions of Science and Attitudes towards Intergroup Cooperation. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, v52 n2 p192-210. Science education projects are being used to improve attitudes between conflicting groups, but it is not clear which aspects of science make it an effective agent for this purpose. This paper investigates how attitudes towards intergroup cooperation relate to different perceptions of science. Regression analyses are conducted on questionnaire data (N = 246) collected from Arab-Palestinian minority high school students in Israel, comparing students who identify primarily as Israeli, Palestinian, and pan-Arab. The analyses indicate that perceiving science as global and international is strongly associated with a preference for mixed work or study environments. The paper suggests that for many students, science and technology in Israel have become globalised and internationalised to the point that science education represents a distinct social space from mainstream Israeli society. By border-crossing into the science classroom, students enter a 'global space' wherein the challenges… [Direct]
(2022). Path of Khruba: Leadership for Empowering Good Citizenship. International Education Studies, v15 n3 p85-94. "Path of Khruba" is a discourse created in the context of Lanna society, to reflect the practice and attributes of monks in beautiful Buddhism, to be good and practice, as well as to be firm in dharma discipline, as well as to be highly respected of the people's faith and to contribute significantly to the development of people and society. According to the study of Khruba practice in Lanna society, the "Path of Khruba" is the most popular. There are five key points of good citizenship: (1) Sujarittham, who focuses on non-corruption, public property of the community or the society in which they live (2) Karawatham, focus on citizens to respect the law, the rules and laws that the community or society have together designed and accepted are common practices (3) Sangkhahatham, focusing on the groups of people living together with the public consciousness and helping the underprivileged, as well as in need of help (4) Khantithamma, focus on the people who are… [PDF]
(2020). "Pedagogy of Conversion" in the Urban Margins: Pacification, Education, and the Struggle for Control in a Rio de Janeiro Favela. Journal on Education in Emergencies, v6 n1 p118-147 Oct. In this article, I make an empirical contribution to the scholarship on education in urban settings that are affected by militarized policing and illicit drug markets. I offer insights into the role education played in the Pacifying Police Units (UPPs), a pacification project in Rio de Janeiro favelas. Rio State authorities began to install UPPs in 2008 in an effort to regain control over favelas dominated by drug-trafficking groups and marked by high levels of violence. In this paper, which is based on an ethnographic case study I conducted between 2008 and 2015, I discuss the UPPs' struggle to gain the allegiance of favela residents. I focus in particular on police involvement in public primary schools and nonformal education geared toward young children living in the favelas that were part of the UPP project. Looking at one primary question–How does pacification influence education and what does this mean for local perceptions of police?–I reveal how the UPPs brought on the… [Direct]
(2023). Values, Lifestyles, and Narratives of Prejudices amongst Finnish Youth. Journal of Beliefs & Values, v44 n1 p32-46. Prejudices are innate to the human condition and at the base of most conflicts between social groups. Yet, despite much local and global educational effort to promote equality and peace, expressions of hate and violence are omnipresent across the globe. For gaining more understanding about the complex relationship between values and beliefs that influence people's prejudiced attitudes towards others, this study investigates how Finnish upper-secondary level students (16- to 20-year-olds), on the one hand, affiliate themselves with self-transcendent values, and on the other hand, narrate prejudices towards others. The complementary quantitative (n = 2873) and qualitative (n = 2200) survey responses show that the young people regarded equality and the promotion of peace as the most important values for themselves but, despite this explicit appreciation of these self-transcendent values, they also exhibit several types of prejudice towards others. The findings show that the youth… [Direct]
(2023). Drama for Dialogue of Civilizations: Performance as Storytelling in the Adult ESOL Classroom. TESOL Journal, v14 n4 e745. Prior research points to many affordances of drama and storytelling for language learning, identity exploration, and intercultural dialogue (e.g., Belliveau & Kim, 2013; McGovern, 2017; Schewe, 2013) as well as ethical risks associated with engaging multilingual learners in performative pedagogies (Ca√±as, 2015; Piazzoli & Kir Cullen, 2021). This ethnographic case study of an adult English as a Second Language (ESL) program in which students devised and performed a play centered on how performative storytelling positioned learners and how its focus on intercultural dialogue around mutual understanding contributed to peacebuilding. Thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006; 2019) illustrated how drama created space for dialogue, positioning students as actors worthy of being heard and competent at telling their stories in ways that reflected a nuanced view of the student-actors. The authors assert that representational ethics must be considered in order for performative… [Direct]
(1988). Culture, Learning, and the Disciplines. The 18 author contributed papers examine orientation programs for foreign college and university students studying in the United States and for U.S. students preparing to study abroad. The marriage of theory and practice in addressing the two major issues of: (1) lack of agreement on standards for orientation; and (2) the common lack of student motivation to attend orientation programs is stressed. Papers have the following titles and authors: "Survey of University Orientation Programs for International Students and Scholars" (Inge Steglitz); "The Development of Preacademic Training Programs for Incoming Fulbright Students, 1951-1969" (James E. O'Driscoll); "Brief Course on America: An Orientation to the Study of American Culture" (Harvey Sarles); "Foreign Student Orientation at the University of Pennsylvania" (Ann Kuhlman); "Orientation Services Provided for A.I.D.-Sponsored Participants in Programs Administered by Partners for… [PDF]
(2001). Language in Our Time: Bilingual Education and Official English, Ebonics and Standardized English, Immigration, and the Unz Initiative. Georgetown University Round Table on Languages and Linguistics (Washington, DC, May 6-8, 1999). This collection of papers includes the following: "Introduction to the Volume" (James E. Alatis); "Adults Learning To Read in a Second Script: What We've Learned" (David L. Red); "Trends in Peace Corps Volunteer Language Proficiency" (Margaret E. Malone); "Evidence for the Greater Ease of Use of the ILR Language Skill Level Descriptions for Speaking" (Pardee Lowe, Jr.); "Bringing Learning Strategies to the Student: The FSI Language Learning Consultation Service" (Madeline Ehrman); "Can You Beat Guessing in Multiple-Choice Testing?" (Beth A. Mackey); "Lessons Learned from Fifty Years of Theory and Practice in Government Language Teaching" (Frederick H. Jackson, Marsha A. Kaplan); "Analysis of Texts and Critique of Judgment" (James R. Child); "Paved with Good Intentions: Words of Advice for the Rocky Road of Bureaucratic Language" (Roger W. Shuy); "Bilingual Education: Arguments for and…
(2021). A Buddhist-Humanist Exploration of Global Citizenship within Various Spaces and Places. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education (QSE), v34 n10 p965-973. In this autoethnographic study, I negotiate my identity as a mixed-caste South Asian woman, drawing on a Buddhist-humanist spiritual approach to examine the development of global citizen identity. The non-Western perspective of global citizenship discussed in the paper, challenges the mono-epistemological version of research produced in the English-speaking world. I discuss three experiences in my life that correspond to the cultivation of the tenets of global citizenship namely wisdom, courage, compassion as articulated by Ikeda. This paper offers a practical and experiential example of applying a non-dominant global citizenship approach and seeks to institutionalize the field as a discourse in the pursuit of global peace, social justice, and universal human rights…. [Direct]
(2021). A New Vision for Education towards Fraternal Humanism. Journal of Catholic Education, v24 n1 Article 15 p256-261 Spr. This article considers three fundamental perspectives for Catholic education, all mentioned in the encyclical letter "Populorum Progressio" of Paul VI, which have also been present in the teachings of successive pontiffs. The first perspective is the need to build a new civilization and the idea that "the world suffers due to lack of thought." The second perspective is the idea that "there is no true humanism but in the opening to the Absolute." The third perspective is the idea that at the origin of injustice there is a lack of fraternity. The second Vatican Council stated that "true education should promote the formation of the human person both in view of its ultimate purpose and for the good of different societies." This invitation of the Council Fathers is still very current and is directed especially to those who have positions of responsibility in the world of education. The article is adapted with minor modifications from an address at… [PDF]
(2022). Power to the People: Education for Social Change in the Philosophies of Paulo Freire and Mozi. Educational Philosophy and Theory, v54 n13 p2180-2191. As Paulo Freire's education theory for social change and emancipation is being continually studied and disseminated in East Asia, it has faced skepticism as some educators are unfamiliar with its critical pedagogy or education for freedom concepts. In light of this, scholars have attempted to compare Freirean philosophies with concepts in Chinese philosophy of education as a way of bridging East and West. Diverging from previous studies that use popular Chinese philosophies (such as Confucianism) to connect with Freirean theory, this paper introduces an understudied but compatible Chinese philosophical thought, Mohism, for comparison with Freirean theory. Mohism is a political philosophy for the working class that expanded into grassroots movements for people's welfare in ancient China. The Mohist bottom-up approach echoes the grassroots emancipatory pedagogy that underlies Freirean philosophy. A comparative analysis of education concepts in both philosophies reveals that despite… [Direct]
(2018). A Call for a Pedagogy of Empathy. Communication Education, v67 n4 p495-499. In this short, "look ahead" piece, the author argues that a pedagogy of empathy is a meaningful way of interrupting coarse language and generating trust and goodwill among global citizens. Furthermore, she claims that practicing empathy inclines humans toward sociability and can lead to a more peaceful civil society, one that respects all humans, regardless of ethnicity, class, ideology, profession, religion, race, or sexual orientation. Pedagogy of empathy focuses on skills that students and other citizens need to develop empathy, factors that influence empathetic competence, and approaches to improving empathetic effectiveness. In this article, the author discusses three of the most practical uses of empathy for deepening intercultural relationships among human beings around the world…. [Direct]
(2023). Differentiated Meanings of Education in the Reintegration of Ex-Combatants in Colombia. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, v44 n4 p509-521. With the purpose of ending wars, international organizations and governments promote reintegration projects that seek to transform combatants affiliated with illegal armed groups into citizens through education. The assumption behind these efforts is that through education, ex-combatants will become economically independent, overcome marginalization, experience personal transformations, and integrate into communities. This paper questions this optimistic narrative of education by highlighting the differentiated meanings of education for ex-combatants reintegrating in urban Colombia. Listening to the voices of ex-combatants who have engaged in technical and vocational education programs, this paper compares policy narratives with ex-combatants' narratives regarding the role of education in the reintegration process. The analysis reveals how for ex-combatants, education is a complex social practice that redistributes resources and contributes to positive psychosocial and empowerment… [Direct]
(2022). Global Education as a Cross-Curricular Approach to Language Teaching for Democracy. Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research, v10 n3 p75-96 Oct. Global education is a cross curricular discipline, originating in the 1970s and 1980s, developed for schools by international educators in the United Kingdom, Europe and North America. One definition describes it as "education which promotes the knowledge, attitudes and skills relevant to living responsibly in a multicultural, interdependent world" (Fisher & Hicks, 1985, p. 8). Another definition states that "global education consists of efforts to bring about changes in the content, methods and social context of education in order to better prepare students for citizenship in a global age" (Kniep, 1985, p. 15). This article introduces the field of global education, describes its aims and objectives, and outlines the rationale for taking a global education approach to language teaching. It will describe and discuss a variety of initiatives undertaken by global language educators in classrooms, programs and schools around the world that promote democratic… [PDF]