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Imagining the imperial future: University and reform in the Ottoman Empire
Get PDFConventional histories portray the Ottoman Darülfünun as a belated, derivative transplant of the European university. Drawing on historical contextualism and discourse analysis, this article reads the reform decrees, ministerial speeches, and by-laws that punctuated the school’s stop-start career as argumentative interventions—windows onto the problems late-Ottoman statesmen believed higher learning could solve and the futures they hoped to inhabit. Three intertwined logics surface: moralised expertise (science valid only when yoked to virtue), linguistic standardisation (Ottoman Turkish as the civic idiom of rule), and territorial patriotism (vatan re-imagined as dynastic homeland). Following the first proposal in 1845 to the Hamidian statute of 1900, these logics reveal how higher education shifted from a pragmatic method of crisis management to a durable methodology of governance, displaying an instance of a nationalizing empire. The Darülfünun endured until 1933, when it was recast as Istanbul University, carrying its imperial-national synthesis straight into the republican era. Its longevity shows that both late Ottoman and Kemalist regimes turned to higher learning to fuse technology, faith, and shared belonging into a single, durable strategy of state-building
Unveiling the stories that illuminate our path: The pedagogical significance of autobiographical study and the method of currere
Get PDFIn today’s educational landscape, instrumentalist ideologies embedded in politically entrenched school curricula often overshadow the richness of diverse human experiences, perpetuating colonial shadows within educational experiences. In this paper, through the sharing of our juxtaposed autobiographical stories, we intend to exhibit the pedagogical significance of autobiographical inquiry and the method of currere as empowering individuals to transcend the limitations of an arrested self – a persona moulded by a factory-like schooling system that merely serves instrumental ends. We seek to address the question: How might the process of autobiographical study and the method of currere impact pedagogical praxis attuning it to individual lived experiences? By examining the specificities of each event in an individual\u27s life and reflecting on the interplay between personal experiences and education, teachers and students can better comprehend their world through the lens of their lived experiences. Therefore, this paper underscores the pedagogical importance of autobiographical study and the method of currere encouraging educators to attune with an educational praxis anchored in personal experiences. Furthermore, it introduces the transformative potential of these methods to reimagine the different possibilities of praxis in education
Social media orientation of local and global values in the Saudi Arabian context
No full textThe role of social media in influencing personal norms and values has rarely been examined. This position paper addresses the impact of the flood of global values arising from top-down globalization and Western hegemony on Saudi Arabia’s (SA) locality (i.e., religion, culture, and language). Using a neologism coined for this paper – social media orientation (i.e., how values are oriented and perpetuated via social media) – the issue was anchored within the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) with its focus on technological innovation especially social media platforms. I focused on what can be done to preserve SA’s locality in the face of social media orientation to avoid being swept up in the flood of global values that contradicts Islam’s core value system and SA’s core culture and rich heritage. After profiling SA’s locality (Islamic religion, Hofstede’s cultural profile, and the Arabic language), and Saudi’s social media usage patterns, I shared my opinion on how best to protect the locality. The next generation must become flood resilient, so youth can lessen the risk the flood of global values poses for Saudi citizens and the Saudi religious/cultural/language infrastructure and view the flood as a chance to analyze, clarify, and adjust values. Pushback against a juggernaut empowered by social media orientation is possible if the momentum is reframed as an opportunity to leverage the local to redirect the flood to benefit Saudi’s cultural heritage and economic future
The role of online PD in enhancing Ecuadorian teachers’ knowledge of SEL in K-12 classrooms
Get PDFSocial emotional learning (SEL) has gained prominence in Latin America as a crucial component in holistic student development within increasingly pluralistic societies to support students’ academic performance and well-being. This qualitative case study investigated the role of a three-week online professional development (PD) course in enhancing Ecuadorian K-12 teachers’ understanding of SEL concepts and integration in culturally diverse classrooms. Data was collected from participants’ tasks submitted immediately before starting the course (n=52), at the end of week 2 (n=35), and at the end of the course (n=30). Data were analyzed using thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). The findings reveal significant improvements in teachers’ understanding of SEL over time as teachers’ SEL definitions expand from a basic focus on emotional regulation to a comprehensive view that incorporates social, cognitive, and behavioral aspects and their positive long-term impact on students’ lives. However, four major challenges identified in their SEL implementation related to student behavior and engagement, teacher preparedness to address learners’ needs, and the role of external socio-cultural factors on SEL implementation. This study highlights the need for PD opportunities to effectively embed SEL within intercultural and diverse educational contexts, offering insights for curriculum development and SEL strategies in multicultural educational settings. The study recommends integrating SEL into PD initiatives tailored for diverse contexts to promote inclusive education This research study offers insights into addressing pluralism, student success, and the creation of positive classroom environments in multicultural contexts
Universities as sites of nation-building: Rethinking the role of higher education in post-colonial state formation in India
Get PDFThis paper examines the role of universities in post-colonial nation-building, using India as a case. Moving beyond the conventional view of universities in postcolonial contexts as mere extensions of the developmental state, the paper argues for a decentralized understanding of their role in the process of nation-building. Drawing on the spatial turn in sociology, particularly Jeff Malpas’s conceptualization of place as a bounded yet dynamic opening shaped by intersecting forces, the paper conceptualizes universities as active, contested sites where meanings of nationhood, modernity, and identity are continuously constructed and negotiated. Through an analysis of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA), established in 1962, the paper explores how this institution became a pivotal site for constructing a particular postcolonial vision of Indian modernity during the 1960s. Delving into the complex negotiations and the influence of diverse actors and stakeholders, the study traces how a specific sociotechnical imaginary of management science—blending American models with Indian modernization aspirations—was embedded in IIMA’s curriculum, selection processes, and campus design. By foregrounding universities as co-producers of national imaginaries rather than passive instruments of state policy, this paper underscores the importance of recognizing the agency of universities in nation-building processes
From independence to interdependence: Rethinking educational research
Get PDFEducational research stands at a critical juncture. As we advance deeper into the 21st century, traditional research paradigms that have long guided our understanding of educational phenomena are being challenged by new theoretical perspectives and methodological innovations. The question before us is not merely about adopting new techniques, but about fundamentally reconsidering how we conceptualize the very nature of learning, teaching, and educational effectiveness.
For decades, educational research has been dominated by individualistic approaches that seek to isolate variables and attribute outcomes to the independent actions of students, teachers, or administrators. While this reductionist perspective has yielded valuable insights, it may be limiting our ability to understand the complex, interconnected dynamics that truly drive educational success. We increasingly recognize that educational environments are not collections of isolated actors but dynamic social systems where relationships, interactions, and collective processes play crucial roles.
Recent advances in complexity science, network analysis, and machine learning offer unprecedented opportunities to examine these interconnected dynamics. These methodological innovations allow us to move beyond traditional cause-and-effect models toward more sophisticated understandings of how educational outcomes emerge from the intricate web of relationships within school communities
Ex-colonialism: Toward collaborative change in curriculum studies
Get PDFThis article seeks to bring Australian-settler scholar Simone Bignall’s writing on ex-colonialism (exit-from-colonialism) into conversation with the field of curriculum studies. Specifically, ex-colonialism is discussed in relation to theories of social change in education and other frameworks for thinking about Indigenous and non-Indigenous curricular relations. Ex-colonialism posits a resolute exit from colonialism that doesn’t seek the recognition of the state and demands a complete overhaul of settler-colonial social structures. Coming from an intercultural position that includes a Eurocentric critique of Eurocentrism and mirroring an Indigenous politics of refusal from a settler-theorized position, ex-colonialism offers settlers some agency in enacting radical anti-colonial change. Structurally, the paper unfolds as follows. First, I present ex-colonialism in brief as an intercultural framework for working toward collaborative, anti-colonial change. I then characterize four other, more popular terms in curriculum studies that can be considered representative of larger Indigenous projects of social change: reconciliation, decolonization, Indigenization, and resurgence. Next, I compare each term to the project of social change proposed through ex-colonialism. I then highlight the history of BIPOC replacement in curriculum studies and public education, linking it to the consumptive nature of neoliberal capitalism. In response, I draw on ex-colonialism’s careful attention to the ethics of relation in order, ultimately, to suggest the micropolitical possibility of an otherwise to what has existed and what exists now in public schooling and curriculum
Competency based curriculum in Kenya: Taking stock of implementation process at early years education
Get PDFThis paper argues that the government implemented Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) with the aim of nurturing global learning competencies into learners. However, the quest faced many challenges at the Early Years Education (EYE) level. Such scenario was going to have a negative implication on producing learners with envisaged competencies. The purpose of this study therefore, was to investigate the gaps that existed in the designed curriculum framework and the actual practice during implementation process. The study adopted descriptive survey design method. Purposive sampling and simple random sampling were employed to select participants. Interview schedules, document analysis and structured observations schedules were utilized to collect data. Quantitative data was analyzed by use of frequencies, percentages, means, pie charts and bar graphs while qualitative data was analyzed thematically and reported inform of quotations and narrations. It was established that gaps existed in the stated curriculum framework designed and the actual practice during implementation. The study concluded that teachers’ we’re not sufficiently retooled on pedagogy and assessment, making their understanding on curriculum implementation vague. There was acute shortage of infrastructure especially digital devices and internet connectivity, undermining the attainment of digital literacy competency. Stakeholders were not adequately sensitized on the rationale for the curriculum reforms before roll out making them sceptical, uncertain and doubtful. It recommended retooling of teachers, funding to be backed by a coherent policy which prioritizes the provision of infrastructure, teaching and learning resources and sensitization process to involve all stakeholders working to implement the reform in shared sense-making
Green and/or digital transition in music education? Analysis of European policy papers and competence frameworks
Get PDFThis article critically analyzes the interplay of digitalization and sustainability in European policy papers and competence frameworks, with a focus on implications for music education. Drawing on a comparative document analysis of key frameworks such as DigComp 2.2 and GreenComp, as well as policy documents like the European Green Deal and the Digital Education Action Plan, we uncover a significant gap between high-level ambitions for “twin transitions” and their practical integration in educational contexts. The competence frameworks show minimal links to music and struggle to address contradictions, such as the environmental costs of digital technologies versus their proposed benefits. By exploring sustainable practices like low-tech music-making and ethical AI use, this analysis calls for a curriculum that critically aligns music education with broader sustainability and digitalization goals, positioning it as a transformative force in addressing climate challenges
Thriving after crisis: Mixed-method research of teacher resilience after COVID-19
Get PDFThe aftermath of COVID-19 continues to significantly affect K-12 educators, resulting in heightened workloads and diminished commitment, well-being, and health. School leaders are still grappling with persistent concerns regarding post-pandemic teacher burnout and attrition. To address these challenges, some researchers advocate fostering resilience to help teachers. This paper delves into the post-pandemic resilience of K-12 teachers in Alberta, Canada. Using an explanatory sequential mixed-method research design, Wagnild’s Resilience Survey and Resilience Supporting Questionnaires yielded quantitative data (N=71) for descriptive statistical analysis, followed by in-person semi-structured interviews (N=6), providing qualitative insights into correlated teacher behaviors. For example, resilient teachers regularly use their time and skills to help and encourage others, learn new things, and take their responsibilities seriously. Findings revealed that highly resilient teachers emphasized maintaining balance, engaging meaningfully with others, and taking personal responsibility, suggesting that resilience emerged from coping strategies and purpose-driven behaviors. This study concludes that resilience is a multifaceted process, and fostering it requires coordinated efforts between individual practices and systemic administrative support. The results offer insights and recommendations to guide administrative decisions that strengthen personal and programmatic support, encouraging behavior that fortifies resilience and increases teacher commitment and well-being