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Value-Creating Global Citizenship Education for Sustainable Development Strategies and Approaches
Namrata Sharma
Palgrave Studies in Global Citizenship Education and Democracy Series Editor Jason Laker San José State University San José, CA, USA
This series will engage with the theoretical and practical debates regarding citizenship, human rights education, social inclusion, and individual and group identities as they relate to the role of higher and adult education on an international scale. Books in the series will consider hopeful possibilities for the capacity of higher and adult education to enable citizenship, human rights, democracy and the common good, including emerging research and interesting and effective practices. It will also participate in and stimulate deliberation and debate about the constraints, barriers and sources and forms of resistance to realizing the promise of egalitarian Civil Societies. The series will facilitate continued conversation on policy and politics, curriculum and pedagogy, review and reform, and provide a comparative overview of the different conceptions and approaches to citizenship education and democracy around the world. More information about this series at http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/14625
Namrata Sharma
Value-Creating Global Citizenship Education for Sustainable Development Strategies and Approaches
Namrata Sharma Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Palgrave Studies in Global Citizenship Education and Democracy ISBN 978-3-030-58061-2 ISBN 978-3-030-58062-9 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58062-9 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG, part of Springer Nature 2020 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG. The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
To fellow planetary citizens who uphold and protect the sanctity and dignity of life.
Preface
Any conversation about sustainable futures amid global concerns exacerbated by the pandemic generated by the novel coronavirus must generate hope in the potential for positive change. Efforts to harness the innate positive potential inherent within human life, that is, the ability to create value and meaning, must be central to the aim of education for sustainable development and global citizenship. There is a need to rethink necessary policies and practices across nation-states that can safeguard all life and with a focus on education that develops the human capacity to take bold, collective action to combat global issues. The aim of learning to live together set by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) must foster individuals who can live contributively and in turn educate future generations to engage in sustainable development. In this regard, important contributions are being made through scholarly work on the knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes that are required to live in a global world. The arguments made within this book are contextualized within such existing and emerging scholarship. Value-creating global citizenship education has been proposed as a pedagogical approach through my previous book that engaged with debates centered on global citizenship education. This new work expands the discussions to include education for sustainable development and global citizenship and develops strategies for policy and praxis. The arguments are located within the discourse on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and Global Citizenship Education (GCE) as target 4.7 of SDG 4 on quality education vii
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and lifelong learning within the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). One of the primary agenda of my work has been to draw from the contributions of voices from the margins into the mainstream discourse on education for citizenship through comparative, contextual studies. It is imperative that the practice of ESD and GCE bring into focus alternative ways of thinking, being, acting, and living that have informed various groups of people and led to the development of sustainable communities worldwide. The six themes for the practice of value-creating global citizenship education are used to develop the central arguments of this volume through an engagement with related topics that include climate change, human rights, peace, and dialogue. The discussions also engage with the COVID-19 education crises. The focus within the practice of this approach is to build relationships—between learners and their natural- social-educational environment. Overall, this book advocates the adoption of a normative position in engaging with issues on social justice moving beyond the current emphasis within education on individual empowerment to enhance collective actions within one’s own particularities and with the attempt to create constructive change at individual and social levels. The discussions and strategies for action proposed in this book are aimed at fostering youth as citizens through formal, non-formal, and informal learning. It is aimed at research scholars and practitioners; initial and in-service teachers and teacher educators; teachers and academics who are interested in the discourse and practice of Soka studies in education; the development of programs and curricula within international and comparative education, development education, and global learning, across disciplines in higher education and programs that integrate sustainability issues and social responsibility; policy makers promoting the SDGs; as well as civil society organizations promoting sustainability and global citizenship education. Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Namrata Sharma
Acknowledgments
In these uncertain and challenging times, I am humbled by the generous time and support given for this book by Prof. Tania Ramalho at the State University of New York and Prof. Douglas Bourn at the University College London—Institute of Education. I appreciate the opportunity to work again with the wonderful team at Palgrave Macmillan! My love as well as appreciation for backing this project goes to my dear husband, Nandit. Gratitude to my parents, Nividi, Richa, and Natasha for always believing in me. These difficult times allow for greater moments of reflection to appreciate Mother Earth and fellow planetary citizens. This work commemorates the 50th anniversary of Earth Day; 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi; and 90 years of Makiguchi, Toda, and Ikeda’s efforts to develop education for the happiness of learners. Makiguchi and Toda’s several years of teaching in classrooms and resistance to the indoctrination of their students in a period of ultra-nationalism led to the development and publication of Makiguchi’s pedagogy in 1930 that has significance for many millions of teachers working in authoritarian states who suffer a range of privations, as well as educators in democratic states who are confronted with global challenges, such as narrow nationalism. A previous version of Chap. 3 was first published as Sharma, N. (2020). Integrating Asian perspectives within the UNESCO-led discourse and practice of global citizenship education: Taking Gandhi and Ikeda as examples. In D. Bourn (Ed.), The Bloomsbury handbook of global
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education and learning (pp. 90–102). Bloomsbury Academic, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. Chapter 6 was first published in Sharma, N. (2018). Value-creating global citizenship education: Engaging Gandhi, Makiguchi, and Ikeda as examples (pp. 115–130). Palgrave Macmillan. Reproduction with permission. Modifications have been made to both book chapters to keep consistency with the arguments, language, and format of this book.
Contents
1 Introduction: A Commitment to Sustainable Development Through Intercultural Perspectives 1 Introduction 2 Examining ESD and GCE Through a Values-Based Lens 4 An Intercultural Approach to ESD and GCE for a Global Content 6 Key Concepts, Terms, and Central Arguments 9 Curriculum, Teaching, Learning, and Policy Implications 16 Conclusion and Moving Forward: Fostering Value-Creating Global Citizens 17 References 19 2 Value-Creating Global Citizenship Education: A Pedagogical Approach 25 Introduction 26 Value-Creating Education 26 Global Citizenship Education 31 Curriculum, Teaching, Learning, and Policy Implications 32 Conclusion and Moving Forward: A Value-Creating Approach for Education 34 References 38 3 An Awareness of Climate Change as Planetary Citizens 41 Introduction 42 xi
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The Earth Charter and Planetary Citizenship for Sustainable Development 42 The Need for Linkages and a Value-Creating Approach to ESD and GCE 45 Curriculum, Teaching, Learning, and Policy Implications 48 Conclusion and Moving Forward: Engaging the Human/ Personal Dimension of Learning 51 References 54 4 A Commitment to Reflective, Dialogic, and Transformative Learning 59 Introduction 60 Character, Growth, and Value Creation 62 The Relevance of Dewey and Soka to ESD and GCE 64 A Sense of Interdependence, Common Humanity, and a Global Outlook 66 Curriculum, Teaching, Learning, and Policy Implications 68 Conclusion and Moving Forward: ESD and GCE as a Lifelong Pursuit of a Meaningful Life 70 References 72 5 An Understanding of Peace and Non-violence as Being Central to the Human Rights Agenda 77 Introduction 78 Respect for the Dignity of Life: Guidelines for Action 79 The Relevance of Gandhi and the Soka Progenitors to the Human Rights Agenda 84 Curriculum, Teaching, Learning, and Policy Implications 87 Conclusion and Moving Forward: A Critical Approach to Leaving No One Behind 91 References 93 6 Culminating Lessons, Moving Forward 99 Introduction 100 Lesson Development and Overview 102 Goals 103 Objectives 103 Introduction Lessons 104
CONTENTS
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Lessons on the Thinkers’ Life, Work, and Relevance 105 Lessons on the Thinkers’ Life and Work in the Twentieth Century 107 Lessons Focused on Their Relevance for the Twenty-First Century 111 Contribution of Non-Western Perspectives to Reimagining Education for Citizenship 113 References 115 7 Conclusion: A Belief in the Value-Creating Capacity for Social and Self-Actualization, Uncertainty, and Change119 Threads of Proposals Woven into the Tapestry of This Book 120 Media, Technology, and the Voices of Youth 124 The Teacher as an Important Element of the Educational Environment 126 Conclusion 128 References 131 Conceptual Toolbox135 Select Annotated Bibliography for Further Reading137 Indian and Japanese Glossary149 Index151
About the Author
Namrata Sharma is on the faculty at the State University of New York and is an international education consultant. She is an expert with the United Nations Harmony with Nature Knowledge Network. Her authored books include Value-creating global citizenship education: Engaging Gandhi, Makiguchi, and Ikeda as examples (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018).
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List of Abbreviations, Acronyms, Chronology
ANGEL EFA ESD GENE GCE or GCED GEFI MGIEP OECD PISA PBL SGI SDGs UN UNESCO WSSD
Academic Network on Global Education and Learning Education for All Education for Sustainable Development Global Education Network Europe Global Citizenship Education Global Education First Initiative Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Programme for International Student Assessment Project-Based Learning Soka Gakkai International Sustainable Development Goals United Nations United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Summit on Sustainable Development
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List of Figures
Fig. 1.1 Fig. 2.1 Fig. 2.2 Fig. 2.3 Fig. 5.1 Fig. 6.1
Framework for value-creating global citizenship education (Sharma 2018: 94) 7 A brief introduction to the Soka progenitors (Sharma 2018: 19) 27 The process of value creation in life (Sharma 2018: 108) 33 The process of value creation in education (Sharma 2018: 108) 33 Learning to do based on learning to know and be85 Mind map for a study of Gandhi, Makiguchi, and Ikeda (Sharma 2018: 120) 106
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CHAPTER 1
Introduction: A Commitment to Sustainable Development Through Intercultural Perspectives
Abstract This chapter introduces the main arguments of this book that develops suggestions for the practice of value-creating global citizenship education as a pedagogical approach for sustainable development. One of the six themes proposed for this approach is used as the framework for discussions in this chapter: a commitment to sustainable development through intercultural perspectives. The arguments are situated within the discourse on the UNESCO-led initiatives of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and Global Citizenship Education (GCE), and their interrelated domains of learning—cognitive, socio-emotional, and behavioral. This chapter engages with the cognitive dimension of learning to know and offers strategies to strengthen an intercultural approach to curriculum toward and beyond the 2030 Agenda that can be infused or incorporated within formal, non-formal, and informal education settings. Keywords Education for sustainable development • Global citizenship education • Learning to know • Soka • Sustainable development goals
© The Author(s) 2020 N. Sharma, Value-Creating Global Citizenship Education for Sustainable Development, Palgrave Studies in Global Citizenship Education and Democracy, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58062-9_1
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Introduction Some of the urgent concerns for education in the twenty-first century include climate change, outbreak of a global pandemic, technological explosion, migration, and the politics of narrow nationalism. As a response to some of these issues, in September 2015, 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted at the 70th session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly with active participation by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Of these goals, SDG 4 aims to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” (UN 2015). Target 4.7 of SDG 4 addresses Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and related approaches such as Global Citizenship Education (GCED or GCE) to foster global citizens who can meet the current challenges of our time. The aim of target 4.7 is, “by 2030, ensure all learners acquire knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including among others through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship, and appreciation of cultural diversity and culture’s contribution to sustainable development” (ibid.). The UN has recognized ESD as an integral element of SDG 4 on education and a key enabler of all the other SDGs (UNESCO 2019). Value-creating global citizenship education has been proposed as a pedagogical approach through my previous book (Sharma 2018) that engaged with debates centered on global citizenship education. This new work expands the discussions to include education for sustainable development and global citizenship and develops strategies and approaches for policy and praxis. The arguments are located within the discourse on ESD and GCE. This approach can be used not just for ESD and GCE praxis but also across formal, non-formal, and informal learning, promoting education for citizenship and sustainable development. My long-term studies conducted across India, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States engage with Soka or value-creating education developed by the Japanese educators, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi (1871–1944), Josei Toda (1900–1958), and Daisaku Ikeda (b. 1928). Through a comparative lens, I have examined the confluences in their ideas with other thinkers, including Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi alias Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948). Gandhi is well known as the political leader who galvanized millions of people to be involved in the non-violent
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satyagraha (lit. truth-force) movement for India’s independence from the British regime. He is less known for his educational work, for example, his proposals for Nai Talim (lit. “new education,” also known as the Wardha Scheme of Education). There are several reasons as to why Gandhi’s ideas were largely disregarded after his death, including the differences in political judgments between him and his successor, the first prime minister of independent India, Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) (Sharma 1999: 31–34, 2008: 57–71). Makiguchi, Toda, and Ikeda’s efforts for peace, culture, and education are now starting to be recognized worldwide, for example, through Ikeda’s annual peace proposals that are often directed to various UN-led initiatives. Ikeda is the founder of several institutions that include 15 Soka kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, a women’s college, and universities in seven countries across Asia and the Americas. Makiguchi, Toda, and Ikeda are also the leaders of the lay Buddhist organization, the Soka Gakkai. Members of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI) across 192 countries and territories have provided support to UN-led and local needs- based efforts to build a peaceful and sustainable world. My engagement with the abovementioned thinkers (Sharma 2008, 2018) argues that their ideas and proposals can make a substantial contribution to the discourse on education for citizenship. For example, there are lessons that can be learned from their strategies, behaviors, and beliefs as leaders of one of the largest mass movements in the recent history of their respective nations, who have also had a sustained influence abroad. An examination of their lives also suggests that there are often political implications from acting based on one’s values, such as world peace for the Soka progenitors and non-violence for Gandhi. As discussed previously (ibid.), contradictions and paradoxes often emerge when one takes action in real-world politics, and there are merits in studying about these and other controversial issues within the classroom. In fostering citizens to act based on their values, needs, and perceptions, education for global citizenship can learn lessons from people across Western and non-Western diasporas who have been embroiled in their own socio-political realities. My work contributes to a values-based perspective and approach that is lacking in the present discourse on GCE (see Waghid 2018 for a Southern African values-based discussion of GCE). Further, the arguments of this book are also framed to develop an intercultural approach to curricula for education for sustainable development and global citizenship. This can facilitate what Gaudelli (2009) calls a
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“dialogic bent” within the curriculum so that students encounter multiple worldviews within classroom processes. To help contextualize the proposals being made through this study, the next section provides a brief summary of the emerging discourse in this field.1
Examining ESD and GCE Through a Values-Based Lens Several scholarships in the field of GCE have challenged the Western- dominated agendas and an underlying Western worldview (Andreotti 2006, 2011; Andreotti and de Souza 2012; Bowden 2003; Calhoun 2002; Dill 2013; Gaudelli 2016; Jooste and Heleta 2017; Merryfield 2009; Tarozzi and Torres 2016; Torres 2017). The variety of analyses includes postcolonial critiques, studies on the existing pedagogical assumptions within GCE, the relevance of alternative paradigms for praxis, and the need for multicultural curriculum. The focus of my work has been to contribute to the intercultural dimension of education within formal, non-formal, and informal education. My argument is that curricula must be non-centric across education settings within nation-states that aim to foster global citizens. That is, an endeavor must be made to include the knowledge of not only the dominant groups within national, regional, and global societies, but also the subordinate and minority groups. There must also be an attempt to include the cultures and values of less widely known perspectives in the practice of education. This is necessary for a variety of reasons. For example, as a response to a key issue raised by Jooste and Heleta (2017) who point out that given the border walls and other realities that create inequalities and inequities between peoples and nations, “whose values and norms will guide global citizens?” (ibid.: 44). It is imperative that the discourse and practice of GCE brings into focus alternative ways of thinking, being, acting, and living that have informed various groups of people and led to the development of sustainable communities worldwide. To elucidate, let us take the example of the Kenyan Green Belt Movement pioneered by Wangari Maathai (1940–2011) and inspired by African tradition, such as the mythology surrounding the sycamore fig tree (Webster 2012; also see SGI 2015). Kenyan folklore and the traditional narratives of the Kikuyu people, the largest ethnic group in Kenya, have long revered and worshipped the fig tree as sacred. Maathai advocated the
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importance of the fig tree’s presence on the entire ecosystem and the people who depend on the soil and water to live.2 She encouraged rural women to plant trees to combat the negative effects of soil erosion and forest devastation that were causing them social and economic anxieties. Their initiative was confronted by the dictatorial political regime, and consequently, a nationwide movement to protect the natural environment took place which had constructive impacts in terms of economic growth, defending human rights, and promoting democracy within the nation. The marches led by Maathai in 1970s with protestors holding seedlings to stop deforestation can be compared to the marches led by Gandhi and the satyagrahis (see glossary) for Indian independence, for example, the 1930 Salt March which aimed to gather salt from the ocean in a campaign to boycott the British raj or rule.3 These examples are indicative of the fact that development can be possible through bold, collective efforts directed to meet the needs of the people. Further, the Green Belt and satyagraha movements suggest that people can be motivated to act for positive change based on their personal values and belief systems, such as the importance of the fig tree to Maathai’s family and the Kikuyu people, and the belief in a moral or “causal law” for Gandhi and the satyagrahis that enthused them to take non-violent action for social justice (see Sharma 2018: 29; also see Sharma 2020b). These examples also suggest that a perception of the interdependence of human life and its natural and social environment can act as an enabling condition for environmental and social progress. On a similar note in an article titled, Climate change: a people-centered approach, Ikeda (2019) calls for the recognition that natural disasters forcing people to leave their native land can lead to a loss that is similar to losing one’s “fundamental identity” and “ontological security.” Ikeda reemphasizes the latter concept in his 2020 peace proposal, a concept that was initially proposed by Anthony Giddens in 1991.4 In addressing the issue of climate change and other SDGs, there needs to be a more substantial engagement with the personal dimension of sustainable development. The UN’s 2030 Agenda “seeks to eradicate extreme poverty and strengthen universal peace by integrating and balancing the three dimensions of sustainable development – economic, social and environmental” (UNESCO 2018b: 3). In addition to these dimensions, this book argues for a detailed attention with the human/personal dimension of education.5 This is illustrated by the example of the Green Belt Movement through which, in engaging with the personal dimension (that
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is, the needs, interests, and values of people and communities), it was possible to realize the environmental, social, and economic dimensions of sustainable development (in terms of protecting the natural environment, defending human rights, and promoting economic growth). In the current world scenario, the two global crises—climate change and the COVID-19 global pandemic—are both largely an outcome of humanity’s long-term approach to Nature6 and the underlying desire for conquest and progress. This book argues that while teaching about issues, such as climate change as an anthropogenic phenomenon, the focus within education must be to re-engage in questions related to the relation between human beings, society, and Nature. It also might not be a sweeping generalization to state that due to factors ranging from the dictates of war and conflict, to the worldwide influence of neoliberal capitalism, humanity is being forced to move away from various cultural traditions and the constructive effects these have had on peoples’ lives and communities through successive generations. In considering the relevance of these discussions to the task of education, the questions worth considering are “how and where do we fit in less widely known perspectives within the discourse and practice of ESD and GCE?” and “how can ESD and GCE facilitate creative solutions to global issues through an exposure to diverse perspectives?”
An Intercultural Approach to ESD and GCE for a Global Content Value-creating global citizenship education has been developed from my work primarily based on an exposition of less widely known perspectives. It is a pedagogical approach that aims to foster global citizens who can lead contributive lives and take collective action for local and global issues that challenge the world. This approach has been developed by taking Soka (lit. value creation) as a focal point of inquiry, and through a comparative-contextual analysis of the respective ideas and movements of the Soka progenitors and Mahatma Gandhi. It has six themes for praxis (Fig. 1.1). These themes were developed in the theoretical and conceptual chapters of my above-cited work and brought together in the praxis chapters with the addition of climate change. Each of these themes is developed in response to the present discourse and practice of education for a global content that can be infused or incorporated within formal,
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A Sense of Interdependence, Common Humanity, and a Global Outlook An Understanding of Peace and NonViolence as being Central to the Human Rights Agenda
An Awareness of Climate Change as Planetary Citizens
Value-Creating Global Citizenship Education
A Belief in the ValueCreating Capacity for Social and SelfActualization, Uncertainty and Change
A Commitment to Reflective, Dialogic, and Transformative Learning A Commitment to Sustainable Development through Intercultural Perspectives
Fig. 1.1 Framework for value-creating global citizenship education (Sharma 2018: 94)
non-formal, and informal education settings. These themes can be integrated according to age-specific and student-specific requirements. These themes developed from my previous work are used as a framework for the discussions in this new volume. Their aim is to promote the necessary knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes to enable learners to develop:
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• a sense of interdependence, common humanity, and a global outlook; • an awareness of climate change as planetary citizens; • a commitment to reflective, dialogic, and transformative learning; • a commitment to sustainable development through intercultural perspectives; • a belief in the value-creating capacity for social and self-actualization, uncertainty, and change7; and • an understanding of peace and non-violence as being central to the human rights agenda. Value-creating global citizenship education offers perspectives based on an integrated view of life. Each theme for the practice of value-creating global citizenship education helps to develop, what Ikeda calls, the “living wisdom” that can be learned from various cultural traditions that appreciate the unity and connectedness of life, such as the Desana people of the Amazon and the Iroquois people of North America (Ikeda 2002). Ikeda proposes as an essential element of a global citizen “the wisdom to perceive the interconnectedness of all life and living” (Ikeda 2008: 444). These alternative ways of thinking about human and all life can have important consequences for the aims and methods of education as explored through the subsequent chapters of this book. Each theme for the practice of value-creating global citizenship education challenges epistemic assumptions for the practice of GCE that is currently often based on a neoliberal paradigm. One of the distinctions that can be drawn between the neoliberal paradigm and a more holistic approach to education is the shift in focus from individual empowerment to building relationships through the process of education for sustainable development and global citizenship. The focus within each of these six themes is to build relationships between the learner and her/his natural and social environment. Scholarly work suggests that the current practice of GCE can easily get trapped in promoting individualism (see Dill 2013). In this context, a value-creating paradigm can foster individuals who can lead contributive lives and take collective action as global citizens. This is the first contribution my work hopes to make to the discourse. Second, in offering alternative perspectives within teaching and learning through a study of less widely known perspectives, these themes are a response to the call to integrate an intercultural and dialogic approach to the curriculum for ESD and GCE (Bourn 2014; Gaudelli 2009; Gundara
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2003; Kumar 2008; Merryfield and Subedi 2006; Scheunpflug 2011; Tarozzi and Torres 2016). Third, echoing the argument made by scholars who challenge the often unaccompanied assumptions underlying the values, ideals, and narratives of GCE (Bamber 2019; Dill 2013; Hatley 2019; Jooste and Heleta 2017), my work proceeds to engage in a discussion on enabling the learner to navigate through the socio-political and educational realities of global citizenship based on one’s personal values. In this regard, it is argued that one of the merits in studying the lives of thinkers who were embroiled in challenging the dominant ideologies in their own respective communities and nation-states can enhance political education. In engaging with the above three goals, the disposition and agenda of value-creating global citizenship education for sustainable development is to promote criticality for social justice, and value creation for social and self-actualization, uncertainty, and change. The discussions within this book carry forward and develop these agendas, while also drawing on more recent literature that are critical reviews of the potential of the SDGs in meeting the important goals of equality, participation, and accountability (Agbedahin 2019; Swain 2018; Winkler and Williams 2017, 2018). Further, this book engages with the element of uncertainty and change generated through two planetary crises that are witnessing a global response. The first is the issue of climate change, declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the “greatest threat to global health in the 21st century” (WHO 2015). Youth-led global protests across the world have championed this cause especially since 2019. The second, which has had a fast-moving sweeping effect on human life, is the COVID-19 emergency, declared a pandemic by WHO in March 2020. This book considers the impact of such global changes on curriculum, policy, and praxis. The next section outlines the conceptual arguments, strategies, and approaches of this volume and adds to the discourse and practice of value-creating global citizenship education for sustainable development aimed at developing the learner’s ability for critical engagement in society.
Key Concepts, Terms, and Central Arguments The title of this book includes the term “sustainable development.” The 1987 Brundtland Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development, also known as the Earth Summit, defines sustainable
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development as, “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (UN 1987: 41). This has been the most widely used definition of the term although, as Agbedahin points out through research based on other scholarly work, “despite the inherent opportunities it proffers, there are implicit and explicit tensions and contradictions in sustainable development and the recent associated SDGs” (Agbedahin 2019: 3).8 The author goes on to explore the understanding of sustainable development in terms of “green (economic) growth, human development, and agency” and suggests that it is necessary to locate the framework for sustainable development as “simply providing more education and ESD is not the only answer for creating a sustainable society, because global consumption patterns show that the most educated societies leave the deepest ecological footprints” (ibid.: 3). Another recent study by Sant et al. (2018: 153–165) analyzes the history and debates on sustainability and ESD, the need to go beyond the association of ESD with environmental education, the importance of linking ESD to GCE, as well as “the critique of sustainable development and ESD that has come from a variety of indigenous perspectives through a concern about the Western-centric perspective at the root of the very notion of sustainable development” (ibid.: 159). In this book, using value-creating approach as a lens, the successive chapters engage with sustainable development based on the perspective of the interdependence of all life, from a non-anthropocentric and an Earth jurisprudence or Earth-centered perspective,9 such as outlined in the principles of the Earth Charter,10 and with a focus on harnessing the human/ personal dimension of sustainable development. By taking the worldwide phenomena of Soka studies in education as a focal point of inquiry, this work develops the practice of value-creating global citizenship education as an educational resource for achieving target 4.7 of the Education 2030 Agenda of ESD and GCE, and beyond. Terms and acronyms such as ESD and GCE within this book are used strategically in relation to the arguments and suggestions being made, for example, in contextualizing proposals within the debates on GCE or in situating the contributions of this work within the wider discussions on ESD as a key enabler of all the SDGs. Overall, as mentioned earlier, the focus of this work is to develop strategies and approaches for the use of value-creating global citizenship education as a pedagogical approach for ESD, GCE, and broader themes that have a bearing on areas such as education for planetary citizenship, transformative learning, peace, and human rights education.
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The main argument of my work is that a shift in paradigm and perspectives can have a significant bearing on the interdependent domains of learning within the three conceptual dimensions of education (UNESCO 2015: 14–15, 2017: 11)—the cognitive, socio-emotional, and behavioral. These correspond to the four pillars of learning described in the Delors Report (1996; see also UNESCO-IBE 2003), Learning: The treasure within, that are learning to know, to do, to be, and to live together. (See Chap. 3 of this book for further details.) Among the various global issues and UNESCO-led initiatives, the successive chapters focus in particular on the issues of climate change, peace and non-violence, and the need to integrate dialogic modes of thinking within the discourse and practice of education. These topics are used to offer practice-based suggestions for the Education 2030 Agenda and Framework for Action and beyond (UNESCO 2016). In reference to the issues underlined in the argument above, this volume engages with the six global themes developed in my previous book that can be used in discussions within educational policy and praxis. Each chapter engages with one or two themes (except Chap. 2, which introduces the framework for value-creating global citizenship education). While striving to maintain clarity, coherence, and consistency in the main arguments developed through the entire book (as also elucidated in the previous section of this chapter), the content and flow of each chapter in this volume is self-sufficient in the contribution it makes to the discourse on education for citizenship relevant to the particular theme it addresses, such as human rights, peace and non-violence, or climate change. Each chapter discusses its contribution to the overall arguments of this work, as well as the implications for curriculum, teaching, learning, policy-making, and suggestions for future research relevant to the topics discussed in that chapter. Individual chapters also list the full form of acronyms when these are first mentioned, although they might have appeared in previous chapters. In this chapter, one of the six themes for the practice of value-creating global citizenship education has been used to frame the overarching contributions of this book, that is, the theme that promotes a commitment to sustainable development through intercultural perspectives. This chapter contributes to the goal of learning to know. It emphasizes the importance of paying attention to different philosophical understandings, critical, and values-based perspectives that can challenge the structural inequalities and inequities that act as barriers to creating a sustainable world, as well as
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bring forth diverse and creative solutions to global issues, such as environmental degradation and climate change. The dominance of English as the lingua franca in developing and promoting education worldwide makes it particularly important that curricular themes and practices can allow learning from other views, for example, as developed within other languages and non-Western contexts. There is a need to critically revisit studies that challenge neoliberal approaches and integrate alternative paradigms and perspectives for the practice of ESD and GCE. For example, studies on Ubuntu, Buen Vivir, and Soka as diverse forms of knowledge have emerged from sub-Saharan Africa, South America, and Japan, respectively (see Pieniazek 2020; Sharma 2020a; Surian 2018; Swanson 2007, 2015; Van Norren 2017). Although some references to such diverse concepts appear in recent UNESCO documents (see UNESCO 2018a), a more concerted effort is required. At a basic level, the inclusion of varied knowledge systems that are similar to but also distinct from each other can be selected from different regional diasporas to strengthen the efforts to integrate an intercultural approach to the curriculum. Chapter 2 introduces value-creating education developed by the Soka progenitors; considers the ontological contributions made through a study of Asian perspectives, including Gandhi’s ideas; and advances the discussion on value-creating global citizenship education as a pedagogical approach. My contributions to the GCE discourse and praxis are based on a study of selected Asian perspectives that offer home-spun educational ideas and cultural perspectives. Ho’s (2018) study on the conceptions of GCE in East and Southeast Asia suggests that there are varied responses to globalization, discourses on global citizenship, and the impact on global citizenship education curriculum across nation-states in Asia. Further, within centers and institutes in Asia that share the common agenda to facilitate ESD- and GCE-related initiatives, there are also different aims and approaches, for example, for UNESCO Bangkok in Thailand, “celebrating diversity” is a key focus to promote GCE in the Asia-Pacific region.11 Other organizations include UNESCO Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding (APCEIU) in Seoul, South Korea; and the UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP) in New Delhi, India, that also have different approaches and functions.12 Overall, many of the GCE policy initiatives and programs from Asia include diverse perspectives, but no specific studies have been found that focused on developing detailed
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proposals for ESD and GCE from local cultural perspectives except for some studies that include Van Norren’s (2017) doctoral thesis that engages with the impact of traditional values on national policies, and the reconstruction of law and economy leading to SDG recommendations in Bhutan. Common to my chosen Asian thinkers is the normative aspect of their ideas developed within their geographical locales and cultural understandings, for example, their reliance on “truth” as the law of the universe and their perception of the interdependence of human life. This has relevance for education for citizenship. For example, Makiguchi’s theory of education, known as the value-creating theory, and Gandhi’s political philosophy at the individual level aimed to make citizens more socially responsible. Importantly, as also discussed in this book, these thinkers’ perspectives, although situated in Asian contexts, are also rooted in an existential dialogue with other regions of the world and have broader implications to integrate dialogue and dialogic processes within learning and teaching for ESD and GCE. Chapter 3 engages with the anthropogenic issue of climate change and the rights of Nature from a non-anthropocentric and an Earth jurisprudence perspective. This chapter is a modified version of a recent publication (Sharma 2020a) that is focused on the theme of raising an awareness of climate change as planetary citizens through the practice of value- creating global citizenship education. It also argues the need to develop linkages between the discourse on ESD and GCE, using the topic of climate change as an example. Chapter 4 of this volume discusses issues related to the goal of learning to be. It continues with the discussion on lessons from selected Asian perspectives and argues its relevance to develop the value-creating global citizenship education themes that enhance a sense of interdependence and common humanity; and dialogic, reflective, and transformative learning experiences within education for citizenship. This chapter offers a brief comparative study of the core common educational thoughts of the Soka progenitors and the American educator, John Dewey (1859–1952), and locates the implications of studies on Dewey and Soka for praxis. For example, there is an increased interest in the use for experiential learning within the current practice of ESD and GCE, such as place-based learning and project-based learning (PBL), video games, and role play as methods to enthuse students to act on the SDG targets. In bringing together deeper ontological and philosophical conversations into the use of experiential learning methods for ESD and GCE, this chapter argues for a more
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substantive analysis of the use of experiential learning methods and a rigorous examination of the contribution that these methods can make to enhance critical understandings within learning for social and self-actualization.13 Chapter 5 explores the aspect of learning to do and the complexities of acting based on one’s personal values. It moves forward the discussions from the previous chapter on education for active citizenship, drawing on lessons from scholarly work on Gandhi and Ikeda to help expand the current focus within education for sustainable development and global citizenship from individual empowerment to enable bold collective efforts (see Ikeda 2018). This chapter argues that central to the inquiry on possible alternative perspectives in achieving the SDGs must include different ways in which we might approach issues of social justice. As mentioned earlier, given the heavy dominance of neoliberal capitalism worldwide and its impact across various national educational policies, the efforts and plans to tackle the SDGs are largely oriented to empower the individual human being. This chapter makes suggestions to foster contributive citizens, for example, through a critical engagement with studies on the patterns of living of people and communities across Western/non-Western diasporas that are based on peace and non-violence. Further, this chapter engages with the value-creating global citizenship education theme that promotes an understanding of peace and non- violence as being central to the human rights agenda. It suggests that central to the human rights agenda must be the effort to combat violence in all forms—physical, emotional, cultural, social—as well as the political determinism played out by proponents of narrow nationalism that excludes key stakeholders from decision-making processes at local-national-global levels. The discussions on a human rights approach in this chapter includes a gender perspective, that is, the perspective of gender equality for all groups, especially women and the LGBTQ+ community. This chapter brings together the contributions of this book that are focused on developing the rights of the learner and to facilitate the task of integrating dialogue and dialogic processes within ESD and GCE. Chapter 6 has been reused from my previous book with modifications. It develops lessons and approaches for learning to live together based on a study of Gandhi, Makiguchi, and Ikeda’s beliefs, modes of thinking, behaviors, and strategies for action. The lessons outlined are not formal lesson plans. Readings and resources suggested are mostly available online with free access and can be used to facilitate hybrid and fully online courses.
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Whereas all other chapters of this book contribute to a wider readership through discussions centered on themes proposed for the practice of value-creating global citizenship education, the suggestions in this chapter are for teachers and curriculum developers. The proposals made in this chapter can be used to integrate non-Western perspectives to develop a global outlook within teacher education programs; for the professional development of in-service teachers; within undergraduate (bachelor’s) and graduate (master’s) programs on international and comparative education, development education and global learning, future programs on Soka or value-creating education; and within civil society organizations promoting global citizenship education. Chapter 7 deliberations draw inspiration for learning to live together from the examples of students, teachers, schools, and communities who are facing the impact of global issues, such as the present refugee crises, narrow nationalism, climate change, and the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic. It discusses the value-creating global citizenship education theme that can enhance a belief in the value-creating capacity for social and self-actualization. Using Ikeda’s words, value creation can be described as “the capacity to find meaning, to enhance one’s own existence and contribute to the well-being of others, under any circumstances” (Ikeda 2008: 443). It urges that a belief in the human capacity and resilience to transform challenges and create value needs to be central to the accomplishment of the SDGs. This chapter also engages with the increased sense of uncertainty and change due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 education crises, engaging with issues related to the greater move toward online teaching and the need for more research that enables students to distinguish real news from fake news. It also suggests that within teaching and learning across different subjects, a common theme must be to question humanity’s long-term approach to Nature. Suggestions in this chapter also include the need for structural and policy changes at local-national-global levels to substantially engage the voices of youth and women as reflected through the forums and social media platforms, such as #strikeforclimatechange and #MeToo movement; the need to promote intergenerational dialogues through the use of online and other learning platforms; prepare communities for collective action; and the role that education must play to propel citizens to act based on their personal values to create a more global and sustainable world. At the end of the book, the readers can find a conceptual toolbox that lists ten key concepts for the practice of this approach, and an annotated
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bibliography with references for praxis that are selected based on the arguments and perspectives developed for a value-creating approach. Rather than offer suggestions for a didactic practice or a separate curriculum (as example, the development of a World Course by Reimers et al. 2016), the materials selected are aimed to deepen a critical and reflective engagement with global issues through theme-based practice that challenges epistemic assumptions, allows for the integration of diverse perspectives, and can be applied according to the needs, culture, values, and other particularities of the students, teachers, educational institutions, and learning communities. The annotated bibliography also refers to key educational proposals by Ikeda that are offered as a starting point to use a value-creating approach as a lens to examine the discussions and documents related to ESD and GCE. Reference is also made to recent scholarly work that integrates diverse perspectives for sustainable development. Finally, key UNESCO documents and scholarly work that offer an early critical review of the SDGs are listed here.
Curriculum, Teaching, Learning, and Policy Implications Questions central to the practice of value-creating global citizenship education from the arguments developed in this chapter include exploring the following: • Is there an inclusion of diverse knowledge systems in curriculum, teaching, and learning? • Are teachers and students able to encounter multiple perspectives of viewing self, society, and Nature? (Examples include Ubuntu, Buen Vivir, and Soka.) • Is there a selection being offered for curriculum developers from worldwide examples of sustainable development to integrate an intercultural approach to the curriculum? As a start, curriculum across diverse subject contents can integrate lessons from the historical examples of environmental change made possible by people and communities acting based on values that emerge from indigenous cultures. For older students in K-12 and in higher education, examples from history, such as the Kenyan Green Belt Movement cited earlier,
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can be used for a critical study of how different ontological understandings have a bearing on people, communities, and movements, as well as the eradication of local cultures, knowledge, and values through colonialism. For younger students, learning can include stories from less widely known perspectives (as compared to the more popular ones worldwide, such as Aesop’s Fables), for example, the Jataka Tales and Panchatantra from the Indian subcontinent (Chandiramani 1991), stories authored by Ikeda,14 as well as stories and narratives from across different geographical regions and indigenous traditions that represent different ways of thinking about the self and others, Nature, and the universe.15 At a policy level, integrating a more global dimension to learning can include a study of not only the educational philosophies of well-known Western educators, such as Dewey, but also educators from different geographical regions. For example, university and national directives can deliberate a more substantial use of the educational ideas of Indian educators, such as Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895–1986), and Japanese educators, such as Makiguchi, with relevance for a practicum-based study for teacher education. Further, as Ramalho (2020) suggests, the legacy of critical thinkers like Paulo Freire (1921–1997) can address some of the challenges of education for global citizenship through their educational, political, and philosophical contributions.
Conclusion and Moving Forward: Fostering Value-Creating Global Citizens Value-creating global citizenship education theme central to the arguments of this chapter is the need to build a commitment to sustainable development through intercultural perspectives.16 This theme contributes to the cognitive dimension of learning to know, which is described by UNESCO as the “knowledge and thinking skills necessary to better understand the world and its complexities” (in UNESCO 2015: 22 for GCE and in UNESCO 2017: 11 for ESD). Through a discussion of knowledge systems that are based on the wisdom to perceive the interdependence between human beings and their natural/social environment, this chapter suggests that for a more global learning, curriculum across different subjects must attempt to integrate a critical engagement with diverse perspectives about self, society, Nature, and the universe from a
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selection of worldviews such as Ubuntu, Buen Vivir, and Soka, as suggested above. As also argued earlier (Sharma 2018: 48–52), alternative perspectives need to be integrated into the curriculum for a multidimensional focus that can strengthen the UNESCO guidelines on topics and learning objectives for ESD and GCE (UNESCO 2015, 2017, 2018a) and other related resources, such as the Training tools for curriculum development by the International Bureau of Education which is a UNESCO Institute (IBE-UNESCO 2018). Chapter 2 introduces value-creating global citizenship education as a pedagogical approach developed from a study of less widely known perspectives that can enhance learning across diverse educational settings.
Notes 1. For a more substantial engagement and context laying, see Sharma (2018), chapter 3. 2. https://www.greenbeltmovement.org/node/374 3. Listen to the podcast featuring Maathai: https://blog.onbeing.org/ post/3553431659/relearning-what-our-elders-had-once-taught-us-by, and for a brief introduction to the Salt March led by Gandhi, see: https:// www.britannica.com/event/Salt-March 4. As Ikeda states in his 2020 annual peace proposal, “The concept of ontological security was proposed by Anthony Giddens in 1991. It refers to an individual’s sense of order, security and continuity within a rapidly changing environment…On a societal level, migration from environments degraded by climate change breaks the continuity of the bond between people and their land, and compromises the material, social and cultural aspects of security” (Ikeda 2020: 2). 5. It has been suggested through scholarly work and review of the SDGs that the three pillars of sustainable development that places an emphasis on planet, prosperity, and people (environmental, economic, and social) need to also build peace and partnership through the interrelated system and interactions of society, economy, and environment (see Agbedahin 2019: 2). 6. As a member expert with the UN forum Harmony with Nature Knowledge Network, I advocate an Earth-centered worldview of Mother Nature, also called Earth jurisprudence. The Network seeks to advance the implementation of the SDGs, including SDG 12, “Ensure Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns,” target 12.8 which states, “By 2030, ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in Harmony with Nature.” See http://
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www.harmonywithnatureun.org/welcome/ and http://files.harmonywithnatureun.org/uploads/upload827.pdf 7. The words “sense of uncertainty and change” are added to this theme from my previous book (Sharma 2018) to reflect the impact and growing concerns about global and planetary issues that include the climate change and COVID-19 education crises. 8. For a succinct analysis of the interconnection between education, sustainable development, ESD, and the SDGs see Agbedahin (2019). 9. http://www.harmonywithnatureun.org/rightsOfNature/ 10. The Earth Charter, as the name indicates, is an ethical and values-based framework with 16 ethical principles for building a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society in the twenty-first century. See https://earthcharter.org/read-the-earth-charter/ 11. https://bangkok.unesco.org/content/global-citizenship-education-asiapacific-diverse-interpretations-dynamic-region 12. For example, the broader aim of UNESCO APCEIU is to develop Education for International Understanding (EIU) currently regarded as GCE (http://www.un-rok.org/about-un/offices/unesco-apceiu/). The vision for UNESCO MGIEP is to transform education by building social and emotional learning, innovate digital pedagogies, and empower youth (https://mgiep.unesco.org/vision) 13. Jim Garrison uses the term “social self-actualization” to suggest that “for Dewey, we simply cannot develop and realize our potential as individuals without a community in which we conduct our interactions (or as Dewey would phrase it, our transactions)” (Bogen 2009; see also Garrison et al. 2016: 195). 14. YouTube videos on “Daisaku Ikeda’s Children’s Stories”: https://www. daisakuikeda.org/sub/audio-visual/videos/ 15. UNESCO APCEIU link to folktales: http://asianfolktales.unescoapceiu. org/sub1.htm 16. See Sharma (2018), Chapter 3 for theoretical arguments, and pages 100–103 for suggestions for praxis.
References Agbedahin, A. V. (2019). Sustainable development, education for sustainable development, and the 2030 agenda for sustainable development: Emergence, efficacy, eminence, and future. Sustainable Development, 27(4), 669–680. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.1931. Andreotti, V. (2006). Soft versus critical global citizenship education. Development Education: Policy and Practice, 3(Autumn), 83–98.
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Andreotti, V. (2011). Actionable postcolonial theory in education. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Andreotti, V., & de Souza, L. (Eds.). (2012). Postcolonial perspectives on global citizenship education. New York: Routledge. Bamber, P. (Ed.). (2019). Teacher education for sustainable development and global citizenship. New York: Routledge. Bogen, M. (2009). John Dewey, Daisaku Ikeda, & the quest for a new humanism. Ikeda Center. https://www.ikedacenter.org/thinkers-themes/themes/humanism/dewey-ikeda-quest-09 Bourn, D. (2014). The theory and practice of global learning (Research paper no. 11 for the global learning programme). London: Development Education Research Center, Institute of Education, Global Learning Programme. Bowden, B. (2003). The perils of global citizenship. Citizenship Studies, 7, 349–362. https://doi.org/10.1080/1362102032000098913. Calhoun, C. (2002). The class consciousness of frequent travelers: Toward a critique of actually existing cosmopolitanism. The South Atlantic Quarterly, 101, 869–897. https://doi.org/10.1215/00382876-101-4-869. Chandiramani, G. L. (1991). Panchatantra. New Delhi: Rupa Publications. Delors, J., et al. (1996). Learning: The treasure within. Paris: UNESCO. Dill, J. S. (2013). The longings and limits of global citizenship education: The modern pedagogy of schooling in a cosmopolitan age. New York: Routledge. Garrison, J., Neubert, S., & Reich, K. (2016). Democracy and education reconsidered: Dewey after one hundred years. New York: Routledge. Gaudelli, W. (2009). Heuristics of global citizenship discourses towards curriculum enhancement. Journal of Curriculum Theorizing, 25(1), 68–85. Gaudelli, W. (2016). Global citizenship education: Everyday transcendence. New York: Routledge. Gundara, J. S. (2003). Intercultural education: World on the brink? (Professorial lecture). London: Institute of Education, University of London. Hatley, J. (2019). Universal values as a barrier to the effectiveness of global citizenship education: A multimodal critical discourse analysis. International Journal of Development Education and Global Learning, 11(1), 87–102. https://doi.org/10.18546/IJDEGL.11.1.06. Ho, L. (2018). Conceptions of global citizenship education in East in Southeast Asia. In I. Davies, L. Ho, D. Kiwan, C. L. Peck, A. Peterson, E. Sant, & Y. Waghid (Eds.), The Palgrave handbook of global citizenship and education (pp. 83–95). London: Palgrave Macmillan. IBE-UNESCO. (2018). Training tools for curriculum development: A resource pack for global citizenship education (GCED). Geneva: IBE-UNESCO. Ikeda, D. (2002). The challenge of global empowerment: Education for a sustainable future. Soka Gakkai International. http://www.sgi.org/about-us/presidentikedas-proposals/environmental-proposal-2002.html
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Ikeda, D. (2008). Thoughts on education for global citizenship. In My dear friends in America: Collected U.S. addresses 1990–1996 (2nd ed., pp. 441–451). Santa Monica: World Tribune Press. Ikeda, D. (2018). Toward an era of human rights: Building a people’s movement. Soka Gakkai International. https://www.sgi.org/about-us/presidentikedas-proposals/peace-proposal-2018/index.html Ikeda, D. (2019, September 19). Climate change: A people-centered approach. IDN-InDepthNews. https://www.indepthnews.net/index.php/opinion/2985climate-change-a-people-centered-approach Ikeda, D. (2020, January 26). Towards our shared future: Constructing an era of human solidarity. 2020 peace proposal. https://www.daisakuikeda.org/sub/ resources/works/props/2020-peace-proposal.html Jooste, N., & Heleta, S. (2017). Global citizenship versus globally competent graduates: A critical view from the south. Journal of Studies in International Education, 21(1), 39–51. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315316637341. Kumar, A. (2008). Development education and dialogic learning in the 21st century. International Journal of Development Education and Global Learning, 1(1), 37–48. https://doi.org/10.18546/IJDEGL.01.1.04. Merryfield, M. M. (2009). Moving the center of global education: From imperial worldviews that divide the world to double consciousness, contrapuntal pedagogy, hybridity, and cross-cultural competence. In T. F. Kirkwood-Tucker (Ed.), Visions in global education (pp. 215–239). New York: Peter Lang. Merryfield, M. M., & Subedi, B. (2006). Decolonizing the mind for world- centered global education. In E. W. Ross (Ed.), Contemporary perspectives on the social studies curriculum (3rd ed., pp. 283–294). Albany: State University of New York Press. Pieniazek, M. A. (2020). Ubuntu: Constructing spaces of dialogue in the theory and practice of global education. In D. Bourn (Ed.), The Bloomsbury handbook of global education and learning (pp. 76–89). London: Bloomsbury Academic. Ramalho, T. (2020). Paulo Freire: Accidental global citizen, global educator. In D. Bourn (Ed.), The Bloomsbury handbook of global education and learning (pp. 52–59). London: Bloomsbury Academic. Reimers, F. M., Chopra, V., Chung, C. K., Higdon, J., & O’Donnell, E. B. (2016). Empowering global citizens: A world course. South Caroline: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. Sant, E., Davies, I., Pashby, K., & Shultz, L. (2018). Global citizenship education: A critical introduction to key concepts and debates. London: Bloomsbury Academic. Scheunpflug, A. (2011). Global education and cross-cultural learning: A challenge for a research based approach to international teacher education. International Journal of Development Education and Global Learning, 3(3), 29–44.
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SGI (Soka Gakkai International). (2015). A quiet revolution: The Earth Charter and human potential. https://www.sgi.org/resources/ngo-resources/education-for-sustainable-development/video/a-quiet-revolution.html Sharma, N. (1999). Value creators in education: Japanese educator Tsunesaburo Makiguchi & Mahatma Gandhi and their relevance for Indian education (2nd ed.). New Delhi: Regency Publications. Sharma, N. (2008). Makiguchi and Gandhi: Their educational relevance for the 21st century. Lanham: University Press of America, Rowman & Littlefield. Sharma, N. (2018). Value-creating global citizenship education: Engaging Gandhi, Makiguchi, and Ikeda as examples. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. Sharma, N. (2020a). Integrating Asian perspectives within the UNESCO-led discourse and practice of global citizenship education: Taking Gandhi and Ikeda as examples. In D. Bourn (Ed.), The Bloomsbury handbook of global education and learning (pp. 90–102). London: Bloomsbury Academic. Sharma, N. (2020b). Value-creating perspectives and an intercultural approach to curriculum for global citizenship. Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Education, 9(1), 26–40. https://doi.org/10.32674/jise.v9i1.1692 Surian, A. (2018). Mapping global education discourses: A selected literature review. In D. T. Dolejšiová (Ed.), Innovation, values and policies in global education (pp. 24–38). Dublin: Global Education Network Europe (GENE). Swain, R. B. (2018). A critical analysis of the sustainable development goals. In W. L. Filho (Ed.), Handbook of sustainability science and research (World sustainability series) (pp. 341–355). Cham: Springer. Swanson, D. M. (2007). Ubuntu: An African contribution to (re)search for/with a “humble togetherness” [University of Alberta, Special Edition on African Worldviews]. The Journal of Contemporary Issues in Education, 2(2), 53–67. http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/JCIE/issue/view/56 Swanson, D. M. (2015). Ubuntu, indigeneity, and an ethic for decolonizing global citizenship. In A. Abdi, L. Shultz, & T. Pillay (Eds.), Decolonizing global citizenship education (pp. 27–38). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. Tarozzi, M., & Torres, C. A. (2016). Global citizenship education and the crises of multiculturalism: Comparative perspectives. London: Bloomsbury Academic. Torres, C. A. (2017). Theoretical and empirical foundations of critical global citizenship education. New York: Routledge. UN. (1987). Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our common future. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/ documents/5987our-common-future.pdf UN. (2015). 2030 agenda for sustainable development and its 17 sustainable development goals. www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment UNESCO. (2015). Global citizenship education: Topics and learning objectives. Paris: UNESCO.
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UNESCO. (2016). Education 2030: Incheon declaration and framework for action for the implementation of sustainable development goal 4. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2017). Education for sustainable development goals: Learning objectives. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2018a). Global citizenship education: Taking it local. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2018b). Preparing teachers for global citizenship education: A template. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2019). Executive Board 206th session, Paris 20th February 2019, SD4 – Education 2030, Part II, Education for sustainable development beyond 2019. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000366797 UNESCO-IBE. (2003). Learning to live together: Have we failed? A summary of the ideas and contributions arising from the forty-sixth session of UNESCO’s international conference on education, Geneva, 5–8 September 2001. Geneva: UNESCO-IBE. Van Norren, D. (2017). Development as service: A happiness, ubuntu and buen vivir interdisciplinary view of the sustainable development goals [Doctoral dissertation, Tilburg University]. Prisma Print. https://research.tilburguniversity. edu/en/publications/development-as-service-a-happiness-ubuntu-and-buenvivir-interdis Waghid, Y. (2018). Global citizenship education: A Southern African perspective. In I. Davies, L. Ho, D. Kiwan, C. L. Peck, A. Peterson, E. Sant, & Y. Waghid (Eds.), The Palgrave handbook of global citizenship and education (pp. 97–109). London: Palgrave Macmillan. Webster, T. (2012, August 16). Queen of Africa’s trees: The sacred fig tree. Samantha Wilde, GBM. https://www.greenbeltmovement.org/node/374 WHO. (2015). Climate change and human health. https://www.who.int/globalchange/global-campaign/cop21/en/ Winkler, I. T., & Williams, C. (2017). The sustainable development goals and human rights: A critical early review. The International Journal of Human Rights, 21(8), 1023–1028. https://doi.org/10.1080/13642987.2017.1348695. Winkler, I. T., & Williams, C. (Eds.). (2018). The sustainable development goals and human rights: A critical early review. New York: Routledge.
CHAPTER 2
Value-Creating Global Citizenship Education: A Pedagogical Approach
Abstract This chapter expands the discussions on value-creating global citizenship education as a pedagogical approach which has been developed by taking the growing, worldwide phenomena of Soka studies in education as a focal point of inquiry. The chapter introduces Soka or value- creating education developed by the Japanese educators, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi (1871–1944), Josei Toda (1900–1958), and Daisaku Ikeda (b. 1928). In considering the pedagogical and ontological contributions made through a study of Asian perspectives, the chapter discusses value- creating global citizenship education and its six themes for praxis that can be used for teaching within formal, non-formal, and informal education settings across a variety of different subjects and disciplines, and most effectively through a whole school approach. Keywords Soka education • Tsunesaburo Makiguchi • Daisaku Ikeda • Mahatma Gandhi • Education for sustainable development • Global citizenship education
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Introduction This chapter engages in a brief discussion on the theoretical framework for value-creating global citizenship education as a pedagogical approach that can contribute to enhance learning across formal, non-formal, and informal education. This book discusses the outcomes of using this approach for education through engaging in the discourse on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and Global Citizenship Education (GCED or GCE), which are both initiatives led by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO 2015, 2017). Value-creating global citizenship education has been developed by taking the worldwide phenomena of Soka studies in education as a focal point of inquiry. Soka or value-creating education is an approach to curriculum that emerged in Japan in the early twentieth century. It is a learner- centered approach focused on the health, well-being, and happiness of each student. The concept of happiness that informs this approach is regarded as the ability to lead a contributive life for the welfare of self and others. In this chapter, I advance the discussions on value-creating global citizenship education as a pedagogical approach that is an outcome of my study of value-creating education and education for global citizenship.1
Value-Creating Education Soka or value-creating education has been developed by the Japanese educators, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi (1871–1944), Josei Toda (1900–1958), and Daisaku Ikeda (b. 1928). Makiguchi, Toda, and Ikeda are also the leaders of the lay Buddhist organization, the Soka Gakkai International (SGI) with members in 192 countries and territories worldwide (Fig. 2.1). Makiguchi was a schoolteacher and educator who published works on human geography, community studies, and in 1930, an educational pedagogy titled Soka Kyoikugaku Taikei (The System of Value-Creating Pedagogy) (Makiguchi [1930–1934] 1981–1988). The key term in Makiguchi’s pedagogy is soka (創価) or value creation, a neologism coined by Toda that is formed from the two words, so from sozo (創造) or creation and ka from kachi (価値) or value (see “Theory of Value”—kachiron, volume two, section three of Soka Kyoikugaku Taikei). Defining his educational theory, Makiguchi states, “value creating education theory is the system of knowledge of the method by which to cultivate people of talent who can create value, which is, the aim of life”
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Makiguchi (1871-1944)
Toda (1900-1958)
Ikeda (b. 1928)
• For 30 years taught and published works on human geography, community studies, and value-creating pedagogy. • Known for the care shown to his students. • Established the lay Buddhist organization, the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai comprising largely of teachers. • Confronted various authoritarian forces within education and society in Japan. • Died in prison.
• Worked as a school teacher where Makiguchi was the principal. • Coined the neology soka. • Supported the publication of Makiguchi’s pedagogy while implementing it within his own teaching. • Imprisoned with Makiguchi and later released. • During the transformation of Japan under the American occupation, re-established the Buddhist organization under the name Soka Gakkai for people from all walks of life.
• Adopted Nichiren Buddhism. • Learned from Toda about Makiguchi. • On Toda's suggestion established Soka Schools in Japan. • Established the Soka Gakkai International, and other institutions across 192 countries and territories. • His activities include, dialogue with world leaders, an annual peace proposal to the UN, lectures and publications on Soka Education, ningen kyoiku (lit. human education), and education for global citizenship.
Fig. 2.1 A brief introduction to the Soka progenitors (Sharma 2018: 19)
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(Makiguchi 1982: 13). One of the core ideas of this work, as Bethel suggests, is that “Creation of value is part and parcel of what it means to be a human being. Human beings do not have the ability to create material; but they can create value, and it is in the creation of value that the unique meaning of human life lies” (Bethel 1973: 49). According to Makiguchi, the aim of human life and education should be the happiness of the individual human being and in one’s ability to live contributively, that is, by creating value that is of benefit to self as well as contributing to the well-being of others. Makiguchi’s concern for the happiness of his students manifested in his daily care for their health and welfare, as well as confronting the educational authorities to develop equal opportunities for all children. For example, his refusal to favor the children of certain elites led to his transfer from one school to another until, in 1928, he was moved to a school that was scheduled to be closed the following year (see Bethel 1973: 40–41). His innovative teaching methods and educational proposals were not given a fair trial during his lifetime, and the practical application of his educational ideas was limited to his own classrooms and later in Toda’s Jishu Gakkan educational institution. In 1928, Makiguchi became a Buddhist, and in 1930, together with Toda, he formed a Buddhist educators group called the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai (Value-Creating Education Society). It can be argued that Makiguchi formed this organization as a result of his understanding that a societal change was necessary for an educational transformation (see also Ikeda 2010: 83). Makiguchi was incarcerated because of his statements made in this group, denouncing the emperor and the Japanese war.2 He subsequently died in prison on November 18, 1944. Toda, who had accompanied Makiguchi in prison, was later released and reestablished the Value-Creating Education Society as the Soka Gakkai or Value-Creating Society that included not just educators but also people from all walks of life. Toda’s later call for the abolition of nuclear weapons and his vision to help build a peaceful and sustainable society have been carried forward primarily by Ikeda and other youth of the Buddhist organization. Ikeda notes in his numerous writings that much of his learning was due to Toda’s tutelage, who rigorously mentored him through “a curriculum of history, literature, philosophy, economics, science and organization theory” (Ikeda 2008: 448–449). It should be mentioned here that although there have been several studies on Makiguchi and Ikeda’s ideas, it is only more recently that significant research is being conducted on Toda’s educational work (see Inukai and Goulah 2018; Shiohara 2008).
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Ikeda is a prolific writer, poet, and founder of several institutions promoting peace, culture, and education worldwide. The institutions set up by him include 15 Soka kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, a women’s college, and universities in seven countries across Asia and the Americas. His educational ideas also inform several schools and universities, as well as thousands of educators and school leaders worldwide. His annual peace proposal and several initiatives launched by the SGI Office for UN (United Nations) Affairs are among many ongoing efforts to support in building a peaceful and sustainable world. Ikeda has emphasized key aspects of Makiguchi’s value-creating pedagogy in his extensive lectures and educational proposals on “Soka education” (value-creating education) and ningen kyoiku (humanistic education) (see Ikeda 2010). It is important to reference here the shift from Makiguchi’s Soka Kyoikugaku Taikei to Ikeda’s Soka kyoiku or Soka education (value-creating education). In relation to the current use of Makiguchi and Ikeda’s ideas, one of the outcomes of an earlier study, which concentrated on key documents of the Soka Schools in Japan, revealed that, “there is a mixture of aims and values within these schools that stems from the national educational aims, as well as Makiguchi’s value-creating pedagogy, along with which certain Buddhist ideals, that are all incorporated under the use of the term ‘value-creating education’ within the school documents” (Sharma 2008: 113). Scholarly research also refers to Ikeda’s use of the term “Soka education” or “Soka Education” to characterize the educational approach passed down from Makiguchi and Toda and practiced in the Soka schools that he has founded (Ikeda 2010 in Goulah and Ito 2012: 60–61). Further, the term “Soka education” is the title of Ikeda’s (2010) book that is a collection of his university addresses and proposals on education. At the same time, Ikeda largely uses the term ningen kyoiku (humanistic education) when expressing his views and aspiration for education in general. For instance, he proposes that education should aim at the students’ happiness which is connected to their ability to live contributive lives and in creating value for the welfare of others, and that this goal can be realized through the nurturing relationship between the teacher and student (see Goulah 2010; Goulah and Gebert 2009; Ito 2005, 2007). In addition to the contributions being made through studies on soka as a concept, an engagement with the educational relevance of Soka as a movement can also be furthered through scholarly work. As example, the Soka movement is compared to the movement of satyagraha (lit. truth
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force) led by the Indian political leader, Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948), for India’s independence from the British regime. My studies locate several commonalities in Gandhi’s and the Soka progenitors’ views on education and religion, as well as their intercultural experiences and in their ability to enthuse large numbers of people to work for social justice (Sharma 1999, 2008, 2018). The key common focus for Gandhi and the Soka progenitors, in all their endeavors, was the human being and human development. Their respective religious beliefs were rooted in non- dualistic philosophies that perceive an inextricable link between the lives of oneself and others. For the Soka thinkers, it was their practice of Buddhism, and for Gandhi it was Jainism and Hinduism. Ikeda explicitly draws a link between the Buddhist view of interdependence and his proposals on education for global citizenship. In a lecture titled “Thoughts on Education for Global Citizenship,” delivered at the Teachers College, Columbia University, in 1996, he states, The following scene from the Buddhist canon provides a beautiful visual metaphor for the interdependence and interpenetration of all phenomena. Suspended above the palace of Indra, the Buddhist god who symbolizes the natural forces that protect and nurture life, is an enormous net. A brilliant jewel is attached to each of the knots of the net. Each jewel contains and reflects the image of all the other jewels in the net, which sparkles in the magnificence of its totality. (Ikeda 2008: 444–445)
Here Ikeda is alluding to the Buddhist concept of “dependent origination,” which he explains elsewhere as the view that, “all beings and phenomena exist or occur in relation to other beings or phenomena. Everything is linked to an intricate web of causation and connection – and nothing – whether in the realm of human affairs or of natural phenomena – can exist or occur solely of its own accord” (Ikeda 1991: 4). Gandhi had a similar understanding of the interdependence of life that stemmed from his religious belief (see Gandhi 1991: 174). As Parekh notes about Gandhi, In Gandhi’s favourite metaphor, the cosmos was not a pyramid of which the material world was the base and human beings the apex, but a series of ever- widening circles encompassing human kind, the sentient world, the material world, and the all-including cosmos. Since the cosmic spirit pervaded or infused the universe and was not outside it, the so-called natural world was
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not natural or material, terms he generally avoided, but spiritual or divine in nature. (Parekh 1997: 38)
Gandhi’s values and beliefs propelled him to act for the sake of social justice, galvanizing millions of people to be involved in the non-violent satyagraha movement for India’s independence from the British regime. As discussed previously in a comparative study on my above selected thinkers, their notion of interdependency was embedded in their political and educational activism. However, they were not just activists but also thinkers who used their creative imagination to build an intimate connection between the autonomous, morally self-sustained and self-governed citizen and a fully-fledged, self-reflective, and self-correcting socio-political and educational community. The next section situates the outcomes from a study of less widely known perspectives within the existing discourse on education for global citizenship before developing the implications of these ideas for curriculum, teaching, learning, and policy.
Global Citizenship Education GCE is one of the strategic areas of UNESCO’s education sector program for the period 2014–2021. UNESCO’s work in this field is guided by the Education 2030 Agenda and Framework for Action, notably Target 4.7 of the SDGs (SDG 4 on education), which calls on countries to ensure that all learners are provided with the knowledge and skills to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship, and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development (UN 2015). Several recent scholarly works have challenged the Western-dominated agendas and the underlying Western worldview in GCE. This includes the heavy influence of Enlightenment liberalism. Dill’s work (2011, 2012, 2013), for instance, expounds the dominant epistemological and ontological assumptions of Western liberal capitalism, and its ties to GCE, focusing on the tension that exists within education to respond to the contending interests of the individual and society, self and the other, local and global. Further discussions must therefore be centered on integrating non-Western perspectives so that the practice of global citizenship has a more intercultural focus. As recent studies suggest, intercultural sensitivity
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is a key skill desired by students and employers but needs “the engagement and support of educational policymakers and bodies responsible for professional development and training” (Bourn 2018: 97; see Bourn and Sharma 2008). The above Asian examples can make important contributions to the discourse and practice of GCE. For example, these leaders have shown that there are a variety of ways of thinking, being, acting, and living that inform people and communities to create positive individual and social change. In particular, satyagraha and Soka are attempts to create social change at a grassroots level through uniting a disparate body politic. Further studies on such movements can elucidate reasons as to why historically ordinary citizens become embroiled within the affairs of their local communities, including through an appeal to the individual’s interests, values, and concerns.
Curriculum, Teaching, Learning, and Policy Implications The term “value-creating global citizenship education” is a phrase developed through a study of the educational ideas of Makiguchi, Ikeda, and Gandhi. In contrast to a Western liberal-individualistic framework for GCE, a value-creating framework at the most basic level subscribes to a non-dualistic view of life aimed at enhancing relationships in education (see Goulah and Ito 2012; Ikegami and Rivalland 2016; Nagashima 2016; Takazawa 2016). Its central concern is to perceive, acknowledge, and remove “the arrow of a discriminatory consciousness, an unreasoning emphasis on difference…piercing the hearts of the people” (Ikeda 1993: 2). It can also be stated that the basis of Makiguchi’s value-creating theory is to nurture responsible citizens who can reflect, as far as possible, on their personal bias and make informed decisions that contribute to the general welfare of all people. The step by step process of creating value in life and through education is illustrated through Figs. 2.2 and 2.3. To explain, according to the value-creating theory, value can be created in our relationship with an object in which the evaluating subject is the individual or, as Makiguchi puts it, the “life” (seimei) of the individual (see Bethel 1989 ed.: 61; Kumagai 1994; Sharma 2008: 52–61; Toda 1964: 92–93). The object can be a material object or a person, a sentient or an insentient being. The kind of value that is created depends on the bearing
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Sentient or insentient being
(evaluating subject)
(object of evaluation)
Value creation exists in this relationship
Fig. 2.2 The process of value creation in life (Sharma 2018: 108) Learner
Learning material or content
(evaluating subject)
(object of evaluation)
Value creation exists in this relationship
Fig. 2.3 The process of value creation in education (Sharma 2018: 108)
that the object has on the life of the individual. The process of value creation requires the following two steps: . first, to objectively recognize the sentient or insentient object; 1 2. and then, to subjectively evaluate it to create value. As suggested in Fig. 2.2, the individual (evaluating subject) must be able to objectively view the truth or fact (object of evaluation) for what it is and then make a subjective analysis of the best way to create value within that reality: objective cognition followed by subjective evaluation. Further, according to Makiguchi, one of the aims of education is to develop a relationship between the learner and the learning content, as suggested in Fig. 2.3. Instead of transferring “piecemeal merchandizing of information,” teachers should build engagement between the learner and their learning material. While it was common practice to transfer or cram knowledge into the minds of children during his time, Makiguchi aimed
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to facilitate inquiry and the process of learning (Bethel 1989: 168). Further, in stressing the importance of distinguishing between cognition and evaluation within classroom teaching, Makiguchi gives the following example, Suppose a student asks his teacher, “What does this mean?” and the teacher snaps back the reprimand, “What do you mean? Don’t you understand that yet?” The teacher obviously confuses evaluation with cognition. The student did not ask for an evaluation of his ability; he was asking for information or for instruction on a point he did not understand… Regrettably, similar leaps of judgement past the facts are encountered at every level of society – in government, in business, and in the home. (Bethel 1989: 62–63)
Also, it can be argued that an important contribution of the use of value creation within classroom pedagogy, as discussed in Chap. 7, is to enable students to distinguish between an emergent truth versus an objective truth, between fake news and real news, so that students can make informed decisions as citizens.3 To reiterate, a value-creating approach is centered on the practice of building relationships through education, between the student and teacher, the student and other students, the student and classroom content, student and her or his natural and social environment. The practice of a value-creating approach can be effectively carried out through policies aimed at a whole school approach to enhance dialogic and transformative experiences through the ethos of the institution, curriculum, and extracurricular activities. It embraces the home-school-community continuum in which the individual learner lives her or his life and where value creation can be practiced. (Chapter 5 elaborates on these proposals.)
Conclusion and Moving Forward: A Value-Creating Approach for Education The use of a value-creating approach in this book is to offer suggestions that can enhance the outcomes for the three interrelated domains of learning within the conceptual dimensions of UNESCO’s ESD and GCE initiatives: the cognitive, socio-emotional, and behavioral (UNESCO 2017: 11 for ESD; UNESCO 2015: 14–15 for GCE). These correspond to the four pillars of learning described in the UNESCO report, Learning: The Treasure Within, that are, learning to know, to do, to be, and to live
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together (UNESCO-IBE 2003). For example, an acknowledgment of one’s common humanity would give emphasis to perceiving the divisiveness and alienation that are present within modern societies. That is, it would place a strong emphasis within the curriculum to tackle stereotyping and foster the socio-emotional capacity of compassion toward all inhabitants of the earth while also recognizing the nature and forms of power structures in an increasingly globalized world and the unseen perpetuation of colonial perspectives. The behavioral response to solve global issues would be rooted in a non-dualistic belief system that, through an intuitive examination of the depth of human life, subscribes to the view that an attitudinal change within each person can impact upon their environment (see Ikeda 2003b: 106). The educational environment will be developed to foster meaningful life-to-life connections among people— between students and teachers, schools and communities, and so on. UNESCO (2017: 55) currently offers three key pedagogical approaches in ESD aimed to empower the individual learner, which are a learner- centered approach, action-oriented learning, and transformative learning. For the practice of GCE, UNESCO documents suggest a critical and transformative pedagogy (UNESCO 2014, 2015). Future research is needed that can identify overlaps between these approaches with recommendations for policy and praxis that can help build linkages between ESD and GCE. For example, Bourn et al. (2017: 56) point out that although “ESD and GCED themes tend to be linked to promoting a more learner-centered and participatory form of pedagogical practice,” with reference to a study by Westbrook et al. (2013), they suggest that “in many parts of the world, the dominant pedagogical approach is a transmissive one with the teacher playing the role of the deliverer of bodies of knowledge that need to be understood and reproduced through examinations and testing” (Bourn et al. 2017: 56). The main contribution of this book is to integrate a value-creating approach as one of the proposed approaches to education for sustainable development and global citizenship. It places an emphasis on building relationships between the learner and her or his natural and social environment. This has important lessons for the current UNESCO-led practice of ESD and GCE that can bring together the key emphasis within both initiatives to expand beyond the current focus on individual empowerment (see UNESCO 2015: 16) to develop the learner’s value-creating skills for a contributive life. This shift in emphasis can enhance the aim of education
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for global citizenship to foster capable citizens who contribute to the development of their own lives and that of others. To elaborate on this approach using Ikeda’s words, a value-creating approach advocates an “ethic of coexistence…a spirit that seeks to encourage mutual flourishing and mutually supportive relationships among humans and between humans and nature” (Ikeda 2003a: 9), also stating that, “true happiness is to be found in a life of value creation. Put simply, value creation is the capacity to find meaning, to enhance one’s own existence and contribute to the well-being of others, under any circumstances” (Ikeda 2008: 443). The goal of happiness, according to the Soka progenitors, is the goal of human life. That is, human beings cannot truly become happy on their own. The primary task of education for value creation is therefore to enable the learner to develop the inherent capacity they each possess to build wisdom from exercising knowledge in action, and to use that wisdom for the betterment of self, society, and all forms of life (as discussed in Chaps. 1, 3, and 7). It is also to foster tenacity and perseverance and generate an understanding of the inherent creative potential within human life to transform difficulties and challenges into opportunities. As I had argued earlier based on my study of Gandhi, Makiguchi, and Ikeda, the central question is to rethink education that can develop the capacity within the learner to facilitate the development of what Ikeda refers to as a “creative coexistence” (Ikeda 2010: 89). On a similar note, several scholarly works suggest that there seems to be an emphasis within Soka education on building relationships through the curriculum— between the individual and other people, with Nature4 and the community (see Goulah 2010: 264–269; Nagashima 2016; Obelleiro 2012: 44; Sharma 2008: 111–116, 145–147). As mentioned in Chap. 1 and this chapter, in taking the field of Soka studies in education as a focal point of inquiry, and through comparative- contextual analysis, I have developed the framework for value-creating global citizenship education. The disposition and agenda that this educational approach promotes are criticality for social justice and value creation for social and self-actualization. The proposed framework (see Fig. 1.1 in Chap. 1) covers six themes within the practice of value-creating global citizenship education that aim to promote the necessary knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes to enable learners to develop: • a sense of interdependence, common humanity, and a global outlook; • an awareness of climate change as planetary citizens;
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• a commitment to reflective, dialogic, and transformative learning; • a commitment to sustainable development through intercultural perspectives; • a belief in the value-creating capacity for social and self-actualization, uncertainty, and change; and • an understanding of peace and non-violence as being central to the human rights agenda. Themes and suggestions developed for the practice of this approach can be incorporated within formal, non-formal, and informal education settings across a variety of different subjects and disciplines, and preferably through a whole school commitment to sustainable development. These themes can be used to develop age-specific learning objectives. Assessments that are focused on the development of a global awareness within institutions of learning rather than on the measurement of individual learners could be most effective (see Conolly et al. 2019). This chapter has briefly outlined the theoretical framework of value- creating global citizenship education as a pedagogical approach for ESD and GCE. Using the themes for the practice of this approach, the successive chapters in this book develop suggestions for education policy and praxis. Chapter 3 engages with the value-creating global citizenship education theme promoting the urgent need to build an awareness of climate change as planetary citizens. It argues the need to develop linkages between the current discourse and practice of ESD and GCE through further studies and forwards the discussions on using a value-creating approach for education.
Notes 1. For a more detailed engagement with the theoretical framework for this approach, see Sharma (2018). 2. For a discussion of Makiguchi’s historical context during a period of Japanese nationalism and Japan’s participation in the Second World War (1939–1945), see Sharma (2008), Chapter 2. 3. See Sharma (2008), Chapter 4, for a more detailed engagement with Makiguchi’s pedagogy. 4. See http://www.harmonywithnatureun.org/welcome/ and http://files. harmonywithnatureun.org/uploads/upload827.pdf
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References Bethel, D. M. (1973). Makiguchi the value creator: Revolutionary Japanese educator and founder of Soka Gakkai. Tokyo: Weatherhill. Bethel, D. M. (Ed.). (1989). Education for creative living: Ideas and proposals of Tsunesaburo Makiguchi. Ames: Iowa State University Press. Bourn, D. (2018). Understanding global skills for 21st century professions. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. Bourn, D., & Sharma, N. (2008). Global and sustainability issues for engineering graduates. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers – Municipal Engineer, 161(3), 199–206. https://doi.org/10.1680/muen.2008.161.3.199. Bourn, D., Hunt, F., & Bamber, P. (2017). A review of education for sustainable development and global citizenship education in teacher education. Paper commissioned for the 2017/8 Global Education Monitoring report, accountability in education: Meeting our commitments. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ ark:/48223/pf0000259566 Conolly, J., Lehtomäki, E., & Scheunpflug, A. (2019). Measuring global competencies: A critical assessment. ANGEL. https://angel-network.net/publications/briefing Dill, J. S. (2011). Schooling global citizens: The moral pedagogy of twenty-first century education [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Virginia. Dill, J. S. (2012). The moral education of global citizens. Society, 49, 541–546. Dill, J. S. (2013). The longings and limits of global citizenship education: The modern pedagogy of schooling in a cosmopolitan age. New York: Routledge. Gandhi, M. K. (1991). Letter to P.G. Mathew, Yeravda Mandir, September 8, 1930. In R. Iyer (Ed.), The essential writings of Mahatma Gandhi (pp. 223–226). New Delhi: Oxford University Press. Goulah, J. (2010). From (harmonious) community life to (creative) coexistence considering Daisaku Ikeda’s educational philosophy in the Parker, Dewey, Makiguchi, and Ikeda “reunion”. Schools: Studies in Education, 7(2), 253–275. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/656075 Goulah, J., & Gebert, A. (2009). Tsunesaburo Makiguchi: Introduction to the man, his ideas, and the special issue. Educational Studies, 45, 115–132. Goulah, J., & Ito, T. (2012). Daisaku Ikeda’s curriculum of Soka education: Creating value through dialogue, global citizenship, and “human education” in the mentor-disciple relationship. Curriculum Inquiry, 42(1), 56–79. https:// doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-873X.2011.00572.x. Ikeda, D. (1991). The age of ‘soft power’ and inner-motivated philosophy. Lecture delivered at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA on September 26. https://www.daisakuikeda.org/sub/resources/works/lect/lect-01.html Ikeda, D. (1993). Mahayana Buddhism and twenty-first century civilization. Lecture delivered at Harvard University on September 24, 1993. http://www.
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daisakuikeda.org/sub/resources/works/lect/lect-04.html and https://www. daisakuikeda.org/sub/audio-visual/videos/ Ikeda, D. (2003a). A global ethic of coexistence: Toward a ‘life-sized’ paradigm for our age. Tokyo: Soka Gakkai International. https://www.sgi.org/about-us/ president-ikedasproposals/peace-proposal-2003.html Ikeda, D. (2003b). Unlocking the mysteries of birth and death…and everything in between: A Buddhist view of life (2nd ed.). Santa Monica: Middleway Press. Ikeda, D. (2008). Thoughts on education for global citizenship. In My dear friends in America: Collected U.S. addresses 1990–1996 (2nd ed., pp. 441–451). Santa Monica: World Tribune Press. Ikeda, D. (2010). Soka education: For the happiness of the individual (Rev. ed.). Santa Monica: Middleway Press. Ikegami, K., & Rivalland, C. (2016). Exploring the quality of teacher–child interactions: The Soka discourse in practice. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 24(4), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/1350293X. 2016.1189719. Inukai, N., & Goulah, J. (2018). Josei Toda: Introduction to the man, his ideas and role in the Soka heritage of education. Schools: Studies in Education, 15(2), 299–325. Ito, T. (2005). “‘Shonen Nihon’ keisai no Yamamoto Shinichiro ‘Pesutarocchi’ ni tsuite (1)” [Shinichiro Yamamoto’s publication about Pestalozzi in ‘Shonen Nihon’ (1)]. Soka kyoiku kenkyu [Soka Education Research], 4, 31–62. Ito, T. (2007). “‘Shonen Nihon’ keisai no Yamamoto Shinichiro ‘Pesutarocchi’ ni tsuite (2)” [Shinichiro Yamamoto’s publication about Pestalozzi in ‘Shonen Nihon’ (2)]. Soka kyoiku kenkyu [Soka Education Research], 6, 1–20. Kumagai, K. (1994). Soka kyoikugaku nyumon [An introduction to Soka (value- creating) pedagogy]. Tokyo: Daisan Bunmeisha. Makiguchi, T. ([1930–1934] 1981–1988). Makiguchi Tsunesaburo zenshu [The complete works of Makiguchi Tsunesaburo] (Vols. 1–10). Tokyo: Daisan Bunmeisha. Makiguchi, T. (1982). Makiguchi Tsunesaburo zenshu [The complete works of Makiguchi Tsunesaburo] (Vol. 5). Tokyo: Daisan Bunmeisha. Nagashima, J. T. (2016). The meaning of relationships for student agency in soka education: Exploring the lived experiences and application of Daisaku Ikeda’s value–creating philosophy through narrative inquiry [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Pittsburgh. http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/30637/ Obelleiro, G. (2012). A moral cosmopolitan perspective on language education. Critical Inquiry in Language Studies, 9(1–2), 33–59. https://doi.org/10.108 0/15427587.2012.648064. Parekh, B. (1997). Gandhi. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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Sharma, N. (1999). Value creators in education: Japanese educator Makiguchi & Mahatma Gandhi and their relevance for the Indian education (2nd ed.). New Delhi: Regency Publications. Sharma, N. (2008). Makiguchi and Gandhi: Their educational relevance for the 21st century. Lanham: University Press of America and Rowman & Littlefield. Sharma, N. (2018). Value-creating global citizenship education: Engaging Gandhi, Makiguchi, and Ikeda as examples. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. Shiohara, M. (2008). The ideas and practices of Josei Toda: A successor of Soka education. Soka Kyoiku [Soka Education], 1, 148–161. Takazawa, M. (2016). Exploration of soka education principles on global citizenship: A qualitative study of U.S. K-3 soka educators (Publication no. 324) [Doctoral dissertation, University of San Francisco]. https://repository.usfca. edu/diss/324/ Toda, J. (1964). The philosophy of value. Tokyo: Seikyo Press. UN. (2015). 2030 agenda for sustainable development and its 17 sustainable development goals. www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment UNESCO. (2014). Global citizenship education: Preparing learners for the challenges of the twenty-first century. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2015). Global citizenship education: Topics and learning objectives. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2017). Education for sustainable development goals: Learning objectives. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO-IBE. (2003). Learning to live together: Have we failed? A summary of the ideas and contributions arising from the forty-sixth session of UNESCO’s international conference on education, Geneva, 5–8 September 2001. Geneva: UNESCO-IBE. Westbrook, J., Durrani, N., Brown, R., Orr, D., Pryor, J., Boddy, J., & Salvi, F. (2013). Pedagogy, curriculum, teaching practices and teacher education in developing countries. Final report. Education rigorous literature review. London: Department for International Development.
CHAPTER 3
An Awareness of Climate Change as Planetary Citizens
Abstract The discussions on education for sustainable development and global citizenship in this book are based on broader themes that have a bearing on areas such as teaching about climate change. This chapter promotes an awareness of climate change as planetary citizens, which is one of the six themes for the practice of value-creating global citizenship education. As part of the proposals for education policy and praxis, the chapter integrates lessons from the Earth Charter and other values-based framework. Using the topic of climate change, linkages are made between education for sustainable development and global citizenship. Further, the chapter argues the urgency to place the two issues of climate change crises and the threat from a global pandemic at the heart of education for planetary citizenship.
A previous version of this chapter was first published as Sharma, N. (2020a). Integrating Asian perspectives within the UNESCO-led discourse and practice of global citizenship education: Taking Gandhi and Ikeda as examples. In D. Bourn (Ed.), The Bloomsbury handbook of global education and learning (pp. 90–102). London: Bloomsbury Academic, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. Reproduction with permission. Additions and modifications have been made to keep consistency with the arguments, language, and format of this book. © The Author(s) 2020 N. Sharma, Value-Creating Global Citizenship Education for Sustainable Development, Palgrave Studies in Global Citizenship Education and Democracy, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58062-9_3
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Keywords Climate change • Education for sustainable development • Global citizenship education • Planetary citizen • Daisaku Ikeda • Earth Charter
Introduction The arguments within this book are situated within the existing discourse on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)-led initiatives of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and Global Citizenship Education (GCED or GCE). This book develops suggestions for the practice of value-creating global citizenship education as a pedagogical approach that can be used for ESD and GCE praxis. This approach is, however, not limited to ESD and GCE and can be used across formal, non-formal, and informal learning, promoting education for citizenship and sustainable development. This chapter develops one of the six themes for the practice of this approach and broadens an awareness of climate change as planetary citizens (Sharma 2018: 97–98). This theme mandates an urgent action and concern for the planet as citizens of the earth. My use of the term “planetary citizen” (instead of world or global citizen) in this chapter is to recognize the rights of Nature and all species, as also advocated by the United Nations (UN) forum Harmony with Nature Knowledge Network.1 Also, echoing Moraes and Freire (2020), who find that the phrase “planetary citizenship” could be used as an inclusive term that reflects indigenous voices, my argument in this chapter is that action for planetary citizenship must draw from the vast repository of human wisdom, from different cultures and traditions, such as considered during the drafting process of the Earth Charter (see Vilela and Corcoran 2005).
The Earth Charter and Planetary Citizenship for Sustainable Development The Earth Charter, as the name indicates, is an ethical and values-based framework with 16 ethical principles for building a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society in the twenty-first century. This “people’s charter” was launched in 2000, and since then has been endorsed by over 6000
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organizations, including many governments and international organizations, and is considered to be a “soft law document” as outlined by the Earth Charter Initiative website.2 Soft law documents like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are considered to be morally, but not legally, binding on state governments that agree to endorse and adopt them, and they often form the basis for the development of hard law. The four pillars and interdependent principles of the Earth Charter are respect and care for the community of life; ecological integrity; social and economic justice; and democracy, nonviolence, and peace.3 These can be regarded as an important reference for individuals, organizations, and institutions committed to tackling the global climate change crises. Dower (2005) examines the Earth Charter and global citizenship from a cosmopolitan perspective and finds them to be complementary to each other. He points out that the Earth Charter offers to global citizenship “a concrete expression of a global ethic” that is comprehensive (although not exhaustive) and not tied to any one particular worldview. On the other hand, he also notes that the discourse around global citizenship recognizes “the realities of global, socio-political processes” which can be helpful to discussions on adopting the Earth Charter within schools, businesses, nongovernment organizations, and global civil society (Dower 2005: 179). It is worth noting that the success of the Earth Charter and its adoption by several schools is not only that it offers a comprehensive overview as an invaluable educational resource but that, as mentioned earlier and as the Japanese thinker Daisaku Ikeda (b. 1928) points out, “the manner in which this ‘people’s charter’ was drafted is significant…in the drafting process, efforts were made to incorporate the essential wisdom of cultures and traditions from all regions of Earth” (Ikeda 2002). One of the consequences of similar worldviews has led some nation-states, including Ireland and India, to give constitutional rights to trees and rivers as being sacred. Boyd (2017) makes a substantial contribution to this topic through a detailed engagement with environmental rights provisions in various countries, and the constructive effect of this to environmental protection and human rights in terms of upholding the right to a healthy environment. This work is an important read for proponents of sustainable development and climate change activists. The importance of paying attention to different philosophical understandings and values-based perspectives is that it can bring forth diverse and creative solutions to global issues, such as environmental degradation and climate change. Further, it can propel people and communities to take
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part in local, national, regional, and global solutions as engaged citizenry whose values inform their action for constructive personal, social, and environmental transformation. An example provided in Chap. 1 is the Green Belt Movement in Kenya pioneered by Wangari Maathai (1940–2011) and inspired by African tradition, such as the mythology surrounding the sycamore fig tree (Webster 2012; also see SGI 2015). In the realm of education, one of the core challenges of fostering youth as future world citizens needs to be a focus on the values, beliefs, and interests of learners. This chapter furthers the argument made in Chap. 1, suggesting a broader engagement with the human/personal dimension of sustainable development. This is necessary to meet the UN’s 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which “seek to eradicate extreme poverty and strengthen universal peace by integrating and balancing the three dimensions of sustainable development – economic, social and environmental” (UNESCO 2018: 3). This has also been referred to as the three pillars of sustainable development—prosperity, people, and planet (UNESCO 2016b; for a more detailed engagement and critical analysis of the three pillars and the later inclusion of the dimensions of peace and partnership see Gough 2018: 300–302). While maintaining its focus on and giving agency to the individual human being, education for global citizenship must also not get trapped in promoting individualism, which, as has been pointed out through recent scholarly work, is the hallmark of GCE informed by a neoliberal paradigm (Andreotti 2006; Bourn 2018; Cho and Mosselson 2018; Dill 2013; Merryfield 2009; Tarozzi and Torres 2016). In this context, a value-creating paradigm can have a substantive role in nurturing individuals who can lead contributive lives through ESD and GCE, as suggested in Chap. 2. One of the outcomes of the scientific-industrial revolution originating from the West is a mechanistic and reductionist view of life. On the other hand, a non-dualistic view perceives the dynamic relationship between the self and the natural and social environment as being fluid and in a constant state of creative engagement and coexistence.4 While the wisdom and energy to take action in tackling climate change are perceived here as being important, it should also be done with an attitude of reverence for life as suggested in the Earth Charter that resonates with the Japanese educator Tsunesaburo Makiguchi’s (1871–1944) sentiments described in his work Jinsei Chirigaku or the Geography of Human Life (Makiguchi 1983).
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The overarching contribution of this study is to respond to the search for supplementary perspectives to examine diverse pathways and possibilities for the practice of education for sustainable development and global citizenship. The next section of this chapter advances the discussion on value-creating global citizenship education as a pedagogical approach, while also arguing the need to develop linkages between the discourse on ESD and GCE using the topic of climate change as an example.
The Need for Linkages and a Value-Creating Approach to ESD and GCE Climate change is a reality that still does not have universal consensus. The US withdrawing from the Paris Agreement on climate change in 2017 is a startling example (see Oreskes et al. 2018). The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC 2018) special report on the impacts of global warming and related global greenhouse gas emissions, and the 2018 Lancet Countdown by a British medical journal on its annual account of how climate change affects public health, among others, have strengthened the urgency for a climate policy, as well as the need to develop a commitment toward tackling climate change as outlined by UNESCO’s ESD program and the follow-up Global Action Program (GAP) launched by UNESCO in 2014. The UNESCO Climate Change Initiative was launched in 2009, and in recent years, teaching about climate change has been given a thrust across school curriculum in various nation states. UNESCO, organizations like the Center for Global Education (GE) at the Asia Society in the United States, and Oxfam in the United Kingdom have been taking the lead in providing guidelines for teachers, including through engaging with the challenge of teaching climate change as a controversial issue (as example, see Oxfam 2018). Further, the Asia Society has taken bold and active steps to compensate for the deletion of entire data sets and websites documenting climate change by the Trump administration.5 While various important developments are being made by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) as well as through policy initiatives, as Bourn (2018) points out based on the findings of a co-authored report for UNESCO, “all too often the dominant mode of teaching is a whole class approach with an emphasis on the use of textbooks” (ibid.: 175) and argues the need for skills to teach themes such as global poverty, sustainable development, climate
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change, and human rights so that learners can be exposed to a variety of perspectives. Although emerging scholarly work suggests different approaches to the practice of UNESCO’s GCE initiative, there is a dearth of literature that draws meaningful linkages between teaching ESD and GCE. One of the UNESCO guidelines on global citizenship clarifies that ESD and GCE are not to be treated as independent areas of work, “both are concerned with global challenges and actions that are needed to tackle them, while the thematic topics associated with them tend to be specific – global citizenship education is more associated with global challenges related to peace and conflict, and education for sustainable development with global challenges related to environmental warnings and natural resources” (UNESCO 2016c: 3). In this context, further research is required that can bring together the discourse on GCE and how this could impact ESD, for example, teaching SDG 13 on “Climate Action” to combat climate change and its impacts (UNESCO 2015, 2016a, 2017). Clarification of the terms “global citizenship,” “education for sustainable development,” and their respective learning objectives outlined by UNESCO (2017) needs to expand on what is currently being offered as suggestions, perspectives, and approaches to teaching ESD. For example, drawing upon various ongoing studies, Yemini (2017) notes that, depending on the definition of global citizenship and the various dispositions and agendas it embodies, the definitions and models of GCE and its focus on its goals in terms of student outcomes change. Let me illustrate this further through the argument that Yemini makes by using Andreotti’s (2006) differentiation between “soft” and “critical” global citizenship. Yemini shows that teaching GCE would depend on how global education itself is conceptualized. While soft GCE could be equated with education that provides students with an understanding of the world and encourages cultural tolerance (as per Marshall, 2011), critical GCE requires deeper engagement. Critical GCE, which Andreotti (2010) later developed into post-critical and post- colonial GCE, requires students and teachers to “unlearn” their previous assumptions regarding the supremacy of Western culture and the distribution of power and replace them with a completely novel understanding of the world. This type of GCE provides students with the skills to reflect upon and engage with global issues involving conflict, power, and opposing views;
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to understand the nature of assumptions; and to strive for change. (Yemini 2017: 61)
Aligning the emerging and ongoing discourse on different approaches to GCE with ESD would mean, for example, taking into consideration Andreotti’s above conceptualization on global citizenship that the curriculum for each of the 17 SDGs should be framed with the aim to develop a deeper critical engagement through the process of learning. The relationship between ESD and GCE is a contested one and needs more research in terms of their history as well as present issues and challenges (see Sant et al.: 154–163).6 As a start, youth-led campaigns around climate change, such as Fridays For Future,7 can be an important topic of study that brings together discussions related to education for sustainable development and global citizenship. UNESCO currently offers three key pedagogical approaches in ESD aimed to empower the individual learner, which are, “a learner-centered approach,” “action-oriented learning,” and “transformative learning” (UNESCO 2017: 55). This book expands the current focus within education for individual empowerment to foster citizens who can take bold, collective actions for local and global issues. It develops suggestions for value-creating global citizenship education as a pedagogical tool that can bring together the discussions related to ESD and GCE, for example, on climate change and youth activism, to facilitate collective action along with individual responsibility that comes from learners’ own personal sense of values. Strategies for learning place an emphasis on building relationships between learners and their natural and social environment. Using value-creating global citizenship education as a framework suggests teaching climate change and the increased greenhouse gas emissions as an anthropogenic phenomenon, with burning fossil fuels for energy being the human activity contributing most to climate change (IPCC 2018; see UNESCO 2017). Using the value-creating approach also argues the need for further discussions in teaching SDG 13 centered on the learners’ perspectives about human life and the natural environment that they bring into the classroom. It is also important that students engage with class materials that view the creativity and coexistence of all forms of life, as well as life’s capacity to create value under the most challenging circumstances. These different perspectives can widen the scope of inquiry within the topics and objectives suggested by UNESCO. For example, providing students with the opportunity to discuss issues around existential questions in teaching
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about global and environmental issues, such as asked within the core curriculum at Soka University of America (Ikeda 2010: 103–104): • What is an individual human life? • What is the relationship between the individual and the physical environment in which we live? • What is the relationship between the individual and the human environment in which we live? • What are the global issues in peace, culture, and education? Exploring these questions from a range of perspectives is at the core of a value-creating paradigm that aims to foster critical global citizens who can challenge their own assumptions while developing an awareness of the sanctity, dignity, and creative potential within human and other forms of life. It is also argued here that while discussions on the anthropogenic cause of climate change are pertinent and can give agency to students, efforts to solve global issues can easily get trapped in promoting individualism (see Dill 2013) and can lead to students’ perceiving themselves as “rescuers of the planet,”8 an image that might inadvertently be promoted through recent video games designed to inform learners about the SDGs.
Curriculum, Teaching, Learning, and Policy Implications The questions central to the practice of value-creating global citizenship education from the arguments developed in this chapter include whether an Earth-centered perspective is integrated into curriculum, teaching, and learning. (Examples include discussions on Earth jurisprudence and the Earth Charter.) Does learning for climate change develop a sense of responsibility as planetary citizens based on the perception of life as creative coexistence (as discussed in Chap. 2)? As a starting point, the following references can be used to approach these issues from a value-creating perspective: Henderson and Ikeda’s (2004) dialogue Planetary Citizens (also see Ikeda 2019); Makiguchi’s (1983) book, The Geography of Human Life (Bethel 2002 for an edited English translation; also see Bethel 2000; Takeuchi 2004); the Seeds of Hope exhibition that uses the “learn, reflect, empower” formula outlined in Ikeda’s (2002) work9; and the Soka Institute for Environmental Studies
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and Research of the Amazon in Manaus, Brazil, that is founded by Ikeda and facilitates environmental activities based on the Earth Charter and the SDGs.10 Further, UNESCO’s Climate Change Education and awareness initiatives as part of its ESD program,11 and other organizations cited in this work as examples, provide several resources with the aim to enable an understanding and develop a commitment toward tackling climate change (see notes and references in this chapter and annotated bibliography at the end of this book). Teaching issues related to climate change and planetary citizenship should reflect perspectives that integrate notions of self, others, and Nature from alternative paradigms. Value-creating global citizenship education, for example, draws from studies on Asian thinkers and examines the inextricable link between the self and the environment as discussed in Chap. 2. The value base of the Earth Charter is also arguably that it provides a more integrated view of the relationship between humans, Nature, and all species. Scientific warnings, for example, by Johan Rockström, the earth systems scientist and director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) in Germany, suggest the correlation between the global pandemic generated by COVID-19 and the environmental crises: “deforestation and the wildlife trade heighten the likelihood of viruses leaping the species boundary; air pollution increases human vulnerability by weakening respiratory systems; and the expansion of air travel allows epidemics to spread more quickly” (Watts 2020: 2). Minninger et al. (2020) highlight the impact of the coronavirus on countries with the weakest health systems; the increase in poverty and hunger among the poorest populations whose already weakened immune systems make them more vulnerable to the virus; and with lack of clean water and adequate sanitation, “physical distancing” is almost impossible in many settlements and slums. Also, the temporary lockdown of nation-states has caused an existential threat for many day laborers and migrant families. On April 22, 2020, the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, voices from around the world, including the young environmental activist, Greta Thunberg, have called for a combined effort to tackle COVID-19 and the climate crises as a “new way forward” (Watts 2020; see Selby and Kagawa 2020). In this context of uncertainty and change, the need for a greater thrust on green economy and green schools cannot be emphasized enough. The urgency of developing planetary citizenship as a cross- curricular theme and as a whole school approach must become a top priority for education policy and praxis across nation-states. Under this banner,
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the study of human relationship to Nature and its exploitation, as well as the fatal consequences, such as the climate change crises and threat from global pandemic, must be taken as focal points of study. In using a value-creating approach to education for climate change, it is also suggested to read documents, such as the Earth Charter that combines concerns for ecological integrity, social justice, democracy, and peace. Of equal importance is to study how this “people’s charter” was developed through discussions drawing from the wisdom of different communities, as mentioned earlier in this chapter. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is often used as a classroom resource to study the universal rights of all human beings. The Earth Charter can be used along with this document to facilitate classroom discussions on the duties and responsibilities toward all life which is of particular importance for lessons and activities on the topic of climate change. Discussions in class can engage with its comprehensive set of values not only as a global ethical framework, but also as a critical analysis of the values and norms that are absent in this document from religious, cultural, or society’s traditions (see Dower 2004). The Earth Charter Center for Education for Sustainable Development at the University of Peace in Costa Rica offers useful materials, including correlations between the Earth Charter and international laws with an emphasis on environmental law (see Febres 2012; Rockefeller 2015; Vilela and Corcoran 2005). Through formal and informal education, efforts can be made to discuss the symbiotic relationship between human beings and Nature. For example, through storytelling, children (in pre-K) can engage in diverse examples and cultural perspectives of self, others, Nature, and the universe, for example, Ikeda’s authored stories for children.12 For older students, a robust discussion on related topics, such as the role of storytelling in the Kikuyu culture and the effect it had on Maathai as a child (see Maathai’s 2007 and link to a teaching guide on her memoir13; see Sharma 2020b for lessons developed for a study of Ikeda and Maathai, their encounters, confluences, and relevance for GCE). Also, for older students, an engagement with Earth-centered perspectives, for example, discussions on Earth jurisprudence, rights for Nature, ecosystems, and endangered species can develop critical understandings of diverse worldviews and associated political and legislative action14 (see Boyd 2017; also see Sant et al. 2018: 71–77). It is crucial that students develop a critical understanding of the causal relationship between human strife and suffering, and the destruction of natural and other forms of life.
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In discussions related to climate change as an anthropogenic phenomenon, more efforts are needed in policy and practice for students to be able to distinguish between facts versus opinions on the topic. Students must also be able to distinguish between real versus fake news and develop critical understandings to effectively engage with forums such as #strikeforclimatechange (see Chap. 7 of this book). Hess and McAvoy’s (2015: 164–165) work offers practice-based solutions with examples from teachers who have been teaching controversial issues such as climate change within the classroom. For teachers who have to engage with kids coming from families and communities that do not endorse this issue, this and other such resources can help engage in an inclusive discussion involving all people and opinions. Suggestions offered in the above-cited work are in a way that is fair, age appropriate, and culturally sensitive and that prepares students for democratic life. Their recommendations, based on providing examples, also encourage teachers to engage students in political deliberation and discussion. Moving beyond a cognitive approach, education for climate change from a values-based perspective should create a learning environment that can cause a socio-emotional response in students to develop reverence for Nature, and care and responsibility as citizens of this planet. Drawing on the examples of scientists and environmental activists, such as Katherine Hayhoe cited in the next section of this chapter, the goal is for students to be able to articulate how their personal values from their family, culture, or faith tradition can align with the fight against climate change.
Conclusion and Moving Forward: Engaging the Human/Personal Dimension of Learning Value-creating global citizenship education theme central to the arguments of this chapter is to create an awareness of climate change as planetary citizens. This chapter has argued the case for teaching about the ecosystem and climate change in a non-anthropocentric way, and from a value-creating perspective, that situates the individual human being at the center of the action for creating constructive change. Value-creating global citizenship education is suggested as a pedagogical approach in addition to and complementing other approaches mentioned within the recent UNESCO guidelines (especially 2015 and 2017). It argues the need to develop linkages between ESD and GCE, and aims to develop the
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learner’s critical skills, value-creating capacity, and ability to solve problems through the process of collective action that starts from building relationships through the learner’s school experience and curriculum. There are several lessons to be learned from a study of alternative ways of thinking about ourselves, society, Nature, and the universe that can add to the intercultural dimension of ESD and GCE. Whereas sustainable development has often been associated with environmental concerns (Morris 2008), an approach to issues of sustainability from an intercultural perspective can draw from diverse wisdom and understandings that are in line with UNESCO’s aims for ESD (see Gundara and Sharma 2010). Some efforts are being made to re-engage with the discourse on climate change from diverse perspectives that focus on exploring the interdependence and what Ikeda (2010: 89) calls the “creative coexistence” of all forms of life (see BRC 1997a, b; and Sarabhai et al. 2010). These efforts need to be combined with more serious scholarly engagement that can draw the attention of policy makers and practitioners to explore the relevance of such perspectives to sustain human and universal life that exists on our planet. The theme developed in this chapter on creating an awareness of climate change as planetary citizens can be infused within teaching for sustainable development and global citizenship. This would fill the present gap within UNESCO’s proposals for sustainable development (including SDG 13) by adding the personal dimension to the currently proposed economic, social, and environmental dimensions. For example, while it is urgent to equip the learner with accurate facts and information related to climate change through initiatives such as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Climate Change Agreement under the banner of Action for Climate Empowerment (ACC),15 education for climate change should also engage with the values, interests, and perceptions that students bring into the classroom to create a learning environment that reflects different perspectives. Katherine Hayhoe, who is an expert on global warming, is also an Evangelical Christian. It has been suggested that she “has emerged in recent years as a leading voice sharing the science of climate change to skeptics – many of whom are fellow evangelical churchgoers,” and “Hayhoe said it is that same Christianity that fuels her dedication to climate science” (Hayhoe 2018). This is a pertinent example that makes the case for a values-based approach to ESD and GCE so that the individual learner can articulate how one’s own personal values align with their action to combat climate change and achieve other SDGs.
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These suggestions need to be part of the discussion across diverse subject areas across the curriculum that have the aim to foster capable citizens of the twenty-first century. Similar efforts can be made to better understand the place and context within which ESD and GCE are being carried out, for example, by drawing on the values and perceptions of teachers, needs of the community, and wisdom of the lives of those who are engaged with the task of education for global citizenship and climate change. The proposals made in this chapter can be integrated within UNESCO’s (2016a) guidelines on ESD and climate change. As argued here, a whole school approach can be most effective, and as recommended in Chap. 4, there are several merits of using experiential learning in teaching for sustainable development and global citizenship. Strategies and proposals offered in this book for thematic approaches to value-creating global citizenship education widen the discussions from a non-anthropocentric perspective and engages the human dimension of learning.
Notes 1. http://www.harmonywithnatureun.org/welcome/ and http://files.harmonywithnatureun.org/uploads/upload827.pdf 2. https://earthcharter.org/get-involved/earth-charter-and-law/ 3. https://earthcharter.org/read-the-earth-charter/ 4. Sharma (2018), Chapter 4 engages in a discussion on this topic. 5. See resources from the Asia Society: https://asiasociety.org/education/ climate-change-and-environment 6. As one of the early examples of bringing together ESD and GCE, see the steps taken by the Welsh Assembly Government and the development of a national policy on Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship (ESDGC) (ACCAC 2002). 7. https://fridaysforfuture.org/ 8. http://mgiep.unesco.org/games-for-learning 9. https://www.sgi.org/in-focus/2010/seeds-of-hope.html 10. https://institutosoka-amazonia.org.br/en/home-en/ 11. See resources on climate change suggested by UNESCO: https:// en.unesco.org/themes/addressing-climate-change/climate-change-educationand-awareness 12. See YouTube videos on “Daisaku Ikeda’s Children’s Stories”: https:// www.daisakuikeda.org/sub/audio-visual/videos/
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13. See teacher’s guide for Maathai’s (2007) memoir: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/104884/unbowed-by-wangari-maathai/ 9780307275202/teachers-guide/ 14. See also resources and activities of the UN forum Harmony with Nature Knowledge Network that seeks to advance the implementation of the SDGs, including SDG 12, “Ensure Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns,” target 12.8 which states, “By 2030, ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in Harmony with Nature” (see previous note link to this forum, including Boyd, my and other experts’ contributions to the discussions on promoting an Earth-centered perspective). 15. See UNFCCC (2020): https://unfccc.int/topics/education-andoutreach/focal-points-and-partnerships/ace-focal-points, and https:// unfccc.int/topics/action-on-climate-and-sdgs/action-on-climateand-sdgs
References ACCAC. (2002). Education for sustainable development and global citizenship: Why? What? How? Cardiff: Qualifications, Curriculum and Assessment Authority for Wales. Andreotti, V. (2006). Soft versus critical global citizenship education. Development Education: Policy and Practice, 3(Autumn), 83–98. Andreotti, V. (2010). Global education in the 21st century: Two different perspectives on the post of postmodernism. International Journal of Development Education and Global Learning, 2(2), 5–22. Bethel, D. M. (2000). The legacy of Tsunesaburo Makiguchi: Value creating education and global citizenship. In D. Machacek & B. Wilson (Eds.), Global citizens: The Soka Gakkai Buddhist movement in the world (pp. 42–66). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Bethel, D. M. (Ed.). (2002). The geography of human life. San Francisco: Caddo Gap Press. Bourn, D. (2018). Understanding global skills for 21st century professions. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. Boyd, D. R. (2017). The rights of nature: A legal revolution that could save the world. Toronto: ECW Press. BRC. (1997a). Buddhist perspectives on the Earth Charter. Cambridge, MA: Boston Research Center for the 21st Century. BRC. (1997b). Women’s views on the Earth Charter. Cambridge, MA: Boston Research Center for the 21st Century.
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Cho, H. S., & Mosselson, J. (2018). Neoliberal practices amidst social justice orientations: Global citizenship education in South Korea. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 48(6), 861–878. https://doi. org/10.1080/03057925.2017.1364154. Dill, J. S. (2013). The longings and limits of global citizenship education: The modern pedagogy of schooling in a cosmopolitan age. New York: Routledge. Dower, N. (2004). Earth Charter as a global ethic. Earth Charter. https://earthcharter.org/library/the-earth-charter-as-a-global-ethic-2004/ Dower, N. (2005). The Earth Charter and global citizenship: A way forward. In P. B. Corcoran, M. Vilela, & A. Roerink (Eds.), The Earth Charter in action: Toward a sustainable world (pp. 178–179). Amsterdam: Royal Tropical Institute. Febres, M. E. (2012). Earth Charter and international law: How does the Earth Charter corelate with international law? Costa Rica: Earth Charter International Secretariat. https://earthcharter.org/virtual-library2/the-earth-charter-andinternational-law/ Gough, A. (2018). Sustainable development and global citizenship education: Challenging imperatives. In I. Davies, L. C. Ho, D. Kiwan, C. L. Peck, A. Peterson, E. Sant, & Y. Waghid (Eds.), The Palgrave handbook of global citizenship and education (pp. 295–312). London: Palgrave Macmillan. Gundara, J. S., & Sharma, N. (2010). Interculturalism, sustainable development and higher education institutions. International Journal of Development Education and Global Learning, 2(2), 23–34. https://doi.org/10.18546/ IJDEGL.02.2.03 Hayhoe, K. (2018, March 6). At U.N. summit, an evangelical Christian makes the case for climate change. http://katharinehayhoe.com/wp2016/2018/03/06/ at-u-n-summit-an-evangelical-christian-makes-the-case-for-climate-change/ Henderson, H., & Ikeda, D. (2004). Planetary citizenship: Your values, beliefs and actions can shape a sustainable world. Santa Monica: Middleway Press. Hess, D. E., & McAvoy, P. (2015). The political classroom: Evidence and ethics in democratic education. New York: Routledge. Ikeda, D. (2002). The challenge of global empowerment: Education for a sustainable future. Soka Gakkai International. https://www.sgi.org/about-us/presidentikedas-proposals/environmental-proposal-2002.html Ikeda, D. (2010). Soka education: For the happiness of the individual (Rev. ed.). Santa Monica: Middleway Press. Ikeda, D. (2019, September 19). Climate change: A people-centered approach. IDN-InDepthNews. https://www.indepthnews.net/index.php/opinion/ 2985-climate-change-a-people-centered-approach IPCC. (2018). Global warming of 1.5°C. https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/ Maathai, W. M. (2007). Unbowed: A memoir. New York: Anchor Books, Random House.
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Makiguchi, T. (1983). Jinsei chirigaku [The geography of human life]. Makiguchi Tsunesaburo zenshu [Complete works of Tsunesaburo Makiguchi] (Vols. 1–2). Tokyo: Daisan Bunmeisha. Marshall, H. (2011). Instrumentalism, ideals and imaginaries: Theorising the contested space of global citizenship education in schools. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 9(3–4), 411–426. https://doi.org/10.1080/1476772 4.2011.605325. Merryfield, M. (2009). Moving the center of global education: From imperial worldviews that divide the world to double consciousness, contrapuntal pedagogy, hybridity, and cross-cultural competence. In T. F. Kirkwood-Tucker (Ed.), Visions in global education (pp. 215–239). New York: Peter Lang. Minninger, S., Schäfer, L., & Künzel, V. (2020, April 14). Building resilience: Climate impacts and corona. Germanwatch. https://www.germanwatch. org/en/18535 Moraes, S. E., & Freire, L. D. A. (2020). Planetary citizenship in Brazilian universities. In D. Bourn (Ed.), The Bloomsbury handbook of global education and learning (pp. 207–219). London: Bloomsbury Academic. Morris, L. V. (2008). Higher education and sustainability. Innovative Higher Education, 32(179), 180. Oreskes, N., Conway, E., Karoly, D. J., Gergis, J., Neu, U., & Pfister, C. (2018). The denial of global warming. In S. White, C. Pfister, & F. Mauelshagen (Eds.), The Palgrave handbook of climate history (pp. 149–171). London: Palgrave Macmillan. Oxfam. (2018). Teaching controversial issues: A guide for teachers. Oxford: Oxfam. Rockefeller, S. C. (2015). Democratic equality, economic inequality, and the Earth Charter. San Jose: Earth Charter International. Sant, E., Davies, I., Pashby, K., & Shultz, L. (2018). Global citizenship education: A critical introduction to key concepts and debates. London: Bloomsbury Academic. Sarabhai, K., Raghunathan, M., & Modi, A. (2010). Earth Charter and Gandhi: Towards a sustainable world. Ahmedabad: Center for Environment Education. Selby, D., & Kagawa, F. (2020). Climate change and coronavirus: A confluence of two emergencies as learning and teaching challenge. Policy & Practice: A Development Education Review, 30, 104–114. SGI (Soka Gakkai International). (2015). A quiet revolution: The Earth Charter and human potential. https://www.sgi.org/resources/ngo-resources/education-for-sustainable-development/video/a-quiet-revolution.html Sharma, N. (2018). Value-creating global citizenship education: Engaging Gandhi, Makiguchi, and Ikeda as examples. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. Sharma, N. (2020a). Integrating Asian perspectives within the UNESCO-led discourse and practice of global citizenship education: Taking Gandhi and Ikeda
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as examples. In D. Bourn (Ed.), The Bloomsbury handbook of global education and learning (pp. 90–102). London: Bloomsbury Academic. Sharma, N. (2020b). Value-creating perspectives and an intercultural approach to curriculum for global citizenship. Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Education, 9(1), 26–41. https://doi.org/10.32674/jise.v9i1.1692 Takeuchi, K. (2004). The significance of Makiguchi Tsunesaburo’s Jinsei Chirigaku (geography of human life) in the intellectual history of geography in Japan: Commemorating the centenary of its publication. The Journal of Oriental Studies, 14, 112–132. Tarozzi, M., & Torres, C. A. (2016). Global citizenship education and the crises of multiculturalism: Comparative perspectives. London: Bloomsbury Academic. UNESCO. (2015). Global citizenship education: Topics and learning objectives. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2016a). Getting climate-ready: A guide for schools on climate action. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2016b). Global education monitoring report-place: Inclusive and sustainable cities. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2016c). The ABCs of global citizenship education. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2017). Education for sustainable development goals: Learning objectives. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2018). Preparing teachers for global citizenship education: A template. Paris: UNESCO. UNFCCC. (2020, January 24). Education is crucial to tackle climate crises. https://unfccc.int/news/education-is-crucial-to-tackle-the-climate-crisis Vilela, M., & Corcoran, P. B. (2005). Building consensus on shared values. In P. B. Corcoran, M. Vilela, & A. Roerink (Eds.), The Earth Charter in action: Toward a sustainable world (pp. 17–22). Amsterdam: KIT Publishers. Watts, J. (2020, April 22). Earth Day: Greta Thunberg calls for ‘new path’ after pandemic. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ 2020/apr/22/ear th-day-greta-thunberg-calls-for-new-path-afterpandemic Webster, T. (2012, August 16). Queen of Africa’s trees: The sacred fig tree. Samantha Wilde, GBM. https://www.greenbeltmovement.org/node/374 Yemini, M. (2017). Internationalization and global citizenship: Policy and practice in education. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.
CHAPTER 4
A Commitment to Reflective, Dialogic, and Transformative Learning
Abstract This chapter expands on the socio-emotional dimension of learning to be and engages with two themes for the practice of value- creating global citizenship education: a sense of interdependence, common humanity, and a global outlook; and a commitment to reflective, dialogic, and transformative learning. The aim here is to integrate a sense of interdependence from the philosophies of the Asian thinkers, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi (1871–1944) and Daisaku Ikeda (b. 1928), while also locating the implications of the confluences in their educational ideas with the American pragmatist, John Dewey (1859–1952), to enhance transformative learning experiences. A key recommendation in this chapter that engages with their proposals is to prepare learners for participatory democracy through the use of classroom pedagogy that integrates experiential learning along with critical and values-based perspectives aimed to develop character and growth. Keywords Education for sustainable development • Global citizenship education • Participatory democracy • John Dewey • Soka • Experiential learning
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Introduction The central arguments of this book are constructed on the premise that a shift in paradigm and perspectives can have a significant bearing on praxis and the three domains of learning—the cognitive, socio-emotional, and behavioral. These are also the three conceptual dimensions of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and Global Citizenship Education (GCED or GCE) proposed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO 2015: 14–15, 2017a: 11). This chapter expands on the socio-emotional dimension of learning to be, which is described for GCE as, “a sense of belonging to a common humanity, sharing values and responsibilities, empathy, solidarity and respect for differences and diversity” (UNESCO 2015: 15). This chapter engages with two themes for the practice of value-creating global citizenship education from my earlier work that strengthens a sense of interdependence, common humanity, and a global outlook; and a commitment to reflective, dialogic, and transformative learning (Sharma 2018: 95–97, 99–103, Chapter 4). In discussing these themes, this chapter borrows from comparative work1 on the American pragmatist, John Dewey (1859–1952), and the Japanese educators, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi (1871–1944), Josei Toda (1900–1958), and Daisaku Ikeda (b. 1928), who have developed Soka or value-creating education as an approach to curriculum. The aim here is to integrate a sense of interdependence, common humanity, and a global outlook into the discourse on ESD and GCE from Asian philosophies, such that the Japanese thinkers offer, while also locating the implications of a study on the confluences in their ideas with Dewey to enhance reflective, dialogic, and transformative learning experiences. Dewey and Makiguchi were contemporaries, although there is no evidence to suggest they met, and yet the similarities in their modes of thinking are remarkable.2 They both argued for an integrated plan of learning woven around home, school, and community. As Makiguchi suggested, the unique value- creating ability of the individual could effectively be nurtured through such a holistic approach. A striking feature of weaving the process of education through the home, school, and community, as proposed by Dewey and Makiguchi, is that education for an individual does not terminate after the stage of adolescence; it continues through adulthood in community life. To make it possible, Dewey advocated that all institutions, be they social institutions
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or institutions of government, business, art, or religion, have as their purpose the goals of setting free and developing the capacities of human individuals, without regard to race, sex, social class, or economic status: “Democracy has many meanings, but if it has a moral meaning, it is found in resolving that the supreme test of all political institutions and industrial arrangements shall be the contribution they make to the all-around growth of every member of society” (Dewey 1955: 147). This was Dewey’s concept of participatory democracy. Whereas in a representative democracy people elect representatives to do all of the active work of governing, in a participatory democracy, as Dewey envisaged, people need to engage directly in the ongoing work of democratic life. Such involvement and action would lead to the all-round growth of the citizens, which, for Dewey, was the purpose of social institutions and the purpose of life. Participatory democracy in the local, national, and global community will initiate the process of development from bottom-to-top, where individual potential and value creators are nurtured. It is then that participatory democracy—democracy that serves all humanity and not the dictates of narrow nationalism—can positively determine the future of humankind. This chapter builds on arguments on the ideas and proposals of Makiguchi and Dewey (Sharma 2002), and it engages with the philosophy and modes of thinking of Ikeda, the successor of Makiguchi and Toda.3 Like his predecessors, Ikeda is the leader of the lay Buddhist organization: the Soka Gakkai. Ikeda is also a prolific writer, poet, and founder of several institutions promoting peace, culture, and education across 192 countries and territories. A study of Ikeda’s writings on Dewey and Makiguchi can bring into focus their relevance for present-day education. It can make significant contributions relevant to the current practice and discussions of UNESCO-led initiatives of ESD and GCE. The core argument is that whereas in recent years recommendations are being made for integrating ESD and GCE within classroom pedagogy through experiential learning, for example, place-based learning and project- based learning (PBL), video games, and role play (UNESCO 2015, 2017a); the practice of ESD and GCE can be further enhanced through a substantive engagement with the experiences, values, and interests that students bring into the classroom from their respective homes and communities. It is inadequate to “politically” educate the learner within the closed brick walls of schools where in most cases the learner is expected to drop their identity, way of life, and its symbolic representations at the school gate (Bernstein 1970). This chapter makes suggestions
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as to how to welcome the students’ identities as part of the educative process within ESD and GCE praxis with contributions that borrow from the creative proposals of Dewey and the Soka progenitors who have placed the human being as their focus and at the center of their educational proposals. Further, these thinkers can offer alternative ways of thinking about self, society, and others that can contribute to the intercultural dimension of ESD and GCE.
Character, Growth, and Value Creation Central to the discussions within this chapter are the concepts of character, growth, and soka or “value creation.” Jim Garrison, Larry Hickman, and Daisaku Ikeda, in their tripartite dialogue (2014), also elucidate the centrality of character, growth, and value creation to both Dewey’s and Soka’s philosophies. For example, Hickman notes the similarity in Dewey’s notion of growth and Makiguchi’s concept of value creation. The term “growth” is described as the reconstruction of experience (Garrison et al. 2014: 160) and enhancement of meaning of one’s life that takes place within the individual’s social environment (ibid.: 45). Ikeda in turn explains the process of value creation suggested by Makiguchi as [T]hings that impart the power to expand our lives have value. In other words, the primary aim, from the perspectives of both the individual and society, is to promote growth and personal enrichment of each human being. The aim of education is to develop character in both the self and others that can contribute to the mutual benefit and welfare of the individual and the whole. (Garrison et al. 2014: 45)
In Makiguchi’s words, “Creating value is, in fact, our very humanity. When we praise persons for their ‘strength of character,’ we are really acknowledging their superior ability to create value” (Makiguchi 1972: 25; see Furukawa 2001). Similarly, Garrison describes Dewey’s philosophy as having the purpose of “the amelioration of suffering” and “a philosophy of life and social amelioration,” adding that, “for Dewey, the meaning of life is to make more meaning, which is close to saying that the meaning of life is constantly to create more value” (Garrison et al. 2014: 46). A common aspect of the ideas of Dewey and the Soka progenitors is that growth and creating value are the aims of education and of life.
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From the perspectives of Dewey and the Soka thinkers, the aim of education should be to develop the individual’s capacity to create value. This can effectively be done through finding ways to facilitate the individual learner’s spectrum of meaningful experiences. Of importance here is the notion that the aim of creating value for both oneself and the other is what contributes to the individual’s genuine happiness. As Ikeda describes, based on Makiguchi’s educational ideas, “true happiness is to be found in a life of value creation. Put simply, value creation is the capacity to find meaning, to enhance one’s own existence and contribute to the well-being of others, under any circumstances” (Ikeda 2008: 443). To reiterate, the more meaningful experiences the learner has, the better their ability to create value that contributes to the benefit of oneself and welfare of others. This process of creating value through successive experiences develops growth and the learner’s capacity to prepare for a contributive life. This capacity is related to the concept of happiness. The ultimate goal of education within the Soka paradigm, which is individual happiness, is inextricably linked to other people, that is, an individual cannot become genuinely happy on one’s own. A study of Ikeda’s ontological perspectives points to the inextricable link between the “self” and the “other” (Sharma 2018: 49, 65). According to Ikeda, the “other” plays an important role in the construction of the “self.” At the same time, and perhaps more importantly, the premise for creating meaningful change starts with the individual “self.” The responsibility of the individual toward the other is a function of cosmological humanism, the understanding that a web of interdependent relations connects the individual to other individuals, to Nature,4 sentient, and even insentient beings (Ikeda 2014). Dewey also endorsed the view that the individual self constantly changes through meaningful interactions. Hansen (2007) explains this in a passage worth quoting at length: Dewey does not believe that the self has a fixed nature. The self is what it thinks, feels, imagines, and does. It has no identity or meaning outside these modes of activity. This outlook means that the self is permanently engaged in the process of “losing” and “finding” itself. According to Dewey, every time the quality of a person’s experience alters, so does his or her self. However imperceptibly, through the course of any meaningful experience, the self can become more knowledgeable, sensitive, and aware. That process means that it has literally lost its prior identity in which it was not as knowledgeable, sensitive, or aware. At the same time, however, the self has found
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a new identity, or new quality of personhood, that is captured in those same terms. Moreover, the self can now better direct subsequent experience because it now brings to bear a deeper, broader capacity, once more captured in the phrase more knowledgeable, sensitive, and aware. For Dewey, this process constitutes the spiral of growth, whose end is never terminal or fixed, but always in continuous transformation. We discern again his belief that humanity has the unfathomable capacity to enrich its experience and to enhance its realization of meaning. (Hansen 2007: 26–27)
The growth of the individual human being was of central concern to Dewey and Makiguchi (Sharma 2002). Ikeda has continued to elucidate this aspect in his commentaries on both thinkers, stating his concern that the development of the individual self can only truly be accomplished within the particularities of her or his natural and social setting, and that it is through weaving education across the home-school-community continuum that nations can foster responsible citizens of the world (see Ikeda 2001, 2008: 447–448). Dewey and the Soka progenitors have suggested that individual growth in its fullest sense only takes place in the context of engagement with others in community and society.
The Relevance of Dewey and Soka to ESD and GCE The context for this discussion on the need to draw wisdom from the works of Dewey and the Soka progenitors is the urgency to engage with alternative ways in which to think about human beings and societies in a world that is heavily dictated by the agendas of neoliberal capitalism and narrow nationalism. As Hickman (2012) points out, in recent years, there has been an increased emphasis on promoting individualism in Western capitalist societies in which the student is perceived as the “consumer.” In examining education policies in the United Kingdom and the United States as examples, Hickman concludes that the aim of these policies is to promote “educating for profit” rather than “educating for global citizenship.” That is, the aim of education has promoted individualism instead of an education that focuses on individual growth and can enable citizens from across nation-states to work together to respond to issues of global concern. This, Hickman suggests, is similar to a concern that Dewey had noted in his 1929 essay, The Sources of a Science of Education, in which he wrote,
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[T]he chief obstacle to the creation of a type of individual whose pattern of thought and desire is enduringly marked by consensus with others, and in whom sociability is one with cooperation in all regular human associations, is the persistence of that feature of the earlier individualism which defines industry and commerce by ideas of private pecuniary profit. (Dewey 1996: 84)
Moved by similar concerns, several experts in the field of global citizenship education have offered a critique of the neoliberal agenda in the UNESCO-led initiatives of GCE (Dill 2013; Hamdon and Jorgenson 2011; Tarc 2015; Tarozzi and Torres 2016). GCE is one of the strategic areas of UNESCO’s education sector program for the period 2014–2021. UNESCO’s work in this field is guided by the Education 2030 Agenda and Framework for Action, notably Target 4.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 4 on education), which prioritizes ESD and GCE. It calls on countries to ensure that all learners are provided with the knowledge and skills to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship, and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development (UN 2015). ESD and GCE, as a consequence, have emerged as a response to these objectives within education systems of the modern world. The confluences between the ideas of Dewey, Makiguchi, and Ikeda and their relevance for education for global citizenship have been of interest to some scholars (for example, Goulah 2010; He 2013; Hickman 2012). There is also a need here for scholarly work that makes specific recommendations for UNESCO’s ESD and GCE initiatives. My previous book (Sharma 2018) engages with some of the key recommendations made by UNESCO and offers alternative perspectives that can help build relationships through the process of education for global citizenship based on the examples of Makiguchi, Ikeda, and the Indian political leader, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi alias Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948). It offers suggestions for a value-creating global citizenship education through an examination of these Asian examples. Such consideration of selected Eastern perspectives works to disrupt dominant ontological and epistemological assumptions of Western liberal capitalism that undergird contemporary instantiations of global citizenship education (Dill 2013). It enacts the type of dialogic engagement with multiple worldviews that Gaudelli (2009) champions as a more articulate form of global citizenship
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education. There are different ways of thinking about ourselves, society, Nature, and the universe that can add to the intercultural dimension of global citizenship education. Dewey also had expressed his view that education in the West should engage with the contributions from the East, suggesting that the people in the East have “embodied in their habits of life more of the contemplative, esthetic and speculatively religious temper” (Dewey 1955: 128; see Kumar 2009: 124–125). Of course, this is not to suggest a simplistic contrast be made between Western versus Eastern perspectives, particularly in the context of twenty-first century, as seismic shifts are taking place in world politics and culture often triggered through the adoption of neoliberal economic policies by nation-states, including the rise of China as a superpower, and the aspirations for progress by countries such as India. What is important here from a study of Dewey and the Soka progenitors as examples from across different regions in the world is to revisit the notion of the “self” and the “other” that can help to facilitate the process of growth and the learner’s capacity for value creation as a responsible global citizen.
A Sense of Interdependence, Common Humanity, and a Global Outlook The confluences in ideas between Dewey and Soka as previously illuminated suggest the following, as will be elaborated in this section: 1. Education for global citizenship should be guided not just by political but also by moral concerns. 2. There needs to be a shift in ESD and GCE praxis from the present thrust on charity and advocacy, to mutual growth and value creation. The first suggestion puts the emphasis back on the human aspect in educating for sustainable development and global citizenship. This is similar to the argument by Dobson (2005), who challenges the concepts of “global citizen,” “interdependence,” and “world-wide interconnectedness” that often accompany unexamined notions of a common humanity in global citizenship education. Dobson addresses the grounds for global citizenship and the notions of a “global citizen” and “interdependence” and proposes that the answer should be framed around political obligation
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for doing justice; and the source of this obligation should be a recognition of complicity or “causal responsibility” in transnational harm based on a moral obligation to a common humanity, rather than on a political responsibility for the causes of poverty. Dobson also makes a distinction between being human and being a citizen: being human raises issues of morality; being a citizen raises political issues. These echo concerns by Dewey in that, as Handlin (1958) interprets, “All the aims and manners which are desirable in education are themselves moral. Discipline, natural development, culture, social efficiency are moral traits – marks of a person who is a worthy member of that society which it is the business of education to further” (ibid.: 19). Similarly, one of the key contributions made by Ikeda’s philosophy in real-world education, society, and politics in Japan is that the individual is given top priority. Ikeda suggests that human happiness must be the focus of all fields and endeavors, stressing the importance of human revolution or positive transformation within human beings (Ikeda 2008: 443). Within the practice of GCE, charity and advocacy have often been a big part of taking action as a global citizen. Whilst these are important, the “soft” approach of moral concern for others should also be combined with a “hard” approach that enables learners to become “critically literate” or they might end up perpetuating the same issues that cause the widening gaps related to poverty, inequality, and inequity at various levels (Andreotti 2006). Further, the practice of ESD and GCE should enable students to lead contributive lives. In preparing students to participate in political processes and address issues that are of concern for the wider world, such as sustainability, poverty, nuclear weapons, and climate change, the endeavor should be to develop each individual’s potential. Guiding questions for policy makers, curriculum developers, and practitioners should be framed around enhancing each student’s engagement with issues that are pertinent to the goal of education for global citizenship and are based on the student’s lived experiences of their daily lives. Further, within the current practice of ESD and GCE, while there is an emphasis on the impact that the learner can create for the benefit of others, the UNESCO guidelines on the practice of ESD and GCE can make specific recommendations to help capture the learner’s own growth through the process of interactions with other people, that is, to locate the knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes that the learner acquires through working with others. The main outcome from an engagement with issues of social justice should be to foster learners as agents of two
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interdependent kinds of transformation: a social transformation and an inner transformation developed in terms of what Ikeda (2008) identifies as the constituent elements of a global citizen, namely, wisdom, courage, and compassion (see Garrison et al. 2014; Goulah and Ito 2012; Obelleiro 2012; Sharma 2018: 103–104; Urbain 2010). The present focus on experiential learning within the practice of ESD and GCE needs to consider the individual’s own values, needs, and interests that they bring from their own home and community. This is also important so that students can develop an interest in learning issues of global concern with a view to carry on the endeavor for a sustainable and meaningful life through lifelong learning. The process of educating for global citizenship should start by identifying what connects with that individual’s experience rather than what is being done currently, which is teaching the syllabus in an interesting way using experiential learning methods to make lessons enjoyable. This is a distinct departure from the views of Dewey, who, in his several seminal works (1902, 1915, 1916), explained that experiential education meant engaging students’ interests and values and explicitly criticized the practice of using experience as a way to make lessons more enjoyable. To recapitulate, the confluences in ideas between Dewey and the Soka progenitors place the human being, who can be fostered to act as an agent for social change, at the center of learning. Further, the practice of ESD and GCE should enable the growth of each individual and the development of one’s inner capacity to create value and meaning out of life’s experiences and challenges. This detailed engagement with the notion of the self, as discussed in this chapter, is currently missing in education for global citizenship.
Curriculum, Teaching, Learning, and Policy Implications The questions central to the practice of value-creating global citizenship education include how teachers, teacher educators, and curriculum developers understand the terms character,5 growth, and value creation for social and self-actualization and what are the pedagogical understandings underlying the use of experiential learning methods in ESD and GCE? In order to develop active global citizens in the twenty-first century, instead of the increasing demand for students to take action as change
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agents through experiential learning involving project-based work, video games, and role playing, there should first be a focus on learning issues through a critical approach within the classroom. This, in turn, can lead students to identify and take action based on their own volition on issues that are relevant to their schools and communities. Developing critical skills and a values-based perspective should precede action for constructive global change (Tarc 2015). Toward this, it is helpful that the curriculum be dialogic and represent multiple worldviews, and the teachers have the required skills to enable students to understand different perspectives (see Bourn 2018). It is also necessary that school administrators and policy makers be aware of the challenges and impacts of social and structural inequalities and other barriers to learning within classrooms. Students must be able to critically engage with notions such as charity and advocacy, as well as the opportunity for study abroad experiences, often feasible for those living in socially and economically privileged communities. The relevance of a study of Dewey and Soka to ESD and GCE is to facilitate dialogue and engaged communication through the taught and untaught curriculum with the goal to empower and with the students’ sense of being entrusted. Further, a whole school approach to ESD and GCE must reexamine the school mottoes and principles and question whether these are being developed in consensus with the teachers and students. One of the important aspects is to develop the ability to listen to the students’ perspectives and explore gaps between what is being suggested by the institution and the reality of students’ lived experiences in their daily lives. There are practical ways in which relationship building and empowerment can be developed so that students have a blueprint that they can take into society, to continue to grow and develop their value- creating capacity as actors of participatory democracy. Diversity is also reflected in the growth and development of each person’s unique potential and value-creating capacity.6 This would require formative assessment, for example, as being done through the global competency Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) test by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Asia Society, and UNESCO (2015). Value-creating global citizenship education looks to promote behavioral changes through sustainable lifestyles that are developed through the process of each individual learner’s experiences, growth, and the development of one’s capacity to lead a contributive life.
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Conclusion and Moving Forward: ESD and GCE as a Lifelong Pursuit of a Meaningful Life The value-creating global citizenship education themes central to the discussions of this chapter are a sense of interdependence, common humanity, and a global outlook; and a commitment to reflective, dialogic, and transformative learning, both related to the goal of learning to be. This chapter also draws on the ideas of Dewey and the Soka progenitors, locating in the confluences of their ideas the implications for ESD and GCE praxis and for future research. Through his successive writings on education for global citizenship, Tarc (2015) suggests, “In the Anglo-West, the global citizen aligns quite seamlessly with a middle-class neoliberal subjectivity in the form of a highly individuated, ‘empowered’ citizen who chooses to, using personal and private resources, chip in and ‘make a difference’” (ibid.: 36). Taking into consideration Dewey and the Soka progenitors, a shift in emphasis is required within the practice of ESD and GCE from the promotion of what Tarc calls “a highly individuated” citizen to the growth of an ethical human being who can live contributively. The proposals here need to be central to the discussions on promoting reflective, dialogic, and transformative experiences within the global dimension of learning. Scholarly contributions on related issues include publications by Bourn (2014: 28–30), Gaudelli (2009), Kumar (2008), and Scheunpflug (2012). UNESCO as well has placed a greater thrust on dialogue within its recent guidelines (as examples, see UNESCO 2015, 2017a, b). In the Anglophone literature within the Ikeda/Soka corpus, there has been a steady stream of emerging scholarly work on Ikeda’s dialogues (see Goulah and Ito 2012; Kuo 2020; Obelleiro 2012; Sharma 2011, 2018; Stearns 2018). Among recent doctoral works that conduct a more extensive study on a number of Ikeda’s 82 published book-length dialogue and other written work are Anshul Sharma’s (2020) research in Panjab University, Chandigarh, India, on the effectiveness of Ikeda’s creative dialogue in the process of establishing a culture of sustainable peace; and Melissa Bradford’s doctoral work accomplished at DePaul University, Chicago, USA, that explores the idea of dialogue as an end in itself such as the benefits of a dialogic engagement to foster the inner self of the individual, as well as using dialogical processes that can foster relationships in education. With reference to work such as Morgan and Guilherme’s (2017) study on philosophers of dialogue that is used in education
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theorizing in the European tradition, Bradford (2018: 29–30) notes that in Anglophone scholarship, there is a dearth of discussion on works by non-Western philosophers. Moving forward, future research studies are also required that conduct specific and detailed analysis of Ikeda’s published dialogues with non- Western interlocutors, for example, with Neelakanta Radhakrishnan (b. 1944), the Gandhi philosopher, educator, and activist (Radhakrishnan and Ikeda 2015). Such research can examine the confluences in their ideas, as well as their common focus on initiating grassroots movements for social justice similar to their predecessors. Such studies would bring into focus less widely known perspectives and different understandings of the nature of human being and society, the self and the other, as viewed across various religious and thought traditions, as well as the relation of these alternative perspectives to education for citizenship. Also, substantial contributions can be made to the discourse on GCE by engaging with many of Ikeda’s published dialogues that are framed around the topic of citizenship (examples include Athayde and Ikeda 2008; Henderson and Ikeda 2004; Swaminathan and Ikeda 2005). Chapter 5 brings together the discussions in this and preceding chapters that enhance dialogic learning within education for sustainable development and global citizenship.
Notes 1. See Goulah and He’s (2015) article that undertakes an extant review of the contributions made thorough their own and other scholarly work on Dewey and Soka. I would also like to acknowledge the invaluable inputs from Dr. Gonzalo Obelleiro and Dr. Jason Goulah at DePaul University, Chicago; and Prof. Jim Garrison at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia. This chapter is also based on numerous discussions in the past with Dr. Dayle Bethel during our interactions at the University of Hawaii. I, however, bear full responsibility for this work. 2. An indirect point of contact between Dewey and Makiguchi was Inazo Nitobe, a Japanese diplomat and League of Nations undersecretary (see Ikeda 2001; Sharma 2008: 35–36). 3. It must be stated here that the important link between Makiguchi and Ikeda was Toda, an educator and the second president of the Soka Gakkai. In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, while scholarly work on Makiguchi has continued to expand in Japan and abroad, not much work has been done on Toda during this period (see Inukai and Goulah 2018). Substantial work however is underway on the relevance of Ikeda’s views for contemporary
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education, which arguably in effect also sheds light on the creativity of Toda. In numerous writings, Ikeda attributes much of his learning to Toda, who rigorously mentored him through “a curriculum of history, literature, philosophy, economics, science and organization theory” (Ikeda 2008: 448–449; see also Sharma 2018: 6). 4. See http://www.harmonywithnatureun.org/welcome/ and http://files. harmonywithnatureun.org/uploads/upload827.pdf 5. For an overview of different versions, contact, and overlap between global citizenship education and character education, see Sant et al. (2018: 115–123). For a study of Makiguchi’s notion of character value, see Furukawa (2001) and also Sharma (2008: 56–57). 6. For an overview of different contested conceptualization of social diversity and its relation to citizenship, see Sant et al. (2018: 143–151).
References Andreotti, V. (2006). Soft versus critical global citizenship education. Policy & Practice: A Development Education Review, 3(Autumn), 40–51. Athayde, A., & Ikeda, D. (2008). Human rights in the twenty-first century. London: I. B. Tauris. Bernstein, B. (1970). Education cannot compensate for society. New Society, 15(387), 344–347. Bourn, D. (2014). The theory and practice of global learning (Development Education Research Centre research paper no. 11). London: DERC, Institute of Education & Global Learning Programme. Bourn, D. (2018). Understanding global skills for 21st century professions. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. Bradford, M. (2018). Friends in the orchid room: An inquiry into value-creative dialogue (Publication No. 127) [Doctoral dissertation, DePaul University]. https://via.library.depaul.edu/soe_etd/127 Dewey, J. (1902). The child and the curriculum. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Dewey, J. (1915). The school and society. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and education: An introduction to the philosophy of education. New York: Macmillan. Dewey, J. (1955). Reconstruction in philosophy. New York: A Mentor Book. Dewey, J. (1996). The collected works of John Dewey, 1882–1953: The electronic edition. Larry A. Hickman (Ed.). Charlottesville: InteLex Corp. Dill, J. S. (2013). The longings and limits of global citizenship education: The modern pedagogy of schooling in a cosmopolitan age. New York: Routledge.
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Dobson, A. (2005). Globalisation, cosmopolitanism and the environment. International Relations, 19, 259–273. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047 117805055406. Furukawa, A. (2001). Kofuku ni ikiru tame ni: Makiguchi Tsunesaburo no mezashita mono [Living for the sake of happiness: the aim of Tsunesaburo Makiguchi]. Tokyo: Daisan Bunmeisha. Garrison, J., Hickman, L., & Ikeda, D. (2014). Living as learning: John Dewey in the 21st century. Cambridge, MA: Dialogue Path Press. Gaudelli, W. (2009). Heuristics of global citizenship discourses towards curriculum enhancement. Journal of Curriculum Theorizing, 25(1), 68–85. Goulah, J. (2010). From (harmonious) community life to (creative) coexistence: Considering Daisaku Ikeda’s educational philosophy in the Parker, Dewey, Makiguchi, Ikeda “Reunion”. Schools: Studies in Education, 7(2), 253–275. https://doi.org/10.1086/656075. Goulah, J., & He, M. F. (2015). Learning for creative, associated, joyful, and worthwhile living. In M. F. He, B. Schultz, & W. H. Schubert (Eds.), The SAGE guide to curriculum in education (pp. 292–299). Thousand Oaks: Sage. Goulah, J., & Ito, T. (2012). Daisaku Ikeda’s curriculum of Soka education: Creating value through dialogue, global citizenship, and “human education” in the mentor-disciple relationship. Curriculum Inquiry, 42(1), 56–79. https:// doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-873X.2011.00572.x. Hamdon, E., & Jorgenson, S. (2011). Policy implications for global citizenship education in higher education in an age of neo-liberalism. In L. Shultz, A. A. Abdi, & G. H. Richardson (Eds.), Global citizenship education in post- secondary institutions: Theories, practices, and policies (pp. 260–272). New York: Peter Lang. Handlin, O. (1958, June 15). Rejoinder to critics of John Dewey. The New York Times. Hansen, D. T. (2007). John Dewey on education and the quality of life. In D. T. Hansen (Ed.), Ethical visions of education: Philosophies in practice (pp. 21–34). New York: Teachers College Press. He, M. F. (2013). East∼West epistemological convergence of humanism in language, identity, and education: Confucius∼Makiguchi∼Dewey. Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, 12(1), 61–70. https://doi.org/10.108 0/15348458.2013.748430. Henderson, H., & Ikeda, D. (2004). Planetary citizenship: Your values, beliefs and actions can shape a sustainable world. Santa Monica: Middleway Press. Hickman, L. A. (2012). Educating for profit, educating global citizenship. Human Affairs, 22(1), 11–16. https://doi.org/10.2478/s13374-012-0002-7. Ikeda, D. ([2001] 2010). John Dewey and Tsunesaburo Makiguchi: Confluences of thought and action. In Soka education: Happiness for the individual (pp. 1–32). Santa Monica: Middleway Press.
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Ikeda, D. (2008). Thoughts on education for global citizenship. In My dear friends in America: Collected U.S. addresses 1990–1996 (2nd ed., pp. 441–451). Santa Monica: World Tribune Press. Ikeda, D. (2014, January 26). 2014 peace proposal. Value creation for global change: Building resilient and sustainable societies. Soka Gakkai International. https:// www.sgi.org/aboutus/president-ikedas-proposals/peace-proposal-2014.html Ikeda, D. (2014, January 26). 2014 peace proposal. Value creation for global change: Building resilient and sustainable societies. Soka Gakkai International. http:// www.sgi.org/content/files/about-us/president-ikedas-proposals/peaceproposal2014.pdf Inukai, N., & Goulah, J. (2018). Josei Toda: Introduction to the man, his ideas and role in the Soka heritage of education. Schools: Studies in Education, 15(2), 299–325. Kumar, A. (2008). Development education and dialogic learning in the 21st century. International Journal of Development Education and Global Learning, 1(1), 37–48. https://doi.org/10.18546/IJDEGL.01.1.04. Kumar, C. (2009). Dewey’s Reconstruction in Philosophy revisited. Philosophical Papers, 38(1), 111–128. https://doi.org/10.1080/05568640902933510. Kuo, N. C. (2020). Daisaku Ikeda’s philosophical dialogues on education. Forum for International Research in Education, 6(2), 89–102. Makiguchi, T. (1972). Soka kyoikugaku taikei [The system of value-creating pedagogy]. Tokyo: Seikyo Shimbun Press. Morgan, W. J., & Guilherme, A. (2017). Philosophy, dialogue, and education: Nine modern European philosophers. New York: Routledge. Obelleiro, G. (2012). A moral cosmopolitan perspective on language education. Critical Inquiry in Language Studies, 9(1–2), 33–59. https://doi.org/10.108 0/15427587.2012.648064. Radhakrishnan, N., & Ikeda, D. (2015). Walking with the mahatma: Gandhi for modern times. New Delhi: Eternal Ganges Press. Sant, E., Davies, I., Pashby, K., & Shultz, L. (2018). Global citizenship education: A critical introduction to key concepts and debates. London: Bloomsbury Academic. Scheunpflug, A. (2012). Identity and ethics in global education: Becoming a global citizen. In L. Jasskelained, T. Kaivola, E. O’Loughlin, & L. Wegimont (Eds.), Proceedings of the international symposium on competencies of global citizen (pp. 31–39). Amsterdam: GENE. Sharma, N. (2002). Value creation, sarvodaya and participatory democracy: Three legacies for a creative and democratic world order through the process of education. Social Change – Issues and Perspectives, Journal of the Council for Social Development, 32(1-2), 99–116. https://doi.org/10.1177/ 004908570203200208
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Sharma, N. (2008). Makiguchi and Gandhi: Their educational relevance for the 21st century. Lanham: University Press of America and Rowman & Littlefield. Sharma, N. (2011). Revisiting the concept of dialogue in global citizenship education. The International Journal of Development Education and Global Learning, 3(2), 5–19. https://doi.org/10.18546/IJDEGL.03.2.02. Sharma, N. (2018). Value-creating global citizenship education: Engaging Gandhi, Makiguchi, and Ikeda as examples. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. Sharma, A. (2020). Creative dialogue and world peace: A study of Daisaku Ikeda’s contribution [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Panjab University, Chandigarh. Stearns, P. N. (Ed.). (2018). Peacebuilding through dialogue: Education, human transformation, and conflict resolution. Fairfax: George Mason University Press. Swaminathan, M. S., & Ikeda, D. (2005). Revolutions: To green the environment, to grow the human heart. Chennai: East West Books. Tarc, P. (2015). What is the active in 21st century calls to develop “active global citizens?” Justice oriented desires, active learning, neoliberal times. In J. Harshman, T. Augustine, & M. Merryfield (Eds.), Research in global citizenship education (pp. 35–58). Charlotte: Information Age. Tarozzi, M., & Torres, C. A. (2016). Global citizenship education and the crises of multiculturalism: Comparative perspectives. London: Bloomsbury Academic. UN. (2015). 2030 agenda for sustainable development and its 17 sustainable development goals. www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment UNESCO. (2015). Global citizenship education: Topics and learning objectives. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2017a). Education for sustainable development goals: Learning objectives. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2017b). Learning to live together. Paris: UNESCO. Urbain, O. (2010). Daisaku Ikeda’s philosophy of peace: Dialogue, transformation and global citizenship. New York: I. B. Tauris.
CHAPTER 5
An Understanding of Peace and Non- violence as Being Central to the Human Rights Agenda
Abstract This chapter develops an understanding of peace and non- violence as being central to the human rights agenda. It engages with the behavioral goal of learning to do and argues that learners must be equipped with the knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes that enable them to negotiate through socio-political-economic and other realities. This requires, for example, preparing students as far as possible to deal with the contradictions and paradoxes that arise when values such as non-violence engage in real-world politics, drawing on the examples of Ikeda and the Indian non-violent activist Gandhi as leaders of mass movements of their respective countries. The implications for ESD and GCE are developed with reference to a critical review of the SDGs and related human rights issues. At a basic level, three rights to be guaranteed for the learner are proposed and developed within the framework of this book, as discussed in this chapter. Keywords Education for sustainable development • Global citizenship education • Human rights education • Mahatma Gandhi • Daisaku Ikeda • Sustainable development goals
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Introduction At a basic level, the three rights to be guaranteed for the learner are, first, the right to a non-centric curriculum that allows learning from diverse knowledge and wisdom; second, the right to fulfill one’s unique potential, an inside-out and bottom-up approach to education for global citizenship that is transformative, compassionate, and adapts to particularities; and third, the right to a safe learning environment that fosters the courage to conquer prejudice and violence. These proposals are an outcome of previous studies on education, rights, and the empowerment of youth that also helped frame the conceptual arguments of this book (see Gundara and Sharma 2010; Sharma 1999, 2012b, 2018: 136). The above stated rights are reflected within the discussions of this book. Chapter 1 examined the need for a non-centric curriculum that reflects diverse perspectives. Chapter 3 engaged with the rights of Nature1 and all species, and Chap. 4 on all people’s right to experience growth, development of character, and ability to create value and meaning for self and society through the process of education and participatory democracy. This chapter brings together the discussions in the previous chapters and emphasizes the right to a safe learning environment. It also argues that to protect the sanctity and dignity of all life, citizens must be equipped with the knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes that enable them to negotiate through socio-political-economic and other realities. This requires, for example, preparing students as far as possible to deal with the contradictions and paradoxes that arise when values engage in real-world politics. This chapter also develops strategies and approaches for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) (UNESCO 2017a) and Global citizenship Education (GCE) (UNESCO 2015), and the behavioral goal of learning to do in relation to these issues. This core conceptual dimension is described by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as the aim to enable students “to act effectively and responsibly at local, national and global levels for a more peaceful and sustainable world” (UNESCO 2015: 15; see UNESCO 2017a: 11). In engaging with key recommendations made by UNESCO, this chapter also refers to emerging literature that is an early critical review of the United Nation’s (UN’s) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and human rights issues (Winkler and Williams 2017, 2018). These studies argue that although the SDGs are an attempt to build a more peaceful and sustainable world, they are not framed as being part of the international human rights law. This chapter brings together the contributions of this book that
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are focused on developing the rights of the learner, as discussed in the next section, which also facilitates the task of integrating dialogue and dialogic processes within ESD and GCE.
Respect for the Dignity of Life: Guidelines for Action The Global Education First Initiative (GEFI) launched by the UN Secretary-General in September 2012 has three aims2: . Put every child in school. 1 2. Improve the quality of learning. 3. Foster global citizenship. These three GEFI goals and related UNESCO directives have impacted my long-term work on the relevance of Asian thinkers. For example, my first book (Sharma 1999) offers suggestions for Education for All (EFA) through a comparative analysis of the ideas of the Japanese educator Tsunesaburo Makiguchi (1871–1944) and the Indian political leader Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi alias Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948). EFA is an initiative that emerged from UNESCO’s movement since 1990 to expand the access to education and is the first GEFI goal. My second book (Sharma 2008), in resonance with the GEFI second goal, advocates a qualitative transformation of schools based on a study of selected educational institutions that are in the lineage of Makiguchi and his successors, Josei Toda (1900–1958) and Daisaku Ikeda (b. 1928). My third book (Sharma 2018) is committed to the goal of education for global citizenship as outlined as the third GEFI initiative. Recent comprehensive analyses and conceptual reviews of the term “global citizenship” distinguish it from national citizenship, while also tracing its origins as historically formalized within the broader global education approach, with roots in ancient Greek cosmopolitan visions, modern thought, including Kant and the Enlightenment, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) issued after Second World War, and other international agreements that largely aim to protect the basic rights of people across nation-states (see Andreotti and de Souza 2012; Gaudelli 2016; Oxley and Morris 2013; Tarozzi and Torres 2016; Torres 2017).
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Also, as has been widely argued, recent developments in information and communication technologies and financial capitalism have given a thrust within most modern nation-states to equip their students with the knowledge, skills, abilities, behaviors, and values required to live and work in this new global order. Under the wing of Global Education, various fields that aim to engage with related issues include Development Education, Human Rights Education, Education for Sustainability, Education for Peace and Conflict Prevention, Intercultural and Interfaith Education, and the global dimension of Education for Citizenship (Tarozzi and Torres 2016: 6; see Ramalho 2020: 56; Sant et al. 2018). ESD and GCE are strategic areas of UNESCO’s (2014) education sector program for the period 2014–2021. UNESCO’s work in this field is guided by the Education 2030 Agenda and Framework for Action, notably Target 4.7 of SDG 4 on education which calls on countries to ensure that all learners are provided with the knowledge and skills to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship, and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development (UN 2015). My long-term work has argued the need for in-depth studies on less widely known perspectives that can allow for a substantive engagement with notions of interdependence, creative modes of thinking to re-engage human beings in personal and social transformation, and critical understandings of issues of social justice to help develop the framework in which dialogue can successfully work for peace-building and a sustainable future. As an example, an engagement with Ikeda as the Buddhist leader and educator, such as his behavior, belief, and strategies for action as an ordinary citizen, can contribute in this endeavor to the existing discourse on ESD and GCE. As a starting point, Ikeda’s speech delivered at Columbia University in 1996 is a useful reference that engages with the concept of “global citizen” at length and identifies it with the Buddhist term Bodhisattva (Ikeda 2008b: 445).3 Briefly, Bodhisattva is the life state that exists as an innate potential within human lives and causes people to take action to alleviate the sufferings of others. As Takazawa explains, “This life condition is also the closest to the happiness that characterizes Buddhist enlightenment” (Takazawa 2016: 10). Ikeda lists the essential elements of global citizenship as:
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• the wisdom to perceive the interconnectedness of all life and living; • the courage not to fear or deny difference but to respect and strive to understand people of different cultures and to grow from such encounters with them; • the compassion to maintain an imaginative empathy that reaches beyond one’s immediate surroundings and extends to those suffering in distant places. Elsewhere, he also refers to these as “three commitments or guidelines for action for constructing a civilization founded upon respect for the dignity of life” (Ikeda 2013: 25). These three qualities of global citizenship Ikeda states are “The compassion that never abandons others to suffer alone, the wisdom to perceive the equality and possibilities of life, the courage to make our differences the impetus for the elevation of our humanity” (ibid.). As I had previously explored in another article, the term Bodhisattva is key to Ikeda’s view of a global citizen which can be described as a human being endowed with courage, compassion, and wisdom, who, as an active citizen, concentrates on the positive transformation of one’s own life and therefore transforms one’s nation and humanity (Sharma 2007). One of the powerful contributions of these institutional values within the Soka Schools in Japan, founded by Ikeda, is the sense of mission and trust that students experience within their educational experiences (Sharma 2008). In addition, promoting friendship among the students is a key goal of these schools. If we probe further into Ikeda’s philosophy, a core concept within Buddhist humanism is the understanding of jihi or compassion that emerges from the Indian terminologies of metta and karuna, which is a combination of “true friendship,” “unconditional love,” and “empathy” (see glossary; Ikeda 1999: 130).4 That which draws us to the world of the other as viewed through this Asian perspective includes empathy (often advocated in praxis within GCE) but also incorporates the aspect of friendship. A compassionate disposition creates a mutual and equal relationship. It is argued here that Ikeda’s view that compassion must be an essential element of global citizenship seems to have influenced the Soka Schools’ aim to promote friendship. I have suggested that a values-based approach to GCE is necessary for multiple reasons, including that we tend to miss how values inform education within particular settings (Baker 2019). These values of wisdom, compassion, and courage selected from a study of less widely known perspectives correspond to at least three basic rights
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to be guaranteed for all learners as outlined earlier in this chapter: first, the right to a non-centric curriculum that allows learning from diverse knowledge and wisdom; second, the right to fulfill one’s unique potential, an inside-out and bottom-up approach to education for global citizenship that is transformative, compassionate, and adapts to particularities; and third, the right to a safe learning environment that fosters the courage to conquer prejudice and violence. The first suggested right (as argued in Chap. 1 of this book) is learner’s right to a non-centric curriculum. The overarching goal agreed to at the Muscat Global Education for All Meeting in 2014 is to “ensure equitable and inclusive quality education and lifelong learning for all by 2030” (UNESCO 2014). Toward that, one of the targets is “by 2030, all learners acquire knowledge, skills, values and attitudes to establish sustainable and peaceful societies, including through global citizenship education and education for sustainable development” (ibid.). However, as argued through a study of diverse groups, the knowledge and culture of the minority and subordinate groups of the community are often either underrepresented or not represented at all in the curriculum (Gundara and Sharma 2010). As mentioned earlier, Ikeda proposes as an essential element of a global citizen “the wisdom to perceive the interconnectedness of all life and living” (Ikeda 2008b: 444). This wisdom is a “living wisdom” that can be learned from various cultural traditions that appreciate the unity and connectedness of life, such as the Desana people of the Amazon and the Iroquois people of North America (Ikeda 2002). For learning to be truly dialogic, efforts must be made for the curriculum to be non-centric that allows learning from diverse knowledge and wisdom. An example is Murithi’s (2004) re-articulation of human rights from the perspective of the African worldview known as Ubuntu. UNESCO (2018: 2) suggests including such diverse concepts and charters that “promote ideas that echo those at the core of GCED.” However, there needs to be a more substantive engagement with emerging scholarly work on alternative perspectives. The second right suggested (as outlined in Chaps. 3 and 4) is the right to fulfill one’s unique potential through the process of dialogue that starts from the particularities of where the task of education takes place. The notion of interdependence that informs Ikeda’s proposals on education is based on a non-dualistic view of the world that seeks unity, harmony, and compassion through building relationships. The process of education for value creation is to internalize dialogue generated through being inspired
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by others/Nature/the universe. The process of dialogue should start from the learner’s immediate environment, at home with the family, within the class and school, and through an engagement in the community. In his various writings, Ikeda urges for an ongoing process of dialogue to take place in relation to oneself, others, Nature, and the universe. For example, he advocates that it is only through an “inner and outer dialogue between one’s ‘self’ and a profoundly internalized ‘other’…can we begin to grasp and fully affirm the reality of being alive” (Ikeda 2010: 57). In addition, his “dialogue with nature” is captured through his photography and several photo albums (see Wahid and Ikeda 2015). Further, Ikeda notes that “It is only within the open space created by dialogue – whether conducted with our neighbors, with history, with nature or the cosmos – that human wholeness can be sustained” (Ikeda 2008b: 228). Arguably, his understanding of “human wholeness” is a state in which a person can fulfill their own unique potential and create value through living a contributive and meaningful life under any circumstance.5 The third right is the right to a safe learning environment that should foster the courage to conquer prejudice and violence. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) “is the most rapidly and widely ratified international human rights treaty in history…that clearly shows a wide global commitment to advancing children’s rights.”6 As echoed in this declaration, children have a right to receive education and express themselves in a safe space, and the rights of the girl child across many schools and communities deserve more attention. The focus on a human rights approach must include a gender perspective, that is, the perspective of gender equality, including the rights of women7 and the LGBTQ+ community. At a micro level, children have a right to schools that are committed to tackling bullying and violence. At the macro level of the local and global community, they have the right to a world without the threat of global pandemic, climate change, poverty, war, and nuclear weapons.8 At the core of these efforts is the right to an education that can combat the tendency for prejudice and violence that lies within the human heart. Elsewhere, Ikeda proposes the ushering in of an age of “soft power” which can be achieved through “strengthening of the inner resources and processes of the individual” (Ikeda 1991: 1). As a tool to achieve this inner positive potential, Ikeda finds dialogue to be of key value. He further explains that “The conquest of our own prejudicial thinking, our own attachment to difference, is the guiding principle for open dialogue, the essential condition for the establishment of peace and universal respect for
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human rights” (ibid.: 3). Importantly, what is also required is to give agency to the individual child by removing structural inequalities and inequities that promote various forms of social injustice and divisions between students, people, and communities. In addition, moving beyond dialogue as verbal communication requires reimagining how dialogic processes must be integrated into learning and teaching for global citizenship, including the representation of the “other” within the curriculum. As an example, UNESCO has been working on textbook development issues since its inception in 1945 as part of its fundamental mandate to “build peace in the minds of men and women” (see UNESCO 2017b). It has aimed at “the removal of content leading to negative stereotyping of the ‘other,’ narrow nationalism, and the glorification of war” (UNESCO 2017b: 7). Further, in engaging with religion, gender, and culture, “more recent initiatives on textbooks and learning materials have broadened to include considerations of the role of education in promoting human rights and ending discrimination in all of its forms” (ibid.). A discussion on these three rights of the learner in this section is in consideration of the broader arguments of this book and they are offered as criteria for policy makers and curriculum developers to facilitate the task of integrating dialogue and dialogic processes within ESD and GCE. These suggestions also emphasize that a quantitative approach of acquiring more knowledge about others is not adequate and would require the creation of a learning environment and ethos in which the learner experiences trust, empathy, and friendship through the learning process, and that can ensure the development of the learner’s own values and attitudes through such dialogic processes.
The Relevance of Gandhi and the Soka Progenitors to the Human Rights Agenda The discussions within this section contribute to the discourse on ESD and GCE through a long-term study of the educational ideas and relevance of Gandhi and the Soka progenitors. Value-creating global citizenship education (Sharma 2018) developed from a study of these thinkers is an educational approach that seeks to expand the current focus within education on individual empowerment to enhance collective efforts and the possibilities for what Ikeda calls a “creative coexistence” (Ikeda 2010:
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89). The abovementioned thinkers’ perspectives, although situated in Asian historical contexts, are also rooted in an existential dialogue with other regions of the world, for example, as suggested through an examination in the confluences of ideas between Dewey and the Soka progenitors in Chap. 4 of this book. As also discussed in the previous chapter, without adequate critical learning and values-based perspectives acquired through the taught and untaught curriculum, the current emphasis on experiential learning within ESD and GCE could just end up making lessons enjoyable without an attention to achieve the growth and character required for participatory democracy. The argument is that experiential learning methods must equip the learner with the necessary knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes for lifelong participation in global and sustainability issues as a responsible citizen (see Fig. 5.1). The previous chapters of this book have made several recommendations on developing learning to know and learning to be through the taught and untaught curriculum. This chapter engages with the goal of learning to do. In engaging with this behavioral dimension, this section offers a critical analysis of what it means to be an active citizen. It revisits in further depth some issues raised earlier in this book in relation to the political implications of taking action based on
Learning to know and be through the taught and untaught curriculum
Develop critical skills and values-based perspectives
Fig. 5.1 Learning to do based on learning to know and be
Learning to do through home-schoolcommunity experiences
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values, such as peace and non-violence, drawing on the examples of movements that motivate people to take constructive action within their respective societies. A study of such movements is embedded with learning that can inform classroom practice in education for citizenship. I have offered a critical analysis of what it means to be an active citizen (Sharma 2008, 2012a, 2015, 2018, 2020a). To illustrate, citing Gandhi as an example, I have considered some of the political implications of taking action based on values, such as peace, compassion, and non-violence. As argued, contradictions and paradoxes will arise when values are used in real-world politics. However, there are merits in studying the creativity displayed by Gandhi and similar thinkers for education for citizenship. Such studies can help build character through a critical engagement with knowledge about the patterns of living of people and communities across Western/non-Western diasporas rooted in values-based perspectives. In line with these arguments, my studies propose that the disposition and agenda of ESD and GCE include criticality for social justice and value creation for social and self-actualization.9 As mentioned earlier in this chapter, education for citizenship must be framed around normative values and enable the learner to develop, as Gandhi suggests, “the fine discriminating quality which goes with spiritual courage and character” (Gandhi 1965: 34). Such skills of criticality are important tools to effectively act for social justice and create value for the happiness and development of both oneself and others. I develop these arguments in this section through discussing one of my six proposed themes for the practice of value-creating global citizenship education that seeks to develop an understanding of peace and non-violence as being central to the human rights agenda. An engagement with values in education for citizenship must attempt to develop an understanding of power and controversial issues around taking action to promote peace and sustainability. UNESCO (2016, 2017c), under the peace and human rights agenda, makes recommendations that include preventing violent extremism through education and education about the holocaust.10 Within these agendas, what is meant by power is also a key theme that needs to be part of this process of learning. As Bourn points out, “Power is complex and cannot be seen in terms of traditional colonial powers versus colonies. Globalisation has transformed many of the social, cultural, political and economic relationships that exist around the world” (Bourn 2014: 26; also see O’Brien 2019).
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Further discussions are required that challenge epistemic assumptions. This includes viewing the good and evil divide from Eastern ontological lenses. To explain, as Ikeda suggests, often issues related to social justice are “rooted in a worldview of fixed categories of good and evil” (Ikeda 2014: 15). This perception, which has been used as the rationale to fight wars among nations, becomes inconsequential in light of the existential perspective based on a non-dualistic view of good and evil. Viewed from the Eastern perspectives held by thinkers such as Gandhi and Ikeda, good and evil are seen to be part of every individual, society, and nation. In essence, evil is that which alienates people and destroys life, and good is that which brings people together and upholds the sanctity and dignity of life. Peace and non-violence are in this way central to the human rights agenda.
Curriculum, Teaching, Learning, and Policy Implications Peace and human rights are terms used within the discourse and praxis related to the SDGs. However, these terms are open to a wide range of interpretations. It is beyond the aim and scope of this book to locate the different discussions on ESD and GCE within related disciplines, for example, peace studies, peace education, and human rights education. This study finds that there are similarities in its central arguments with contributions from scholarly literature on critical peace studies and human rights education in relation to sustainable development and global citizenship which need to be developed through further research (see Bajaj and Chiu 2009; Verma 2017). For example, the educational proposals of the Asian thinkers studied in this volume and the pedagogy of teachers who are influenced by them (see Hrdina 2018; Takazawa 2016) resonate with what Bajaj (2015: 3) argues as a shared understanding among all peace educators, which is “the belief in the promise and possibility of educational processes to contribute to social change efforts.” This belief resonates in the feminist peace educator and civil society activist Betty Reardon’s articulation of Ikeda’s annual peace proposals that she offers as a guide for students to consider creative modes of responding to global challenges (Ikeda Center 2017) and is also a key element in the dialogue between the pioneer peace educator Johan Galtung and Ikeda (Galtung and Ikeda 1995; see Sharma 2020b and Urbain 2018 for a study of their dialogue).
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This chapter brings together the strategies and approaches for an engagement with the behavioral dimension of ESD and GCE (UNESCO 2015, 2017a) in relation to issues pertaining to the value-creating theme: an understanding of peace and non-violence as being central to the human rights agenda. This theme poses many curricular challenges which are nevertheless considered as being pertinent to a value-creating framework. A critical understanding of the complex and changing dimensions of power in a postcolonial world is central to the praxis of ESD and GCE. As an example, the discussions on the creativity displayed by Gandhi, as well as his bold actions as a leader, are relevant to this theme. As argued through my previous work, there can be said to be two Gandhis. The first is Gandhi the person, for whom truth and non-violence was his creed. Then there was the Gandhi who had to play the role as mahatma, the moral leader and a nationalist, who had to work through the problematic intercultural issues. Normative values such as ahimsa or non-violence were key to the success of satyagraha (lit. truth force), the movement led by Gandhi for Indian independence from the British regime (see glossary). There has been an attempt to engage with teaching about Gandhi and ahimsa in Indian education. However, this has been problematic. For instance, in 2001, within the controversial rewriting of history textbooks, Gandhi’s non-violence was portrayed as a “weakness” by fundamentalists. This was eventually challenged and overturned by leading historians (Delhi Historians’ Group 2001: 24), although admittedly there is still no significant engagement with the work of Gandhi in any of the national curriculum in India. A study of the use and misuse of Gandhi within Indian history textbooks can serve as an important case study for teacher education institutions that aim to develop skills of criticality in teachers through a global focus on education. Such studies can help develop insights into the agendas that dictate national and local educational policies, curriculum theorizing, and development. In teaching the second Gandhi as bapu or Father of the Nation, the recommendation here is for a detailed engagement with primary- and secondary-source writings that reflect his deliberations and decisions for action as a moral leader and nationalist who had to wade through problematic intercultural issues. For example, drawing on scholarly work that elucidates how Gandhi wielded the tensions between the Hindu and Muslim political groups and caste system within the Hindu society can provide important lessons. Such critical, contextual studies can help
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examine Gandhi’s modes of thinking as a political actor within the history of his time period. Overall, the questions pertinent in teaching about all aspects of Gandhi in education for citizenship include the following: How do we teach Gandhi’s creativity displayed within the politics of his own time? Can we enable students to become active citizens who can work through complex social problems? One conclusion of my studies on the relevance of Gandhi is that instead of assimilating his ideas and distilling them in the classroom, we need to learn from his radical thinking. My work sheds light on Gandhi’s strategies, modes of thinking, behaviors, and beliefs as a citizen. Makiguchi, Gandhi, Toda, Ikeda, and similar creative thinkers have not provided a single, linear, and reductive prescription for the needs of their respective societies, but instead contended with the complexity of their respective social and educational contexts. A critical engagement with studies on the patterns of living of people and communities across Western/non-Western diasporas based on values, such as peace, compassion, and non-violence, can help build character through education. In discussing these issues, this chapter makes suggestions for policy and curriculum development. It argues that within classroom practices, the lessons centered on an engagement with thinkers, such as Gandhi and other moral leaders who were also political actors, must be supplemented with developing an understanding of the creativity and boldness displayed by them as a protagonist on the national and/or world stage. As suggested through proposals for curriculum development in Chap. 6 of this book, it is important that students develop an understanding of the various aspects of Gandhi, the moral, radical, and creative leader, and of the scale of non-violent mass movement as exemplary in human history that galvanized a disparate community. The aim within education for global citizenship from a value-creating perspective should be to engage with lessons on creative dissidents and their movements studied in this chapter—their personal values and influences on their lives, and how did they use their values to take constructive action for social justice. In another publication (Sharma 2015), I had examined the content and activities in a teacher’s education module engaging with Gandhi and Makiguchi. The discussions framed around the rights of the child in this chapter argue that central to the human rights agenda is the issue of violence and the need to promote dialogue through the process of building relationships and promoting collective action. Whereas there has been a great focus within education for global citizenship to counter religious
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extremism and other political challenges, such as narrow nationalism, the key issue for human rights must be to tackle violence—physical, emotional, cultural, political, structural, and other forms of violence as well as various types of dominance that excludes key stakeholders from dialogue and engagement. A similar recommendation is made by Bajaj (2012) through her case study around human rights education in the Indian context that examines related policy, ideology, strategy, and experiences. One of the outcomes of this work is the value of stakeholder participation so that teachers, learners, parents, and others who might not necessarily agree with human rights principles are persuaded through strategic involvement. From the arguments developed in this chapter, the following questions become central to the practice of value-creating global citizenship education that are posed to schools, institutions of higher education, communities, and civil society organizations that engage with the task of fostering global citizens. First, at a policy level, a core question that emerges is whether the current focus within education for global citizenship is only to empower the individual or is it also to initiate learning that fosters collaborative and collective efforts to combat local-global issues, such as climate change, refugee crises, religious intolerance, and possible future global pandemics among others. Second, for curriculum development, the arguments (various thoughts, links, and resources provided in this chapter and notes) suggest that learning about global issues related to human rights should start from the learners’ immediate environment, for example, questioning whether students can identify human rights abuses connected to their daily lives, such as whether they wear sustainable clothing or does manufacturing and selling it infringe on the rights of others. Reframing the curriculum (Santone 2019) is a recent book that covers in detail concepts related to social justice and sustainability that can be integrated into classroom learning and enable learners to make informed, values-based decision-making. Additionally, for older students, a more critical analysis on SDG 8.7 on modern slavery and child labor, as well as a critical reading of emerging studies, for example, by Voss et al. (2019), is required. For a study on the issue of human rights as reflected across various SDGs, including SDG3 on health, SDG8 on labor, SDG10 on equality, see Winkler and Williams (2017, 2018). New studies will also be required on health and human rights in relation to the disproportionate combined effects of global issues, such as climate change and pandemics like COVID-19, for example, on
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children and learners from ethnic minorities (Kirby 2020), as well as barriers to access to education, including for online learning across diverse groups (Warschauer and Matuchniak 2010). Students should also acquire critical understandings of national and universal rights, including of the values enshrined in their nations’ constitution, the Universal Declaration (1948), and Rights of the Child (1989). See Gaudelli and Fernekes (2004) for one example of how the curriculum in a selected school in the United States has promoted awareness about human rights abuses. See Abdi and Shultz (2008) for a discussion on human rights issues and global citizenship from multiple perspectives, including issues of racism and sexism. See Verma’s (2017) study on Critical peace education and global citizenship, and how the unofficial curriculum (consists of narratives, conversations, and unlikely lessons on empowerment and activism) can become transformative sites for peace praxis. Going back to the three rights of the learner mentioned in this chapter, one of the questions that is central to teaching the issue of human rights is how to develop the courage within people to fight prejudice and violence through engaging with the ESD and GCE behavioral dimension of learning to do. As a response, the discussions in the concluding chapter of this book, Chap. 7, take inspiration from teachers, schools, communities, forums, and movements who are facing the challenges of human rights issues and other crises.
Conclusion and Moving Forward: A Critical Approach to Leaving No One Behind Value-creating global citizenship education theme, central to the arguments of this chapter, promotes an understanding of peace and non- violence as being central to the human rights agenda.11 The discussions suggest that the human rights agenda must be central to the accomplishment of all the 17 SDGs, including Target 4.5 of SDG 4 that seeks to ensure equal access to education for all people. This is important because, as recent studies suggest, there are persistent inequalities in the SDGs and there needs to be a focus on getting more disaggregated data that can adequately reflect the status and condition of groups who have been marginalized and who are left out within existing political, social, and economic processes of measuring the impact of the Goals (Winkler and
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Satterthwaite 2018). Similarly, studies also argue the need for equality, participation, and accountability in achieving and measuring the SDGs that, although are an attempt to build a more peaceful and sustainable world, are not framed as being part of the international human rights law (Winkler and Williams 2017, 2018). Ikeda in his 2020 annual peace proposal endorses one of the key principles behind the SDGs of “leaving no one behind.”12 He notes that Makiguchi in 1903 work, Jinsei Chirigaku (The Geography of Human Life), had the foresight to see the limitations of military, political, and economic competition in “our tendency to view the world as solely the site of competition for survival” and instead called for a “humanitarian or humane modes of competition, in which one benefits oneself while working for the sake of others” (Makiguchi 1983: 2–7). In his proposal, Ikeda also states that “Toda’s determination was that no people, whatever their nationality, would ever find their rights and interests trampled upon, a vision he termed ‘global nationalism’ (Jpn: chikyu minzokushugi)” (Ikeda 2020b: 14). Elsewhere, in addressing the issue of climate change, Ikeda shares the need to revisit Makiguchi’s notion of a humanitarian competition to solve the global environmental crises, referring to it as “a vision of an international order in which the world’s diverse states strive to positively influence each other, to coexist and flourish together rather than pursuing narrowly defined national interests at each other’s expense” (Ikeda 2008a: 14). It is particularly relevant to ensure that the UN’s goal of leave no one behind considers such broader understandings of competition, development, and progress from perspectives that support mutual growth and happiness and works for all people, especially for vulnerable groups, such as migrant populations (Laverack 2018) and children who lack access to basic health, welfare, and education (Kharas et al. 2019). The next two chapters of this book engage with the challenges in achieving the goal of learning to live together in the twenty-first century from a value-creating perspective.
Notes 1. See http://www.harmonywithnatureun.org/welcome/ 2. http://www.unesco.org/new/en/gefi/about/ 3. In Mahayana Buddhism, practiced by the Soka Gakkai International (SGI), the term Bodhisattva depicts a state of life that lies within every human
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being. It emphasizes an ideal of human behavior. It is a state of wisdom, compassion, and courage by which one can overcome the restraints of egoism and work for the welfare of self and others (see Takazawa 2016: 10–14). See Ikeda (1999) on the SGI’s peace movement to promote “responsibility, compassion, and wisdom,” which Ikeda describes as the efforts to advance “peace, culture, and education,” respectively. 4. Elsewhere, Ikeda (2020a: 3) expresses his view that, “people who take action to build friendships with others as fellow human beings are true global citizens.” 5. For more details on the relevance of Ikeda’s dialogue to global citizenship education, see Sharma (2010). 6. http://www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/children/ 7. See examples of organizations such as Mina’s list for representation of women and women’s voices in politics as an example: https://www. minaslist.org/ 8. The practice of GCE should seriously engage with the work being done by the anti-nuclear weapons group, ICAN, that won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017. See http://www.icanw.org/ The SGI is a partner organization of this initiative. Also see the website of the SGI Office for UN Affairs on projects and resources pertaining to issues on peace and disarmament, human rights education, sustainable development, gender equality, and women’s empowerment: https://sgi-ouna.org/ 9. The phrase “social self-actualization” has been used recently by several scholars including the Dewey scholar, Jim Garrison (see Bogen 2009). 10. https://en.unesco.org/themes/gced 11. See Sharma (2018), Chapter 5, for theoretical arguments, and pages 104–105 for praxis. 12. https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2016/leaving-no-one-behind
References Abdi, A. A., & Shultz, L. (Eds.). (2008). Educating for human rights and global citizenship. Albany: SUNY Press. Andreotti, V., & de Souza, L. (Eds.). (2012). Postcolonial perspectives on global citizenship education. New York: Routledge. Bajaj, M. (2012). Schooling for social change: The rise and impact of human rights education in India. London: Bloomsbury Academic. Bajaj, M. (2015). Pedagogies of resistance’ and critical peace education praxis. Journal of Peace Education, 12(2), 154–166. https://doi.org/10.108 0/17400201.2014.991914.
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Bajaj, M., & Chiu, B. (2009). Education for sustainable development as peace education. Peace & Change, 34(4), 441–455. https://doi.org/10.1111/ j.1468-0130.2009.00593.x. Baker, T. [Namrata Sharma]. (2019, July 6). DERC seminar series: Dr Namrata Sharma – Integrating Buddhist/soka perspectives within the UNESCO-led discourse and practice of global citizenship education [Video, also available via YouTube]. https://mediacentral.ucl.ac.uk/Play/18130 Bogen, M. (2009). John Dewey, Daisaku Ikeda, and the quest for a new humanism. Ikeda Center. https://www.ikedacenter.org/thinkers-themes/themes/ humanism/dewey-ikeda-quest-09 Bourn, D. (2014). The theory and practice of global learning (Research paper no. 11 for the global learning programme). London: Development Education Research Center, Institute of Education, Global Learning Programme. Delhi Historians’ Group, J. N. U. (2001). Communalisation of education: The history textbooks controversy. New Delhi: Deluxe Printery. Galtung, J., & Ikeda, D. (1995). Choose peace: A dialogue between Johan Galtung and Daisaku Ikeda. London: Pluto Press. Gandhi, M. K. (1965). Gandhi on non-violence: Selected texts from non-violence in peace and war. New York: New Directions Publishing Corp. Gaudelli, W. (2016). Global citizenship education: Everyday transcendence. New York: Routledge. Gaudelli, W., & Fernekes, W. R. (2004, January/February). Teaching about global human rights for global citizenship: Action research in the social studies curriculum. The Social Studies, 95(1), 16–26. https://doi.org/10.3200/ TSSS.95.1.16-26. Gundara, J., & Sharma, N. (2010). Providing access to education: Intercultural and knowledge issues in the curriculum. In D. Mattheou (Ed.), Changing educational landscape: Educational practices, schooling systems and higher education: A comparative perspective (pp. 93–105). New York: Springer. Hrdina, J. (2018). The perceptions of teachers regarding guiding principles of Soka education and their influence in the classroom [Unpublished dissertation]. Lesley University. Ikeda, D. (1991). The age of ‘soft power’ and inner-motivated philosophy. Lecture delivered at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA on September 26, 1991. Daisaku Ikeda Site. https://www.daisakuikeda.org/sub/resources/ works/lect/lect-01.html Ikeda, D. (1999). The SGI’s peace movement. In D. W. Chappell (Ed.), Buddhist peacework: Creating cultures of peace (pp. 129–138). Boston: Wisdom Publications. Ikeda, D. (2002, July). The challenge of global empowerment: Education for a sustainable future. Soka Gakkai International. http://www.sgi.org/about-us/ president-ikedas-proposals/environmental-proposal-2002.html
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Ikeda, D. (2008a, January 26). Peace proposal 2008. Humanizing religion, creating peace. Soka Gakkai International. https://www.sgi.org/about-us/presidentikedas-proposals/peace-proposal-2008.html Ikeda, D. (2008b). Thoughts on education for global citizenship. In My dear friends in America: Collected U.S. addresses 1990–1996 (2nd ed., pp. 441–451). Santa Monica: World Tribune Press. Ikeda, D. (2010). Soka education: For the happiness of the individual (Rev. ed.). Santa Monica: Middleway Press. Ikeda, D. (2013, January 26). 2013 peace proposal. Compassion, wisdom and courage: Building a global society of peace and creative coexistence. https://www. daisakuikeda.org/sub/resources/works/props/2013-peace-proposal.html Ikeda, D. (2014, January 26). 2014 peace proposal. Value creation for global change: Building resilient and sustainable societies. Soka Gakkai International. https:// www.sgi.org/aboutus/president-ikedas-proposals/peace-proposal-2014.html Ikeda, D. (2020a). Building a bright future based on our vow: Exploring the life of Nanjo Tokimitsu. Soka Gakkai International Newsletter, 10427. (Translated from the February 1, 2019, issue of the Mirai [Future] Journal.) Tokyo: Soka Gakkai International. Ikeda, D. (2020b, January 26). 2020 peace proposal. Towards our shared future: Constructing an era of human solidarity. https://www.daisakuikeda.org/sub/ resources/works/props/2020-peace-proposal.html Ikeda Center for Peace, Learning, and Dialogue. (2017, Spring). An experiment in alternative thinking about global issues. https://www.ikedacenter.org/thinkers/themes/thinkers/reflections/peace-proposal/reardon Kharas, H., McArthur, J. W., & Ohno, I. (2019). Leave no one behind: Time for specifics on the sustainable development goals. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press. Kirby, T. (2020, May 8). Evidence mounts on the disproportionate effect of COVID-19 on ethnic minorities. The Lancet (online). https://doi. org/10.1016/S2213-2600(20)30228-9. Laverack, G. (2018). ‘Leaving no one behind’: The challenge of reaching migrant populations. Challenges, 9(2), 37. https://doi.org/10.3390/challe9020037. Makiguchi, T. (1983). Jinsei chirigaku [The geography of human life]. Makiguchi Tsunesaburo zenshu [Complete works of Tsunesaburo Makiguchi] (Vols. 1–2). Tokyo: Daisan Bunmeisha. Murithi, T. (2004). Towards a culturally inclusive notion of human rights: The African worldview known as Ubuntu. Human Rights Tribune, 10(1), 14–15. O’Brien, P. (2019). Left behind or pushed behind? Redistributing power over the sustainable development goals. In H. Kharas, J. W. McArthur, & I. Ohno (Eds.), Leave no one behind: Time for specifics on the sustainable development goals (pp. 295–321). Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.
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Oxley, L., & Morris, P. (2013). Global citizenship: A typology for distinguishing its multiple conceptions. British Journal of Educational Studies, 61(3), 301–325. https://doi.org/10.1080/00071005.2013.798393. Ramalho, T. (2020). Paulo Freire: Accidental global citizen, global educator. In D. Bourn (Ed.), The Bloomsbury handbook of global education and learning (pp. 52–59). London: Bloomsbury Academic. Sant, E., Davies, I., Pashby, K., & Shultz, L. (2018). Global citizenship education: A critical introduction to key concepts and debates. London: Bloomsbury Academic. Santone, S. (2019). Reframing the curriculum: Design for social justice and sustainability. New York: Routledge. Sharma, N. (1999). Value creators in education: Japanese educator Makiguchi & Mahatma Gandhi and their relevance for the Indian education (2nd ed.). New Delhi: Regency Publications. Sharma, N. (2007). Soka education: Fostering global citizens. Art of Living, 72, 8–10. Sharma, N. (2008). Makiguchi and Gandhi: Their educational relevance for the 21st century. Lanham: University Press of America and Rowman & Littlefield. Sharma, N. (2010). Revisiting the concept of dialogue in global citizenship education. The International Journal of Development Education and Global Learning, 3(2), 5–19. https://doi.org/10.18546/IJDEGL.03.2.02. Sharma, N. (2012a). Can we learn to become active citizens? In N. Palaiologou & G. Dietz (Eds.), Mapping the broad field of intercultural/multicultural education worldwide: Towards the construction of the new citizen (pp. 402–414). Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Sharma, N. (2012b). Education and empowerment of disadvantaged youth in India: A review of policy, programme, and public action. In C. Atkins (Ed.), Education and minorities (pp. 71–88). London: Continuum. Sharma, N. (2015). Can active citizenship be learned? Examining content and activities in a teacher’s education module engaging with Gandhi and Makiguchi. Policy Futures in Education, 13(3), 328–341. https://doi.org/10.1177/ 1478210315571215. Sharma, N. (2018). Value-creating global citizenship education: Engaging Gandhi, Makiguchi, and Ikeda as examples. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. Sharma, N. (2020a). Integrating Asian perspectives within the UNESCO-led discourse and practice of global citizenship education: Taking Gandhi and Ikeda as examples. In D. Bourn (Ed.), The Bloomsbury handbook of global education and learning (pp. 90–102). London: Bloomsbury Academic. Sharma, A. (2020b). Creative dialogue and world peace: A study of Daisaku Ikeda’s contribution [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Panjab University, Chandigarh.
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Takazawa, M. (2016). Exploration of soka education principles on global citizenship: A qualitative study of U.S. K-3 soka educators (Publication no. 324) [Doctoral dissertation, University of San Francisco]. https://repository.usfca.edu/ diss/324/ Tarozzi, M., & Torres, C. A. (2016). Global citizenship education and the crises of multiculturalism: Comparative perspectives. London: Bloomsbury Academic. Torres, C. A. (2017). Theoretical and empirical foundations of critical global citizenship education. New York: Routledge. UN. (2015). 2030 agenda for sustainable development and its 17 sustainable development goals. www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment UNESCO. (2014). Global education for all meeting. 2014 GEM final statement: The Muscat Agreement. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2015). Global citizenship education: Topics and learning objectives. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2016). A teacher’s guide on the prevention of violent extremism. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2017a). Education for sustainable development goals: Learning objectives. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2017b). Making textbook content inclusive: A focus on religion, gender, and culture. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2017c). Preventing violent extremism through education: A guide for policy-makers. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2018). Global citizenship education. Taking it local. Paris: UNESCO. Urbain, O. (2018). Bringing out the best in oneself and others: The role of dialogue in Daisaku Ikeda’s peacebuilding practice. In P. Stearns (Ed.), Peacebuilding through dialogue: Education, human transformation, and conflict resolution (pp. 105–120). Fairfax: George Mason University Press. Verma, R. (2017). Critical peace education and global citizenship: Narratives from the unofficial curriculum. New York: Routledge. Voss, H., Davis, M., Sumner, M., Waite, L., Ras, I. A., Singhal, D., & Jog, D. (2019). International supply chains: Compliance and engagement with the Modern Slavery Act. Journal of the British Academy, 7(s1), 61–76. https://doi. org/10.5871/jba/007s1.061. Wahid, A., & Ikeda, D. (2015). The wisdom of tolerance: A philosophy of generosity and peace. London: I. B. Tauris. Warschauer, M., & Matuchniak, T. (2010). New technology and digital worlds: Analyzing evidence of equity in access, use, and outcomes. Review of Research in Education, 34(1), 179–225. https://doi.org/10.3102/ 0091732X09349791.
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Winkler, I. T., & Satterthwaite, M. L. (2018). Leaving no one behind? Persistent inequalities in the SDGs. In I. T. Winkler & C. Williams (Eds.), The sustainable development goals and human rights: A critical early review (pp. 51–75). New York: Routledge. Winkler, I. T., & Williams, C. (2017). The sustainable development goals and human rights: A critical early review. The International Journal of Human Rights, 21(8), 1023–1028. https://doi.org/10.1080/13642987.2017.1348695. Winkler, I. T., & Williams, C. (Eds.). (2018). The sustainable development goals and human rights: A critical early review. New York: Routledge.
CHAPTER 6
Culminating Lessons, Moving Forward
Abstract Suggestions are made in this chapter for lessons that engage with Gandhi, Makiguchi, and Ikeda’s beliefs, modes of thinking, behaviors, and strategies as active protagonists within their respective countries. The proposals made in this chapter are not typical formal lesson plans but include teaching guidelines that can be used to integrate non-Western perspectives to develop a global outlook within teacher education programs; for the professional development of in-service teachers; within undergraduate (bachelor’s) and graduate (master’s) programs on international and comparative education, development education, and global learning; and within civil society organizations promoting global citizenship education with the aim to foster active and creative citizens. Core activities are provided that can be used to develop curriculum according to the needs of the cohort. This course can be designed to teach hybrid and asynchronous, fully online courses.
This chapter was first published in Sharma, N. (2018). Value-creating global citizenship education: Engaging Gandhi, Makiguchi. and Ikeda as examples. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan (pp. 115–130). Reproduction with permission. Minor modifications have been made to keep consistency with the arguments, language, and format of this book. Readings and resources have been updated for easier access to facilitate hybrid and fully online courses. © The Author(s) 2020 N. Sharma, Value-Creating Global Citizenship Education for Sustainable Development, Palgrave Studies in Global Citizenship Education and Democracy, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58062-9_6
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Keywords Global citizenship education • Non-Western perspectives • Mahatma Gandhi • Tsunesaburo Makiguchi • Daisaku Ikeda • Curriculum development
Introduction The internationalization of higher education and the institutionalization of global citizenship programs within curricula across schools and universities in the world have generated much enthusiasm but have also invited criticism from various scholars and groups. For example, within the universities of leading economies, including Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, there is a drive to foster globally competent students through study abroad programs, an increased focus on language learning, and other experiences and skills that also aim to enhance the nation’s economic competitiveness. For many scholars, the current practice of education further increases the gaps between people, such as between the Global North and South in which cohorts in the South are subjected to various travel restrictions that are not always applicable to the North. This increases the stratification between those who have greater access to mobility compared to those who are confronted by borders and other disparities (see Jooste and Heleta 2017; Rizvi 2007, 2017). In this context, a study by Aktas et al. (2017) indicates the different ways of conceptualizing global citizenship in higher education programs while discussing their implications for social justice and equity at both the theoretical and programmatic levels. Taking Shultz’s (2007) categorization of the three dominant approaches—neoliberal, radical/conflict, and critical/transformationalist—the authors analyze a variety of case samples and conclude with recommendations that include the value of a critical approach as follows: In particular, acting critically is an important component of the critical/ transformationalist global citizenship approach as it enables cohorts to question global power structures influencing both local and global communities, while opening opportunities for cohorts to reflect on their own place in the world. (Aktas et al. 2017)
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It is also pertinent to add here that for this approach to be used effectively, the knowledge within the curricula should be non-centric and represent diverse perspectives. As argued in Chaps. 1 and 5 of this book, the curricula within schools and university programs should not draw more heavily from one source of knowledge while excluding or marginalizing others. Programs on global citizenship within higher education must also engage with less widely known theories and perspectives. Contributing to this agenda, this chapter develops the outline for a course through a study of the lives of the thinkers, Gandhi, Makiguchi, and Ikeda. As discussed in Chap. 5, through the example of Gandhi, there is still no significant engagement with his life and ideas even within any of the national curriculum in India. Another contribution of this course is to foster active citizens through a study of Gandhi, Makiguchi, and Ikeda as examples of people who were embroiled in their own socio-political and educational contexts. Teaching strategies outlined in this chapter contribute to the goal of learning to live together (Delors et al. 1996; UNESCO-IBE 2003). As explored in Chap. 5, one of the questions that is relevant to education for citizenship is, “how can we enable students to become active citizens who can work through complex social issues?” One conclusion of my studies on the relevance of these thinkers is that instead of assimilating their ideas and distilling them in the classroom, we need to learn from their radical thinking. These and other creative thinkers have not provided a single, linear, and reductive prescription for the needs of their respective societies, but instead contended with the complexity of their respective social and educational contexts. Suggestions are made in this chapter for lessons that engage with the thinkers’ beliefs, modes of thinking, behaviors, and strategies for action, for example, Gandhi’s concept of ahimsa or non-violence, its use within the politics of his time, and the relevance of this study to global citizenship education. Whereas this book caters to a wider readership through discussions centered on themes proposed for the practice of value-creating global citizenship education, the proposed audience for this chapter are mainly teachers and curriculum developers. The suggested lessons are not formal lesson plans. The proposals made in this chapter can be used to integrate nonWestern perspectives to develop a global outlook within teacher education programs; for the professional development of in-service teachers; within undergraduate (bachelor’s) and graduate (master’s) programs on international and comparative education, development education and global
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learning, and future programs on value-creating education; and within civil society organizations promoting global citizenship education with the aim to foster active and creative citizens. I have provided core activities and teaching strategies that can be used to develop curriculum according to the needs of the cohort.
Lesson Development and Overview Over the years while studying and working in higher education across countries in Asia, Europe, and the United States, I realized that there is a dearth of engagement with non-Western perspectives within learning and teaching. For example, during my schooling experience in Kolkata (Calcutta), India, we read more literary work from Western authors, like William Shakespeare (1564–1616), than the work, for example, of local Bengali poets and playwrights, such as Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941), in spite of the extant availability of Tagore’s own authored and translated work in English. (The worldwide dominance of the English language as a lingua franca might itself be the subject of another discussion.) It was only when I went to Japan and later in UK that I was able to put the emphasis back on Asian thinkers. It is on the basis of these later personal and professional experiences that I offer the following resources to develop teaching materials based on the ideas of Gandhi, Makiguchi, and Ikeda. The suggestions below have been written as an outline for a course that can be covered over one semester or extended to a longer length of teaching. The impact will be enhanced when taught within a dialogic and transformative environment where cohorts can interact with the learning materials while bringing their own experiences, values, and aspirations into the classroom, as discussed in the previous chapters of this book. I use this framework to teach asynchronous online courses, and given the move toward online learning in recent years, especially since the COVID-19 global pandemic, this course can be considered for developing hybrid or fully online teaching. Overall, the course invites cohorts (across programs and academic levels suggested earlier) to explore key debates over the meaning and nature of social justice in global citizenship education, debates that intersect with questions about the person, society, education, and knowledge. Participants are introduced to key concepts such as citizenship, diversity, equality, globalization, inclusion, power, the state, and subjectivity and invited to
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consider the usefulness of various aspects of these concepts for making sense of education policy and practice. This study on the Asian thinkers challenges cohorts to read and reflect on their writings (primary sources), to compare texts authored by other scholars on their ideas (secondary sources), and to develop questions related to education for global citizenship. Each unit or module within the proposed course can integrate these successive steps: 1. watch/read the assigned material; 2. reflect on the materials studied; and 3. work on a culminating activity/assignment. These teaching guidelines are based on my previous research studies and curriculum development for global citizenship, including an examination of the content and activities in a teacher’s education module engaging with Gandhi and Makiguchi (see Sharma 2015). Goals It is expected that through the successful completion of this course, cohorts will: • be prepared to challenge and question textual material; • be able to formulate and investigate worthwhile questions related to education for citizenship; • develop abilities in a broad range of vocational and transferable skills including information gathering, analytical thinking, as well as sustaining and presenting a logical argument in academic writing. Objectives By the end of this course, cohorts will have an awareness of: • the educational ideas of selected Asian thinkers; • issues that arise in the teaching of values (such as non-violence) and citizenship through a knowledge-based curriculum; • successful practices of creating change within the untaught curriculum; and
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• understanding of how the use of value-creating theory can offer benefit in the context of classroom teaching and professional work. The broader course objectives, based on the conceptual framework of the previous chapters in this book, are to develop: • knowledge within the course, generated in three main ways: by reflecting on personal experience (e.g., through regular entries in a reflective learning journal), through discussion with others (in class or via online forums), and by reading and listening to various educational materials by international scholars (through face-to-face interactions or via the World Wide Web); • skills to respond critically to research literature by comparing and evaluating published sources; • the ability to use libraries and IT resources to search for and acquire relevant information for the purposes of critiquing textual material; • the ability to work independently to research textual material; and • the ability to articulate and present an argument in academic writing.
Introduction Lessons In the icebreaker and introduction week/s, it is important to start building a class environment that allows for the teacher and cohorts to bring their interests and aspirations into the classroom. The icebreaker lesson could begin by sharing something that can be related to this course about inspiring people/citizens, for example, generating a discussion about a great person or hero in one’s life, and a mentor who made a difference in one’s life direction. This can be followed by a short group introduction that includes describing oneself using three or four adjectives, and finally, a discussion centered on two to three learning or course objectives from the course syllabus that might be of particular interest to the students. This activity starts with building engagement between the teachers, cohorts, and learning materials. Several students who I have taught in the United States have never heard the term “global citizen.” For an introduction to this course, YouTube videos that students can see before or during class are “Second UNESCO Forum on Global Citizenship Education” and “Global Citizenship is…,”1 which can be followed by a discussion in class based on the following questions:
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• What do you think of the term “global citizen?” Do you agree with this term? Why? Why not? • Are there any essential elements of a global citizen? • Can you call yourself a global citizen? It is important to sensitize students here to the above discussion in this chapter, to the positive and negative images associated with this term, and to critically examine the tendency to associate language study, experience of traveling or study abroad, and the use of technology, as being the determining criteria of a global citizen. Through initial discussions, it is relevant to mention that a close connection to digital technology in itself does not make a person a global citizen. It is however useful if social media enhances knowledge, experience, and understanding of other cultures and the wider world (see Bourn 2015). Figure 6.1 provides an overview of the course that uses textual analysis to examine the key ideas and educational relevance of Gandhi, Makiguchi, and Ikeda.
Lessons on the Thinkers’ Life, Work, and Relevance Lessons on the educational philosophy and practice of the three thinkers can be taught through the use of a historical-comparative study and discussion of their perspectives in education developed within their own particularities. A three-part historical study can explore (a) their respective historical backgrounds, (b) their personal histories including relevant events and influences on their lives, and (c) their present use and applicability. Overall, the method used to study their ideas is based upon a critical, textual, and biographical analysis of their respective lives and values. This involves a study of their writings (primary sources), as well as a comparison of the texts authored by other scholars on their ideas (secondary sources). Primary sources that have been translated need to be read whilst being mindful of the translator’s position and influence on the translated work. Further, the results of the historical-comparative study can shed light on broader issues that are relevant to educating citizens in the twenty- first century. For example, students can examine the use of their ideas in selected schools through both the taught and untaught curriculum. In the case of Makiguchi and Ikeda, it can be a sample from the Soka Schools (where Ikeda is the founder) and non-Soka Schools (established by others who are inspired by the educational ideas of the Soka progenitors). As a
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Core common Ideas The view of all life being interdependent necessitates the importance of - social responsibility and active citizenship in the local community - empathy and compassion for the "other" as global citizens - the need for criticality and to understand different perspectives
Analysis of Texts - read "texts" (audio and visual) on Gandhi, Makiguchi, and Ikeda - read the context in which texts are developed
Relevance for Education How do we teach:
- understand different cultures and perspectives
- interdependence?
- value creation for social and selfactualization
- non-violence? - social responsibility? - global citizenship? - non-Western perspectives?
Gandhi, Makiguchi, and Ikeda
Fig. 6.1 Mind map for a study of Gandhi, Makiguchi, and Ikeda (Sharma 2018: 120)
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culminating activity, students can analyze the relevance of the core ideas and themes that emerge for a study and application of global citizenship education within their own particularities, schools, and communities. The following questions can be used to guide a more detailed engagement with these thinkers, their ideas, movements, and relevance for global citizenship education (developed from Sharma 2008): 1. What are the key contradictions and paradoxes which can be identified in a contextual and historical analysis of the value systems of Gandhi, Makiguchi, and Ikeda? This question guides an investigation of the context in which these thinkers were placed. It also draws us to engage with their writings/texts, and to understand the time and context in which these were written.2 2. How have the “values” systems or values and beliefs of the thinkers impacted upon education today? This question guides an investigation into the use and influence of their ideas in education and examines the applicability of their proposals. 3. Is there any way in which the findings of this analysis may have generalizable use for future studies? This question engages with the outcomes from a study on these thinkers that need further investigation, for example, identification of their strategies, behaviors, and beliefs as citizens. To summarize, as the sessions progress, students should be able to critically engage with various issues within global citizenship education across the international community as well as to understand that education needs to be sensitive to the culture of the students, school, and community. Lessons on the Thinkers’ Life and Work in the Twentieth Century andhi’s Life and Work in the Twentieth Century G A study of Gandhi’s life and work in twentieth-century India can include an introduction to Gandhi, his core ideas, and identification with some of his successes and challenges as a national leader. As part of the learning outcomes, students can
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• understand the meaning of key words and phrases used within Gandhi’s movement for Indian independence (including satya, ahimsa, and satyagraha; see the glossary); • analyze and explain Gandhi’s ideas within the context in which these were developed; • compare ideas in primary and secondary texts to understand different perspectives; • develop knowledge of Gandhi’s philosophy and movement for Indian independence. The introduction to Gandhi can be through a short film on Gandhi’s biography followed by a more multilayered analysis of the influences on Gandhi that includes a study of his choice of influence, for example, his intentional use of the Indian attire, language, and culture within his political movement. The introduction to Gandhi should also take a critical and analytical approach to secondary source writings that comment on his personal history.3 A core activity should engage students in readings on Gandhi’s concept of ahimsa or non-violence and its use (through primary and secondary sources—as examples, see Gandhi 1939; Hardiman 2003: 59; Sharma 2008: 69).4 Questions can include, • how is Gandhi’s view, that even Hitler could be won over by non- violence, interpreted differently in each text? • how did you respond to the argument made in each text? Guiding points should help students to organize their own thoughts about the extent to which each of these texts about ahimsa deal with the issue differently, and how it gives them a different perspective on the use of non-violence in politics and daily life. For example, it can be pointed out to the class that a deeper analysis of the first primary source (Gandhi 1939) reflects more than just Gandhi’s belief in non-violence, showing his creativity developed from challenging the usual way of doing things through non-violent means; for example, the economic component of his satyagraha movement, such as the use of charkha or the spinning wheel to boycott British goods, and the mode of communication through various publications, such as the Hind Swaraj to galvanize people. These strategies which reflect his creativity deserve equal importance in our study of Gandhi and ahimsa.
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The first secondary source (Hardiman 2003: 59) alludes to these strategies but refers to these as “tactics.” It is, however, not a criticism of Gandhi but attempts to view Gandhi’s strategies with specific reference to his oppressors. The argument made is that the British regime was not as extremely irrational and violent as the Nazi dictatorship, and so, under the given circumstances, Gandhi was able to display his creativity stemming from his belief in non-violence. Further, it engages with Gandhi’s understanding of “non-violence of the brave” (a phrase Gandhi has used elsewhere in his writings). As argued in this writing, Gandhi deems the use of violence fit only as a form of “resistance” and not to harm life, maintaining the importance of learning non-violence from Gandhi’s life and movement. The second secondary source (Sharma 2008: 69) picks up the arguments from here and starts to critically analyze Gandhi’s use of non-violence. It should be suggested again to students that this is not a criticism of Gandhi. All three sources, including Gandhi’s original writing, reveal the admirable use of non-violence in the satyagraha movement. Overall, students can be shown through this textual study that primary source (document 1) must always be the main focus of a research analysis. At the same time, “reading” secondary sources (documents 2 and 3) are relevant to develop one’s own position as a scholar within the given academic debates. Toward this, as suggested earlier, the important thing is not to analyze texts separately. Examine how texts work in support or opposition to each other and organize our thoughts. Through this study, students should be encouraged to think about how each of these texts about ahimsa deal with the issue differently and give a different perspective on that. A follow-up reflective question for the journal entry can be “why are contradictions and paradoxes likely to emerge when ‘values’ are confronted with the reality of politics?” Students should respond to this critical question in the journal based on their study of Gandhi. It is important here that students develop an understanding of the various aspects of Gandhi, the moral, radical, and creative leader, and of the scale of non- violent mass movement as exemplary in human history that galvanized a disparate community. akiguchi’s Life and Work in the Twentieth Century M Similar to the study on Gandhi, a critical analysis of Makiguchi’s historical background, personal history, and educational ideas can be developed to get clarity on Makiguchi as the humanistic educator but also to shed light
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on his creativity within education, and as a champion of human rights who staked his life on his beliefs. An important aspect to bring into the classroom discussion is the aim of happiness as the goal of education. For Makiguchi, the aim of education should be derived from the aim of life, which, as he found, was that everyone ultimately desires to lead a happy life. Several scholars have distinguished this from the concept of pleasure (Norton in Bethel 1989: 207–208; Kumagai 1994: 69–74). According to Makiguchi, a life of happiness is one in which value can be created that is useful for life, for social and self-actualization.5 Makiguchi’s educational proposals centered on the idea that through leading a contributive life, an individual can create value that can benefit both self (through creating the value of benefit or personal gain) and others (through social good). A focus on Makiguchi’s life and work should include the following aspects (as discussed in Chap. 2), • for students to be able to recognize and articulate key words and phrases in research on Makiguchi’s educational theory (including soka, Soka, and ningen kyoiku); • the concept of value creation as relationship building within education; and • the home-school-community continuum for the development of the learner. I keda’s Life and Work in the Twentieth Century Similar to the study on Gandhi and Makiguchi, a critical analysis of Ikeda’s historical background, personal history, and educational ideas should be developed. The two key aspects to engage with in a study on Ikeda’s ideas for global citizenship are (see Chaps. 2 and 5), • his proposals on education for global citizenship and sustainability; • the contribution of a study on his life and work to revisiting the role of dialogue and dialogic processes of learning in global citizenship education (Sharma 2010). Resource materials include,
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• Ikeda’s 1996 lecture presented at Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, on the topic of education for global citizenship (Ikeda 2008); • proposals to the United Nations (UN) (including, Ikeda 2014)6; • the discourse on Ikeda’s dialogue, and scholarly work on the use of the term “dialogue” within the Ikeda/Soka corpus (Bradford 2018; Goulah 2012; Sharma 2020). A culminating activity for assessment can be a response paper that analyzes the film, Another way of seeing things,7 based on an essay by Ikeda. In this essay, Ikeda challenges media stereotyping and how this can give rise to prejudice and barriers between people of different nationalities and religions. Students can be asked to see the film at least two times. The following questions can be circulated after they have seen the film once, and before they view it again. • What is the main topic or problem being addressed? In your own words, state what the film is about. • What is the argument being made in this film? • What evidence is provided in support of the argument? • Is there an alternative argument to be made? • How did you find yourself responding to the text on first reading? How did you find yourself responding after considering these questions? Lessons Focused on Their Relevance for the Twenty-First Century One of the aims of this study is to seek the present-day relevance of Gandhi, Makiguchi, and Ikeda through a historical study. We can learn from all three thinkers’ creativity and active participation in their respective local communities and societies. This study has implications for education for citizenship. he Relevance of Gandhi and Ahimsa to Global Citizenship Education T Through lessons developed on this topic, students will be able to: • analyze the use and relevance of Gandhi’s ahimsa in our present time; • reflect on how intercultural understanding or knowledge of other cultures is a key attribute for citizens across diverse communities;
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• recognize the benefits of a historical, contextual study for classroom teaching; • identify and explain how Gandhi’s ideas have been used and misused since his death. Three main aspects that need to be considered in Gandhi’s presence and absence within India today are (Sharma 2008: 95–104, 2018: 15–41), . some of the challenges in adopting his ideas; 1 2. the limitations of the present state education systems; and 3. dissension among his successors. As a group, students should discuss and shed light on various aspects that need consideration in teaching and practicing Gandhi’s ideas, such as his understanding of ahimsa or non-violence, within the school curriculum. For example, the subject matter or lesson content should include the context in which Gandhi developed his views on non-violence, the aims of the lesson, the methods that can be used to teach non-violence, the philosophy of the school in which this is taught, the culture and politics of the country in which the school exists, and the teacher’s own experiences and views on this subject. In addition to teaching about Gandhi and non- violence, there is also the opportunity to think of broader issues that concern the students and institutions in which the learning takes place. For example, think of the culture of violence within societies, and how Gandhi’s ideas end up being negotiated (e.g., with reference to different ways in which his ideas have sometimes been used as discussed in Chap. 5 of this book). It is important to be mindful as mentioned earlier that whilst engaging with the moral aspects of Gandhi as the Mahatma (or great soul), students also need to engage with Gandhi’s strategies, behaviors, and beliefs as an active protagonist within his nation’s history. he Relevance of Soka Praxis to Global Citizenship Education T As for Gandhi, three main aspects should be considered to study the absence and presence of Makiguchi in Japan (Sharma 2008: 106–123, 2018: 15–41). These are: 1. the challenges in adopting some of his ideas which were developed for the context in which he taught;
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. the limitations of the present education system; and 2 3. the establishment of Soka institutions by Ikeda. This includes an engagement with the practical application of value- creating education across examples from the Soka and non-Soka institutions located across the world that are each impacted by local and global factors. The broader goals should be to form reflective questions in relation to the taught and untaught aspects of the curriculum, and to recognize various influences that impact education in schools. A core activity should be to engage with the negative and positive impacts of the hidden curriculum and untaught curriculum within schools. This includes an examination of the Soka Schools in Japan as a positive example of educating students as “global citizens” through the untaught curriculum (Gebert and Joffee 2007 for a succinct reading of key issues), and other materials that discuss negative examples of hidden curriculum.8
Contribution of Non-Western Perspectives to Reimagining Education for Citizenship The concluding lesson/s captures key learning from this study. The examination of Gandhi, Makiguchi, and Ikeda’s lives and ideas draws our attention to non-Western perspectives in education. Further, materials can be used to engage with diverse perspectives and to develop an understanding of our interdependence as humanity, for example, through videos that engage with the impact of events such as 9/11 on school curricula.9 In using this or similar materials, guiding questions as concluding discussions can include: • “Your thoughts from the video and other resources studied in class on why learning about an interdependent world is considered as being relevant in education today?” • “How can theories of interdependence, Western and non-Western, enhance learning within the curriculum content as well as the untaught curriculum?” • “How, if so, can we measure the impact of the untaught curriculum on a student’s academic achievement and overall well-being?”
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The three guiding key questions stated earlier in this chapter can be used to re-engage with essential points covered in this study. To reiterate, 1. What are the key contradictions and paradoxes which can be identified in a contextual and historical analysis of Gandhi, Makiguchi, and Ikeda’s value systems? 2. How have the “values” systems or values and beliefs of the thinkers impacted upon education today? 3. Is there any way in which the findings of this analysis may have generalizable use for future studies? Questions discussed in Sharma (2015) can be used to wrap up the course. Final assessments could include participation in a group project and an individual response paper to an assigned journal article. These culminating activities can be used to argue the relevance of studying diverse perspectives within global citizenship education.
Notes 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtRrV1H_4yY and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVSgbU6WVSk 2. See this video that takes Gandhi as an example to show why contextualization is an essential skill: https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/ reading-like-a-historian-contextualization 3. See this video for a brief biography of Gandhi: https://www.biography. com/people/mahatma-gandhi-9305898. For a discussion and further references on Gandhi’s personal history, see Sharma (2015, 2018: 15–41). 4. A part of the section from Hardiman (2003: 59) (without footnotes) is, These various influences fed into Gandhi’s own understanding of ahimsa. He held that as none could know the absolute truth, nobody had a right to commit violence on others lest they be in the wrong. An individual’s truth should be asserted ‘not by infliction of suffering on the opponent but on one’s self.’ He believed that one had to be very strong in oneself to be able to practise ahimsa with success. To be non-violent out of weakness was no more than cowardice: ‘It is not conceived as a weapon of the weak.’ He stated that it was better to resist violently than act in a cowardly manner. He praised the violent resistance of the Polish people to Hitler in 1939, as he recognized that non-violence was not an option for them.
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In the context of colonial rule in India, non-violent resistance made strong tactical sense, for it wrong-footed the British, putting them on the defensive. An extract from Sharma (2008: 69) is, At the same time, one cannot ignore the extremity of Gandhi’s statements on ahimsa for which he has been severely criticised. For example during the Second World War Gandhi argued that even Hitler could be won over by non-violence. He had even planned to visit Germany, though his trip did not materialise. Through such instances Gandhi leaves himself open to criticism. A sympathetic view of Gandhi would be to interpret him as an obstinate moralist who would challenge even Hitler to prove the efficacy of soul-force. One might even argue that Gandhi was apprehensive of the effect of fascism and the nuclear holocaust and therefore considered it his moral duty to condemn these, but since he was engaged in the struggle for Indian independence, it made it impossible for him to take any concrete action. Also perhaps the Nazi regime could not cope with or understand Gandhi. Or alternatively, Gandhi could not understand the real political issues of a Nazi state. In any case, Gandhi’s belief in the ‘good’ of human nature has relevance for his political theory. 5. For key lines of thought within Makiguchi’s work, see Sharma (2008: 53–61). See https://www.tmakiguchi.org/ for a brief introduction to Makiguchi, his life, and his work. Also see Gebert and Joffee (2007). 6. See https://www.daisakuikeda.org/ for a brief biography of Ikeda, his selected writings, university lectures, and other work including his annual peace proposals. 7. It is the winner of the 2004 Chris Award, Columbus International Film Festival, and is included in the book (Ikeda 2005). Some versions or extracts from the video can be found on YouTube. 8. h t t p s : / / w w w. t h e g u a r d i a n . c o m / s o c i e t y / 2 0 0 4 / a p r / 3 0 / p u b l i chealth.comment 9. http://archive.teachfind.com/ttv/www.teachers.tv/videos/the-usaglobal-citizenship-post-9-11.html
References Aktas, F., Pitts, K., Richards, J. C., & Iveta, S. (2017). Institutionalizing global citizenship: A critical analysis of higher education programs and curricula. Journal of Studies in International Education, 21(1), 65–80. https://doi. org/10.1177/1028315316669815.
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Bethel, D. M. (Ed.). (1989). Education for creative living: Ideas and proposals of Tsunesaburo Makiguchi. Ames: Iowa State University Press. Bourn, D. (2015). Global citizenship and youth participation in Europe report. Schools for Future Use and Erasmus. https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/ eprint/1475443/1/SFYouth_Transnational%20Report_final%20docx%20 (002).pdf Bradford, M. (2018). Friends in the orchid room: An inquiry into value-creative dialogue (Publication no. 127) [Doctoral dissertation, DePaul University]. https://via.library.depaul.edu/soe_etd/127 Delors, J., et al. (1996). Learning: The treasure within. Paris: UNESCO. Gandhi, M. K. (1939, October 25). Discussion with executive members of Gandhi Seva Sangh Wardha. The collected works of Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi Serve. http://www.gandhiserve.org/cwmg/VOL077.PDF Gebert, A., & Joffee, M. (2007). Value creation as the aim of education: Tsunesaburo Makiguchi and Soka education. In D. T. Hansen (Ed.), Ethical visions of education: Philosophies in practice (pp. 65–82). New York: Teachers College Press. Goulah, J. (2012). Daisaku Ikeda and value-creative dialogue: A new current in interculturalism and educational philosophy. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 44(9), 997–1009. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-5812.2011.00827.x. Hardiman, D. (2003). Gandhi: In his time and ours. New Delhi: Permanent Black. Ikeda, D. (2005). One by one: The world is yours to change. Sonoma: Dunhill Publishing. Ikeda, D. (2008). Thoughts on education for global citizenship. In My dear friends in America: Collected U.S. addresses 1990–1996 (2nd ed., pp. 441–451). Santa Monica: World Tribune Press. Ikeda, D. (2014, January 26). 2014 peace proposal. Value creation for global change: Building resilient and sustainable societies. Soka Gakkai International. https:// www.sgi.org/about-us/president-ikedas-proposals/peace-proposal-2014.html Jooste, N., & Heleta, S. (2017). Global citizenship versus globally competent graduates: A critical view from the south. Journal of Studies in International Education, 21(1), 39–51. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315316637341. Kumagai, K. (1994). Soka kyoikugaku nyumon [An introduction to Soka/value- creating education pedagogy]. Tokyo: Daisan Bunmeisha. Rizvi, F. (2007). Internationalization of curriculum: A critical perspective. In M. Hayden, J. Levy, & J. Thompson (Eds.), Research in international education (pp. 391–403). London: Sage. Rizvi, F. (2017). Globalization and the neoliberal imaginary of educational reform (Education research and foresight series, no. 20). Paris: UNESCO. Sharma, N. (2008). Makiguchi and Gandhi: Their educational relevance for the 21st century. Lanham: University Press of America, Rowman & Littlefield.
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Sharma, N. (2010). Revisiting the concept of dialogue in global citizenship education. The International Journal of Development Education and Global Learning, 3(2), 5–19. https://doi.org/10.18546/IJDEGL.03.2.02. Sharma, N. (2015). Can active citizenship be learned? Examining content and activities in a teacher’s education module engaging with Gandhi and Makiguchi. Policy Futures in Education, 13(3), 328–341. https://doi. org/10.1177/1478210315571215. Sharma, N. (2018). Value-creating global citizenship education: Engaging Gandhi, Makiguchi, and Ikeda as examples. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. Sharma, A. (2020). Creative dialogue and world peace: A study of Daisaku Ikeda’s contribution [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Panjab University, Chandigarh. Shultz, L. (2007). Educating for global citizenship: Conflicting agendas and understandings. Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 53, 248–258. UNESCO-IBE. (2003). Learning to live together: Have we failed? A summary of the ideas and contributions arising from the forty-sixth session of UNESCO’s international conference on education, Geneva, 5–8 September 2001. Geneva: UNESCO-IBE.
CHAPTER 7
Conclusion: A Belief in the Value-Creating Capacity for Social and Self-Actualization, Uncertainty, and Change
Abstract In contrast to the dominant individualistic-neoliberal paradigm for education, a value-creating education framework at the most basic level aims at enhancing relationships. A shift in paradigm and perspectives will have a significant bearing on the praxis and the three domains of learning within the conceptual dimensions of UNESCO—the cognitive, socio- emotional, and behavioral. These correspond to the pillars of learning—learning to know, to do, to be, and to live together. This chapter develops the goal of learning to live together. It discusses the theme: a belief in the value-creating capacity for social and self-actualization, uncertainty, and change, and brings together the various strands and elements discussed in this book that can expand the current emphasis in global education on individual empowerment to fostering citizens for a contributive life. Keywords Education for sustainable development • Global citizenship education • Value-creating education • Teacher education • COVID-19 education crises • Sustainable development goals
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Threads of Proposals Woven into the Tapestry of This Book A core argument of this work is that in contrast to the dominant individualistic- neoliberal paradigm for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and Global Citizenship Education (GCE) (see Andreotti 2006; Dill 2013; Merryfield 2009; Tarozzi and Torres 2016), a value-creating education framework at the most basic level aims at enhancing relationships in education (see Goulah and Ito 2012; Ikegami and Rivalland 2016; Nagashima 2016; Takazawa 2016). The premise for the arguments in my previous work that develops Value creating global citizenship education (Sharma 2018) as an educational approach is that a shift in paradigm and perspectives will have a significant bearing on the praxis and the three domains of learning—the cognitive, socio-emotional, and behavioral (UNESCO 2015: 14–15, 2017: 11). These correspond to the four pillars of learning described in the Delors Report (1996; see also UNESCO- IBE 2003) Learning: The treasure within, that are learning to know, to do, to be, and to live together. For example, an acknowledgment of one’s common humanity would give emphasis to perceiving the divisiveness and alienation that is present within modern societies. It would place a strong emphasis within the curriculum to tackle stereotyping and foster the socio-emotional capacity of compassion toward all inhabitants of the earth whilst also recognizing the nature and forms of power structures in an increasingly globalized world and the unseen perpetuation of colonial perspectives. The behavioral response to solve global issues would be rooted in a non-dualistic belief system that, through an intuitive examination of the depth of human life, subscribes to the view that an attitudinal change within each person can impact upon their environment (see Ikeda 2003: 106). The educational environment will be developed to foster meaningful life-to-life connections among people—between students and teachers, schools and communities, and so on. These core arguments underlie the theoretical framework for value- creating global citizenship education and its six themes for praxis. These themes have been used to build the conceptual framework for this book that develops strategies and approaches to use value-creating global citizenship education as a pedagogical approach to meet target 4.7 of the Education 2030 Agenda of education for sustainable development and global citizenship, and beyond (UN 2015). The aim is to promote the
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necessary knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes to enable learners to develop: • a sense of interdependence, common humanity, and a global outlook; • an awareness of climate change as planetary citizens; • a commitment to reflective, dialogic, and transformative learning; • a commitment to sustainable development through intercultural perspectives; • a belief in the value-creating capacity for social and self-actualization, uncertainty, and change; and • an understanding of peace and non-violence as being central to the human rights agenda. The theme central to the framework of this chapter that brings together the various threads of arguments and proposals developed in this book is a belief in the value-creating capacity for social and self-actualization, uncertainty, and change. This theme advocates an approach to issues concerned with uncertainty, insecurity, and change such as resulting from the global pandemic generated by the novel coronavirus or COVID-19. Broadly speaking, this theme advocates an approach to issues concerned with social justice, equality, and equity through developing the value- creating capacity of the learner to contribute to individual benefit and social good in any situation. This theme is related to the development of character through education. The educational ideas of the Japanese thinkers, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi (1871–1944), Josei Toda (1900–1958), and Daisaku Ikeda (b. 1928) indicate that inherent within human life is the capacity to create value and meaning, and that this capacity should be developed through education. As an outcome of this continued process of engaging in the act of value creation for social and self-actualization character is formed (as also discussed through the confluences in the ideas of the American educator, John Dewey (1859–1952), and the Soka progenitors in Chap. 4 of this book). To reiterate, value creation, and not value consumption, is being suggested. The term “value creation” is borrowed from Makiguchi’s educational pedagogy Soka Kyoikugaku Taikei (The System of Value-Creating Pedagogy) (Makiguchi [1930–1934] 1981–1988). This term, coined by Toda, suggests that the broader goal of education is human happiness that can be achieved through harmonizing one’s own interest with that of the other through the process of creating value for both self and others (as
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discussed in Chap. 2). As Ikeda explains, “true happiness is to be found in a life of value creation. Put simply, value creation is the capacity to find meaning, to enhance one’s own existence and contribute to the well-being of others, under any circumstances” (Ikeda 2008: 443). The goal of happiness, according to the Soka progenitors, is the goal of human life. The primary task of education for value creation is therefore not to teach values but to enable the learner to develop the inherent capacity they each possess to build wisdom from exercising knowledge in action, and to use that wisdom for the betterment of self, society, and all forms of life (as discussed in Chaps. 1 and 3). It is also to foster tenacity and perseverance, and to generate an understanding of the inherent creative potential within human life to transform difficulties and challenges into opportunities. Makiguchi and Toda’s several years of teaching in classrooms and resistance to the indoctrination of their students in a period of ultra-nationalism led to the development and publication of Makiguchi’s pedagogy that has significance for many millions of teachers working in authoritarian states who suffer a range of privations, as well as educators in democratic states who are confronted with global challenges, such as narrow nationalism. The theoretical framework for value-creating global citizenship education borrows from the abovementioned concept of “value creation.” For praxis, it proposes the need to develop the value-creating capacity for social and self-actualization in approaching issues concerned with social justice, gender, and other forms of disparities, to bring about equity and equality. The first step for this at an institutional level is to set the agenda of building a mission statement that asks what is the purpose of cultivating intellect? The second step is to enable the transformation of knowledge to wisdom through providing opportunities to engage with issues on social justice through experience and action within one’s school and local community. Guiding questions in learning should include not only what impact the learner can create for the benefit of others, but also how the learner can develop one’s own capacity through engaging with the others. That is, what knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes has the learner acquired through working with others? The main outcome from an engagement with issues on social justice should be to foster learners as agents of social transformation but with the dual goal of how that transformation has developed their own lives in terms of tapping into their inner resources, such as wisdom, courage, and compassion (as discussed in Chap. 5). Using Ikeda’s words, the aim of a value-creating framework is to perceive, acknowledge, and remove “the arrow of a discriminatory
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consciousness, an unreasoning emphasis on difference…piercing the hearts of the people” (Ikeda 1993: 2). In this regard, it is also useful if teachers, educators, and all those involved in the task of educating for sustainable development and global citizenship are able to articulate their own personal values and how those values inform their teaching and action for social change. A compelling case for similar arguments is made in the book, Teacher education for sustainable development and global citizenship (Bamber 2019), that engages with ESD and GCE. It outlines the need for educators to explore their own values and ethics as they support the next generation to form their personal value dimensions that will impact how they treat the future of the planet. Bamber states in the introduction to this work, Education in general, and ESD/GC in particular, is deeply value-laden and, whether consciously or unconsciously, values underpin practice. Confronted with challenging situations or controversial issues in the classroom, student teachers draw upon complex professional knowledge, much of which is tacit, bound up with one’s own goals, beliefs, and values. (Bamber 2019: 6)
Through a study conducted in Europe, Tarozzi and Mallon (2019) also make the important argument that successful collaborations between the leading actors in teacher education can foster teacher agency through transformative, values-based approaches to GCE teacher education. Further, as argued earlier, for students to take a strong normative position, their values need to be engaged within the classrooms. Importantly as well, a critical and reflective approach to learning requires a discussion of the contradictions and paradoxes that might arise when values engage in real-world politics, for example, through a study of social movements, such as that of satyagraha (lit. truth force) led by the Indian political leader Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948). Such examples also demonstrate that normative values like non-violence can effectively engage through creative processes even within political realities (Sharma 2008). Various studies offer practical guidance and suggestions to support teaching controversial issues in the classroom (see Alstein 2019; Council of Europe 2014; Hess and McAvoy 2015; Oxfam 2006).1
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Media, Technology, and the Voices of Youth In recent talks and seminars, I have proposed three guiding notions to navigate a creative process of thinking, acting, and being a value-creating global scholar and citizen. These key suggestions are also central to the discussions of this book. An active citizen: There are a variety of ways in which scholar- practitioners in the field of education can engage with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outlined by the United Nations (UN),2 for example, by participating in the vibrant discussions in the field of Global Education promoted by forums such as the Academic Network on Global Education and Learning (ANGEL).3 Contemporary examples of social movements have enthused youth to participate in local-global issues, including through the use of technology and social media, particularly on issues related to climate change, race, and gender, for example, #ClimateCrises activists, #strikeforclimatechange, #blacklivesmatter, and #MeToo movement. These forums are inspiring young people in schools and communities to take bold, collective efforts to achieve a peaceful and sustainable world. In this context, more studies are needed that focus on media literacy, for example, Aldás’ (2020) case study at a university in Spain engaging generations who have grown up with social media to develop critical, active citizenship. The discussions on global education can also be enhanced through studies focused on the perspectives of youth, for example, Islami’s (2018) master thesis that explores the state of ESD in Kosovo from students’ perspectives and Menzie’s (2018) doctoral work that contributes to the discussions on global competence through listening to the voices of young adolescents participating in an active citizenship program in Australia. In addition, studies that examine what motivates young people, especially those who are marginalized within the efforts to promote ESD and GCE, are making important contributions, for example, Brown and Nicklin’s (2019) work on engaging young people in social issues through the medium of hip-hop. Also, as part of suggestions coming in from students during the COVID-19 education crises is to develop student-led sustainability committees that can help students develop critical thinking to identify and tackle sustainability issues in their own educational settings using the SDGs as a framework for action (Ibrahim et al. 2020). An intergenerational conversation between students, educators, and members of the community who are working for social justice and actively
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support the SDGs is also needed. One of the recent UNESCO (2018a: 168–169) document suggests the importance of “intergenerational learning” between various ages: “this approach aims to bring people of various ages together to participate in purposeful and mutually beneficial activities…provide opportunities to interrogate, and possibly reconfigure dominant narratives, cultural configurations and ways of being.” More specific activities need to be developed based on such recommendations. For example, the crucial task of intergenerational dialogue can be carried out through extracurricular activities in schools and institutions of higher education, as well as through forums and platforms provided by academic networks, international centers on global citizenship, and civil society organizations promoting GCE.4 A creative citizen: Enhancing creativity and the courage to take bold, collective efforts are lessons from this book for learning promoting education for citizenship and sustainable development, and the UNESCO- directed goal of learning to live together in the twenty-first century (UNESCO-IBE 2003). The task of fostering citizens through curricula within formal, informal, and non-formal learning can also include rigorous studies on the creative examples of “values-based politics” from history, including Edmund Burke, Mahatma Gandhi, Daisaku Ikeda, Karl Marx, and Nelson Mandela (as suggested through lessons developed in Chap. 6 of this book, Sharma 2008, 2018). The COVID-19 crises will also require creativity and future planning for potential disruption to learning, including a better understanding of the use of technology and online teaching, as well as policies and programs related to health and hygiene, crises management, services that offer economic-psychological-social-emotional and other types of support to students, teachers, and education support staff during and after such crises.5 The increased use of online learning platforms, collaborations, and communications makes it also necessary to reflect on how to compensate for the newfound barriers to access posed by technological and social factors, among others (Warschauer and Matuchniak 2010).6 An inclusive citizen: The third guiding notion suggested to navigate a creative process of thinking, acting, and being a value-creating global scholar and citizen is to read, listen, and experience what is beyond our usual spectrum of engagements. This is especially important with the increasing threat posed by technology to divide people and politics. Ikeda, in his 2018 peace proposal, suggests that in this age of technology, we are now faced with what the Internet activist Eli Pariser calls the “filter
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bubble,” that is, “data searches that return information already attuned to the user’s preferences, thus obscuring other sources” (Ikeda 2018: 11).7 “What is troubling about this phenomenon,” Ikeda mentions, “is the degree to which it can impact a person’s understanding of social issues” (ibid.) Similarly, studies show the threat posed to democracy by audiovisual (AV) manipulated to produce “deepfakes” (video altered to hybridize or generate human bodies and faces) and “cheapfakes” (using Photoshop and lookalikes), and disseminate false information through social media (Paris and Donovan 2019).8 Controversies surrounding the 2016 US presidential elections, as an example, have had worrying consequences. In the face of political uncertainties, acts of violence, prejudice, and other anomalies that impact the practice of SDGs across nation-states, it is imperative that students, parents, and teachers are equipped with research skills and skepticism instead of being passive consumers of news, as also suggested by recent studies (McGrew et al. 2018; also see Domonoske 2016). These studies find that students largely absorb social media news without considering the source and are mostly unable to distinguish between real news and fake news. It must be mentioned here that in this context, Finland’s efforts to lead citizens as well as students, starting from the primary level, to combat the information war on fake news is exemplary, for example, strategies and guidance on how to use information and communications technology (ICT) in promoting ESD and GCE (see Henley 2020). Useful resources are also offered online through organizations, such as the International Bureau of Education which is a UNESCO Institute (IBE-UNESCO 2018: 121), as well as through proposals from scholarly research such as for the development of skills for digital literacy by Singh and Hasan (2017). The BBC Academy has also made efforts to support educators worldwide, for example, to combat disinformation and fake news during the outbreak of COVID-19 (BBC 2020).
The Teacher as an Important Element of the Educational Environment To foster learners as inclusive citizens, there needs to be a support for the development of inclusive teachers. From the examples of people and movements studied in this book and my previous work, an inclusive
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citizen can be described as one whose faith, cultural dispositions, and other values are seen as being integral to effectively fulfilling their role as citizens. The notion of an inclusive citizen is a powerful political construct that defies exclusive identities based solely on caste, creed, race, and ethnicity. The teacher is the most important element of the educational environment (including the voice, facial expressions, and disposition of the teacher) from a value-creating perspective. For example, scholars in the field of Soka studies in education suggest that a transformation within the life of each student can be most impacted through the positive transformation of the teacher (see Hrdina 2018; Ikeda 2008: 448; Ikegami and Rivalland 2016; Inukai 2018; Takazawa 2016). Also, an important contribution that is largely missing from the discourse within Soka studies in education is a detailed study that examines how, if so, do teachers who are impacted by the Soka progenitors use their reading of these thinkers to enhance their teaching ability as subject experts, such as for lesson planning, and through broader areas related to professional development. This is an important topic for future research. This book develops suggestions for teaching and praxis and argues that teachers and the task of education itself need to be supported by appropriate social and educational conditions. It is the moral role of educational institutions and communities to support the growth of inclusive teachers, as well as to cultivate the learner’s interests, values, and concerns for creating constructive change and a better world. These efforts can be further strengthened in carrying out the task of ESD and GCE. For example, there needs to be more dissemination through UNESCO, social media, and scholarly work on the heroic efforts being made by teachers, educators, and communities who are facing the impact of global issues, such as the present refugee crises and narrow nationalism in their schools and classrooms (see Pinson et al. 2010). In consideration of the arguments of this book, a shift in emphasis is required in the focus within ESD and GCE, and the impact of this on teacher education. These can be developed through future research. For example, within the UNESCO (2017: 51–52, 2018b) guidelines for integrating ESD and GCE into teacher education, along with celebrating diversity, a greater focus can be placed on developing friendships through confronting differences; along with promoting empathy, a stronger emphasis through teaching and learning can be placed on building resilience (Ikeda 2014). Minninger et al. (2020) share the importance of
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resilience at the national and regional levels in engaging with the double crises of climate impacts and coronavirus that have affected the most vulnerable people and communities across the globe. Taking the example of India, they suggest that “resilience to climate impacts and the ability to respond to other crises, such as the current corona crisis, are interdependent. States such as Kerala, which have been particularly successful in achieving sustainable development goals and conduct climate risk management, including climate adaptation, are particularly effective in dealing with the corona crisis” (ibid.: 5). Kerala is also the state with the highest literacy rate in India. The proposals within this book for the practice of value-creating global citizenship education go beyond the UN 2030 Agenda and are offered as a pedagogical approach for learning across formal, non-formal, and informal education that builds resilience and hope. In a background paper prepared for the 2017/8 Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report, Bourn et al. (2017) review ESD and GCE in teacher education. As part of their conclusions, they recommend the need to put “a clear values base at the centre of any framework with equity and social and environmental justice being the dominant messages” (Bourn et al. 2017: 29). Examples in their study include resources from the Earth Charter Initiative (discussed in Chap. 1 of this book). These and other such references are listed in the annotated bibliography of this book that can offer strategies and guidance on teacher education, professional development, and a value- creating approach to teaching for sustainable development and global citizenship.9
Conclusion10 As I draft the concluding chapter of this book during the outbreak of a global pandemic on a scale never witnessed before, I am drawn to the sense of interconnectedness of all life. Amid the human suffering, the offset of COVID-19 has also had temporary constructive impacts in terms of reducing some of the ill-effects of the Anthropocene, such as reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution levels across major cities and nation-states due to lockdown orders and stay-home guidelines in place. There has also been found a greater human-less freedom of movement for some animals and species in deserted areas. Within this global context, the 50th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22, 2020, marks a sense of uncertainty and fear, but also includes the potential for constructive change
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through reflection, deepened commitment, and action for earth and social justice. Moving forward, a greater sense of urgency must be placed within education policy and praxis to create a more sustainable world with a central focus within teaching and learning that questions humanity’s long-term approach to Nature,11 for example, by putting the two issues of climate change and the COVID-19 education crises at the heart of education for planetary citizenship. The urgency of developing planetary citizenship as a cross-curricular theme and as a whole school approach must become a top priority for education across nation-states. One of the key questions this book engages with (as suggested in Chap. 1) is, “how can education facilitate creative solutions to global issues through an exposure to diverse perspectives?” Suggestions made in this work include the need to integrate an intercultural approach to the curriculum through using a value-creating paradigm that draws on the wisdom from various cultural traditions that appreciate the unity and connectedness of life. The aim is to foster individuals who can take collective action for social justice while tapping into their own inner resources of wisdom, courage, and compassion. These three constituent elements of a global citizen are also developed in this book as guidelines for action for educators, curriculum developers, and policy makers to guarantee three basic rights to all learners: first, the right to a non-centric curriculum that allows learning from diverse knowledge and wisdom; second, the right to fulfill one’s unique potential, an inside-out and bottom-up approach to education for global citizenship that is transformative, compassionate, and adapts to particularities; and third, the right to a safe learning environment that fosters the courage to conquer prejudice and violence. In line with these proposals, it is necessary to combat the often unaccompanied assumptions underlying the values, ideals, and narratives of education, and engage in a discussion on enabling the learner to navigate through the socio-political and education realities of life based on one’s personal interests, values, and concerns. Value-creating global citizenship education for sustainable development as a pedagogical approach expands such discussions from a non-anthropocentric perspective and engages the human, personal dimension of learning.
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Notes 1. For more practical strategies for teaching controversial issues, also see resources offered by OXFAM: https://www.oxfam.org.uk/education/ resources/teaching-controversial-issues 2. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgs 3. https://angel-network.net/ 4. As examples, ANGEL at UCL-Institute of Education, London (https:// angel-network.net/); Global Education Network Europe (GENE https:// gene.eu/); the International Research Center on Global Citizenship Education at the University of Bologna (https://scienzequalitavita.unibo. it/it/ricerca/centri-e-gruppi-di-ricerca/centro-di-ricerca-gloced-international-research-center-on-global-citizenship-education); and others such as listed by the UN (https://academicimpact.un.org/content/ global-citizenship-education) 5. Questions that emerge from the present uncertainty are centered on how will the global pandemic, violation of human rights, especially related to race relations and gender, and other urgent issues likely to transform the nature and existence of higher education, schools, and learning in general. For example, for higher education, a greater emphasis might be centered on debates around human rights and sustainability issues. More research funding would possibly be directed to the transformation of university instruction, which is likely to witness substantive changes in not only the modes of delivery but also the nature and role of formal education; the space in which learning might take place beyond schooling, for example, within the learner’s home and community; and how learning and teaching can be geared to prepare the next generation to meet the future effects of present global challenges. For UNESCO’s response to COVID-19, see: https://en.unesco.org/covid19/educationresponse/ 6. For an overview on global digital divide, see: https://unctad.org/en/ PublicationsLibrary/der2019_en.pdf and https://www.khanacademy. org/computing/ap-computer-science-principles/global-impact-of-computing/the-digital-divide/a/the-global-digital-divide 7. Every year, the Buddhist leader and educator Daisaku Ikeda (b. 1928) publishes a peace proposal which explores the interrelation between core Buddhist concepts and the diverse challenges global society faces in the effort to realize peace and human security. In addition, he has also made proposals touching on issues such as education reform, the environment, the UN, and nuclear abolition. Retrieved from https://www.daisakuikeda. org/sub/resources/works/props/ 8. As Paris and Donovan (2019) suggest in their report, “deepfake” is a video that has been altered through some form of machine learning to “hybrid-
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ize or generate human bodies and faces,” whereas a “cheapfake” is an audiovisual (AV) manipulation created with cheaper, more accessible software (or, none at all). Cheapfakes can be rendered through Photoshop, lookalikes, re-contextualizing footage, speeding, or slowing. 9. As examples, see IBE-UNESCO (2018: 205–228); Ikeda (2014). 10. It is hoped that readers will continue the conversations through the blog available via this link: https://drnamratasharma.com/ 11. See http://www.harmonywithnatureun.org/welcome/ and http://files. harmonywithnatureun.org/uploads/upload827.pdf
References Aldás, E. N. (2020). Learning with ‘generation like’ about digital global citizenship: A case study from Spain. In D. Bourn (Ed.), The Bloomsbury handbook of global education and learning (pp. 246–261). London: Bloomsbury Academic. Alstein, M. V. (2019). Controversy & polarisation in the classroom: Suggestions for pedagogical practice. Flemish Peace Institute. https://vlaamsvredesinstituut. eu/en/report/controversy-polarisation-in-the-classroom-suggestionsfor-pedagogical-practice/ Andreotti, V. (2006). Soft versus critical global citizenship education. Policy & Practice: A Development Education Review, 3, 40–51. Bamber, P. (Ed.). (2019). Teacher education for sustainable development and global citizenship. New York: Routledge. BBC. (2020, March). Beyond fake news 2020. BBC Academy. https://www.bbc. co.uk/academy/en/collections/fake-news Bourn, D., Hunt, F., & Bamber, P. (2017). A review of education for sustainable development and global citizenship education in teacher education. Paper commissioned for the 2017/8 Global Education Monitoring report, accountability in education: Meeting our commitments. Paris: UNESCO. Brown, E. J., & Nicklin, L. L. (2019). Spitting rhymes and changing minds: Global youth work through hip-hop. International Journal of Development Education and Global Learning, 11(2), 159–174. https://doi.org/10.18546/ IJDEGL.11.2.03. Council of Europe. (2014). Teaching controversial issues: Developing effective training for teachers and school leaders. https://pjp-eu.coe.int/en/web/charteredc-hre-pilot-projects/teaching-controversial-issues-developing-effectivetraining-for-teachers-and-school-leaders Delors, J., et al. (1996). Learning: The treasure within. Paris: UNESCO. Dill, J. S. (2013). The longings and limits of global citizenship education: The modern pedagogy of schooling in a cosmopolitan age. New York: Routledge.
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Domonoske, C. (2016, November 23). Students have ‘dismaying’ inability to tell fake news from real, study finds. NPR Blog The Two-Way. https://www.npr. org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/11/23/503129818/study-finds-studentshave-dismaying-inability-to-tell-fake-news-from-real Goulah, J., & Ito, T. (2012). Daisaku Ikeda’s curriculum of Soka education: Creating value through dialogue, global citizenship, and “human education” in the mentor-disciple relationship. Curriculum Inquiry, 42(1), 56–79. https:// doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-873X.2011.00572.x. Henley, J. (2020, January 29). How Finland starts its fight against fake news in primary schools. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/ jan/28/fact-from-fiction-finlands-new-lessons-in-combatingfake-news?CMP=share_btn_tw Hess, D. E., & McAvoy, P. (2015). The political classroom: Evidence and ethics in democratic education. New York: Routledge. Hrdina, J. (2018). The perceptions of teachers regarding guiding principles of Soka education and their influence in the classroom [Unpublished dissertation]. Lesley University. IBE-UNESCO. (2018). Training tools for curriculum development: A resource pack for global citizenship education (GCED). Geneva: IBE-UNESCO. Ibrahim, A., et al. (2020, May 18). Blog series #018: Education in the time of COVID-19. UCL Institute of Education. https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/ ceid/2020/05/18/ibrahim-etal/#more-446 Ikeda, D. (1993). Mahayana Buddhism and twenty-first century civilization. Lecture delivered at Harvard University on September 24, 1993. http://www. daisakuikeda.org/sub/resources/works/lect/lect-04.html Ikeda, D. (2003). Unlocking the mysteries of birth and death…and everything in between: A Buddhist view of life (2nd ed.). Santa Monica: Middleway Press. Ikeda, D. (2008). Thoughts on education for global citizenship. In My dear friends in America: Collected U.S. addresses 1990–1996 (2nd ed., pp. 441–451). Santa Monica: World Tribune Press. Ikeda, D. (2014, January 26). 2014 peace proposal. Value creation for global change: Building resilient and sustainable societies. Soka Gakkai International. https:// www.sgi.org/about-us/president-ikedas-proposals/peace-proposal-2014.html Ikeda, D. (2018). Toward an era of human rights: Building a people’s movement. https://www.sgi.org/about-us/president-ikedas-proposals/peace-proposal-2018/index.html Ikegami, K., & Rivalland, C. (2016). Exploring the quality of teacher–child interactions: The Soka discourse in practice. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 24(4), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.108 0/1350293X.2016.1189719. Inukai, N. (2018). Re-thinking the teacher-student relationship from a Soka perspective. Mid Western Educational Researcher, 30(4), 278–287.
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Islami, L. (2018). Education for sustainable development in the Kosovo: The voice of youth [Unpublished Master’s thesis]. Uppsala University. http://uu.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A1172408&dswid=-1030 Makiguchi, T. ([1930–1934] 1981–1988). Makiguchi Tsunesaburo zenshu [The complete works of Makiguchi Tsunesaburo] (Vols. 1–10). Tokyo: Daisan Bunmeisha. McGrew, S., Breakstone, J., Ortega, T., Smith, M., & Wineburg, S. (2018). Can students evaluate online sources? Learning from assessments of civic online reasoning. Theory & Research in Social Education, 46(2), 165–193. https://doi. org/10.1080/00933104.2017.1416320. Menzie, K. J. (2018). Hearing their voice: Exploring the self-reports of adolescents’ experiences of a community-based, active citizenship program, in the context of four identified domains of global competence [Unpublished doctoral thesis]. Central Queensland University. http://acquire.cqu.edu.au:8080/vital/ access/manager/Repository/cqu:16916 Merryfield, M. (2009). Moving the center of global education: From imperial worldviews that divide the world to double consciousness, contrapuntal pedagogy, hybridity, and cross-cultural competence. In T. F. Kirkwood-Tucker (Ed.), Visions in global education (pp. 215–239). New York: Peter Lang. Minninger, S., Schäfer, L., & Künzel, V. (2020, April 14). Building resilience: Climate impacts and corona. Germanwatch. https://www.germanwatch. org/en/18535 Nagashima, J. T. (2016). The meaning of relationships for student agency in soka education: Exploring the lived experiences and application of Daisaku Ikeda’s value-creating philosophy through narrative inquiry [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Pittsburgh. http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/30637/ Oxfam. (2006). Global citizenship guides: Teaching controversial issues. https:// www.oxfam.org.uk/education/who-we-are/global-citizenship-guides Paris, B., & Donovan, J. (2019, September 18). Deepfakes and cheap fakes: The manipulation of audio and visual evidence. Data & Society. https://datasociety.net/output/deepfakes-and-cheap-fakes/ Pinson, H., Arnot, M., & Candappa, M. (2010). Education, asylum and the ‘non- citizen’ child: The politics of compassion and belonging. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. Sharma, N. (2008). Makiguchi and Gandhi: Their educational relevance for the 21st century. Lanham: University Press of America, Rowman & Littlefield. Sharma, N. (2018). Value-creating global citizenship education: Engaging Gandhi, Makiguchi, and Ikeda as examples. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. Singh, A. D., & Hasan, M. (2017). In pursuit of smart learning environments for the 21st century. In Progress reflection on current and critical issues in curriculum, learning and assessment, no. 12. Paris: UNESCO.
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Takazawa, M. (2016). Exploration of soka education principles on global citizenship: A qualitative study of U.S. K-3 soka educators (Publication no. 324) [Doctoral dissertation, University of San Francisco]. https://repository.usfca. edu/diss/324/ Tarozzi, M., & Mallon, B. (2019). Educating teachers towards global citizenship: A comparative study in four European countries. London Review of Education, 17(2), 112–125. https://doi.org/10.18546/LRE.17.2.02. Tarozzi, M., & Torres, C. A. (2016). Global citizenship education and the crises of multiculturalism: Comparative perspectives. London: Bloomsbury Academic. UN. (2015). 2030 agenda for sustainable development and its 17 sustainable development goals. www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment UNESCO. (2015). Global citizenship education: Topics and learning objectives. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2017). Education for sustainable development goals: Learning objectives. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2018a). Issues and trends in education for sustainable development: Education on the move. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2018b). Preparing teachers for global citizenship education: A template. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO-IBE. (2003). Learning to live together: Have we failed? A summary of the ideas and contributions arising from the forty-sixth session of UNESCO’s international conference on education, Geneva, 5–8 September 2001. Geneva: UNESCO-IBE. Warschauer, M., & Matuchniak, T. (2010). New technology and digital worlds: Analyzing evidence of equity in access, use, and outcomes. Review of Research in Education Volume, 34(1), 179–225. https://doi.org/10.310 2/0091732X09349791.
Conceptual Toolbox
Value-creating global citizenship education for sustainable development essentializes the practice of these following ten concepts that engage with the three interrelated dimensions of learning—cognitive, socio-emotional, and behavioral. These ten concepts are happiness, character, active citizen, creative citizen, inclusive citizen, dialogic learning, criticality for social justice, earth-centered perspective, value-creating capacity, and value-creating global citizenship education. See index for page numbers in this book that refer to and develop these concepts. Active citizen goes beyond the notions of charity and advocacy. It is not just about taking action but also about being and becoming. Education for active citizenship requires an engagement with the beliefs and interests of learners so that their values can propel them to take positive action in their local communities while also reflecting on how their actions have contributed to developing their own inner resources, such as wisdom, resilience, courage, and compassion. Character is the strength and resilience to create value for the enhancement of one’s own life and that of others under any circumstances. Creative citizen is someone who can find creative, constructive solutions to local and global issues, and who can initiate and participate in bold, collective efforts for earth and social justice.
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Criticality for social justice is the ability and the skills required to perceive structural and other forms of inequalities and inequities that lead to and perpetuate human rights abuses. Dialogic learning can be enhanced through an exposure to diverse perspectives through the curriculum, and through the process of education that allows dialogue to take place between different or even opposing viewpoints. Dialogic learning includes engaging in a dialogue with Nature, that is, through education that takes place within the learner’s natural setting, building reverence for Nature, and compassion for all life on this planet. Earth-centered perspective as opposed to an anthropocentric perspective is based on an earth-centered paradigm. Examples include Earth jurisprudence and the principles of the Earth Charter. Happiness is the overarching goal of education and human life. It is the experience of growth and the fulfillment of one’s abilities or innate potential that can be developed through the process of leading a contributive life. Inclusive citizen is a person whose faith, cultural dispositions, and other values are integral to effectively fulfilling their role as citizens. The notion of an inclusive citizen is a powerful political construct that defies exclusive identities based solely on caste, creed, race, and ethnicity. To be an inclusive citizen is to read, listen, and experience what is beyond one’s usual spectrum of engagements. Value-creating capacity is the capacity and ability to find meaning and create value that can contribute to the welfare of self and others in any situation. Value-creating global citizenship education is a pedagogical approach that develops learning for sustainable development based on an integrated view of life; engages with the values, interests, and beliefs of learners; and is founded on a trust in learners’ capacity to create value and meaning for self and others under any circumstances.
Select Annotated Bibliography for Further Reading
Key points to think about in using value-creating global citizenship education as a pedagogical approach for teaching global and sustainability issues, such as climate change and non-violence, are to develop learners’ critical skills, value-creating capacity, and the ability to solve problems through the process of building dialogue and relationships through the practice of education. The references listed here aim to introduce undergraduate (bachelor’s) and graduate (master’s) students, teachers, and policy makers to previous work on value-creating global citizenship education, and texts that can used as a starting point to engage with Makiguchi, Toda, and Ikeda’s proposals for education for global citizenship and sustainable development. A value-creating approach complements the anti-colonial response to global citizenship. It also takes a non-anthropocentric perspective on global issues. Consequently, this bibliography includes sample literature selected from existing and emerging scholarship related to these discussions. This list, although not an exhaustive one, includes topics and materials that can help develop a critical approach to global learning; engage with alternative worldviews and paradigms; study the influence of these on legal foundations and giving constitutional rights to Nature, animals, and species; and develop a holistic and sustained engagement to global issues such as
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climate change and global pandemic. This list also includes a selection of references that aim to support teachers navigate through the challenging task of teaching controversial issues within the classroom in relation to these agendas. Recommended resources also offer a reflective and critical approach to the UNESCO-led initiatives of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and Global Citizenship Education (GCE). This list is for readers interested in using a value-creating approach to build a sustainable future and a global outlook through educational research, policy, and praxis.
An Introduction to Global Citizenship Education Sant, E., Davies, I., Pashby, K., & Shultz, L. (2018). Global citizenship education: A critical introduction to key concepts and debates. London: Bloomsbury Academic. This book offers resources to help develop learners’ critical skills. Readers are encouraged to deepen critical engagement with issues related to GCE such as climate change, for example, with reference to Andreotti’s work by “unlearning” the assumptions often made about globalization. This work offers practical suggestions, activities, and chapter-wise lists of annotated bibliography as a comprehensive guide to key concepts and debates on GCE and ESD. The references below use a critical approach to GCE while providing an overview of concepts and typologies for global citizenship. Andreotti, V. (2006). Soft versus critical global citizenship education. Development Education: Policy and Practice, 3(Autumn), 83–98. Andreotti, V., Stein, S., Sutherland, A., Pashby, K., Susa, R., & Amsler, S. (2018). Mobilising different conversations about global justice in education: Toward alternative futures in uncertain times. Policy and Practice: A Development Education Review, 26, 9–41. Oxley, L., & Morris, P. (2013). Global citizenship: A typology for distinguishing its multiple conceptions. British Journal of Educational Studies, 61(3), 301–325. https://doi.org/10.1080/0007100 5.2013.798393. Pashby, K., Costa, M., Stein, S., & Andreotti, V. (2020). A meta-review of typologies of global citizenship education. Comparative Education, 56(2), 144–164. https://doi.org/10.1080/03050068.2020.1723352.
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Ramalho, T. (2020). Paulo Freire: Accidental global citizen, global educator. In D. Bourn (Ed.), The Bloomsbury handbook of global education and learning (pp. 52–59). London: Bloomsbury Academic. Tarozzi, M., & Torres, C. A. (2016). Global citizenship education and the crises of multiculturalism: Comparative perspectives. London: Bloomsbury Academic. Torres, C. A. (2017). Theoretical and empirical foundations of critical global citizenship education. New York: Routledge. Yemini, M. (2017). Internationalization and global citizenship: Policy and practice in education. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan.
Sustainability, Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Terms and Interconnections Agbedahin, A. V. (2019). Sustainable development, education for sustainable development, and the 2030 agenda for sustainable development: Emergence, efficacy, eminence, and future. Sustainable Development, 27(4), 669–680. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.1931. This journal article can be used as a starting point to clarify terms and interconnections between sustainability, ESD, SDGs, and related concepts, historically and based on empirical work. Additional recommended reading includes the following: Gough, A. (2018). Sustainable development and global citizenship education: Challenging imperatives. In I. Davies, L. C. Ho, D. Kiwan, C. L. Peck, A. Peterson, E. Sant, & Y. Waghid (Eds.), The Palgrave handbook of global citizenship and education (pp. 295–312). London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Earth-Centered Approaches Development
for Sustainable
Boyd, D. R. (2017). The rights of nature: A legal revolution that could save the world. Toronto: ECW Press. This book is for anyone who is interested in learning about Earth- centered law, Nature, climate change, and other issues that concern the human condition. This work offers several examples of the legal
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foundations and constitutional rights being given to Nature, animals, and species across different countries, as well as refers to studies on indigenous perspectives. The author is an expert with the United Nations (UN) forum Harmony with Nature that advocates an Earth-centered worldview of Mother Nature, also called Earth jurisprudence. See http://www.harmonywithnatureun.org/welcome/ Additional recommended reading includes the following: Van Norren, D. (2017). Development as service: A happiness, ubuntu and buen vivir interdisciplinary view of the sustainable development goals [Doctoral dissertation, Tilburg University]. Prisma Print. https:// r e s e a r c h . t i l b u r g u n i v e r s i t y. e d u / e n / p u b l i c a t i o n s / development-as-service-a-happiness-ubuntu-and-buen-vivir-interdis Van Norren’s doctoral thesis offers examples that can be used for designing an intercultural approach to the curriculum from diverse indigenous perspectives that have had legislative impacts. These include the constitutions of Ecuador and Bolivia based on Buen Vivir (good living) which recognize the rights of Nature, the constitution of Bhutan taking Buddhist Gross National Happiness as a central pillar, and jurisprudence in South Africa recognizing the Ubuntu principle of interconnectedness as the overarching principle of law.
Soka or Value-Creating Education: Perspectives on Planetary and Global Citizenship Henderson, H., & Ikeda, D. (2004). Planetary citizenship: Your values, beliefs and actions can shape a sustainable world. Santa Monica, CA: Middleway Press. This book offers both the authors’ personal experiences and existential questions and refers to Makiguchi’s work on related topics. Ikeda, D. (2008). Thoughts on education for global citizenship. In My dear friends in America: Collected U.S. addresses 1990–1996 (2nd ed., pp. 441–451). Santa Monica, CA: World Tribune Press. This speech delivered in 1996 at Columbia University engages with the concept of “global citizens” at length and can be used as a starting point to develop practice based on a value-creating approach. Ikeda, D. (2014, January 26). 2014 peace proposal. Value creation for global change: Building resilient and sustainable societies. Soka Gakkai
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International. https://www.sgi.org/about-us/president-ikedas-proposals/peace-proposal-2014.html Every year on January 26, Ikeda publishes a peace proposal that aims to respond to current challenges in building a global and sustainable world. For example, in his 2014 proposal he emphasizes the need for resilience to combat global challenges. Selected English translations of his proposals can be found via this link: https://www.sgi.org/about-us/ president-ikedas-proposals/ Additional recommended readings include the following: Bethel, D. M. (Ed.). (2002). The geography of human life. San Francisco: Caddo Gap Press. Ikeda, D. (2010). Soka education: For the happiness of the individual (Rev. ed.). Santa Monica: Middleway Press. Ikeda, D. (1988–2015). Ikeda Daisaku zenshu [The complete works of Daisaku Ikeda]. 150 vols. Tokyo: Seikyo Shimbunsha. Makiguchi, T. (1981–97). Makiguchi Tsunesaburo zenshu [The complete works of Tsunesaburo Makiguchi]. 10 vols. Tokyo: Daisan Bunmeisha. Makiguchi, T. (1983). Jinsei chirigaku [The geography of human life]. Makiguchi Tsunesaburo zenshu [Complete works of Tsunesaburo Makiguchi] (Vols. 1–2). Tokyo: Daisan Bunmeisha. Obelleiro, G. A. (2014). Cosmopolitan education and the creation of value [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Columbia University. Sherman, P. (2017). The emergent global citizen: Cultivating global citizenship identity and engagement within Soka education. Lancaster University. https://doi.org/10.17635/lancaster/thesis/43 Takazawa, M. (2016). Exploration of soka education principles on global citizenship: A qualitative study of U.S. K-3 soka educators (Publication no. 324) [Doctoral dissertation, University of San Francisco]. https://repository.usfca.edu/diss/324/ Takeuchi, K. (2004). The significance of Makiguchi Tsunesaburo’s Jinsei Chirigaku (Geography of Human Life) in the intellectual history of geography in Japan: Commemorating the centenary of its publication. The Journal of Oriental Studies, 14, 112–132.
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Toda, J. (1981–90). Toda Josei zenshu [The complete works of Josei Toda]. (Vols. 1–9). Tokyo: Seikyo Shimbunsha.
Value-Creating Global Citizenship Education Sharma, N. (2018). Value-creating global citizenship education: Engaging Gandhi, Makiguchi, and Ikeda as examples. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. This book offers a detailed engagement with the theoretical and conceptual foundations of this new volume. Book reviews include the following: Chhikara, A. (2019). Value-creating global citizenship education: Engaging Gandhi, Makiguchi, and Ikeda as examples, Intercultural Education, 30(1), 101–102. https://doi.org/10.1080/14675986.201 9.1535827. Obelleiro, G. (2019). Book review: Value-creating global citizenship education: Engaging Gandhi, Makiguchi, and Ikeda as examples, by Namrata Sharma. International Journal of Development Education and Global Learning, 11(2), 219–224. https://doi.org/10.18546/ IJDEGL.11.2.07.
Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship: Values-Based Perspectives Bamber, P. (Ed.). (2019). Teacher education for sustainable development and global citizenship. New York: Routledge. A compelling case is made in this book by several contributors on the importance of educators to explore their own values and ethics and help the next generation form their personal value dimensions that will impact how they treat the future of the planet. This book has three sections that cover discussions on values, offer approaches and activities for ESD and GCE curriculum, and offer insights into monitoring and assessments. Additional recommended readings include the following: Bourn, D., Hunt, F., & Bamber, P. (2017). A review of education for sustainable development and global citizenship education in teacher education. Paper commissioned for the 2017/8 Global Education Monitoring report, accountability in education: Meeting our commitments. Paris: UNESCO.
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This paper provides an overview of issues and pedagogical approaches around ESD and GCE for teacher education. It is one of the few scholarly works that bring together discussions on both initiatives and the role of formal education, civil society organizations, policy makers, and networks in promoting the practices of ESD and GCE within teacher education. Hatley, J. (2019). Universal values as a barrier to the effectiveness of global citizenship education: A multimodal critical discourse analysis. International Journal of Development Education and Global Learning, 11(1): 87–102. https://doi.org/10.18546/IJDEGL.11.1.06. This article explores eight UNESCO documents and the position of values in the texts and argues that UNESCO needs to incorporate a more diverse concept of values that is not Western centric and is also relevant to local contexts. Santone, S. (2019). Reframing the curriculum: Design for social justice and sustainability. New York: Routledge. This book covers in detail concepts related to social justice and sustainability that can be integrated into classroom learning and enable learners to make informed, values-based decision making. Yemini, M., Tibbitts, F., & Goren, H. (2019). Trends and caveats: Review of literature on global citizenship education in teacher training. Teaching and Teacher Education 77, 77–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. tate.2018.09.014. This review analyzes the academic literature on GCE and teacher education between 2006 and 2017 in a quest to understand how teacher education scholars are theorizing and researching the presence of GCE in teacher education programs.
Teaching for Global Competence Asia Society. (2018). Teaching for global competence in a rapidly changing world. New York: Asia Society/OECD. This material is published by Asia Society with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and offers a variety of approaches to teaching and learning. For other materials provided online by the Asia Society, see: https:// asiasociety.org/education/teaching-global-understanding Also see Bourn’s (2018, Chapter 8) critical analysis of this document and other similar materials being provided for the professional development of the global teacher.
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Equipping Teachers with Global Skills The following reference is recommended as a starting point: Bourn, D. (2018). Understanding global skills for 21st century professions. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. This work argues the need to equip teachers with global skills to teach themes such as climate change in a way that can expose learners and open their minds to different perspectives and approaches. For an introduction to the emerging discourse and practice of global learning, also read: Bourn, D. (2014). The theory and practice of global learning (Development Education Research Centre research paper no. 11). London: DERC, Institute of Education & Global Learning Programme. Bourn, D. (2020). Introduction. In D. Bourn (Ed.), The Bloomsbury handbook of global education and learning (pp. 1–7). London: Bloomsbury Academic.
Teaching Controversial Political Issues The following reference is recommended as a starting point: Hess, D.E., & McAvoy, P. (2015). The political classroom: Evidence and ethics in democratic education. New York: Routledge. This book is based on a comprehensive study conducted by Hess and McAvoy (2015) through a longitudinal survey and discussions with 35 teachers and their students on teaching controversial political issues from the year 2005 to 2009. Their work makes useful references to teach controversial issues on GCE, such as climate change, within the classroom (ibid.: 164–165). See the book’s website for various resources and suggestions: http:// thepoliticalclassroom.com/ and Alstein’s (2019) guide for educational professionals by the Flemish Peace Institute that builds on Hess and McAvoy’s (2015) suggestions: Alstein, M.V. (2019). Controversy & polarisation in the classroom: Suggestions for pedagogical practice. Flemish Peace Institute. Retrieved from: https://vlaamsvredesinstituut.eu/en/report/controversy-polari sation-in-the-classroom-suggestions-for-pedagogical-practice/ Oxfam. (2018). Teaching controversial issues: A guide for teachers. Oxford: Oxfam. This is one among other GCE guides offered by Oxfam on its website. These resources offer practical suggestions for embedding a global
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approach within various subjects and as a whole school directive. See: https://www.oxfam.org.uk/education/who-we-are/global-citizenshipguides For more practical strategies for teaching controversial issues, see resources offered by OXFAM: https://www.oxfam.org.uk/education/ resources/teaching-controversial-issues
Relevant Websites for GCE and ESD Educator Resources Academic Network on Global Education & Learning (ANGEL): https:// angel-network.net/ Asia Society: https://asiasociety.org/education British Council: https://www.britishcouncil.org/school-resources Brookings Institution: https://www.brookings.edu/research/measu ring-global-citizenship-education/ OECD: https://www.oecd.org/pisa/pisa-2018-global-competence.htm OXFAM: https://www.oxfam.org.uk/education/who-we-are/globalcitizenship-guides SDG academy library: https://sdgacademylibrary.mediaspace.kaltura. com/home #TeachSDGs: http://www.teachsdgs.org/ Teacher Education for Equity and Sustainability (TEESNet): http:// teesnet.liverpoolworldcentre.org/resources/ World’s Largest Lessons: https://worldslargestlesson.globalgoals.org/ World Savvy: https://www.worldsavvy.org/
UNESCO Documents and Critical Analyses of the SDGs The following are a selection of documents published by UNESCO for teaching ESD and GCE that have been referred to within this book and can be read in relation to the arguments and suggestions for praxis made within each chapter. These references are recommended to be used along with the materials suggested above with the aim to respond to the particularities of the culture, needs, and values of the students. Other UNESCO resources on ESD and GCE can be found via https://en.unesco.org/ themes/education-sustainable-development/resources and https:// en.unesco.org/themes/gced/resources respectively.
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Agbedahin, A. V. (2019). Sustainable development, Education for Sustainable Development, and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: Emergence, efficacy, eminence, and future. Sustainable Development, 27(4), 669–680. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.1931. IBE-UNESCO. (2018). Training tools for curriculum development: A resource pack for global citizenship education (GCED). Switzerland: IBE-UNESCO. Pais, A., & Costa, M. (2020). An ideology critique of global citizenship education. Critical Studies in Education, 61(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/1 0.1080/17508487.2017.1318772. Swain, (2018). A critical analysis of the sustainable development goals. In W. L. Filho (Ed.), Handbook of sustainability science and research (pp. 341–355). Switzerland: Springer International Publishing. UNESCO. (2013). Outcome document of the Technical Consultation on Global Citizenship Education: Global citizenship education: An emerging perspective. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2014). Global citizenship education: Preparing learners for the challenges of the 21st century. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2014). Learning to live together: Education policies and realities in the Asia Pacific. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2015). Global citizenship education: Topics and learning objectives. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2015). Final Report: Second UNESCO Forum on Global Citizenship Education: Building peaceful and sustainable societies, UNESCO Paris, 28–30 January 2015. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2016). 1st Global Capacity-Building Workshop on GCED: 19 June–2 July 2016, Seoul and Gwangju, Republic of Korea: Final report. Seoul: Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2016). Getting climate-ready: A guide for schools on climate action. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2016). Priority #3: Foster global citizenship. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2017). Education for sustainable development goals: Learning objectives. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2017). Learning to live together. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2017). Preventing violent extremism through education: A guide for policy makers. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2017). School violence and bullying: Global status report. Paris: UNESCO.
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UNESCO. (2017). The ABCs of global citizenship education. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2018). Global citizenship education: Taking it local. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2018). Issues and trends in education for sustainable development: Education on the move. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2018). Progress on education for sustainable development and global citizenship education. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2018). Preparing teachers for global citizenship education: A template. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2019). Education content up close: Examining the learning dimensions of Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship Education. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2019). Education transforms lives. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2019). Global citizenship education. Paris: UNESCO. Winkler, I.T., & Williams, C. (2017). The Sustainable Development Goals and human rights: a critical early review. The International Journal of Human Rights, 21(8), 1023–1028. https://doi.org/10.108 0/13642987.2017.1348695. Winkler, I.T., & and Williams, C. (Eds.). (2018). The sustainable development goals and human rights: A critical early review. New York: Routledge.
Indian and Japanese Glossary
1.1 Glossary of Indian (Mostly Hindi, Pali, and Sanskrit) Terms Ahimsa: non-injury, nonviolence, harmlessness; renunciation of the will to kill and the intention to hurt; abstention from any hostile thought, word, or act; non-coercion. Bapu: father (often as a form of address). Charkha: spinning wheel (used by Gandhi to make the khadi cloth). Dharma: duty, righteousness, moral law; social and personal morality; natural law, natural obligation. Karuna: karuṇā (in both Sanskrit and Pali) is generally translated as compassion; empathy; a fundamental quality in Jainism, Hinduism, and the bodhisattva ideal of Mahayana Buddhism; the word comes from the Sanskrit kara (Hindi karna), meaning “to do” or “to make,” indicating an action-based form of compassion, rather than the pity or sadness associated with the English word. Khadi: hand-spun and hand-woven cloth. Mahatma: great soul; name given to Gandhi by the Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941). Metta: from mētta or “loving-kindness” in Pali; maitri in Sanskrit; the Buddhist virtue of kindness; meditation focused on the development of
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unconditional love for all beings; an altruistic attitude of love and friendliness, true friendship. Raj: kingdom, rule, regime. Satya: truth; real, existent; valid; sincere, pure; effectual. Satyagraha: non-violent resistance; a relentless search for truth; truth- force; holding on to truth; the name of Gandhi’s political movement. Satyagrahi: one who offers satyagraha.
1.2 Glossary of Japanese Terms Gakkai: society; can be used for academic societies. Jihi: compassion; “The word compassion in Japanese is written with two Chinese characters, ji and hi. Ji corresponds to metta in Pali and maitri in Sanskrit, and conveys the meaning of “true friendship,” while hi represents karuna in both languages, and conveys the meaning of “empathy” or “shared feeling” (Ikeda 1999: 130, referenced and discussed in chapter 5); in Buddhism ji means giving happiness, and hi means saving sentient beings from suffering, to offer joy to others and alleviate their pain; includes the element of unconditional love. Soka: or “value creation” is a neology formed by Josei Toda (1900–1958) to describe Makiguchi’s educational pedagogy. Soka Gakkai: “Value-Creating Society” is a laypeople organization of the Nichiren Shoshu sect of Mahayana Buddhism. It is successor to the organization established by Tsunesaburo Makiguchi in 1930 known as the “Soka Kyoiku Gakkai” or Value-Creating Education Society. Josei Toda reconstructed the organization after the Second World War. Makiguchi is considered as the first president of the Soka Gakkai, Josei Toda was the second president, and Daisaku Ikeda is the third president of the Soka Gakkai and the founding president of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI).
Index1
A Academic Network on Global Education and Learning (ANGEL), 124 Active, 14, 61, 68, 81, 85, 86, 89, 101, 102, 111, 112, 124 citizen, 81, 85, 86, 89, 101, 124 See also Behavioral; Learning to do Ahimsa, 88, 114–115n4 See also Non-violence ANGEL, see Academic Network on Global Education and Learning Asia Society, 45, 69 Assessment, 37, 69, 111, 114 B Behavioral, 11, 34, 60, 69, 78, 85, 88, 91, 120 See also Active, citizen; Learning to do Bodhisattva, 80, 81, 92n3 Buen Vivir, 12, 16–17
C Character, 62–64, 68, 72n5, 78, 85, 86, 89, 121 Citizen, 2–4, 6, 8, 13, 14, 17 cosmopolitan, 43, 79 global, 2–4, 6, 8, 13, 17, 26, 30, 31, 35, 36, 42–48, 52, 53, 60, 64–71, 78–82, 84, 87, 89–91, 101–107, 110–114, 128, 129 planetary, 8–10, 13, 121, 129 world, 42 See also Active citizen; Bodhisattva; Citizenship; Creative, citizen; Education for citizenship; Global Citizenship Education (GCED); Inclusive citizen; Value-creating global citizenship education
Note: Page numbers followed by ‘n’ refer to notes.
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Citizenship, 9, 10, 12, 13, 42, 43, 46, 47, 49, 51, 65, 66, 70, 71, 72n5, 78–82, 91, 100–102, 123–125, 129 education, 8, 10, 12–17, 26, 30, 31, 35, 42, 44–46, 51–53, 60, 65–71, 72n5, 78, 79, 82, 86, 89–91, 101–107, 110–114, 120, 124, 125, 128, 129 See also Citizen; Education for citizenship; Global Citizenship Education (GCED); Value-creating global citizenship education Climate change, 2, 5, 6, 9, 11–13, 15, 36, 37, 42–53, 67, 83, 90, 92, 121, 124, 129 Cognitive, 11, 17, 34, 51, 60, 120 cognition in Value-Creating Pedagogy, 32–34 See also Learning to know Creative, 6, 12, 31, 36, 43, 44, 48, 52, 62, 70, 101, 102, 109, 122–125, 129 citizen, 102, 125–126 See also Creativity Creative coexistence, 36, 48, 52, 84 as creative engagement and coexistence, 44 as creativity and coexistence, 47 an ethic of, 36 Creativity, 47, 72n3, 108–111, 125 See also Creative, citizen Criticality for social justice, 9, 36, 86 skills of, 86, 88 Curriculum, 8, 9, 11, 12, 15, 26, 28, 31–34, 36, 48, 53, 53n11, 60, 72n3, 78, 82, 84, 85, 100–103, 105, 112, 113, 125, 129 for education for sustainable development, 3, 9, 11, 15–17,
32–35, 45–51, 66, 68–69, 87–91, 120, 125 for global citizenship education, 9, 11, 12, 15–17, 31–34, 36, 47–51, 66, 68–69, 87–91, 120, 125 D Delors Report, 11, 120 See also Learning the treasure within Dewey, John, 13, 17, 60–71, 71n1, 71n2, 85, 93n9, 121 Dialogic, 4, 8, 11, 13, 14, 34, 37, 60, 65, 69–71, 79, 82, 84, 102, 110, 121 Dialogue, 13–15, 48, 62, 69–71, 79, 80, 82–85, 87, 89, 90, 93n5, 110, 111, 125 E Earth-centered perspective, 48, 54n14 See also Earth Charter; Earth Jurisprudence; Harmony with Nature Knowledge Network Earth Charter, 10, 42–45, 48–50, 128 See also Earth-centered perspective; Earth Jurisprudence; Harmony with Nature Knowledge Network Earth Jurisprudence, 10, 13, 48, 50 See also Earth-centered perspective; Earth Charter; Harmony with Nature Knowledge Network Education for citizenship, 2, 3, 11, 13, 42, 71, 80, 86, 89, 101, 103, 111, 113–114, 125 See also Citizen; Citizenship; Global Citizenship Education (GCED); Global citizenship; Value-creating global citizenship education
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Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), 2, 5–9, 11–14, 26, 31, 34, 35, 37, 42, 45–47, 49–53, 53n6, 60–62, 64–71, 78, 80, 82, 120, 123, 129 See also Sustainable development; Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Experiential learning, 13, 14, 53, 61, 68, 69, 85 G Gandhi, Mahatma, 2, 3, 5, 6, 12–14, 30–32, 36, 65, 71, 79, 84–91, 101–103, 105–114, 114n2, 114n3, 114–115n4, 123, 125 GCED, see Global Citizenship Education GEFI, see Global Education First Initiative GENE, see Global Education Network Europe Global citizenship, 2, 9, 12, 46, 47, 60, 64, 65, 78–82, 91, 100, 101, 103, 104, 111, 128 Global Citizenship Education (GCED), 2, 8, 12, 14–17, 26, 31–32, 36, 42, 44–47, 52, 53, 60, 65–70, 72n5, 78–81, 84, 85, 87, 88, 91, 93n5, 101–104, 107, 110–114, 120, 122, 128, 129 See also Citizen; Citizenship; Education for citizenship; Value-creating global citizenship education Global Education First Initiative (GEFI), 79 Global Education Network Europe, 130n4 Globalization, 12, 102
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H Happiness, 26, 28, 29, 36, 63, 67, 80, 86, 92, 110, 121, 122 Harmony with Nature Knowledge Network, 42, 54n14 See also Earth-centered perspective; Earth Charter; Earth Jurisprudence Human revolution, 67 Human rights, 2, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 14, 31, 37, 43, 46, 50, 65, 110, 121 education, 10, 78–92, 93n8 I Ikeda, Daisaku, 2, 3, 5, 8, 14–16, 26–32, 34–37, 43, 48–50, 52, 60–65, 67, 68, 70, 71, 79–84, 87, 89, 92, 93n3, 101, 102, 105–107, 110, 111, 113, 114, 115n6, 120–123, 125–127, 130n7 Inclusive citizen, 125–127 L Learning the treasure within, 11, 34, 120 See also Delors Report Learning to be, 13, 60, 70, 82, 85 See also Socio-emotional Learning to do, 14, 78, 85, 91 See also Active citizen; Behavioral Learning to know, 11, 17, 34, 85, 120 See also Cognitive Learning to live together, 14, 15, 101, 125 Liberal, 31, 32 neoliberal, 6, 8, 12, 14, 44, 64–66, 70, 120
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M Maathai, Wangari, 4, 5, 18n3, 44, 50, 54n13 Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP), 12, 53n8 Makiguchi, Tsunesaburo, 2, 3, 13, 14, 17, 26–29, 32–34, 36, 37n2, 44, 48, 60–65, 71n2, 71n3, 72n5, 79, 89, 92, 101, 102, 105–107, 109–114, 115n5, 121, 122 MGIEP, see Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development N Ningen kyoiku, 29, 110 See also Soka Education; Value-creating education Non-dualistic, 30, 32, 35, 44, 82, 87, 120 Non-violence, 2, 3, 8, 11, 14, 31, 37, 65, 80, 86–89, 91, 101, 103, 108, 109, 112, 114–115n4, 121, 123 See also Ahimsa Non-Western, 3, 12, 14, 15, 31, 71, 86, 89, 101, 102, 113 O Oxfam, 45, 123 P Participatory democracy, 61, 69, 78, 85 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), 69 Project-Based Learning (PBL), 13, 61
S Satyagraha, 3, 5, 29, 31, 32, 88, 108, 109 Satyagrahi, 5 SDGs, see Sustainable Development Goals SGI, see Soka Gakkai International Socio-emotional, 11, 34, 35, 51, 60, 120 See also Learning to be Soka, 12, 16, 18, 29, 30, 32, 62–64, 66, 69, 70, 71n1, 71n3, 110 movement, 3, 6, 29, 32 progenitors, 3, 6, 12, 13, 27, 30, 36, 62, 64, 66, 68, 70, 84, 85, 105, 121, 122, 127 studies, 10, 13, 26, 36, 69, 111, 127 See also Value creation Soka Education, 2, 15, 29, 36, 60 See also Ningen kyoiku; Value-creating education Soka Gakkai, 28, 61, 71n3 Soka Gakkai International (SGI), 3, 26, 29, 92n3, 93n8 Soka institutions, 113 Soka Institute for Environmental Studies and Research of the Amazon, 48–49 Soka Kyoiku Gakkai, 28 Soka Kyoikugaku Taikei, 26, 29, 121 See also The System of Value- Creating Pedagogy; Value creating pedagogy Soka Schools, 29, 81, 105, 113 Soka University of America, 48 Sustainable development, 2, 5, 6, 8–11, 16, 17, 31, 37, 42–46, 52, 54n14, 65, 66, 80, 82, 87, 93n8, 120, 121, 123, 128, 129 See also Education for Sustainable Development; Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
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Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 2, 5, 9, 10, 13–15, 31, 44, 46–48, 52, 54n14, 65, 78, 80, 87, 90–92, 124–126, 128 See also Education for Sustainable Development; Sustainable development The System of Value-Creating Pedagogy, 26, 121 See also Soka Kyoikugaku Taikei; Value-creating pedagogy T Teacher education, 15, 17, 88, 101, 123, 127, 128 Toda, Josei, 2, 3, 26–29, 32, 60, 61, 79, 89, 92, 121, 122 Truth, 33, 34 Gandhi’s notion of, 2, 30, 88, 114n4, 123 as law of the universe, 13 Makiguchi’s concept of, 37n2 U Ubuntu, 12, 16, 18, 82 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), 2, 5, 11, 12, 16,
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17, 19n12, 26, 31, 34, 35, 42, 44–49, 51–53, 60, 61, 65, 67, 69, 70, 78–80, 82, 84, 86, 88, 104, 120, 125–127, 130n5 V Value-creating education, 2, 12, 15, 26–29, 60, 102, 113, 120 ability to create value, 26, 28, 51, 60, 62, 63, 78 capacity to create value, 15, 35–37, 47, 52, 63, 66, 68, 69, 120–122 See also Ningen kyoiku; Soka Education Value-creating global citizenship education, 2, 6–15, 26, 32, 36, 37, 42, 45, 47–49, 51, 53, 60, 65, 68–70, 84, 86, 90, 91, 101, 120, 122, 128, 129 Value-creating pedagogy, 26, 29, 121, 122 See also Soka Kyoikugaku Taikei; The System of Value-Creating Pedagogy Value creation, 6, 9, 15, 26, 33, 34, 36, 62, 63, 66, 68, 82, 86, 110, 121, 122