Multifaceted Development: A Bangladesh Case Study 9819917972, 9789819917976

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Multifaceted Development A Bangladesh Case Study Edited by Imtiaz A. Hussain

Multifaceted Development

Imtiaz A. Hussain Editor

Multifaceted Development A Bangladesh Case Study

Editor Imtiaz A. Hussain Bangladesh (IUB) Independent University Dhaka, Bangladesh

ISBN 978-981-99-1797-6 ISBN 978-981-99-1798-3 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1798-3 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 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 Singapore Pte Ltd. The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721, Singapore

Acknowledgements

This project began informally with a Center for Pedagogy sponsored ‘International Conference on Teaching and Learning’, on April 22–23, 2016, at Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB). Its theme, ‘Education in the Current World: Pedagogy, Research and Social Change’, attracted 101 papers, of which 45 responded to my invitation to build a book. Only 26 were forwarded to the next phase, from which 15 were given a more substantive review, of which only 3 were finally accepted. They were handsomely complemented with papers from other conferences on various other themes affecting Bangladesh’s evolution in one way or another. Funded by the IUB Board of Trustees (BOT) during my Center for Pedagogy directorship, our publication mission took us through seminars and other exchanges before a manuscript submission. Anonymous peer reviewers helped us tighten our disparate chapters, and Palgrave Macmillan showed patience with our work, steering us all the way. We are grateful to them all. We also thank Professor Milan Pagon. As Acting IUB Vice Chancellor and Pro Vice Chancellor, he got us the BOT funds in October 2020 amid the direst corona virus pandemic (when other priorities demanded more funding). Close collaboration with the IUB Treasurer Khandker Md Iftekhar Haider and Director, Department of Finance and Accounting, Mr. Kazi Md. Husam Uddin, shielded us from speed-bumps in that scathing pandemic spell. Our deepest appreciation for both. v

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

In addition, Parisa Alam, the Global Studies & Governance (GSG) Department Office Manager held the fort where much of the work was done, while my GSG colleagues and their counterparts in the School of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (SLASS), particularly Dean Taiabur Rahman, steadfastly supported every step we took. Our appreciation, again. Ultimately, I alone am responsible for any lapse or error. June 2023

Imtiaz A. Hussain

Contents

1

2

3

Multifaceted Development and Bangladesh: Of ‘Forest’, ‘Tree’, and ‘Leaf’ Interpretations Imtiaz A. Hussain

1

Comparing Secular and Religious Primary Education: Bangladesh’s Marriage of Convenience? Obydullah Al Marjuk

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Evolving English Pedagogy and ‘Second-Best’ Outcomes: Bangladesh’s Pre-university Experiences Shorna Akter

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4

Pixar in Classrooms Refat Ara Jerin

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Unplugging the Matrix: Bridging the Urban–Rural Gap Tanvir Ahmed Haroon

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Pedagogy Shifts, Andragogy Knocks? From the ‘International’ in Classes to the ‘Global’ in Job-Markets Imtiaz A. Hussain

7

Standardizing Bangladesh’s Maritime Education & Training: Global Challenges & The Job Market Razon Chandra Saha

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CONTENTS

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Controlling Climate, Facilitating Modernization: Comparing Bangladesh and Mexico Gloria Soto-Montes-de-Oca and Sharnila Nuzhat Kabir

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Questioning Questions: Can Questions Help Build Neuron Clusters? Yusuf Mahbubul Islam and Umam Mustain Nashikh

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‘Theory’ Meets ‘Turf’ in Bangladesh: Melting-Pot, Mottled, or Menacing ‘Development’? Imtiaz A. Hussain

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9

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Index

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Notes on Contributors

Shorna Akter is an Assistant Professor, Department of English, Dhaka City College. At present she is pursuing her Ph.D. at Jahangirnagar University. She presented six research papers at different national and international conferences and published five research articles in recognized journals, while three more of her research articles have been accepted by three refereed journals. Her areas of interest include Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), ELT, Psycholinguistics and Sociolinguistics. Tanvir Ahmed Haroon a faculty of Department of Environmental Science and Management at Independent University, Bangladesh completed his Master’s in Natural Hazards and Disaster Management and his Bachelor’s in Environmental Management and Science from IUB. He completed his Secondary School Certificate (S.S.C) and Higher Secondary School Certificate (H.S.C) from St Joseph’s Higher Secondary School and College. He is also the coordinator of the Environment Club, since 2018. He was involved with Middlesex University, UK, with the International Strategic Partnership in Research and Education (INSPIRE) from 2011 to 2013, and with Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs (HECUA) from 2009 to 2011 as chief student guide and monitor. He was one of the founders and currently a member of the board of directors of the Bangladeshi Debating Council (BDC). He was the coach and selector of the Bangladesh National team from 2004 to 2014. His publication includes Shahima I, Tanvir A H., ‘Seaweed aquaculture: An alternative income generation option to improve the livelihood of the ix

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Southeast Coastal Communities of Bangladesh’. Oceanography Fish Open Access J. 2017; 4(5): 555–648; and Shahima. I, Tanvir. A.H, ‘Seaweed as an alternative income generation activity for coastal communities of Bangladesh’, 2nd Global Summit on Aquaculture & Fisheries, July 11–13, 2016. Imtiaz A. Hussain is the Head/Founder/Advisor, of Global Studies & Governance Department at Independent University, Bangladesh (from 2016), Professor (Philadelphia University/Universidad Iberoamericana, 1990–2014), Imtiaz Hussain created/taught wide- ranging International Relations/Global Studies/Governance courses, evident in his 20-odd books. As samplers: Rohingya Camp Narratives: Tales From the‘Lesser Roads’ (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022); Local-Global Tradeoffs, Order-disorder Consequences: “State” no more an Island? (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022); South Asia in Global Power Rivalry (Springer, 2019); Transatlantic Transactions (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018); North American Regionalism (Palgrave 2015); Evaluating NAFTA (Palgrave, 2013); Border Governance and the ‘Unruly’ South (Palgrave 2013), and Afghanistan-Iraq and Post-conflict Governance (Brill 2010); several scholarly articles in Journal of International Relations (2020), Encyclopedia of U.S.- Latin American Relations (2012), Handbook of Global Security and Intelligence (2008), South Asian Survey (2008), Politics & Policy (2008), Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh (2006); Norteamérica (2006); and even more articles on ongoing developments in Dhaka’s Daily Star, Financial Express, & Dhaka Tribune newspapers. He received several research fellowships (from Canadian, Indian, Mexican, & US institutions); invitations for 7 specialized conferences (Cambodia, Canada, France, Germany, India, and Mexico, among others); and teaching awards (in University of Pennsylvania, 1985; Universidad de las Americas, Mexico City, several years, and Independent University, Bangladesh, 2020). His 1989 doctorate was in Political Science from Penn. Include any personal or professional information relevant to this publication (previous books, related teaching/research experience): Above biography mentions some, especially several books published by Palgrave Macmillan. Yusuf Mahbubul Islam is working in the industry having completed his PhD from Strathclyde University, Glasgow, in 1988. Yusuf Mahbubul Islam became a non-implementation expert, i.e., institutions/businesses sought him to find why projects or systems failed. During the various tasks managed, the lack of thinking skills demonstrated by professionals

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troubled him so much that he moved to academia in 2002. Familiarizing himself with participatory workshop techniques, he finally did a Master’s in Instructional Design Technology from Open University Malaysia (OUM) in 2010 to understand the application of Learning Theories. Looking for theories on how the learning brain works, he became intrigued by the point-of-view offered by some verses of the Holy Quraan. He compared this with the theory of single-concept-cells first put forward in the 1960s and recently revisited to come up with the Extending Neuron Clusters (ENC) theory which is the subject of the current chapter. Refat Ara Jerin is a Lecturer at the Department of Media and Communication, in IUB. She completed her Bachelor of Arts in Film and Digital Media from the American University of Rome (AUR) in 2012. While studying, Refat worked as an English Language teacher to Italian students, from 2008 to 2013. After returning to Bangladesh, she completed her Master of Social Science in Media and Communication from IUB in 2017. However, before joining her Master’s program, she continued to pursue her passion for teaching at an English medium private school in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where she also taught English Language and Creative Writing to the senior classes. While completing her Master’s degree, Refat was also involved as a Research Assistant at the Centre for Social Science Research (CSSR) at IUB, which developed her research interest in media and education. After successfully completing her Master’s degree, Refat joined the Green University as an Adjunct Lecturer at the Department of Journalism and Media Communication. Refat later joined Independent University, Bangladesh’s Department of Media and Communication, in 2018, teaching Communication Strategies, Social Media and Everyday Culture, Cinema and its impact, and Visual Communication. Refat is quite active on social media platforms, especially on Facebook and Twitter, sharing and promoting content related to arts, cinema, and pedagogy, among other things. She is extremely fond of photography; hence she remains active on Flickr too. Below are the links to her social media profiles: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/refat.ontora/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ara_jerin Sharnila Nuzhat Kabir is an undergraduate student at Independent University, Bangladesh. She is completing her degree with a major in

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Environmental Science and a minor in Global Studies and Governance. Her research interests lie within the fields of climate change, disaster risk reduction, and sustainability. She has experience in field-based qualitative research in the Southwestern coastal belt of Bangladesh among cyclone affected communities, having worked with grassroots non-governmental organizations in the region, as well as development partners such as the World Bank. She is currently engaged in presenting her experiences from the field as a youth climate advocate in her current research through an in-depth policy analysis of Bangladesh’s Disaster Management Policies. Obydullah Al Marjuk holds M.Sc. in Social and Cultural Research from Brunel University, UK and a Bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Dhaka. He serves as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Social Sciences and Humanities at Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB). Besides teaching sociology and philosophy, Mr. Marjuk is playing the role of Additional Director at the Institutional Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) of IUB. He is also the member of the core management team at the Centre for Social Science Research (CSSR) at IUB; and a US State Department alumna. Mr. Marjuk has over fifteen publications in journals, proceedings, and as book chapters. He has also written over five research and evaluation reports on pedagogy and education. He served as the member of the peer review team reviewing several academic programs and served as the resource person in various aspects of quality assurance at numerous public and private universities in Bangladesh. His area of interests includes community, digital divide, education, Islam, pedagogy, rural sociology, social history, social networking, and western thoughts and philosophy. Umam Mustain Nashikh Having completed my Bachelor’s and Master’s in Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) from Daffodil International University, I joined as an online platform administrator to support online and blended infrastructures. Through my work, I gained knowledge on how to develop interactive online lessons. I also learned interactive techniques in face-to-face classes working with several seasoned instructors. I have been working under the guidance of Professor Yusuf Mahbubul Islam (a contributor to this volume) in developing, supporting and conducting different interactive sessions that support total engagement of the participants to ensure their learning. Through experience, over these years the Query-Based Access to Neurons (QuBAN) QueryBased Access to Neurons (QuBAN) was developed by Prof Islam. I

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worked with him during the various phases of the development. It excites me to see the changes the techniques bring in the students/participants— they are launched on the journey to become critical thinkers. Mr. Razon Chandra Saha has 18 years of extensive experience in Shipping, Transport, Logistics and Supply Chain Management. Upon completion of Bachelor’s in Nautical Science from National University, Bangladesh with First Division First (Academic Distinction), he started his career with a local shipping company as Executive Operations. Furthermore, he joined OOCL in 2005 as Executive-Logistics, Equipment Control and Operations. He also has completed a Master’s degree in Port and Shipping Management from USTC, Chittagong, as well as the M.B.A. in Maritime Management from University of Greenwich, London, UK. He worked in CARE as Port Officer and Regional Commodity Logistics Manager also SMEC as Transport Management Specialist. He attended various training/workshops/ seminars/conferences at home and abroad and traveled to many countries in the world including USA, UK, Sweden, Denmark, India, Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Presently Mr. Saha is conducting Ph.D. in Intermodal Freight Transportation System in Bangladesh University of Professionals that will be completed in June 2021. He is a member of University of Greenwich Alumni Association, World Conference of Transport Research Society (WCTRS), affiliated member of ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers), CILT Bangladesh, among others. He has 30 original scientific papers and peer-reviewed publications; received VOLVO Research and Educational Foundations (VREF) Scholarship in 2019l; and works in World Bank Group as Consultant-Transport in Bangladesh. Gloria Soto-Montes-de-Oca is a social and economic scientist working on the analysis of environmental issues intended to improve decisionmaking process in natural resource management. She is a ProfessorResearcher in the Department of Social Sciences and member of the Socio-territorial Analysis Laboratory (LAST) at the Metropolitan Autonomous University campus Cuajimalpa in Mexico. She holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences from University of East Anglia (UK), Honorary research fellow of the Centre of Social and Economic Research on the Global Environment (CSERGE, UK) and member of National System of Researchers (CONACYT, MX). Her main research interests are issues around biodiversity, ecosystem services, climate change, water

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resources, and environmental governance. She led projects with policy impact for institutions such as the National Water Commission, the National Institute of Climate Change, Mexico City’s Virtual Center for Climate Change, among others.

List of Figures

Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig.

2.1 2.2 2.3 5.1 5.2 5.3 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5

Fig. 7.6 Fig. 7.7 Fig. 7.8 Fig. 7.9 Fig. 7.10 Fig. 9.1 Fig. 9.2

Bangladesh’s education structure Structure of primary school management Total Qawmi madrasah management The host organization L.F.E. Welcoming themes The ‘Experience’ component of the L.F.E. Study sojourn Seafarer demands, step-by-step Number of Bangladeshi seafarers in the world Existing M.E.T. institutional standards in Bangladesh Capacity of Bangladesh M.E.T. institutions Quality of Bangladeshi M.E.T. teachers/instructors: institutional appraisal Role of Department of Shipping, Bangladesh: monitoring M.E.T. institutions M.E.T. promotion in Bangladesh Bangladesh M.E.T. development: roles of government, ex-mariners, & specialized peoples Bangladesh, M.E.T. & foreign exchange earnings opportunities Managing international ship-owning or ship-managing companies to recruiting Bangladeshi seafarers Linked neuron network connected to a Central Concept Neuron The Central Concept Neuron (CCN) linking with another CCN

25 40 41 93 93 94 128 131 132 133 134 134 135 136 137 138 177 178

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LIST OF FIGURES

Fig. 9.3 Fig. 9.4 Fig. 9.5 Fig. 9.6 Fig. 9.7 Fig. 9.8

Operations for Extending Neuron Clusters (ENC): Adding links to existing central concept clusters Teachers response to whether they ask questions during class Extending Neuron Clusters (ENC): lesson plan design Extending Neuron Cluster (ENC) Lesson design for the class “are your online students engaged?” Thematic analysis of questions posed by teachers at the end of the class Extending Neuron Cluster (ENC) launched with the ‘snake’ concept

180 184 186 189 192 192

List of Tables

Table 1.1 Table 2.1 Table Table Table Table Table Table Table Table Table

2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 3.1 3.2 3.3

Table 3.4 Table 3.5 Table 4.1 Table 4.2 Table 4.3 Table 4.4 Table 4.5

Transitions from ‘leaf’-level appraisals Different stages of formal education and student age range Number of different types of schools Number of students in different types of schools Number of teachers in different types of schools Admission information in pre-school, 2016–2020 Admission rate in all schools (2005–2015) Dropout rate of primary education Analysis of the activities of E.F.T. text (for xi–xii 2001) Analysis of the activities of E.F.T. text (for xi–xii 2015) Distribution of marks paper 1 (For E.F.T. text previous version) Distribution of marks paper 1 (for E.F.T. Text 2016) Findings from the teachers’ F.G.D. session Mean, median, and mode scores of year 5 students’ class tests (before Pixar) Mean, median, and mode scores of year 5 students’ half-year exam (before Pixar) Mean, median, and mode scores of year 5 students’ class tests (after Pixar) Mean, median, and mode scores of year 5 students’ final term exam (after Pixar) Mean, median, and mode scores of year 6 students’ class tests (before Pixar)

15 26 32 33 34 37 38 39 60 60 61 62 63 77 77 77 77 77

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 4.6 Table 4.7 Table 4.8 Table 4.9 Table 4.10 Table 4.11 Table 4.12 Table 4.13 Table 4.14 Table 4.15 Table 4.16 Table 8.1 Table 8.2 Table 9.1 Table 9.2 Table 9.3 Table 9.4 Table 9.5

Mean, median, and mode scores of year 6 students’ half-year exam (before Pixar) Mean, median, and mode scores of year 6 students’ class tests (after Pixar) Mean, median, and mode scores of year 6 students’ final term exam (after Pixar) Mean, median, and mode scores of year 7 students’ class tests (before Pixar) Mean, median, and mode scores of year 7 students’ half-year exam (before Pixar) Mean, median, and mode scores of year 7 students’ class tests (after Pixar) Mean, median, and mode scores of year 7 students’ final term exam (after Pixar) Mean, median, and mode scores of year 8 students’ class tests (before Pixar) Mean, median, and mode scores of year 8 half-year exam (before Pixar) Mean, median, and mode scores of year 8 students’ class tests (after Pixar) Mean, median, and mode scores of year 8 students’ final term exam (after Pixar) Climate change policy overviews in Bangladesh and Mexico Comparative Bangladesh–Mexico environmental overviews Soft skills identified from the 63 documents studies (Cotton 1993) Data exchanges taking place to train moses Guiding steps and design of experimental ENC lesson plan Question sequence for the experimental ENC online class Analysis of questions asked by participants: themes covered

78 78 78 78 78 79 79 79 79 79 80 158 161 172 179 182 187 191

CHAPTER 1

Multifaceted Development and Bangladesh: Of ‘Forest’, ‘Tree’, and ‘Leaf’ Interpretations Imtiaz A. Hussain

Introduction: From Top-Down to Bottom-Up ‘Developmental’ Appraisals ‘Development’ is a contested term. Where it is unfolding, when, who is interpreting it, and for whom—all chip in to shape the term. Even the discussion context matters, whether it is in Main Street conversations, ivory-tower analyses, think-tank policy proposals, journalist reports, or more broadly, mass/social media depiction. Comparisons inevitably infiltrate these impressions and/or appraisals, typically throwing an ‘other’ case to invoke our very own. Whether meant to highlight contrasts or simply show comparative differences, we usually come away with both similarities (‘apples’ versus the proverbial ‘apples’) and differences (‘apples’ versus ‘oranges’), given variations in the crowd, among countries, and of prevalent cultures.

I. A. Hussain (B) Department of Global Studies and Governance, Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB), Dhaka, Bangladesh e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 I. A. Hussain (ed.), Multifaceted Development, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1798-3_1

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Interpretations, too, hug different ‘development’ levels. Some present the overarching often composite picture (the ‘forest’), as ‘developed countries’, or a specialized view (‘tree’), for example, through an academic discipline (economic development or social development). Most pedantic is the personal view (‘leaf’), capturing individual-level awareness, assumptions, actions, and aspirations. Amid growing individualism, this could arguably be an overshadowed appraisal of climbing importance. Some cultures accent individualism, such as Anglo Saxons. That could explain why both democracy and capitalism resonate better within this group, as secret individual voting and private enterprise opportunities abound. Where extended families prevail, a democratic vote could project an informally approved collective choice, or what looks like selfhelp capitalist practices could, in fact, portray corporatist preferences. In both, individualism plays second-fiddle. Social media promotes individual behavior, accenting ‘leaf’-level dynamics. With the 2020–2022 corona virus (COVID)-19 pandemic being so prolonged, attitudes, behaviors, and customs could not but individualize further. This is not to say ‘leaf’-level analysis is the wave of the future, but it does deserve more academic scrutiny. Even beyond the individualizing dynamic globally, ‘forest’ and ‘tree’ descriptions or prescriptions cannot be fool-proof: the more aggregated the findings of any study, for instance, the greater the margins of error we had. Beyond fitting in the missing blanks, the ‘leaf’ level can add new light to general behavior. Bangladesh ‘graduating’ into a ‘developing’ category from November 2026 has been one big news of 2022. This was decided at the ‘forest’ level, by the United Nations’ Economic and Social Organization (ECOSOC) in November 2021. Do we see corresponding changes on Main Street, pedestrians changing lifestyles, or scholars swapping analytical trajectories? Prospective students typically select a ‘Major’ for a degree. Have the ‘majors’ universities offer started changing to fit the unfolding circumstances? Rather than the top-down ‘development’ studies, theories, and observations (from the erudite or policy-makers),1 this volume explores various individual-level bottom-up changes which are largely seen by them as an ‘improvement’ in their personal and independent lives, rather than feeding a ‘national’ (‘tree’), or global (‘forest’) development crusade. It does so in a setting we authors are more familiar with: classroom dynamics, in the bazaar, or typical neighborhoods.

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How this view contrasts the theoretical and paradigmatic approach is discussed below. Beforehand though, how ‘development’ entered our mindset helps begin our intellectual journey. Emerging ‘Development’ Dynamics The ‘development’ term became popular in the post-colonial, postWorld War II era, though the tone was set by the 1919–21 Paris Peace Conferences and the 1922–23 Lausanne Treaty ending World War I. Both creation/recognition of new territorial boundaries, and recovery from the devastating 1930s Depression produced the environment for ‘development’-based conversations. They began in fits and starts. U.S. President Woodrow Wilson’s ‘Fourteen Points’, based upon ‘selfdetermination’, supplied the political dynamic prompting the League of Nations to break empires. The United Nations only followed suit when World War II ended. Against the depression, an economic dynamic stepped in, particularly in the form of a viable mission-driven public sector to protect masses of suffering people. Social security was one response. Innovated as a pension proposal in 1881, then enacted in 1889, in the country Otto von Bismarck had just unified, Germany, social security became the bailout instrument highlighting the New Deal from 1934 in the United States, and Great Britain’s 1931 reforms (though some of its unemployment and health provisions started in 1911). With many new countries dotting the post-World War II global landscape, new questions arose. How would these countries translate their new independence, what direction would they then take, and where had the attention to go first? They needed decision-making infrastructures to both consummate independence and administer policies, thus elevating ‘political development’. Every U.N. agenda and the raison-d’être of many of its sister organizations treated this need sensitively as they explored which uncharted goals and tracks fitted which country. ‘Economic development’ automatically became their implicit or explicit subject and object everywhere because material objects, after all, typically grab individual visibility faster. On the one hand, repairing World War II damages became a universally urgent demand. Only the United States had funds to help. Its responses included the Government Aid and Relief in Occupied Areas plan for Japan, from 1945, the Marshall Plan from 1947 for West

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Europe, and through the Alliance for Progress from March 1961 plan for Latin America, doling out USD 13.3 billion, 2.2 billion, and 20 billion, respectively, in concurrent dollar value, to meet the needs. On the other hand, the 1930s Depression fostered import-substitution industrialization (ISI), first used by Adolf Hitler in East Europe (grossraumwirtschaft, meaning an outwardly expanding domestic economy to fulfill self-sufficiency). Probing beyond the country’s boundaries for economic growth appealed to Latin countries, more so after World War II, eventually making the ISI strategy a Latin trademark (even when not a policy). Japan’s ‘flying-geese’ strategy, developed by Kaname Akamatsu before World War II to indicate a ‘catching-up’ industrial approach, similarly appealed to East Asia countries, even influencing today’s export-led growth (ELG) counterpart for many countries. Both variations show why even ‘economic development’ was not, and indeed cannot, be so homogenized. Not to be neglected anymore, social causes and voices also became louder. They were loud enough in the ashes of World War I to elicit women suffragette. Canada gave them the right to vote in 1918 (New Zealand set the pace in 1893), the United States in 1920, and across much of Europe in the 1920s. By the 1930s Depression, women won that right in many democracy-practicing countries, even selectively in colonial territories, like India, under Great Britain (though under restrictive conditions). Once unleashed, other ‘social development’ issues gained prominence, followed by ‘health development’ today given our increasing exposures to both the extent of malnourishment and the ‘repair’ possible through new technologies (for example, a giant curative step has been taken to control Alzheimer’s disease); ‘ecological development’ seeking to protect land, plants, seas, and fisheries; as well as ‘sustainable development’ to substitute blind consumption and a zero-sum approach for a renewal and non-zero-sum outcomes, among others. These have pushed us further into not only mixing one set of ‘tree’-level exercises with another, but also challenging one set with another. The inherent ‘linear development’ claim of ‘economic development’ is turning out to be a lot less linear, and often more cyclical (from an unwitting non-renewable premise toward a consciously driven renewable future).

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Interpreting the ‘Development’ Literatures ‘Works’ or ‘studies’ narrating specific developmental experiences also began to demand attention on another more literary front. Some bold cases helped build ‘theories’ from multiple cases for others to follow. From 1953 the U.S. Social Science Research Council’s (SSRC’s) Committee on Comparative Politics targeted a study of ‘political development’. Gabriel Almond and Lucian Pye set the tone, and by the time of Leonard Binder’s edited climactic work, Crises and Sequences in Political Development, in 1971, it had involved a galaxy of other scholars, leaving a treasure of investigations and observations as our propellant.2 Walt Whitman Rostow’s Stages of Economic Development in 1960 and Bela Balassa’s 1962 book, Theory of Economic Integration,3 initiated similar forays for economists. The latter was itself inspired by Ernst B. Haas’ Uniting for Europe: Political, Social and Economic Forces in 1958, which grounded the theoretical 1943 work by David Mitrany, A Working Peace Order: An Argument for the Functional Development of International Organization. None of the postulated processes and outcomes have become pure realities, but significant progress was nonetheless made. Rostow influenced the U.N. ECOSOC demarcation lines between ‘less developed’, ‘developing’, and ‘developed’ clusters of countries, just as Balassa’s ‘economic integration’ and Haas’ neo-functionalism produced the European Union in 1993 from the 1944 prototype, BENELUX (Belgium, The Netherlands, and Luxembourg). Other manifestations include the Latin American Free Trade Agreement (LAFTA) regional compact from 1960, the Organization of African Unity (OAU), from 1963, and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) from August 1967. As collective action regionally opened another ‘development’ plateau, both ‘forest’ and ‘tree’ levels thrived. Path-finding influences of an array of giant late nineteenth-century philosophers in various fields, like Sigmund Freud, Karl Marx, Talcott Parsons, Max Weber, among a select Who’s Who list led numerous social scientists to institutionalize several disciplines in the twentieth century, some refashioned, others entirely new. We now have global literacy ratios (measuring and distinguishing emergent literacy, alphabetic fluency, words and patterns, intermediate reading, and advanced reading), PQLI (Physical Quality of Life Index) scores (including literacy, infant mortality, and life expectancy rates), and women empowerment (sense of self-worth;

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right to have and determine choices; right to have access to opportunities and resources; right to have the power to control their own lives; and the ability to influence social directions). On the one hand prevail many multiple yardsticks to measure ‘development’, yet a formula both encapsulating and decomposing them, also exists, on the other. We can find the ‘forest’, ‘tree’, and ‘leaf’ in the U.N. ECOSOC treatment of ‘development’. Its Committee for Policy Development (CPD), a ‘forest’-level entity, has set three criteria for a ‘less developed country’ (LDC) to become a ‘developing country’, as its evaluation of Bangladesh’s case up to November 2021 indicated. Note how those criteria invoke ‘leaf’-level engagements to get the ‘tree’-level scores to fit the ‘forest’-level ECOSOC acceptance. They include a per capita gross national income (GNI) of 1,222 USD; a score of 66 or higher on the human assets index (HAI); and no more than 32 on the economic vulnerability index (EVI).4 Whereas the GNI counterpart measures economic factors (population, remoteness, merchandise export concentration, and the share of agriculture), one must knock on every door to get the six HAI features (the under-5 mortality figure; prevalence of stunting; maternal mortality ratio; adult literacy; and gross secondary school enrollment); and stay at each and every door to elicit EVI scores for ‘improvement’ in four noneconomic areas (nutrition, health, education, and adult literacy rates). Both still underlie aggregate scores made at ‘tree’ or ‘forest’ levels by the state or international organization, respectively. Personalizing them only becomes superficial without the person’s cognizance and input, thus necessitating a ‘leaf’-level appraisal and participation. Summarizing, central to the UN Mission is to depict a specified ‘forest’-level outcome/dynamic urging each ‘tree’ to fit into that ‘forest’. How Main Street/ivory-tower/think-tank/news and social media fit in and personalize these aggregate measurements necessitates a ‘leaf’ level. Without this component, Bangladesh’s most significant forwardmomentum could be easily eschewed. Measuring these scores, even if only snapshots, is the purpose of his volume. ‘Leaf’ Territory How does this volume differ from the well-trod contours of ‘development’ (of multiple types)? Splitting ‘development’ along disciplinary lines started personalizing the process, but left the job undone due to the

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approach: as with the ‘forest’ approach, the ‘tree’ level remained too top-down, that is, left to policy-makers who then utilized many bureaucracies to reach their goals to fully personalize every initiative. Since the ‘leaf’ level approach is the most microscopic of all interpretive platforms, thus too subjective to fit comparative studies, it perhaps supplies the most idiosyncratic appraisal of ‘development’, thus too qualified to be left outside the appraisal network. Outside the ‘West’, any ‘rational’ behavior (defined as maximizing benefits by minimizing costs) appeals less than imperfect ‘collective’ behavior, accenting human beings, rather than policies. Arguably ‘development’ gets a more human face at this level. Carving ‘Big Pictures’ from Ground-Level Realities: From ‘Leaf’ to the ‘Forest’ From its 50-year track-record until 2021, Bangladesh emerged, out of nowhere, as one of the world’s leading RMG (ready-made-garment) exporters, ranking second to China in 2021 with 35.81 billion USD,5 accounting for four-fifths of its export income. According to World Bank estimation, Bangladesh is also the seventh top remittance-earning country (behind India, Mexico, China, the Philippines, Egypt, and Pakistan, in that order), in the 630 billion USD market today,6 boasting 19.19 billion in the 2021–2022 fiscal year. Even though the figure declined from 22.83 billion in 2020–2021, growth was registered in other recent years: from 14.9b in 2017–2018 and 16.4b in 2018–2019 to 18.39b in 2019–2020.7 Adding microfinance as an agent of both ‘economic’ and ‘social development’, we capture the contours of that face: impoverished rural women from the mid-1970s doubled the country’s 2009 GNI per capita income to 2,723 USD at the end of 2022.8 Still, how the country’s 1995–1996 remittance receipt of 1–2b USD spiraled to 7b by the 2008–2009 Great Recession, thence to 19.19b in the last fiscal year, emit positive vibes. Behind the remittance inflows the number of migrants responsible for them doubled from roughly 1 million in 1995–1996,9 the fourth full year after the 1991 Industrial Policy made privatization irreversible.Microfinance made rural women the key stakeholders, since the finesse needed in RMG work could best be supplied by women. Just by supplying up to 80% of all RMG work-force at one point,10 women strode from a symbolic ‘kitchen’ setting to an ‘assemblyline production nexus’.11 That this occurred within the context of rising

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literacy rates also helped vault Bangladesh from South Asia’s groundfloor toward the pinnacle among less developed countries (LDCs) by the 2020s. On the last International Literacy Day (September 8, 2021), just about three out of every four Bangladeshis were branded literate.12 All of us authors happen to be educators. Eliminating/Reducing illiteracy has been our foremost goal. Therefore, somehow what we do in class does, in fact, percolate up into national global aggregate figures. It is this facet we want to explore more, hoping we can articulate some of the tiny elements that ultimately move the country. ‘Non-western’ in ‘Western’ Clothes Such data raise fundamental questions about ‘development’ that go beyond ‘forest’-‘tree’ discourse. Hitherto seen as a catch-us-if-youcan ‘western’ model with its own industry-laden dominantly economic pathway, or necessitating specific types of political development or reforms, here we see the plateau shifting, essentially from ‘western’ anchors to ‘non-western’: low-wage labor as a necessary, sufficient, though largely static condition rather than as an escalator-of-progress into other higher-end outlets in the value-chain; education as an active force rather than a passive factor or hindrance (given how Islamic madrasas carry a partly false perception of rejecting anything western—as this volume will modestly demonstrate); migrant-flows fueling long-term needs (for instance, pooling remittances to repay foreign loans), rather than serving expedient measures (getting out of poverty individually, or with the family, or socially since the ‘family’ in Bangladesh still remains ‘extended’ rather than ‘nuclear’13 ); and gender considerations demanding greater recognition as a forceful agent. Whereas the modernization inherent in any ‘development’ pursuit addresses the replacement of traditional society, a looser subsequent literature advocating ‘multiple modernities’ highlights how the predominantly ‘western’ anchor of ‘modernization’, related as it was with democratization, globalization, and secularity, does not always capture ‘non-western’ experiences nor project them in proper light.14 It was not just that the Weberian and Parsonian emphasis on rational behavior (of self-help guiding growth) characterizing that first transition was at fault15 : it was simply how so many other non-economic ‘local’ variables (or traditional practices) had to be accommodated, not to mention the new dimensions demanding greater attention, by the end of the twentieth century.

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Schmuel N. Eisenstadt was among the first to articulate how the two transitions differed. Modernity’s “cultural and political program,” he posited, produced “distinct ideological as well as institutional premises,”16 shifting the “human agency” in unforeseen ways. It assumed not only the unassailability of “the cultural program of modernity as it developed in modern Europe,” but also how “the basic institutional contestations that emerged there” could not but take over “all modernizing and modern societies,” ultimately “prevail[ing] throughout the world.” Liberating humans from traditional shackles would help “bridge … the gap between the transcendental and mundane orders,” while also encourage “multiple interpretations of the common good.” This point is even more poignantly brought out in contrasting Asian and African citizenship with European.17 By the time oil prices had quadrupled in the 1970s, such works and European countries or the United States as models had already retreated to ‘western’ backburners. Though these works did not fully capture non-European dynamics (in part owing to a shortage of cases), which Eisenstadt succinctly described as “a story of continual constitutional and reconstitution of a multiplicity of cultural programs,” they did find selective ‘buyers’ but keen only on pecking pieces and components rather than the whole. As Eisenstadt himself notes in all of these ‘non-western’ ‘societies’, the “basic model of the territorial state … was adopted,” as too the “basic premises and symbols of Western modernity.” Yet they would be radically transformed through “continuous selection, reinterpretation, and reformulation ….” Certain types of ‘western modernization’ models evolved differently, if at all in non-Atlantic arenas. These were over the women’s emancipation movement, ecological priorities, migration and its handmaiden, global production supply network, ideological contestations (socialism versus liberalism, for instance) and deepening (fundamentalism), ethnic ruptures, and so forth. By the twenty-first century, in a nutshell, ‘local’ variations were far more in vogue than their streamlined preceding models. If the rejection of stereotyping ‘modernity’ is the one argument unifying ‘place-related’ proponents, Elsje Fourie loudly asserts how ‘western development’ itself “has been ‘multiple’ from its [very] beginnings,” even within western (or European) folds. As she posits, at least “until very recently, large parts of Europe could scarcely be called modern themselves.”18 She further argues, in contradistinction to ‘modernization’ theories, ‘multiple modernities’ or ‘place-related’ versions do not

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(a) reject antinomies, like between differentiation and integration, as the modernity school does, since, for non-Europeans, both have prevailed simultaneously and continue to shape the current socio-cultural and political landscapes; (b) accept ‘modernity’ as “a substantive set of processes and phenomena,” as the ‘development’ school does since ‘modernity’ is merely ‘epochal’, that is, a time-frame witnessing how that ‘development’ unfolded; (c) embrace the nationality assumption of ‘modernization’ which completely breaks with traditional society, since the ‘continuity’ emphasized by ‘place-related’ dynamics encapsulate such collisions, particularly between divine allegiances and rational behavior; and (d) given the above differences absorb the homogenizing component of ‘modernization’ theorists, since “cultural and historical backgrounds lead different civilizations to have sufficiently different interpretations,” thus generating ‘multiple modernities’. Of course, both ‘forest’- and ‘tree’-level scholarship of the times reaffirms the strength of the ‘place-related’ viewpoint. Both Samuel P. Huntington’s The Clash of Civilization and Francis Fukuyama’s “End of liberalism” drew huge readership, supporters, and advocates, but the former’s antipodal message exposed why a ‘leaf’-level interpretation matters in a way that the latter’s ultimate unifying theme does not. Huntington recognized collisions were possible simply because of the inability of societies to streamline or homogenize, given cultural and traditional differences. These were borne out, he argued, by immigrants across the ‘western’ world facing assimilation problems because of those internal contradictions or incompatibilities. A generation later those internal contradictions and incompatibilities have mushroomed into a deep-rooted populist backlash in western countries. Even jihadi movements face oppositions in non-western societies today. At first directed against the ‘west’, jihad went on to stir up passive non-European religions, like Buddhism, leading to a Buddhist volte face to forcefully evict Rohingyas in Myanmar, and a rebounding China persecuting Muslims in Sinkiang, and India similarly driving the ruling party’s (Bharatiya Janata Party’s), extreme factions into physically challenging Muslims.19 Singular conceptions of ‘development’ being decomposed illustrate how inherent social diversities compel ‘forest’ and ‘tree’ explanations to pay more attention to the ‘leaf’ level. These developments nevertheless signify how intellectual exercises can still persist after any ‘development’based scholarly feud: just because many dynamics did not streamline, some even causing a deep ‘local’ disjuncture, improvement efforts have

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not been abandoned. Treating divisiveness as an intrinsic part and parcel of ‘development’ in general yields more mileage. ‘Leaf’-level interpretations reflect less on (a) the aggregate policy outcomes sought at the national level; (b) any specific ‘tree’ that these aggregate policies depend upon; and (c) ‘forest’ level expectations. Breadand-butter personal issues and the investment made for future family security through children education dominate the typical Main Street mindset, in contrast to individualizing any aspect of the changes or aspirations. It hypothetically offers a platform for ‘like’ and ‘unlike’ features to coexist.

Bangladesh’s Multifaceted Development Appraisal: Empirical Context Given all these nuances and variances, how then do we assess ‘leaf’-level ‘development’ in Bangladesh? If, for example, ‘development’ proponents measured and compared countries by crises or sequences for political development along theoretically prescribed lines, or regional economic integration using the catalytic policy in each of its five stages, for Bangladesh one could skip the obvious catalysts and instead inquire about ‘advances’ being made in other economic or non-economic sectors, like health, education, and so forth. In other words, escaping the ‘economic development’ platform invites other often ignored dimensions to contribute more substantially. Analyzing them may begin the overdue task of accounting for simple ‘improvement’ impulses. Bangladesh’s climb into the top-thirty/forty economies of the world from its rock-bottom 1971 status begs one question: since economic indicators were not the trigger, what other sectors augmented or constrained such a climb. It is not the intention to produce a fixed answer. We need to draw approximations from several other common, rather than unique, dynamics so that economic variables are not the sole explanatory factors. Indeed, these would facilitate identifying impediments in the ‘modernization’ or any ‘advancement’ mission. Or it could be how these selected sectors have prepared the population to face the unfolding economicdriven ‘development’, including the three ‘development’ features of democratization, ‘globalization’, and secularity: for instance, has climbing up the economic ladder produced commensurate changes in education, health, and so forth?

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In essence the volume looks at education in the broadest sense, against a global context. It does so through some of the experiences at Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB). As a private university (permitted to function from only 1993), it competes with over a hundred other private universities (not to mention the 43 public universities presently). What happens inside these institutions of higher learning (‘leaf’) could easily shape even a small segment of national policy-making (‘tree’) on ‘development’. Likewise, whatsoever unfolding dynamic is being implemented or societal changes are being encouraged, it/they will, in one way or another, impact each graduate’s job-market credentials (‘leaf’), giving the imported notion of competitiveness from the ‘west’ a new meaning and context. Such IUB-based ‘leaf’-level information or aspiration sheds some light, at the least, on dynamics unfolding at the broad national level, where ‘trees’ get defined, particularly for global ‘forest’-level representation. Eight differently angled chapters supply that light. One group looks directly at ‘leaf’-level dynamics, another, in the absence of a definite ‘leaf’-level domain, selects either other local dynamics, such as marine association, for a global pitch, or vice versa, globally driven dynamics, that is, from a ‘forest’ level, to local explorations of ‘leaves’, such as teaching English as a second language, religion, environmental protection, and an analytical mindset. Chapter 2 examines how secular western education coexists with the far more personally embraced religious education. Islam, a religion as widely practiced globally as, say Christianity, does not have the same ‘Doctrine of Two Swords’ (separating the realm of God from that of the ‘Emperor’) structure of Christianity. Whether Islam is being secularized, holding its own in an advancing country’s future plans, or thawing ‘western’ education is examined to see if the personal attachments remain amid the ‘improvement’-mindedness at the ‘forest’-level and in spite of the global growth of religious reactions to one or another form. As a kernel of ‘globalization’ against the obviously deepening nationalistic propensities ‘globally’, and the rapid and widespread economic acceleration upward, ‘learning’ is similarly positioned in the next two chapters. Chapter 3 inquires how the English language is holding on to its own, or is it struggling anew under changed circumstances? The question need not be circumscribed by the tussle between native knowledge of English-speaking countries and those outside English-speaking countries learning this language: it could also be between what might

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be called ‘Hollywood’ English, that is, the fashionable expressions that capture public attention far faster than the cultivated English taught in universities with the ‘Harvard’-name symbolizing that. Chapter 4 likewise probes the prospects of ‘learning’ academic materials/texts through animation. Traversing a not-too-different pathway, it inquires if students at primary levels can comprehend the subjects better through a written text, or through pictures, much akin if economists can get their messages across through graphs and equations than by description. Here, too, native experiences may be more receptive to symbols than writing, thus using animated allegories to open a student’s attention box in order to move the skill level from attention to comprehension. In non-native English-speaking countries, this could impact more. In these three chapters we at least note how ‘globally’ recognizable dynamics compete to win ‘local’ subscribers. The next two chapters look exclusively at ‘leaf’-level application of ‘forest’-cognizant dynamics. In Chapter 5 a specific ‘live-in field experience’ (LFE) prescribed by the university’s curriculum streamlining urban and rural peoples is explored. Lasting two weeks, students with an urban upbringing enact the daily chores of their country citizens for a few days, capped by hosting those rural inhabitants in their own community to a dinner, among other social activities. Exposing urban, or ‘global’, connections becomes a part of the game, suggesting more emphatically the ‘modernization’-tradition approach to ‘advancement’ need not be seen through two prisms, that indeed, a ‘gray’ zone prevails between the ‘black’ and the ‘white’, that a mixed glocal environment does exist.20 If a ‘globalized’ curriculum (‘forest’), once introduced, remains static or flows with secular changes is probed in Chapter 6. The discipline under the microscope is International Relations (‘tree’), whose fundamentals to describe and prescribe global order (‘forest’-level subject), include the state, state boundaries, and state-driven dynamics and determination of allies and adversities, have remained static as technological forces, such as the Internet, and with it, social media, or cross-border forces like migration, elevate non-state forces and identities (‘leaf’). It asks: would introducing a modified IR discipline fit circumstances better? Taking that ‘globalization’ catalyst farther, Chapter 7 asks if hitherto ‘state-centric’ practices, especially economic, have broadened to accommodate ‘global’ gaps and opportunities. It inquires if Bangladesh’s ancient shipping practices (‘trees’) and trained theaters (‘leaf’-level assets) can fill growing ‘global’ labor shortages (‘forest’). This is much like bringing

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‘globalization’ in through the back door into Bangladesh. It exemplifies a ‘place-related’ dynamic (maritime practices) not quite mirroring the ‘western’ model, but capable of even entering ‘western’ realms. Since different institutions will bring to bear quite different admixtures of the ‘local’ (‘leaf’), ‘national’ (‘tree’), and ‘global’ (‘forest’), we get the chance to see which withers first: the ‘leaf’ (student interest), ‘tree’ (Bangladesh’s industry and maritime businesses), or ‘forest’ (global demands). Of course other more dramatic ‘global’-level calls (‘forest’) have been haunting the planet increasingly, such as drug trafficking, terrorism, climate change, and environmental sustainability. All cannot be tracked, but although environmental policy is picked up for Bangladesh in Chapter 8, analysis is through a comparison (‘tree’), in this case with Mexico. Since introducing a ‘western’ standard makes no sense (because of pitting the ‘apple’ of developed countries against the ‘oranges’ of developing countries), a slightly more advanced developing country is chosen: Mexico. How the ‘tree’ percolates down to the ‘leaf’ to promote ‘forest’-level mandates remains the key. Chapter 9 closes the analysis by taking the reverse journey: from the ‘leaf’ to the ‘forest’. It focuses on the increasing need to sharpen intellectual analytical capacities (‘leaf’), in order to widen and deepen the knowledge boundaries in contrast to the closed traditional boundaries. This need not be an exclusively ‘leaf’-level dynamic: in that it shapes the mindset to face life’s galloping diversities, it could easily appeal to both ‘tree’- and ‘forest’-level analyses. From a previous chapter, the religionsecular dichotomy exemplifies the mindset as a platform to understand other dynamics. Table 1.1 places the eight episodes under the microscope against the type of advancement or transition they were found to be in the examination. From a simple dichotomous appraisal (‘easy’ and ‘uneasy’ adjustment of ‘leaf’-level dynamics to ‘tree’ and ‘forest’ level expectations), five of those eight chapters registered ‘easy’ (animated mode of ‘learning’; the rural–urban divide inside Bangladesh; IR transiting into Global Studies and Governance in Independent University, Bangladesh; maritime studies being introduced in Bangladesh; and the Socratic Learning Method’s ‘questioning question’ approach); and three ‘uneasy’ (a twin primary education system pitting ‘western and Islamic versions against each other; learning English as a second language; and how Bangladesh and Mexico have responded to environmental changes against climate change and sustainability pressures).

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Table 1.1 Transitions from ‘leaf’-level appraisals Chapter

Arena of examination

Nature of transition

2

‘Western’–Islamic admixture in primary education

3

English as a second language

4

Animation as a ‘learning’ mode

5

Rural–urban divide

6

Nudging the International Relations discipline towards ‘Global Studies & Governance’

7

Maritime studies

8

Environmental protection (mitigation and adaptation)

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Socratic Learning Method

Uneasy; collision inevitable: today’s ‘cohabitation’ could easily unravel in the future of an increasingly nationalistic Bangladesh Uneasy; collision inevitable: today’s ‘cohabitation’ could easily weaken given the assertive growth of nationalism Fluent: not only is ‘cohabitation’ easy, but ‘local’ substance can be projected ‘globally’ as easily as ‘global’ dynamics entering Bangladesh Fluent: not only is ‘cohabitation’ easy, but ‘global’ issues entering ‘local’ confines do so without hiccups, just as ‘local’, or rural, issues can go ‘global’ equally freely Fluent: ‘cohabitation’ becomes easy because ‘global’ issues do not displace ‘international’ counterparts, but simply join them, while also bequeathing more dynamics, thus opening more interpretative prisms Fluent: not only is ‘cohabitation’ easy, but ‘local’ substance can be projected ‘globally’ just as easily as ‘global’ dynamics entering Bangladesh Uneasy; but collision is not inevitable: ‘local’ responses crucial to ‘global’ outcomes, just as ‘global’ platforms have proved fundamental to ‘local’ mobilization Fluent: ‘cohabitation’ becomes easy as one thought permeates another, if and only if that one has been well nurtured (carefully exposed)

From all the above dimensional analysis of Bangladesh’s ‘development’ today, in particular those addressing one form of education or another, a ‘leaf’-level catalyst, condition, or characteristic comes across too forcefully to not address. In her thought-provoking 2021 piece, “Becoming a global citizen: Developing community-facing learning in the social sciences,”21 Jane Booth suggested how ‘global’-mindedness could be extracted from students through this microscopic approach. This ‘leaf’-level dynamic also fits David Murphy’s and Stephen Joseph’s ‘social pedagogue’,22 thus of a broader ‘tree’-level compass than just education. Their observation of

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creating “a relationship with a learner that is as free as possible from the role of being further a ‘transmitter of power over’,” particularly institutions, help align many of the topics included in this volume—and broadly reflect non-European ‘development’ efforts. Such a ‘leaf’-level footing recognizes ‘culture-based learning’. S. C. Baldwin and others also advocate that, since “the relationship between cultural diversity and social inclusion” is imperative to advance, ‘culture-based learning’ fits the bill better than others.23 Understanding ‘the other’ is eased by a reflective self-learning approach. It is in that ‘self-learning approach’ with a ‘place-related’ bent that ‘leaf’-level explanations help strengthen plausible answers to the key question: why ‘development’ has rarely gone the full expected distance. In this volume, that thinking echoes through, not just in the education chapters (whether it is the two-track ‘western’–Islam track; learning English; using animation; narrowing the urban–rural divide through ‘melting-pot’ course exercises; deconstructing disciplines; and fitting maritime studies into academic curricula); but also in extracurricular contexts (communitybased mitigation and adaptation methods to promote sustainability; or just building the mindset). In short, it strengthens a ‘place-related’ view, ‘social pedagogy’, and a ‘culture-based learning’ exercise. It gives ‘development’ interpretations a proper human face, thus a brighter glow.

Notes 1. On ‘development’ studies, one could turn to works on economic, political, or social takeaways, among others. These are specifically addressed, with appropriate references later in this chapter. 2. Leonard Binder and Joseph La Palombara, Crises and Sequences in Political Development (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1971). This belonged to the Social Science Research Council, whose Chairman, Gabriel A. Almond, produced a string of path-finding works on political modernization, including: Gabriel A. Almond, “Comparative political systems,” The Journal of Politics 18, no. 3 (August 1956): 391– 409; Almond and James S. Coleman, eds., The Politics of Developing Areas (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1960); Almond and G. Bingham Powell, Comparative Politics: A Developmental Approach (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1966); and Almond and Sidney Verba, The Civic Culture: Political Attitudes and Democracy in Five Countries (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1963).

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3. Bela Balassa, The Theory of Economic Integration (Berkeley, CA: University of California, 1961). 4. Imtiaz A. Hussain, “Bangladesh as a ‘developed’ country: ‘Graduating’ imperatives,” The Daily Star, February 13, 2022, from: https://www.the dailystar.net/recovering-and-reinventing-our-future/blueprint-brightertomorrow/news/Bangladesh-developed-country-graduating-imperatives. 2960461, last consulted June 16, 2022. Bangladesh daily newspaper. 5. Mizanur Rahman, “Bangladesh again turns world’s 2nd largest RMG exporter,” The Daily Observer, February 25, 2022, from: https://www. observerbd.com/news.php?id=354719, last consulted June 19, 2022. Bangladesh daily newspaper. 6. Surin Murugiah, “Global remittance to reach US$630 billion in 2022, says World Bank,” May 12, 2022, from: https://www.theedgemarkets. com/article/global-remittances-reach-us630-billion-2022-says-worldbank, last consulted June 19, 2022. 7. Jamil Mahmud, “Dip in remittance: Hundi at play again,” The Daily Star, June 13, 2022, from: https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/ news/dip-remittance-hundi-play-again-3045736, last consulted June 19, 2022. 8. From: https://tradingeconomics.com/bangladesh/gni-per-capita-cur rent-us$-wb-data.html, last consulted June 19, 2022. 9. K.S. Farid, L. Mzumdar, M.S. Kabir, and K.B. Hossain, “Trends in international migration and remittance flows: Case of Bangladesh,” Journal of Bangladesh Agricultural University 7, no. 2 (2009): 392–393, but see 387–394; and Md. Morshed Hossain, Md. Zahir Uddin Arif, and Md. Nasir Uddin, “Influence of international labor migration and remittances on poverty reduction in Bangladesh,” International Journal of Research in Computer Application Management 1, no. 9 (November 2011): 23–25, but see 21–27. 10. Kazi Mahmudur Rahman and Ehsanul Huda Chowdhury, “Growth trajectory and developmental impact of ready-made-garments industry in Bangladesh,” Bangladesh’s Economic and Social Progress: From a Basket Case to a Development Model, ed. Munim Kumar Barai (Singapore: Springer, 2020), 281, but see chapter 9, from: https://doi.org/10.1007/ 978-981-15-1683-2_9, and book from: https://doi.org/10.1007/978981-15-1683-2, last consulted July 25, 2022. 11. Humayun Kabir, Myfanwy Maple, and Syadani Riyad Fatema, “Vulnerabilities of women workers in readymade garment sector of Bangladesh: A case study of Rana Plaza,” Journal of International Women’s Studies 19, no. 6, article 14 (August 2018): 225, but see 224–235, from: https:// vc.bridgew.edu/jiws/vol19/iss6/14/, last consulted June 25, 2022. 12. “Bangladesh to observe International Literacy Day today with 24.4pc of people illiterate,” New Age Bangladesh, September 8, 2021, from:

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13.

14.

15.

16. 17.

https://www.newagebd.net/article/148506/bangladesh-to-observe-intlliteracy-day-today-with-244pc-of-people-illiterate, last consulted June 19, 2022. On differences, in general, see James Georgas, Kostas Mylonas, and Tsabika Bafiti, “Functional relationships in the nuclear and extended family: A 16-culture study,” International Journal of Psychology 10, no. 5 (January 2003), from: https://doi.org/10.1080/002075901430 00045, last consulted July 21, 2022. On Bangladesh, see Minhazur Rahman Rezvi, “Why extended family breaking in Bangladesh,” Daily Sun, September 30, 2018, from: https://www.daily-sun.com/post/339 513/Why-extended-family-breaking-down-in-Bangladesh, last consulted July 21, 2022. This is a Bangladesh daily newspaper. Bill Ashcroft, “Alternative modernities: Globalization and the postColonial,” ARIEL—A Review of International English Literature 40 (2009): 81–105. See Leon H. Mayhew, ed., Talcott Parsons on Institutions and Social Evolution: Selected Writings (Chicago, IL: Chicago University Press, 1985); and Dean C. Tipps “Modernization theory and the comparative study of national societies: A critical perspective,” Comparative Study in Society and History 15, no. 2 (1973): 199–226. Also Max Weber, The Protestant Work Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, translated by Talcott Parsons in 1930 (New York, NY: Dover, 2003, original by Weber in 1904–1905); and Talcott Parsons, “Review of Dimensions of Society: A Quantitative Systematics for the Social Sciences by Stuart Carter Dodd,” American Sociological Review 7. no. 5. (October 1942): 709–714; Parsons, “Evaluation and objectivity in social science: An interpretation of Max Weber’s contribution,” Sociological Theory and Modern Society, ed. Parsons (New York, NY: Free Press, 1967), 79–101; “Some reflections on post-industrial society,” The Japanese Sociological Review. 24, no. 2 (September 1973): 103–109; Parsons, “The problem of balancing rational efficiency with communal solidarity in modern society,” International Symposium on New Problems of Advanced Society (Tokyo: Japan Economic Research Institute, 1973), 9–14; Parsons, “Nature and extent of changes in value systems of modern societies,” International Symposium on New Problems of Advanced Society (Tokyo: Japan Economic Research Institute, 1973), 137–142; and Parsons, “A few considerations on the place of rationality in modern culture and society,” Revue européenne des sciences sociales XIV, no. 38–39 (1976). Schmuel N. Eisenstadt, “Multiple modernities,” Daedalus 129, no. 1 (Winter 2000): 1–29. See Paul Bijl and Gerry van Klinken, “Citizenship in Asian history,” Citizenship Studies 23, no. 3 (2019): 189–205, from: https:// doi.org/10.1080/13621025.2019.1603268, last consulted May 20,

1

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

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2022; Irene Bloemraad, “Citizenship and immigration: A current review,” Journal of International Migration and Integration 1, no. 1 (Winter 2000): 9–37, from: https://link.springer.com/art icle/10.1007/s12134-000-1006-4, last consulted May 20, 2022; and Bronwen Manby, Citizenship Law in Africa: A comparative study (New York, NY: Open Society Foundations, 2010), from: https://www.unhcr.org/protection/statelessness/4cbc60ce6/citize nship-law-africa-comparative-study-bronwen-manby.html, last consulted May 20, 2022. Elsje Fourie, “A future for the theory of multiple modernities: Insights from the new modernization theory,” Social Science Information 51, no. 1 (March 2012): 52–69, from: https://doi.org/10.1177/053901841142 5850, last consulted June 21, 2022. Krishna Pokharel, “India: Muslims in India say their homes are being demolished after protests, clashes,” The Wall Street Journal, July 23, 2022, from: https://www.facebook.com/8304333127/posts/pfbid0 2FJyuAgrTbkHyoUnf72F2Mfn6fWiVmKqwTPz5buXCnBhx7eNnMxidT SZ63859arLcl/?sfnsn=mo, last consulted July 25, 2022. This was advocated by James N. Rosenau, among others, from late twentieth century. See his Along the Domestic-Foreign Frontier: Exploring Governance in a Turbulent World (Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1997), esp. ch. 1. Jane Booth, “Becoming a global citizen: Developing community-facing learning in the social sciences,” Learning and Teaching: International Journal of Higher Education in the Social Sciences 14, no. 1 (2021), from: https://doi.org/10.3167/latiss.2021.140104, last consulted July 23, 2022. D. Murphy and S. Joseph, “Contributions from the person-centered approach to the field of social pedagogy,” Cambridge Journal of Education 49, no. 2 (2019): 181–196, from: https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764X. 2018.1488945, last consulted July 25, 2022. S.C. Baldwin, A.M. Buchanan, and M.E. Rudisill, “What teacher candidates learned about diversity, social justice and themselves from service-learning experiences,” Journal of Teacher Education 58, no. 4 (2007): 315–327, from: https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487107305259, last consulted July 25, 2022.

Bibliography Almond, Gabriel A. 1956. “Comparative political systems.” The Journal of Politics 18, no. 3 (August): 391–409.

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———, and G. Bingham Powell. 1966. Comparative Politics: A Developmental Approach. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. ———, and James S. Coleman. Eds. 1966. The Politics of Developing Areas. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. ———, and Sidney Verba, 1963. The Civic Culture: Political Attitudes and Democracy in Five Countries. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Ashcroft, Bill. 2009. “Alternative modernities: Globalization and the postcolonial.” ARIEL—A Review of International English Literature 40: 81–105. Baldwin, S.C., A. M. Buchanan, and M.E. Rudisill. 2007. “What teacher candidates learned about diversity, social justice and themselves from servicelearning experiences.” Journal of Teacher Education 58, no. 4 (2007): 315– 327. From: https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487107305259. Last consulted July 25, 2022. “Bangladesh to observe International Literacy Day today with 24.4pc of people illiterate.” New Age Bangladesh. September 8, 2021. From: https:// www.newagebd.net/article/148506/bangladesh-to-observe-intl-literacy-daytoday-with-244pc-of-people-illiterate. Last consulted June 19, 2022. Balassa, Bela. 1961. The Theory of Economic Integration. Berkeley, CA: University of California. Bijl, Paul, and Gerry van Klinken. 2019. “Citizenship in Asian history.” Citizenship Studies 23, no. 3: 189–205/ From: https://doi.org/10.1080/136 21025.2019.1603268. Last consulted May 20, 2022. Binder, Leonard, and Joseph La Palombara. 1971. Crises and Sequences in Political Development. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Bloemraad, Irene. 2000. “Citizenship and immigration: A current review.” Journal of International Migration and Integration 1, no. 1 (Winter 2000): 9–37. From: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12134000-1006-4. Last consulted May 20, 2022. Booth, Jane. 2021. “Becoming a global citizen: Developing community-facing learning in the social sciences.” Learning and Teaching: International Journal of Higher Education in the Social Sciences 14, no. 1 (2021). From: https:// doi.org/10.3167/latiss.2021.140104. Last consulted July 23, 2022. Eisenstadt, Schmuel N. 2000. “Multiple modernities.” Daedalus 129, no. 1 (Winter): 1–29. Farid, K.S., L. Mzumdar, M.S. Kabir, and K.B. Hossain. 2009. “Trends in international migration and remittance flows: Case of Bangladesh,” Journal of Bangladesh Agricultural University 7, no. 2 (2009): 392–393. Fourie, Elsje. 2012. “A future for the theory of multiple modernities: Insights from the new modernization theory.” Social Science Information 51, no. 1 (March 2012): 52–69. From: https://doi.org/10.1177/053901841142 5850. Last consulted June 21, 2022.

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Georgas, James, Kostas Mylonas, and Tsabika Bafiti. 2003. “Functional relationships in the nuclear and extended family: A 16-culture study,” International Journal of Psychology 10, no. 5 (January). From: https://doi.org/10.1080/ 00207590143000045. Last consulted July 21, 2022. Hossain, Md. Morshed, Md. Zahir Uddin Arif, and Md. Nasir Uddin. 2011. “Influence of international labor migration and remittances on poverty reduction in Bangladesh.” International Journal of Research in Computer Application Management 1, no. 9 (November): 23–25. Hussain, Imtiaz. A. 2022. “Bangladesh as a ‘developed’ country: ‘Graduating’ imperatives.” The Daily Star, February 13. From: https://www.thedailys tar.net/recovering-and-reinventing-our-future/blueprint-brighter-tomorrow/ news/Bangladesh-developed-country-graduating-imperatives.2960461. Last consulted June 16, 2022. Kabir, Humayun, Myfanwy Maple, and Syadani Riyad Fatema. 2018. “Vulnerabilities of women workers in readymade garment sector of Bangladesh: A case study of Rana Plaza.” Journal of International Women’s Studies 19, no. 6, article 14 (August): 225, but see 224–235. From: https://vc.bridgew.edu/ jiws/vol19/iss6/14/. Last consulted June 25, 2022. Mahmud, Jamil. 2022. “Dip in remittance: Hundi at play again.” The Daily Star, June 13, 2022. From: https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/ news/dip-remittance-hundi-play-again-3045736. Last consulted June 19, 2022. Manby, Bronwen, 2010. Citizenship Law in Africa: A comparative Study. New York, NY: Open Society Foundation. From: https://www.unhcr.org/protec tion/statelessness/4cbc60ce6/citizenship-law-africa-comparative-study-bro nwen-manby.html. Last consulted May 20, 2022. Mayhew, Leon. H. Ed. 1985. Talcott Parsons on Institutions and Social Evolution: Selected Writings. Chicago, IL: Chicago University Press. Murphy, D., and S. Joseph. 2019. “Contributions from the person-centered approach to the field of social pedagogy.” Cambridge Journal of Education 49, no. 2 (2019): 181–196. From: https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2018. 1488945. Last consulted July 25, 2022. Murugiah, Surin. 2022. “Global remittance to reach US$630 billion in 2022, says World Bank.” May 12, 2022. From: https://www.theedgemarkets.com/ article/global-remittances-reach-us630-billion-2022-says-world-bank. Last consulted June 19, 2022. Parsons, Talcott. 1942. “Review of dimensions of society: A quantitative systematics for the Social Sciences by Stuart Carter Dodd.” American Sociological Review 7. no. 5. (October): 709–714. ———. 1967. “Evaluation and objectivity in social science: An interpretation of Max Weber’s contribution.” Sociological Theory and Modern Society. Ed. Parsons. New York, NY: Free Press, 1967, 79–101.

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———. 1973. “Some reflections on post-industrial society.” The Japanese Sociological Review. 24, no. 2 (September): 103–109. ———. 1973. “The problem of balancing rational efficiency with communal solidarity in modern society.” International Symposium on New Problems of Advanced Society. Tokyo: Japan Economic Research Institute, 9–14. ———. 1973. “Nature and extent of changes in value systems of modern societies,” International Symposium on New Problems of Advanced Society. Tokyo: Japan Economic Research Institute, 137–142. ———. 1976. “A few considerations on the place of rationality in modern culture and society.” Revue européenne des sciences sociales XIV, no. 38–39. Pokharel, Krishna. 2022. “India: Muslims in India say their homes are being demolished after protests, clashes.” The Wall Street Journal, July 23. From: https://www.facebook.com/8304333127/posts/pfbid02FJyuAgrTbkHyoU nf72F2Mfn6fWiVmKqwTPz5buXCnBhx7eNnMxidTSZ63859arLcl/?sfn sn=mo. Last consulted July 25, 2022. Rahman, Kazi Mahmudur, and Ehsanul Huda Chowdhury. 2020. “Growth trajectory and developmental impact of ready-made-garments industry in Bangladesh.” Bangladesh’s Economic and Social Progress: From a Basket Case to a Development Model. Ed., Munim Kumar Barai. Singapore: Springer. Rahman, Mizanur. 2022. “Bangladesh again turns world’s 2nd largest RMG exporter.” The Daily Observer, February 25. From: https://www.observerbd. com/news.php?id=354719. Last consulted June 19, 2022. Rahman Rezvi, Minhazur. 2018. “Why extended family breaking in Bangladesh.” Daily Sun. September 30. From: https://www.daily-sun.com/post/339513/ Why-extended-family-breaking-down-in-Bangladesh. Last consulted July 21, 2022. Rosenau, James N. 1997. Along the Domestic-Foreign Frontier: Exploring Governance in a Turbulent World. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press. Tipps Dean C. 1973. “Modernization theory and the comparative study of national societies: A critical perspective.” Comparative Study in Society and History 15, no. 2: 199–226. Weber, Max. 2003. The Protestant Work Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Trans., Talcott Parsons in 1930. New York, NY: Dover.

CHAPTER 2

Comparing Secular and Religious Primary Education: Bangladesh’s Marriage of Convenience? Obydullah Al Marjuk

Introduction Bangladesh is among the ten most densely populated countries on the planet: its 170 million inhabitants making it the eighth largest in the world (after China, India, the United States, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria, and Brazil),1 and as the 95th-sized sovereign state,2 it is also the world’s ninth most densely populated country in the world, with 1,278 persons per square kilometer (after Macao, Monaco, Singapore, Hong Kong, Gibraltar, Bahrain, Maldives, Malta, in that order).3 Joining the middleincome ranks, Bangladesh’s per capita income even suggests the targeted 2026 entry into the ‘less developed country’ club is also a stepping-stone to becoming a ‘developed country’ by mid-century.4

O. Al Marjuk (B) Department of Social Sciences and Humanities, School of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB), Dhaka, Bangladesh e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 I. A. Hussain (ed.), Multifaceted Development, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1798-3_2

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When Bangladesh became free in 1971, the rate of literacy was 17.61%, which rose to 15.3% in 1974, then 52.8% by 2000, 59.82% ten years later, and 75% by 2020. As in a typical education system, beneath these ‘tree’-level numbers, Bangladesh’s primary, secondary, and greater education tiers suggest the ‘leaf’-level supplies the key dynamics. Yet, since the typical student spends more time for primary education (of 5 years, and until Level 8, as proposed by the 2010 National Education Policy5 ), how the country’s education system has balanced ‘secular’/‘western’ and religious/Islamic training might shape the country’s future identity, in turn shedding light at the ‘forest’ level. As such, this study examines the structure, type, and stages of the Bangladeshi education system, followed by comparing the two education streams. Bangladesh’s Education Structure Administratively primary education activities fall under the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education (MoPME),6 while junior secondary and higher education system belong to the Ministry of Education (MoE).7 Both are deeply entrenched at the ‘tree’ level. The post-primary education system is divided into four categories: general education, madrasah 8 education, technical education, and professional education. Figure 2.1 shows this structure. However, the Fazil 9 part in this figure has been extended to Bachelor’s (honors) and Kamil part to Master’s levels by the MoE.10 The diagram does not distinguish between the streams in detail, e.g., there is no mention of English medium,11 or qawmi streams.12

Present Condition of Education Three sections introduce three types of education (formal, non-formal, and technical), as a start. Formal Education Formal education is a hierarchically structured and chronologically graded ‘education system’, running from primary school through the university including a variety of specialized programs and institutions for full-time technical and professional training.13 A ‘forest’-level parallel can be drawn with the United Nations Educational, Social, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO): its formal primary education runs from primary education to

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Fig. 2.1 Bangladesh’s education Commission for UNESCO 2013)

structure

(Source

Bangladesh

25

National

secondary and tertiary, that is, from children of age 6 until they attain 20– 25 of age,14 covering at least until Class 8.15 Bhutan, Ireland, Australia, and some other countries have extended primary education to levels 6, 7, or even 8.16 Bangladesh’s formal education consists of 4 stages: pre-primary/ nursery education, primary education, secondary (junior secondary, secondary, higher secondary) education, and higher education. Madrasah and other religious institutions except for qawmi madrasah also follow the same structure, but propose an alternate ‘forest’-level playground to ‘western’ education. The duration of its primary education is 5 years (till Class 5). In Table 2.1 the age range has been shown according to various stages of formal education extracted from Fig. 2.1. As evident, this is more a ‘western’ typology and structure than a ‘place-related’, that is, Bangladesh-based ‘tree’-level framework. Still, since both vie for ‘forest’level footprints, collision is embedded at that level. In Bangladesh they have managed to coexist for now.

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Table 2.1 Different stages of formal education and student age range Stages of formal education

Age

Play group, nursery, non-formal Primary (till standard 5, 5 years) Junior secondary (standards 6–8, 3 years) Secondary (standards 9–10, 2 years) SSC or same level Higher secondary (standards 11–12, 2 years) HSC or same level Bachelor’s degree (general education, 3 years for degree course pass, 4 years for honors) Master’s degree (general education, 1 year after honors, 2 years after course pass) Bachelor’s degree (professional education—agriculture, engineering, medical, 4–5 years) MPhil (2 years) PhD (3–4 years)

3–5 6–10 11–13 14–15 16–17 18–19/ 20 19/ 20–21 18/ 19–22 23–24 23+

According to Bangladesh’s 2010 Education Policy, the duration of primary education remains until Class 8, secondary examination gets standardized in classes 9–12, and higher education to take over after Class 12.17 Religious education (Islamic, in almost all cases), provided by madrasah, retains the same class structure. Here, ebtedayee is primary level,18 dakhil is secondary (SSC),19 and alim as higher secondary (HSC) level, fazil and kamil represent honors at the bachelor’s and master’s level education, respectively. Through these stages, madrasah follows almost the same curriculum from primary to higher education level, though new courses also get added. Other personally- or socially-run institutions like nizamiya, khariji, qawmi, and so forth, also provide ebtedayee or primary education. Besides, there are some masjid-based and residential maktab/ hafizia/forkania or qaria madrasah, which mostly provide childhood religious education. Bangladesh Madrasah Education Board under the Ministry of Education conducts public examinations till dakhil to kamil and distributes certificates to the passed students. What we notice is a substantive shift from the ‘western’ model replete in this world in a religious and not ‘place-related’ direction since Bangladesh is not the only Muslim country, but nor is it purely ‘culturebased’ since Bangladesh’s traditions and folklores pre-dated the advent of Islam. It shares this growth pattern with ‘western’ education, further feeding any hostility-based hypothesis.

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Befaqul Madarisil Arabia Bangladesh (wifaq, pronounced as befaq), which started in 1978 as a public qawmi madrasah education board, edits qawmi madrasah curriculum and syllabus, conducts examinations, and distributes certificates. Buddhist, Hindu, and Christian students also nurture their own traditions through their own educational platforms. Sanskrit and Pali Board looks after the tol (place of learning in Sanskrit), chupathi and colleges where SSC (Secondary School Certificate, the equivalent of the globally known ‘O’ Level examination) students get admitted for three years. Buddhists take religious education in their religious language, Pali, which also takes three years. Those who finish Sanskrit education are named Tirtha and those completing education in Pali became Bisharad. In the case of Christian education successful SSC students go to intermediate seminaries, while successful HSC (Higher School Certificate) students go to major seminaries, then theological colleges. These colleges are run by different churches and temples. They provide a bachelor’s and a master’s degree to the graduating students. Non-formal Education The education system that is run outside the formal education system is called non-formal education, a system run for people of different ages to achieve different goals. Its emphasis begins with literacy, which trains in a specific subject format. Another non-formal education characteristic is its lower pricing, thus proving more attractive, particularly in rural areas. Non-formal education is now significant in Bangladesh, indicating a ‘place-related’ rather than ‘culture-based’ setting, although ‘culture-based’ learning is not prohibited. Since non-formal education institutes are not run by the government, there is no specified curriculum. Many non-governmental institutions (NGOs) run non-formal education through their own schools, providing their own syllabus and curriculum. This education system focuses on practical life efficiency and the growth of a social point of view besides gaining knowledge. Such NGOs as BRAC, Proshika, Ahsania Mission, Nijera Kori, ASA, Caritas, UCEP, Center for Zakat Management (CZM), and so forth are the light-bearers of non-formal education in Bangladesh.

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Technical Education Since technical education is provided under both government and nongovernment participation in Bangladesh, it dominated at the ‘tree’-level, since much leeway is given the ‘leaf’ level. To run these is the Technical Education Board. Provided both in independent technical education based institutions and in normal schools beside general education, technical education, according to BANBEIS estimates, was imparted in 571 public (with total 8,130 male and 1,514 female teachers) and 1,903 non-government technical education institutions (with 22,195 male and 5,643 female teachers) prevailed in 2020. That year 230,151 male and 56,736 female students enrolled in the government technical education institutions and 311,470 male and 120,562 female students in the non-government ones.20 Technical education institutions can also be run by the nongovernmental organizations, such as UCEP’s technical schools dispersed across the country: in Dhaka, Chattogram, Khulna, Rajshahi, Barisal, Sylhet, Rangpur, and Gazipur. They follow the GoB (Government of Bangladesh) textbooks and curriculum. A total of 16,256 students received education from UCEP schools in the year 2020.21

Methodology Research papers, documentaries, and websites have helped this research paper, but much of the data were collected for another larger study in which 6 FGDs and 11 KIIs were conducted inside and outside Dhaka within the limited range of the research project. Also, 40 schools of different stages and phases have been brought under direct observation, 9 of them are from Dhaka: 2 secondary schools (which offer primary education too), 3 English-medium schools, 1 aliya and 3 qawmi madrasahs; and 31 are from outside: 11 primary schools in Chattogram, 17 primary and secondary schools in Rangpur, Hobiganj, Khulna, Gazipur, Lakshmipur, and Barisal, and 3 qawmi madrasah in Natore. Besides, 2 inspections have been done for other purposes. At first, 6 districts from 6 divisions were randomly selected. From those districts as per the researcher’s choice, 17 schools from different stages and phases have been picked, while the opportunity was utilized to inspect 3 qawmi madrasahs in Natore with a government officer. Likewise in Chittagong as per the researcher’s choice 11 primary schools were picked

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for data collection. In Dhaka, 2 secondary schools were randomly chosen but 3 English-medium schools and 3 qawmi madrasahs were chosen based on the accessibility (it is not very easy and sometimes a little risky to collect data from English-medium schools and qawmi madrasah institutions, which is why no such research has been conducted on them). The one aliya madrasah was chosen because of its consistently good result, which is why some information may look biased. FGDs and KIIs were conducted with the help of a lottery selection among all the research spots: two FGDs in Dhaka and Gazipur with students, two FGDs in Dhaka and Lakshmipur with guardians, and two FGDs in Dhaka and Khulna with teachers were conducted as part of a larger study. Among all the groups, for FGD, only one outside of Dhaka was selected by lottery and one was picked within Dhaka specifically for research suitability. Eleven KII were selected subjectively during research up to the researcher’s convenience. Reaffirming its ‘tree’-level appraisal, the biggest limitation of the present chapter may be its bias: the sample is not adequate compared to the vastness of the issue, but it is a start. Though this research topic’s width imposes another limitation, the study invites others to take observations made here for other ‘leaf’ or ‘forest’ appraisals.

Primary Education in Bangladesh The first stage of formal education in Bangladesh is the primary level, which is also considered the basic or compulsory education level. The country’s constitution emphasizes completing the first level of training. Section 17 mentions that, in order to establish uniform mass-oriented education for all, the State will provide everyone with compulsory and free education until a legally decided stage.22 This is as much a ‘placerelated’ component as it is a typical ‘modernization’ feature. Primary education has footprints in both national (‘tree’) and international (‘forest’) declarations. It is mentioned in the 26th section of the U.N. (United Nations) Declaration of Human Rights that everyone has the right to get education. Primary and basic education will be served free of cost. Primary education will be compulsory.23 Taking these suggestions under consideration, Bangladesh made primary education free and compulsory for all in 1990 which is considered a milestone for education development in this country.24 Also, the government is bound to take effective steps for establishing a uniform mass-oriented education for

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all. Bangladesh has aimed to bring all the 5-year-old children to primary school by 2011 and to achieve full literacy by 2014. The plan is somewhat ambitious, as 2020 statistics reveal, but that some significant progress was made cannot be denied. Numeric Analysis Pre-schools provide pre-primary education. There are two types of preprimary schools which are nursery and kindergarten, two lucrative arenas of ‘leaf’-level studies. Nursery is for children aged 2–2.5 years and kindergarten for children aged 5 years onward. In nursery schools, teachers play a major role in developing children’s fundamental skills and enhancing their cognitive abilities. Children play sports, music, and engage in activities for entertainment. They also learn how to read, write, and do basic mathematics. The type and nature of education at this level are decided by the capability and interest of students: hence, there is no fixed curriculum as such, rather a range of texts and activities are prescribed.25 Recently with every government primary school, the pre-school level has been attached with extra space and teachers throughout the country. These are neither ‘place-related’ nor ‘western’, nor even ‘culture-based’. In qawmi madrasah, primary education until standard 5 is limited to nurani, maktab, and Qur’an literacy. Some institutions (madrasah) include primary-level English, Bangla, and Mathematics. Only in ebtedayee level (for qawmi madrasah in this case), students learn seven specific subjects, which are not the same in all madrasah though some subjects which are taught everywhere, like Arabic grammar, Fiqh (legal and religious laws), Arabic language, Urdu language, and so forth. However, there is no age limit for starting ebtedayee class. As observed during the fieldwork, the age of the ebtedayee class students varies from 10 to 19 years in six concerned madrasah. It has to be mentioned that qawmi madrasah institutions are not government-approved. In reality, completion of qawmi education does not qualify anyone to be recruited in any organization except mosque, qawmi madrasah, hifzkhana, and so forth.26 In that sense it portrays a civil society interest rather than a countrybased initiative, which is in keeping with the ‘place-related’ face being all Muslim countries, and not all countries, as ‘western modernization’ initially aimed at.

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Primary Education and Types of Primary School In Bangladesh children aged 6–10 years receive primary education which is divided into 5 levels and 5 years of education. In the 2010 Education Policy, primary education was proposed to be extended to Level 8 which has not been introduced as yet. There are four types of primary education institutions in Bangladesh. First, government primary school, private primary school, community school, high school attached primary school, kindergarten school, NGO school (grades 1–5), and NGO learning centers. Second, ebtedayee and high madrasah-attached primary section (ebtedayee). Third, primary education given by various English-medium schools. Fourth, primary education provided by qawmi madrasah. Mainly, these four types of primary education have been available in the country. Although primary education is for children aged 6–10 years with a duration of 5 years, this may vary in the English-medium schools and qawmi madrasah as mentioned before. Moreover, there are two more types of schools named Ananda,27 and sisu kollyan.28 Ananda School runs under the program called Reaching Out of School Children (ROSC), which brings the school dropouts back to school. Number of Primary Schools As per 2020 BANBEIS information, there was a total of 133,002 schools. Excepting English-medium and qawmi madrasah, 65,566 are government primary schools and 67,436 non-government. Once independent, Bangladesh approved 36,165 schools as government primary schools. Since then, government ownership of schools had evaporated, though in 2013, as many as 23,193 non-government primary schools were brought under government ownership. From Table 2.2, we see the number of different schools in the country providing primary-level education. Almost all schools of the first two types have been brought under government ownership, indicating a key source of change: only if the government fully embraces religious education will schools turn in that direction, that is, a ‘tree’-level control over ‘leaf’-level preferences. As per BANBEIS, there are 90 English-medium junior schools, which work for educating a number of students and 13,902 qawmi madrasahs. The numbers were only 25 and 103, respectively, according to BANBEIS data in 2016, which indicates the dearth of data in previous years.29

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Table 2.2 Number of different types of schools

Type Government primary schools Private primary schools Ebtedayee madrasah Kindergartens NGO schools (grades 1–5) High madrasah-attached primary section High school attached primary section NGOI learning centers Ananda schools Sisu Kollyan primary schools Others Total English-medium schools (junior) Qawmi madrasah

Number of schools 65,566 4,841 5,882 29,897 4,619 7,198 2,005 9,592 N/A 205 3,197 133,002 90 13,902

However, present data are not representative, since the fieldwork contradicts that. While a huge number of students go to such institutions, only in Naogaon did we find qawmi madrasah, seven of them, among which only one offered secondary education, only three were general schools. Moreover, according to Befaqul Madarisil Arabia Bangladesh, there are 17,714 madrasahs with 261,593 examination applicants were recorded present.30 Also, there are seven English-medium schools only in one out of 50 thanas in Dhaka city.31 Another notable point: government primary schools and most private and other primary institutions have an integral pre-primary section. There is no such institution that provides nothing but pre-primary education. Number of Students in Primary Schools More than 21 million children go to primary schools, as per the information. Table 2.3 notes how most of the students (12,421,782) in the country go to government primary schools, with the second highest number of students (4,075,533) going to kindergartens. Close to 2 million students go to ebtedayee madrasah while 1.5 million (approximately) more go to qawmi madrasah.

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Table 2.3 Number of students in different types of schools Type

Government primary schools Private primary schools Ebtedayee madrasah Kindergartens NGO schools (grades 1–5) High madrasah-attached primary section High school attached primary section NGO learning centers ROSC learning centers Sisu kollyan primary schools Others Total English-medium schools (junior) Qawmi madrasah

Number of students Male

Female

Total

5,930,562 341,302 423,894 2,112,463 324,867 543,324 369,234 359,992 2,902 15,098 136,602 10,560,240 15,818 1,058,636

6,491,220 342,781 390,507 1,963,070 341,670 517,241 396,902 397,809 2,831 15,907 131,513 10,991,451 11,552 339,616

12,421,782 684,083 814,401 4,075,533 666,537 1,060,565 766,136 757,801 5,733 31,005 268,115 21,551,691 27,370 1,398,252

*The data includes pre-primary students Source BANBEIS (2020)

BANBEIS information about English-medium schools does not expose the main picture: just over 27,000 going to English-medium schools may be far too low, but we not only estimate 27,370 students go to English-medium schools, but also how our fieldwork shows this number is significantly lower than the real number. Except for the English-medium schools, we noted the number of boys is less than the number of girls, which tallies with the ratio of the country’s total gender ratio but is opposite to the gender ratio of those in this specific age group. Girls account for 1.5% more in government primary schools than in non-government primary schools. According to The World Factbook, the country’s total gender ratio is 0.96 (1,000 females to 960 males), and in the case of citizens aged 0–14 years, the ratio is 1.04 (for every 1,000 female children against 1040 male children).32 We take on that almost all primary-level students are assumed to be under 14. In that case, if the gender ratio becomes 1.04, and the number of girls would be 10,564,554, which is around half a million less than the present statistics. From another point of view, as per the same gender ratio, the number of male children could be 10,987,137, which is around half a million more than the present statistics.

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Government and non-government steps taken for improving female children’s primary education have been active, yet male children have been given the same importance in order to avoid various social crises. Except for some English-medium schools where the number of boys and girls were the same, we found the number of boys being more than that of girls. In qawmi madrasah the number of boys is a lot more than that of girls because qawmi madrasah institutions are separated for boys and girls, and madrasah for girls are fewer in number. Number of Teachers in Primary Schools According to Table 2.4, the number of teachers in primary schools is 740,471 among which 367,480 work for government primary schools. In 2013, the jobs of 103,845 teachers from non-government primary schools have been governmentalized. Here we can see that the number of teachers is highest in government primary schools with their near competitors, kindergartens. There were more female teachers than male teachers in all the primary-level schools Table 2.4 Number of teachers in different types of schools Type

Government primary schools Private primary schools Ebtedayee madrasah Kindergartens NGO schools (grades 1–5) High madrasah-attached primary section High school attached primary section NGO learning centers ROSC learning centers Sisu kollyan primary schools Others Total English-medium schools (junior) Qawmi madrasah

Number of teachers Male

Female

Total

131,569 6,810 19,948 92,776 2,221 26,864 8,315 529 N/A 576 3,890 293,498 2,505 66,902

235,911 13,670 7,487 144,071 9,385 5,530 10,163 12,505 N/A 1,258 6,993 446,973 5,229 6,829

367,480 86,536 27,435 236,847 11,606 32,394 18,478 13,034 N/A 1,834 10,883 740,471 7,734 73,731

*The data includes pre-primary teachers. However, there are no dedicated pre-primary teachers: almost all of them serve primary students mainly Source BANBEIS (2020)

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except for ebtedayee and high madrasah-attached primary sections. Among 27,435 teachers in ebtedayee madrasah, there were only 7,487 female teachers (27.3%). Among 32,394 teachers in high madrasahattached primary sections, there were only 5,530 female teachers (17.1%). The overall ratio of female teachers was around 60%, which could reach 64% by excluding the data from madrasah. As before, the number of teachers working for English-medium schools has seemed less this time, though more detailed field observation is needed. On the other hand, we do not know any real number of teachers working for qawmi madrasah, but male and female teachers are not generally allowed to work together here. Student–Teacher Ratio: Classroom Type, Size The overall ratio of teachers and students at the primary level in Bangladesh is around 1:30 as per the official record. The ratio was 1:42 just five years ago,33 which roughly shows the country achieving the target as planned in the 2010 National Education Policy.34 However, out of 5 schools observed in Dhaka city, the ratio was found as 1:41 and in four schools from Chattogram city itself was 1:69 as per the fieldwork. Our field observation found just one teacher for 85 students in a school outside of Dhaka, with similar cases in rural areas. This contradicts theory and practice. The classroom size in primary schools is good enough. In government primary schools, classroom size is suitable for children: 50–80 students can be accommodated. In most cases, these classrooms are well-ventilated. There are long benches where 3–4 students; in some cases, even five students can sit together. In kindergartens, air conditioners and separate seats for everyone catch the eye, which is not the case in ebtedayee madrasah. Often students get taught under the sky or at the madrasah balcony or even at the masjid adjacent to the madrasah. On the other hand, the English-medium schools’ classrooms show more decoration and child-friendliness. These classrooms have air conditioners, like in kindergartens sometimes. Most English-medium schools have separate table-chair sets with other usable stationeries for everyone in the classroom. On the other hand, the classroom situation of qawmi madrasah is not conducive for learning except in urban areas. In most cases, classes are taken at the masjid adjacent to the madrasah. All the classes run sitting on the ground which, they believe, helps the students not brag.

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Also, due to lack of space, most of the classes are taken at the place where the students sleep at night. All the qawmi madrasah are residential though only a few students reside in their own places with family. Besides economic reasons, another belief, in this case, exists that residing at home hinders the learning process. Special Education There are government and non-government schools for special children. But special children are expected to get a chance to study in the general schools in an ideal scenario. The number of schools that are offering special education requires inspection. No such special facility was noticed in most English-medium schools and qawmi madrasah during the fieldwork. There is a total of seven special schools under the Ministry of Social Welfare throughout the country. These are situated in Dhaka, Chattogram, Rajshahi, Khulna, Chandpur, Faridpur, and Sylhet. As per government-provided information, they can accommodate 700 learners with 180 residential seats.35 Besides there are some more special schools situated in Dhaka and other districts under private initiatives, of which 12 serve for hearingimpaired, three for blind, and 47 are for intellectually disabled and autistic children.36 To develop special education, all the primary schools have facilities to educate uniformly. Still, there are some schools which educate only special children. They have 24,560 students in Grade One, 22,226 in Grade Two, 20,091 in Grade Three, 17,980 in Grade Four and 14,366 in Grade Five, which makes a total of 99,223 students. In 2020, 33,602 children with physical handicaps, 10,368 with poor eyesight, 7,305 with short of hearing, 14,638 with problems in speech, 23,240 with intellectual/mental disability, 5,209 with autism, and 4,861 with other types of disabilities got admitted in all types of schools.37 Rate of School Admission Bangladesh government emphasized pre-primary education to ensure primary education for all due to the increasing number of primary school-going children. Even in its 2010 National Education Policy, this matter received importance. BANBEIS data show 3,947,852 children got admitted to all kinds of pre-primary schools in 2020, among them,

2

Table 2.5 Admission information in pre-school, 2016–2020

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Year

Male

Female

Total

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

1,569,937 1,841,242 1,792,559 1,893,734 1,963,960

1,559,598 1,826,609 1,785,825 1,892,507 1,983,892

3,129,535 3,667,851 3,578,384 3,786,241 3,947,852

Source BANBEIS (2020)

1,983,892 are females and 1,963,960 are males. Table 2.5 supplies the enrollment data from the last 5 years. In 2020, 3,567,899 children got admitted in Grade One among whom 1,756,113 were females and 1,811,786 males. Some of them got admitted after completing pre-school, while the rest of them entered directly. A total of 3,195,941 six-year-olds got admitted to grade one in 2020. Among them, there are 1,546,983 female and 1,648,957 male students. This means, among the total admitted students (3,567,899– 3,195,941) 371,958 are aged more or less than six years,38 which is 246,944 less compared to 2017.39 This shows that the target set by the 2010 National Education Policy to bring all children to primary schools by the age of six is gradually being accomplished. That is a thumbs-up for advancement welcomed in ‘western’ and ‘non-western’ societies, whether ‘place-related’ or not, ‘culture-based’ or not. Gross Enrollment Rate (GER) is the rate of students taking admission in a certain stage (for example level one) of education throughout the country. Net Enrollment Rate (NER) is the rate of perfectly aged students (for example, six-year-olds for level one) taking admission in the specific stage of education throughout the country. In 2005, NER was 87.5%, which became 94.8% in 2010, 97.97% in 2017, and 97.81% in 2020. There is a steady growth of NER until 2017. However, it does not develop further: one reason could be the dearth of data from English medium and qawmi madrasah. The data are presented in Table 2.6 below. Rate of Primary Education Dropouts Students who fall out before finishing primary education are dropouts. The present rate, which is 17.2%, is very high and a major hindrance upward the development ladder. However, the year-wise data from 2005

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Table 2.6 Admission rate in all schools (2005–2015) GER (%)

NER (%)

Year

Male

Female

Total

Male

Female

Total

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

91.2 92.9 93.4 92.8 100.1 103.2 97.5 101.3 106.8 104.6 105 109.3 108.1 110.32 104.49 100.1

96.2 103 104.6 102.9 107.1 112.4 105.6 107.6 110.5 112.3 113.4 115 115.4 118.3 114.93 108.9

93.7 97.7 98.8 97.6 103.5 107.7 101.5 104.4 108.6 108.4 109.2 112.1 111.7 114.23 109.60 104.9

84.6 87.6 87.8 87.9 89.1 92.2 92.7 95.4 96.2 96.6 97.09 97.01 97.66 97.55 97.65 97.37

90.1 94.5 94.7 90.4 99.1 97.6 97.3 98.1 98.4 98.8 98.79 98.8 98.29 98.16 98.01 98.25

87.2 90.9 91.1 90.8 93.9 94.8 94.9 96.7 97.3 97.7 97.94 97.96 97.97 97.85 97.74 97.81

Source BANBEIS (2020)

in Table 2.7 shows the situation was in a much worse state, which rather is improving steadily. Many reasons behind students dropping out have been exposed. As per Malek and his colleagues, one is the flawed Education Policy, not implicating objectives, mainstream syllabus and curriculum, not valuating students’ demands, overpopulation and poverty, lacking of family consciousness, damage of social values, income tendency since an early age, lacking entertainment and extra-curricular activities, lacking of employment, and so on, as being responsible for students dropping out.40 On the other hand, the main reasons behind students dropping out in underdeveloped and developing countries that Ali and Begum mentioned are not for positive reasons, showing more of a ‘non-western’ trait than ‘western’: home environment, unattractive education system, economic conditions, classrooms with fewer teachers for excessive students, social superstitions, weak examination system, uninterested teachers, lack of trained teachers and education utensils, children’s participation in family income, trouble in transportation, family’s indifference, extreme poverty,

2

Table 2.7 Dropout rate of primary education

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Year

Dropout rate (%)

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

47.2 50.5 50.5 49.3 45.1 39.8 29.7 26.2 21.4 20.9 20.4 19.2 18.8 18.6 17.9 17.2

Source BANBEIS (2020)

incomplete syllabus, lack of preparatory education in pre-school, and failure of parents in controlling children.41 On the other hand, although there are no reliable data on the dropout rate of English-medium schools and qawmi madrasah, in one fieldwork we found English-medium dropout rates being affected by children either moving to another school or going abroad, which are not at all negative: dropping out for them does not mean dropping out from the education process unlike most of the other primary schools. No perspective could be developed from the qawmi madrasah field visits, as the authorities did not agree to disclose the data, except for the observation that dropout and new enrolment in all classes is a frequent phenomenon in such madrasah without any systematic record. School Management Two faces of primary school management beg attention: administrative and local. The administrative face depends on government officers. The local face depends on the community people. Since English-medium

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schools and qawmi madrasahs are out of government authority, government administration remains inactive in these institutions. Figure 2.2 shows the administrative structure of school management. School Management Committee (SMC) or Parent Teacher Association (PTA) works at the local level of management. Its objective is to

Fig. 2.2 Structure of primary school management

2

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develop communication between schools and local people for improving education quality. In English-medium schools, teachers manage the school under the headmaster/headteacher, following the systems from the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia, and so on. The school administration, however, is run and governed by the owners. Still the ‘western’ model of ‘modernization’ prevails. On the other hand, qawmi madrasah follow the direction of Darul Uloom Deoband madrasah located in India, showing a ‘culture-based’ phenomenon that is neither country-specific nor ‘global’ (or ‘western’). There are two types of councils in any qawmi madrasah: the first one works on the whole management system, the second one directly runs the madrasah. On the whole, a majlis-e-shura,42 consisting of famous ulama,43 from inside and outside of the institution works. Also, the representatives from Befaqul Madarisil Arabia (considered the national education board of qawmi madrasah) and knowledgeable and believer people from the neighboring communities take part. A whole council works behind running a madrasah, as found in the fieldwork, where seven assistants work under seven specific higher departments which are: adab, ifta, hadith, qirat , mantiq, ulumul haadith, and ulumul quran.44 However, these seven departments are not available in all qawmi madrasah. Figure 2.3 shows the council organogram.

Muhtamim (Chief) Nayeb-e-Muhtamim (Vice -Chief) Nazem-e-Iqamah (Hostel Manager)

Director (Adab)

Nazem-e-Hiqamat or Ta’limaat ( Education Manager)

Director (Ifta)

Director (Ulumul Quran)

Kitchen Manager

Director (Qirat)

Director (Ulumul Hadith)

Fig. 2.3 Total Qawmi madrasah management

Director (Hadith)

Director (Mantiq)

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Discussion The reconciliation process of secularism and religion has always been a complex and contested idea. The depth and direction, therefore, vary from place to place, country to country; which produces different versions of such amalgamations. At least three patterns of the above process beg attention,45 even though Bangladesh’s unique case is still unique, since it keeps both spirits of secularism and religion stay simultaneously for sociocultural, and most importantly, political reasons.46 Secular literacy among the qawmi madrasah students is as short as the religious literacy among the general students. From the above tables, it is evident, that the data from English-medium schools and qawmi madrasah are inadequate, which itself is an indicator that the marriage between secular and religious streams of education is based on convenience in Bangladesh. Primary education streams (general, English-medium, and qawmi) coexist, but with minimal correspondence. Moreover, the government maintains a convenient administration ignoring the latter two, although both of them deal with a significant number of children in the primary level. If this is ‘western modernization’, it is seriously impinged by ‘local’ traits which could be national, religious, environmental, or any combination of these specific (or other) areas. If it is ‘non-western’, it has too many ‘western’ traits to be purely so. This mixed bag promises no clear future trace, but almost all indicators show Bangladesh advancing, whether in mode (like literary), or numbers (enrollment), and sometimes in gender (the male–female ratio). One assumption is that government must control the country’s entire education system, although there are different opinions.47 In other words, the complexity arises from streamlining the education process, be it from perspectives of governmental control or finding coherence, and the only referring standard is secular standard for its wide acceptance and perceived superiority igniting critical thinking.48 Both secular and religious education have cardinal principles and subsequent nuances that may not calibrate in the detailed tailoring process. For example, the purpose of education in the secular stream is building skilled citizens while qawmi stream prepares individuals for performing the religious (Islam) obligations and rituals according to the Holy Qura’n and Sunnah.49 The key focus on qawmi madrasah in the chapter could not be avoided, since English-medium schools by definition follow the secular ‘western’ educational curriculum and systems. Aliya madrasah

2

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are also not included, because the beginning of such stream during the British colonial period has an inherent secular purpose50 and 60% of aliya madrasah’s curricula is filled with secular subjects.51 The number, structure, and facilities of qawmi madrasah differ from all other types of educational institutions. Unlike other institutions, all qawmi madrasah provide food and accommodation for free or a nominal cost for the poor children.52 There is no institutional funding support for qawmi madrasah: they are run by public donations, waqf (endowment) resources, and sporadic foreign funding. Although, there is no access for qawmi graduates into the mainstream work force, the student inflow is ever so high. Arguably qawmi graduates can find plenty of earning opportunities in any religious post-Islamic setting.53 Taylor shows, in an Indian context, how madrasahs create economic opportunities and contribute to the livelihood of marginal people,54 thus serving an economic purpose— the same motif as in the ‘western’ model. Bangladesh’s case is not quite different, as claimed by Bhuiyan and Riaz.55 The curriculum and pedagogy of qawmi madrasah are premodern, which is coherent to its nature and purpose. Opposing modernization from the British colonial period until today,56 qawmi madrasah remained almost unchanged. However, while the major textbooks and some parts of the curriculum remain unaltered in all qawmi madrasah, some curriculum portions have been updated and new textbooks have also appeared. The marginal outcomes of qawmi classes are not defined; hence, it is difficult to evaluate students’ success. However, the competence of the qawmi madrasah students compared to that of aliya madrasah students on the common subjects is higher. So is true about the teachers of qawmi madrasah, who, in comparison with government supported aliya madrasahs, are more capable in religious pedagogy.57 Moreover, there is no serious training for Grade One to Grade Four students in qawmi madrasah system. The first formal and serious class begins in Grade Five. Institutional teachers’ training in qawmi madrasah culture is not in practice, but some informal sessions often take place in the large institutions, mostly in the form of motivation. With a few exceptions, all qawmi madrasah restrict the dissemination of other kinds of knowledge, such as reading secular books or novels, reading newspapers, watching television, and so on, which provide a narrow perspective to children. However, the secular wave and neoliberal economy bring deeper influences reaching even impenetrable qawmi madrasah domains. The contents, mindset, lifestyle, and even the curriculum slowly started to

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transform into a new shape as claimed by Al Mahmud,58 and also observed in the fieldwork. It is not easy to delineate the components of such changes, so is difficult to assess such contribution in the country’s ‘modernization’ process; but what can be gleaned is the notion of ‘modernization’ and blend between secular and religious education differs from the ‘western’ model.

Conclusion A comparative study of Bangladesh’s conventional, English-medium, and qawmi madrasah primary education found traditional ‘development’ to be unfolding, that is, dynamics at the ‘local’ level capable of combining at the ‘tree’ (state) level, and thereby fit into a ‘forest’ or ‘global’ target. Whether there is a ‘western’\Islamic tussle remains an individual (‘leaf’-level) choice, thus reaffirming the evolution of competing ‘forest’level outcomes. Yet, this is currently conjectural, conventional, English medium, and qawmi madrasah. In reality, by excluding a number of other aspects embellishing the argument (recruitment of teachers, teaching methods, scholarship and financial support, co-curricular activities, assessment, details of management, language issues, education commissions and their recommendations, and so forth), the study could have its drawbacks, but since it is merely an explorative, outlining how Bangladesh’s primary education operates, functions, and meets the challenges in the ‘development’ process informs us ‘development’ is unfolding routinely. The principal focus was to see the number and the structure of three major streams of primary education with an underlying question of their similarities and differences. The study found no collaborative and inclusive action from the governmental side or any stream specific guideline for a comprehensive national growth. Only recently have some initiatives have been launched. One such initiative is the recognition of the top qawmi class as equivalent to Master’s, however, without aligning the progressive outcomes in an academic manner that leaves the rest of the classes without any recognition as argued by Chandan.59 Since 2010, the country’s Education Policy has paved the way and more inclusive and collaborative approaches are therefore feasible. However, as a new ‘development’ model blending secular and religious education, it only exposes the reconciliatory remedies between the contentious issues and answers burgeoning critical questions. Routine

2

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‘development’ continues, exposing other dimensions hitherto not given front-burner attention.

Notes 1. World Bank. “Population 2021.” Available at: https://datacatalog.worldb ank.org/, last consulted July 5, 2022. 2. World Bank. “Land area.” Available at: https://data.worldbank.org/ind icator/AG.LND.TOTL.K2, last consulted July 5, 2022. 3. World Bank, “Population density.” Available at: https://data.worldbank. org/indicator/EN.POP.DNST, last consulted July 5, 2022. By another estimate restricted to countries with at least 7,500,000 people, Bangladesh tops the list. 4. Hussain, Imtiaz A. (2022). “Bangladesh as a ‘developed country’: ‘Graduating’ imperatives,” The Daily Star, February 13. Available at: https:// www.thedailystar.net/recovering-covid-reinventing-our-future/blueprintbrighter-tomorrow/news/bangladesh-developed-country-graduating-imp eratives-2960461, last consulted July 5, 2022. 5. Ministry of Education (MoE). (2010). National Education Policy-2010. Dhaka: People’s Republic of Bangladesh. Available at: http://www. moedu.gov.bd/site/page/318a22d2-b400-48a7-8222-303ab11cc205/-. 6. The details can be found at http://www.mopme.gov.bd/site/page/265 992be-3a3d-4339-9959-d1b3ab98d3bb/Vision-and-Mission. 7. MoE has two division: (a) Secondary and Higher Education and (b) Technical and Madrasah Education. The details can be found here: http:// www.moedu.gov.bd/. 8. Madrasah is an Arabic word meaning school in general. In Bangladeshi context madrasah indicates to schools providing Islamicate education. 9. The Arabic word Fazil means ‘someone honored’ or ‘someone achieving a degree’ or simply ‘a graduate’. 10. The Arabic word Fazil means ‘someone honored’ or ‘someone achieving a degree’ or simply ‘a graduate’; and Kamil is also an Arabic word meaning ‘one who completes’. 11. English-medium stream is polymorphous in nature. Majority follow the British curriculum while some follow the curriculum of other countries including United States, Canada, Australia, etc. 12. Qawmi madrasah are community-run religious seminaries having almost the same structure following the Darul Uloom Deoband tradition, which is one of the largest religious educational institutions in India. Most of the qawmi madrasah are under the Befaqul Madarisil Arabia Bangladesh, the largest qawmi madrasah education board in Bangladesh,

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13.

14.

15. 16.

17. 18. 19. 20.

21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27.

which was founded in 1978 (Ahmed 2005; WIFAQ 2017). Recently, the government has recognized the certificate of Dawra-e-Hadith, the highest class before specialization, as equivalent to master’s degree in Islamic Studies and Arabic (The Daily Star 2017). This equivalence is rather a political initiative, however, appeasing the religious groups, not progressively done from the curriculum point of view. For details, see: The Daily Star. (2018). “Master’s status for top Qawmi Degree: Towards legal recognition,” August 14. Available at: https://www.thedailystar.net/news/country/bangladesh-cabinetapproves-bill-recognising-qawmi-madrasahs-dawrae-hadith-1620178, last consulted July 17, 2022. For details, see BANBEIS (Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics). (2020). Pocket Book of Bangladesh Educational Statistics2020. Dhaka: Ministry of Education. The definition is given by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Available at: http://uis.unesco.org/ en/glossary-term/formal-education, last consulted July 18, 2022. Ibid. World Bank. “Primary education, duration 2022.” Available at: https:/ /data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.PRM.DURS, last consulted July 16, 2022. Ministry of Education. (2010). National Education Policy-2010. Dhaka: People’s Republic of Bangladesh. Ebtedayee is an Arabic word meaning ‘related to beginning’ or in simple meaning ‘beginning’. In this context, it stands for primary level. Dakhil is an Arabic word meaning ‘someone who enters’. In the context of public madrasah, it stands for 10th class. BANBEIS (Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics). (2020). Pocket Book of Bangladesh Educational Statistics-2020. Dhaka: Ministry of Education, p. 6. UCEP Bangladesh. (2022). “Social development programme.” Available at: https://www.ucepbd.org/social-development/. Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs. (2022). Constitution. Dhaka: People’s Republic of Bangladesh. Malek, A., Begum, M. Islam, F. and Riyad, S. S. (2012). Shikkhya Bigyan o Bangladeshe Shikkhya. Dhaka: University Grants Commission, Bangladesh. Ali, M. A. and Begum, H. A. (1993). Prathomik Shikkhya. Dhaka: Bangla Academy. Alam, S., Jahan, M., Islam, S. A. and Kajal, S. U. A. (2003). Shikkhya Kosh. Dhaka: Compendium of Education Project. Hifzkhana is a Persian word meaning ‘a place where children memorize the Holy Qura’n’. The Bangla word Ananda means joy.

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28. Sisu Kollyan means children’s welfare. 29. BANBEIS (Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics). (2016). Bangladesh Educational Statistics-2015. Dhaka: Ministry of Education. 30. See the official website of Befaqul Madarisil Arabia Bangladesh from https://wifaqbd.org/. 31. Thana means police station, which is an administrative unit under Dhaka City Corporation. 32. The World Factbook. (2022). “Bangladesh” [Online]. Available at: https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/bangladesh/#peo ple-and-society, last consulted July 22, 2022. 33. See page 42 in Marjuk et al. (2017). “A comparative assessment on primary education in Bangladesh.” The Journal of Social Studies (155), 30–51. 34. See page 14 in the National Education Policy 2010. 35. Ahsan, M. T. (2013). National Baseline Study for ‘Developing a Model of Inclusive Primary Education in Bangladesh Project’ Based on Secondary Data. Dhaka: Plan Bangladesh. 36. BANBEIS (2020). 37. Ibid. 38. Ibid. 39. See page 45 in Marjuk et al. (2017). “A comparative assessment on primary education in Bangladesh.” The Journal of Social Studies (155), 30–51. 40. Malek, A., Begum, M. Islam, F. and Riyad, S. S. (2012). Shikkhya Bigyan o Bangladeshe Shikkhya. Dhaka: University Grants Commission, Bangladesh. 41. Ali, M. A. and Begum, H. A. (1993). Prathomik Shikkhya. Dhaka: Bangla Academy. 42. It means ‘advisory board’. 43. The Arabic word ulama is a plural form of a’lem meaning knowledgeable person; in this case, the highest madrasah-educated person. 44. These are names of various disciplines in the postgraduate level in Islamic studies. 45. Fox, J. (2017). “Political secularism and democracy in theory and practice.” In P. Zuckerman & J. R. Shook (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Secularism (pp. 103–122). New York: Oxford University Press. 46. Kabir, Ariful Haq and Islam, Md Khairul. (2017). “Construction of a ‘secular’ education system: What does it mean in Bangladeshi context? Teacher’s World, 44. 47. A classic discussion is provided by Milton Friedman, first published in 1955, republished online in 2022, available with a title “The role

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48.

49. 50.

51.

52.

53. 54.

55.

56. 57.

of government in education,” edchoice. Available at: https://www.edc hoice.org/who-we-are/our-legacy/articles/the-role-of-government-ineducation/. Two other contemporary voices are available. See Ingraham, Keri D. (2021). “Education freedom (Part 2): Reducing government control,” Discovery Institute. Available at: https://www.discovery.org/ education/2021/11/21/educational-freedom-part-2-reducing-govern ment-control/. Also see, Booth, Philip. (2016). “Should the government control the curriculum?” iea. Available at: https://iea.org.uk/blog/sho uld-the-government-control-the-curriculum. Davies, L. (2014). “One size does not fit all: Complexity, religion, secularism and education.” Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 34(2), 184–199. Often writes as Sunnat, it means the tradition of the last prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Al-Masum, Md. (2009). “British policy and reform of Madrasah education in Bengal (1780–1947).” Available at: https://ore.exeter.ac.uk/rep ository/bitstream/handle/10036/82055/Context%20of%20Research. pdf?sequence=1. Al-Hasani, S. M. A., Ab Rahim Ismail, B. K. and Elega, D. A. Q. (2017). “Creating a practicing Muslim: A study of Qawmi Madrasahh in Bangladesh.” British Journal of Education, Society & Behavioural Science, 20(3), 1–9. See Bano, Masooda. (2008). “Allowing for diversity: State-Madrasa relations in Bangladesh.” Religions and Development Research Programme, Working Paper 13, University of Oxford. Available at: http://epapers. bham.ac.uk/1548/1/Bano_StateMadrasaBangladesh.pdf. Bayat, Asef. (2013). Post-Islamis: The Changing Faces of Political Islam. New York: Oxford University Press. Taylor, Christopher B. (2015). “Madrasas and social mobility in the religious economy: The case of Nadwat al-’Ulama in Lucknow.” South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal, 11. Available at: http://journals.ope nedition.org/samaj/3932. Bhuiyan, Md Nurul Momen. (2010). “Creating “good Muslims”: Qawmi Madrasah schooling in a rural town of Bangladesh.” Brunel University Repository. Available at: https://bura.brunel.ac.uk/bitstream/2438/ 5514/1/FulltextThesis.pdf; and Riaz, Ali. (2008). Faithful Education: Madrassahs in South Asia. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. Ibid. Al-Hasani, S. M. A., Ab Rahim Ismail, B. K. and Elega, D. A. Q. (2017). “Creating a practicing Muslim: A study of Qawmi Madrasahh in Bangladesh.” British Journal of Education, Society & Behavioural Science, 20(3), 1–9.

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58. Al Mahmud, Abdullah. (2022). “The post-Islamist directions of thoughts among the Ulama of Bangladesh” [unpublished]. 59. Chandan, Shahnawaz Khan. (2017). “Bangladesh tries to bridge the divide between secular and Islamic schooling,” [Interview]. WPR: World Politics Review. Available at: https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/ trend-lines/23158/bangladesh-tries-to-bridge-the-divide-between-sec ular-and-islamic-schooling, last consulted July 17, 2020.

References Ahmed, A. F. S. (2004). “Bangladesh: History and culture—An Overview.” In A. F. S. Ahmed & B. M. Chowdhury (Eds.), Bangladesh National Culture and Heritage: An Introductory Reader. Dhaka: Independent University, Bangladesh. Ahmed, S. (2005). “Testimony of Samina Ahmed to U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.” International Crisis Group Working to Prevent Conflict Worldwide [Online]. Available at: https://web.archive.org/web/201103030 83724/www.crisisgroup.org/en/publication-type/speeches/2005/testim ony-of-samina-ahmed-to-us-senate-foreign-relations-committee.aspx. Ahsan, M. T. (2013). National Baseline Study for ’Developing a Model of Inclusive Primary Education in Bangladesh Project’ Based on Secondary Data. Dhaka: Plan Bangladesh. Al-Hasani, S. M. A., Ab Rahim Ismail, B. K. and Elega, D. A. Q. (2017). Creating a Practicing Muslim: A Study of Qawmi Madrasahh in Bangladesh. British Journal of Education, Society & Behavioural Science, 20(3), 1–9 Al-Masum, Md. (2009). “British Policy and Reform of Madrasah Education in Bengal (1780–1947).” Available at: https://ore.exeter.ac.uk/repository/bit stream/handle/10036/82055/Context%20of%20Research.pdf?sequence=1. Al Mahmud, Abdullah. (2022). “The post-Islamist directions of thoughts among the Ulama of Bangladesh” [unpublished]. Alam, S., Jahan, M., Islam, S. A. and Kajal, S. U. A. (2003). Shikkhya Kosh. Dhaka: Compendium of Education Project. Ali, M. A. and Begum, H. A. (1993). Prathomik Shikkhya. Dhaka: Bangla Academy. BANBEIS (Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics). (2016). Bangladesh Educational Statistics-2015. Dhaka: Ministry of Education. BANBEIS (Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics). (2020). Pocket Book of Bangladesh Educational Statistics-2020. Dhaka: Ministry of Education. Bangladesh National Commission for UNESCO. (2013). Report on EIU Situation in Bangladesh. Dhaka: Ministry of Education.

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Bano, Masooda. (2008). “Allowing for diversity: State-Madrasa relations in Bangladesh.” Religions and Development Research Programme, Working Paper 13, University of Oxford. Available at: http://epapers.bham.ac.uk/1548/1/ Bano_StateMadrasaBangladesh.pdf. Bayat, Asef. (2013). Post-Islamis: The Changing Faces of Political Islam. New York: Oxford University Press. BBS (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics). (2016). “Population and housing census 2011” [Online]. Available at: http://203.112.218.66/WebTestApplication/ userfiles/Image/SubjectMatterDataIndex/Bulleting-2013.pdf, last consulted 11/02/2017. Bhuiyan, Md Nurul Momen. (2010). “Creating ‘good Muslims’: Qawmi madrasa schooling in a rural town of Bangladesh.” Brunel University Repository. Available at: https://bura.brunel.ac.uk/bitstream/2438/5514/1/Ful ltextThesis.pdf. Booth, Philip. (2016). “Should the government control the curriculum?” iea. Available at: https://iea.org.uk/blog/should-the-government-controlthe-curriculum. Chandan, Shahnawaz Khan. (2017). “Bangladesh tries to bridge the divide between secular and Islamic schooling” [Interview]. WPR: World Politics Review. Available at: https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/trend-lines/ 23158/bangladesh-tries-to-bridge-the-divide-between-secular-and-islamic-sch ooling, last consulted July 17, 2020. Chowdhury, Raqib and Sarkar, Mahbub. (2018). “Education in Bangladesh: Changing contexts and emerging realities.” In Engaging in Educational Research (pp. 1–18). Singapore: Springer. Davies, L. (2014). “One size does not fit all: Complexity, religion, secularism and education.” Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 34(2), 184–199. Fox, J. (2017). “Political secularism and democracy in theory and practice.” In P. Zuckerman & J. R. Shook (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Secularism (pp. 103–122). New York: Oxford University Press. Friedman, Milton. (2022). “The role of government in education,” edchoice. Available at: https://www.edchoice.org/who-we-are/our-legacy/art icles/the-role-of-government-in-education/. Hussain, Imtiaz A. (2022). “Bangladesh as a ‘developed country’: ‘Graduating’ imperatives,” The Daily Star, February 13. Available at: https://www. thedailystar.net/recovering-covid-reinventing-our-future/blueprint-brightertomorrow/news/bangladesh-developed-country-graduating-imperatives-296 0461, last consulted July 5, 2022. Ingraham, Keri D. (2021). “Education freedom (Part 2): Reducing government control,” Discovery Institute. Available at: https://www.discovery.org/edu cation/2021/11/21/educational-freedom-part-2-reducing-government-con trol/.

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Kabir, Ariful Haq and Islam, Md Khairul. (2017). “Construction of a ‘secular’ education system: What does it mean in Bangladeshi context?” Teacher’s World, 44. Malek, A., Begum, M. Islam, F. and Riyad, S. S. (2012). Shikkhya Bigyan o Bangladeshe Shikkhya. Dhaka: University Grants Commission, Bangladesh. Mallick, A. R. and Husain, S. A. (2004). “Bengali nationalism and the emergence of Bangladesh.” In Ahmed. In A. F. Salahuddin Ahmed & B. M. Chowdhury (Eds.), Bangladesh National Culture and Heritage: An Introductory Reader. Dhaka: Independent University, Bangladesh. Marjuk, Obydullah Al, Alam, Mahbub and Zia, Abdullah Bin. “A comparative assessment on primary education in Bangladesh.” The Journal of Social Studies (155), 30–51. Ministry of Education. (2010) National Education Policy-2010. Dhaka: People’s Republic of Bangladesh. Available at: http://www.moedu.gov.bd/site/page/ 318a22d2-b400-48a7-8222-303ab11cc205/Ministry of Education. (2022) Division. Dhaka: People’s Republic of Bangladesh. Available at: http://www.moedu.gov.bd/. Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs. (2022). Constitution. Dhaka: People’s Republic of Bangladesh. Ministry of Primary and Mass Education. (2022). “Vision and Mission of MoPME” [Online]. Available at: http://www.mopme.gov.bd/site/page/265 992be-3a3d-4339-9959-d1b3ab98d3bb/Vision-and-Mission Riaz, Ali. (2008). Faithful Education: Madrassahs in South Asia. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. Taylor, Christopher B. (2015). “Madrasas and social mobility in the religious economy: The case of Nadwat al-’Ulama in Lucknow.” South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal, 11. Available at: http://journals.openedition. org/samaj/3932. The Daily Star. (2017). “Qawmi Madrasah Dawrae Hadith gets recognition,” April 11. Available at: http://www.thedailystar.net/country/qawmimadrasah-dawrae-hadith-gets-recognition-1389823. The Daily Star. (2018). “Master’s status for top Qawmi degree: Towards legal recognition,” August 14. Available at: https://www.thedailystar.net/news/ country/bangladesh-cabinet-approves-bill-recognising-qawmi-madrasahs-daw rae-hadith-1620178. The World Factbook. (2022). “Bangladesh” [Online] Available at: https:// www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bg.html, last consulted July 16, 2022. UCEP-Bangladesh (Underprivileged Children’s Educational Programs). (2016). “Integrated general and vocational education” [Online]. Available at: http:/ /www.ucepbd.org/program/index.htm, last consulted July 15, 2020.

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UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). (2022). “Formal education” [Online]. Available at: http://uis.unesco.org/ en/glossary-term/formal-education. UCEP Bangladesh. (2022). “Social development programme.” Available at: https://www.ucepbd.org/social-development/. WIFAQ. (2017). “Befaqul Madarisil Arabia Bangladesh” [Online]. Available at: http://www.wifaqbd.org/. World Bank. “Land area.” Available at: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ AG.LND.TOTL.K2, last consulted July 5, 2022. World Bank. “Population 2021.” Available at: https://datacatalog.worldbank. org/, last consulted July 5, 2022. World Bank. “Population density.” Available at: https://data.worldbank.org/ind icator/EN.POP.DNST, last consulted July 5, 2022. World Bank. “Primary education, duration 2022.” Available at: https://data.wor ldbank.org/indicator/SE.PRM.DURS, last consulted July 16, 2022.

CHAPTER 3

Evolving English Pedagogy and ‘Second-Best’ Outcomes: Bangladesh’s Pre-university Experiences Shorna Akter

Introduction As a privileged “global” language, English is growing in importance as a second or foreign language in non-native countries.1 As one such country, Bangladesh’s struggle to standardize English as a foreign language for teaching and learning illustrates a “local” speed-bump: the end-product being second-best. When policy changes, for example, methods and approaches also change. In this case, a new Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) approach emerged,2 supported by a new series of English textbooks, dubbed English for Today (EFT).3 The government of Bangladesh and the U.K. Department for International Development designed English for Today (EFT) for classes XI–XII in 2001 to harness four English language skills at the “global” level of usage: speaking, listening and reading and writing.4 To advance educational

S. Akter (B) Dhaka City College, Dhaka, Bangladesh e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 I. A. Hussain (ed.), Multifaceted Development, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1798-3_3

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“development” the teaching-learning pedagogy has undergone several changes. Amending EFT texts may be the outcome of this unremitting effort to develop and ease the teaching-learning journey in the country, but Bangladesh’s Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC, the highschool graduation equivalent, paralleling Britain’s “A” level), showed improvements, but only marginally. Bangladeshi students hardly achieved adequate command over all four skills, as they would do before. One reason could be that when they enter university, students face a futurecrippling problem.5 The National Curriculum and Text book Board (NCTB) sought to rectify this plight by revising its 2001 EFT text in 2015. Since both versions clearly mention objectives and approaches, to what extent is the newer version more effective in developing the four skills than the previous one?

Purpose of the Study Comparing two EFT text versions for their objectives and prescribed approaches is a start to understanding a countrywide exercise (the “tree”) seeking to mesh with “forest” level (“global”) uses of the language. It helps address the practicability of using both for developing four HSC-level English learner skills since “local” state, and “global” outcomes depend upon them. Accordingly, two subsections follow, the first addressing the approaches, the second supplying relevant definitions and practicalities. CLT Approach and Its Features What does the literature say about CLT purpose, characteristics, and nature? H. Douglas Brown spells out the CLT purpose: “teaching second languages for the ultimate goal of communication with other speakers of the second language.” This effort at evaluating “local” efforts to “state” and “global” students requires concentrating “on speaking and listening skills, on writing for specific purposes, and on ‘authentic’ reading texts.”6 Dell Hymes similarly asserts the key CLT purpose to be “communicative competence,” with the ability of learners to use the language in real-life context always in mind.7 Cementing this is Brian Tomlison’s “communicative competence” goal, defined as the capability of using a language successfully for communication.8

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Since a CLT inclination to use the language in social contexts is seen as a realistic usage of any target language, according to Jack C. Richards and Theodore S Rodgers.9 In this regard, Rumana Siddique posits CLT principles emphasize a systematic effort that is “feasible, and culturally appropriate, concurs and provides functional or genuine language.”10 To this Jeremy Harmer adds “a set of beliefs,” one which includes “not only a re-examination of what aspects of language to teach, but also a shift in emphasis on how to teach.” The “what to teach” aspect of the communicative approach stressed the significance of language functions rather than focusing solely on grammar and vocabulary.11 Given this “communicative” nature of the exercise, clearly a “global”/“forest” level approach has been adopted. As evident, CLT goals underscore this by invoking levels of sorts. Hans-Eberhard Piepho identifies five among purposes indicate this: (a) an integrative and content level (language as a means of expression); (b) a linguistic and instrumental level (language as a semiotic system and an object of learning); (c) an effective level of interpersonal relationships and conduct (language as a means of expressing values and judgments about oneself and others); (d) a level of individual learning needs (remedial learning based on error analysis); and (e) a general educational level of extra-linguistic goals.12 Definition of Some Relevant Terms Clarity over objectives profits from definitions. Built upon a motto of an “educational journey.” Peter F. Oliva identifies four goals and objectives: “curriculum goal,” “curriculum objective,” “instructional goal,” and “instructional objective.”13 His “instructional goal,” for example, is elaborated as what is “expected of each student in a class, phrased in general terms without criteria of achievement... a statement... demonstrated... in the class, derived from an instructional goal and phrased in measurable and observable terms.”14 His “curriculum goal” refers to “a general statement without specifying learners attainments,” while “curriculum objectives” specifies “statements in exact and concrete discourses regarding the broader objectives of the education.15 Inherent in any educational institution, “curriculum goals” and “curriculum objectives” guide us to a narrowed syllabus directly related to the pedagogical activities to be conducted in the class. It must be the most precise format

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for terms of contents, titles, goals and objectives, classroom activities, and details about the testing.16 Before starting any “educational journey” (that is, to teach and learn), these must first be specified. In reality we find objectives set in the syllabus before any exercise begins. Once both teachers and the learners stand on the same platform built upon the motto of their educational journey, a clear connection or congruity between the goal/objective, contents, and testing systems emerges. David Nunan hammers the nail home. Without Need Analysis (NA) or Need Assessment, he argues, fixing classroom activities becomes unrealistic and unwise, generating difficulties for both teachers and learners. Over time, he continues, learning outcomes will drift from course objectives.17 On the other hand, learner NA convenience for teachers breeds more coordinated classroom activities, balancing classroom tasks and real world communication the second language learners.18 Emphasizing successful teaching and learning, Nunan goes on to advocate congruous classroom tasks and syllabi aims, if only to avoid poor command over the target language, and thereby embarrassing subsequent pedagogical outgrowths.19 He further distinguishes “realworld objectives” from “pedagogic objectives,” the former “a task which learners might wish to carry out outside the classroom,” and the latter “a task which the learner might be required to carry out inside the classroom.”20 He also separates “product-oriented” approach from the “process-oriented.” What form “the objective takes,” he contends, “will reveal the attitude of the syllabus designer to the nature of language and language learning.”21 Whereas the former focuses on the learning outcome, the latter highlights the process. The CLT approach is built upon this “process-oriented” approach.22 It shows a universal approach to teaching/learning the language, itself one of the most universally utilized languages. This perhaps shows why classroom (“leaf”-level) outcomes fall short: the students typically come with an idiosyncratic approach to learning. This dichotomy goes deeper. Activities of Text and Testing A textbook, to Brian Tomlison, supplies the core material for a course. “It aims,” he posits “to provide as much as possible in one book … designed so that it could serve as the only book which the learners necessarily

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use during a course,” covering “grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, functions and the skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking.”23 In turn, effective teaching materials or texts matter, making textbook selection the key to success. To evaluate a textbook quality, Dawn Garinger suggests three questions: (a) Do the questions and the activities of the textbook contribute to learners’ language acquisition? (b) Are the exercises balanced in their format, containing both control and free practice? (c) Are the exercises progressive as the students move through the textbook? Are the exercises varied and challenging?24 About text activities, Mohammad Elius Hossain makes the case how students should be given enough opportunities through diverse activities to practice and develop language knowledge, with “controlled exercises” and “free practice” as balancers, in essence, to broaden their approach. 25 The former involves single answer, the latter involvement of the students’ creativity and knowledge.26 Whereas some advocate the inclusion of activities based on realities,27 others posit single-minded development of all four learners’ skills.28 Teachers profit by advocating how to grasp the meaning before students experience the language,29 indicating how grooming teachers is also a part and parcel of the English dissemination process. Testing/Evaluation exposes competency. Learners appraise their overall language development. Test and testing have a relationship. Andrew Harrison (1983:1) sees the former “as a natural extension of classroom work, providing teacher and student with useful information that can serve each as a basis for improvement,30 but Arthur Hughes considers the latter as a dependable measure of language ability31 : “tests of some kind or another will be needed in order to provide information about the achievement of the group of learners …we have to recognize the need for a common yard stick, which tests provide, in order to make meaningful comparison.”32 We see two gap-creating areas: broadening student approaches at the “local” level; and similarly teaching teachers how to conduct their exercises, this one at the “tree” or country level (through the textbooks created).

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Introduction of the CLT Approaches and EFT Textbook in Bangladesh Grammar Translation Method (GTM) has long been operational in Bangladeshi ELT classes, but “local” pressures demanded a new CLT type approach.33 From 2001, a new series of communicative language book, “English for Today” (EFT) was adopted at the Higher Secondary level, emphasizing all four skills and the CLT approach.34 A centrally produced EFT text series for the Secondary and the Higher Secondary classes have been used across the country at these two levels,35 giving all four English skills equal importance to ensure successful completion and student communicative competence. Sahidullah, et. al., say that EFT text is exactly designed to help the learners develop communicative competence by practicing and experiencing the language in different communicative environments.36 Hossain sees the book providing EFT learners “a variety of materials such as reading texts, dialogues, pictures, diagrams, tasks and activities” [to help learners] “practice all four basic language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing... and actively participate in pair or group or individual work.”37 As noted, students do not always know the desired or expected proficiency of all the four English skills. While text re-evaluation is generically needed, Bangladeshi students have not shown they can communicate in English in real-life situations,38 even after CLT inclusion. Even the EFT teaching-learning exercises have elicited unsatisfactory review: “… no proper care, supervision and follow-up have been carried out to assess the curriculum. … the condition of English teaching and learning is not satisfactory yet…”39 Writing skills stand out since these ultimately get assessed through writing in the examination.40 These gaps stand out here as well.

Methods There are three parts to this qualitative research, each collecting “local”/ “leaf”-level information for “total”/country-level digestion: a comparative study of two EFT text versions (for XI–XII), particularly of the objectives, approaches, and activities, followed by a focused group discussion (FGD) among the teachers, leaving for the third to collect data from the texts, distribute marks, and conduct FGD analyses. Two Dhaka city colleges were chosen (the “leaves”), with five English teachers from

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each, chosen based on their sampling approach to assess this particular “development” strand in Bangladesh. Survey Instrument The topic, “The effectiveness of the present and previous EFT texts in following the approaches and objective mentioned in the texts” was prepared for the FGD section involving teachers. Two versions of English for Today (level XI–XII) and format of marks distribution for English Paper I of the Higher Secondary level were analyzed to collect data. Data Collection Procedure Data was collected using qualitative tools. First, two versions of EFT books of the concerned level and syllabus of Higher Secondary level were analyzed, followed by FGD data collection from teachers.

Findings Once data analysis is complete, the work will return to objectives and approaches. Data Collected from Book Analysis and Marks Distribution for Both the Texts Activities differ in both texts. On the one hand are such controlled exercises, as “filling the gaps,” “multiple choice,” “true/false,” and so forth, while on the other are free practice exercises, like “creative writing,” “oral discussion,” and “planning.” Tables 3.1 and 3.2 list them. Learners were instructed to practice all activities, either individually, in groups or in pairs. Whereas the earlier EFT text (with 24 units) had 270 activities for pair work, 42 activities for small group work, and the rest for individual effort, the 2015 EFT version (with 15 units) had 32 activities are for practice in pairs and 38 activities in groups. Just the absence of individual work in the latter exposes the greater emphasis on the “social” component of learning English, less perhaps to learn from but more out of the growing popularity of “social media” today. Of course, such a choice also widens the compass of English as a second language, in turn raising the key question whether comprehension “width” or

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Table 3.1 Analysis of the activities of E.F.T. text (for xi–xii 2001) Activities 1. Multiple choice 2. True/False 3.Filling in the gaps with clue 4.Filling in the gaps without clue 5. Question/Answer 6. Table 7. Summary 8.List making

9. Rearrange 10. Flow chart 11. Paragraph writing

17. Role play 18. Making wall poster 19. Planning

12.Writing based on Argument or other type 13. Guessing 14. Matching 15. Sentence making 16. Dialogue

20.Thinking and expressing something orally 21. Picture depicting 22. Question making 23. Identifying 24. Idea Sharing

Table 3.2 Analysis of the activities of E.F.T. text (for xi–xii 2015) 1. Multiple choice 2. True/False 3.Filling in the gaps with clue 4.Filling in the gaps without clue 5. Question/Answer 6. Table completing

7. Summary 8.List making 9.Word meaning/Finding antonym and synonym 10. Question making

11. Idea sharing 12. Rearrange 13. Flow chart

21. Identifying 22.Elaborating ideas 23. Role play

14. Paragraph writing

24. Making wall poster

15. Essay/Composition/ Article writing 16.Guessing general theme

25. Planning

17. Matching column/ words 18. Sentence making 19. Dialogue 20. Information transfer

26.Thinking and expressing something orally/Narrating event 27. Project work 28. Completing sentence 29. Finding similarities and dissimilarities 33. Picture depicting

“depth” is the main driver. In any case, “leaf”-level exercises do target a “forest”-level ambit. In the previous EFT Text syllabus, 40 marks were allocated for writing and 60 for objective, free/open questions and vocabulary, yet in the present EFT text, though the 40 marks for evaluation writing has been retained, the nature of the changes in the remaining 60 reaffirms this

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Table 3.3 Distribution of marks paper 1 (For E.F.T. text previous version) Content

Marks

a. Seen Comprehension: Objective Questions (Types of Objective questions: a. multiple choice, b. true/false, c. fill in the gaps with clues, d. information transfer, e. making sentences from substitution tables, f. matching phrases/ pictures, etc.) More Free/Open questions (More free: g. open-ended, h. filling in the gaps without clues, i. summarizing, j. making notes, k, re-writing in a different form.) Vocabulary Close test with clues Close test without clues Guided Writing (Guided Writing: a. producing sentences from substitution tables, b. reordering sentences, and answering questions in a paragraph) Total = 100 Marks

20 20

20 10 10 40

(Ucca Madthamic certificate Parikher Patha Shuchi 2014)41

“social” learning slant: reading such items as MCQ familiarity, information transfer, flow chart, and so on, suggest the greater emphasis on context than on content—a shift from the “learning at the individual level” to “learning at the social level” (but with the skills learned in class rather than idiosyncratic, colloquial, or dialectic usages). In turn, the “width” argument profits from this more than the “depth”—a huge “forest”-level boost even at the expense of quality. EFT Text 2015 and EFT Text 2001: Objectives and Approaches That said, the objectives and approaches of both EFT texts remain identical: help the learners develop four English skills through rehearsals,43 with the real-life simulation-based language learning conforming to CLT approaches.44 As attention is on the informative elements of language, the textbook’s principal task is to give plentiful freedoms to practice in a range of social circumstances.45

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Table 3.4 Distribution of marks paper 1 (for E.F.T. Text 2016) Total marks

Test items

Notes

Reading

60

Text material to be selected from the (English For Today) Textbook

Writing

40

Part I 01. Seen passage a.MCQ (guessing meaning from context) 05 b. Comprehension questions 10 02. Seen passage Information transfer/Flow chart 10 03. Seen passage/poem Summarizing 10 04.Cloze test with clues05 05. Cloze test without clues 10 06.Rearrange 10 Part II 07. Writing paragraph answering questions 10 08. Completing a story07 09. Writing informal letters/ e-mail 05 10. Analyzing maps/graphs/ charts10 11. Appreciating short stories/ poems (identifying the theme) 08

(Ucca Madthamic certificate Parikher Patha Shuchi 2014, 2015)42

Findings from Teachers’ FGD Session After they could confirm that the course objectives and approaches were clearly mentioned in the ELT prefaces, the teachers unanimously approved the CLT approach as being perfect for teaching the English language (given the learner’s communicative competence being the ultimate course objective). Acknowledging the similar activities to develop the various English skills in both texts, they also pointed out the paucity of activities for the development of learner-listening skills in the texts. Surprisingly the teachers mentioned how they usually did not emphasize the practice of all the activities in the class since, in the evaluation process, there was no scope or option for the evaluation of any learner-speaking and -listening skills. Since the students were not interested to practice these two skills-based activities, the argument of watering-down of skills development did not arise.

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Table 3.5 Findings from the teachers’ F.G.D. session No

Response

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Inclusion of course objectives and approaches clearly Objectives and approaches—same in both the texts Perfection of CLT approaches in teaching the four skills Both the texts having similar and some identical activities Not enough option for practicing listening Texts’ activities not enough for the development of four skills of English Teachers not focusing on the activities of the texts Gap between the texts’ activities and evaluation items Teachers’ using of medium of instruction Learning outcome-teachers’ and learners’ main concern Problems with some reading passages in both the texts Only difference lying in the size of the texts and cover pages Disproportionate frequency of different skills-based activities in both the texts Vocabulary list in each lesson in the previous version but not in the present one

Realities also impinged the texts. They mentioned two sources of pressure: the time-constraint in completing the syllabus before the examination; and from the authorities for these two issues. Instead they emphasized those activities from the two texts directly connected with the evaluation items just to improve examination scores. They pointed out how they were not asked for the development of students’ communicative competence in terms of speaking and listening. That was left for student motivation, based on speaking and listening skills, which we just observed was low-keyed. Some EFT texts passages in both texts were not appropriate, according to the teachers, for Higher Secondary students, though the problem was not as acute with the previous text as it was with the present. For example, they found the reading passage of Unit-20 Lesson-9 entitled, “The importance of money” as problematic in the previous text, but in the newer EFT text, they found problems with a good number of the reading passages and poems: in Unit-2, Lesson-4, for example, was entitled, “My Brother, the Traffic Policeman,” in Unit-10, Lesson-1 was entitled “What is a Dream,” in Unit-10, Lesson-2 entitled Dream Poems, in Unit-14, Lesson-1 was entitled, “What is Beauty,” in Unit15, Lesson-2 was entitled “Arriving in the Orient,” in Unit-15, Lesson-3 was entitled, “Imaginary Travel,” and in Unit-15, Lesson-4 was entitled, “The Wonders of Vilayet.” They shared how some of the passages of the

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newer text were not just copied and pasted from Internet, but without any editing, if only to simplify the meaning more easily for students. Once again, the watered-down thesis fed the “width” more than the comprehensive “depth” approach. Different skill-based activities get disproportionately presented in both the EFT texts, teachers argued. For example, they mentioned how in the entire previous EFT text, there was only one option for the practice of “Rearrange,” carrying 14 marks. By contrast, in the present EFT text, learners got the one-option chance to practice not only “Information transfer,” but also “Flow-chart” and “Graph description.” Further, each of these questions carried 10 marks in the evaluation process. In the present evaluation process there was no “True/False” item, but in the present text, students got it in the same format several times, thus giving more focus on some activities and not others. The previous EFT text was bigger, they posited, in terms of units and lessons than the present one, and both the texts-covers also differed. One of the remarkable changes between the texts is the inclusion of a vocabulary list in all the lessons of all the units of the previous version EFT text. Such a vocabulary list is absent in the present EFT text.

Discussions Identical curriculum objectives in both texts characterize the comparison, with enough activities for the practice and development of communicative competence of the learners. Each chapter had some objectives (mostly instructional) documented at the very beginning of any lesson in the previous EPT text, but not in the present EFT text. Since students get motivated by short-term objective-based activities, the present text should add them, just as the previous EFT vocabulary table of each lesson gave it an extra plus. Text activities and testing items were wide apart. Test activities help “development,” in this case, of learners’ communicative competence, with enough scope for “controlled exercises” and “free practices” for students. In the previous book students were asked 312 times by the teachers to practice in pairs or in groups, but in the present EFT text only 70 times. Practicing discussions and expressions is enhanced by group work, while also promoting oral conversations of ideas. Such practice develops classroom listening skill in a place where the learners find a controlledenvironment to correct. In the evaluation part, too, although the scope

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for learners to test their reading and writing skills is vast, there is no room to test student listening and speaking skills (see marks distribution in Tables 3.3 and 3.4). This incongruity between text activities and the evaluation process at the Higher Secondary level takes the motivation away from learners to practice. Insufficient scope for the development of learners’ listening skills in both the texts overlooks the fact that when learners practice speaking, they also get the opportunity to listen. In short, “development” was short-changed in this arena. This is consistent with the “width” approach of subordinating quality at the “forest” level (globally) to capture more audience. Teachers also reiterated how reading passages invite learners to read more. This was not the case, they said, in reading passage of Unit-10, Lesson-1, of the present EFT text, entitled, “What is Dream,” dealing with Freud’s theory of dream, it has not drawn student interest. Some poems, they pointed out, were also from tertiary level syllabuses of different universities: in the present EFT text, for example, in Unit-10, Lesson-2, Unit-12, Lesson-4, and in Unit-14 Lesson-1. This is a barrier, for learners, dissuading them to appreciate those poems. In the previous EFT text’s Unit-20, Lesson-9, the reading passage, “The importance of money,” had a long passage consisting of only two sentences, the second of which had 25 lines. Comprehension dives as the audience grows, but as student disinterest spirals, models challenging English as a second language also grow.

Conclusions Though the CLT approach is set in the curriculum for English teaching at the Higher Secondary level, and both the EFT texts show adequate design, including real-life context-based activities, students are not achieving communicative competence to develop all the four English skills. Perhaps the gap or incongruity between the text and the testing process is at fault. If the option for to evaluate four English skills was there, then both the groups—the teachers and the students—would take special care for improving all four skills, in turn, boosting not only the country’s “development” but also reinforcing “forest”-level salience of English. Both the groups (the teachers and the students) expressed concern with the result, and gave importance to the improving writing and reading skills. Here, the curriculum objective (to make the learners

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communicatively competent), ignores even the instructional objective, leaves teachers with only two skills to develop reading and writing. The key problem lies in the evaluation process. As a matter of fact, there is clear documentation of approaches and objectives, but not full reflection of the objective in the evaluation. As a result teachers and learners do not follow the activities of the texts. Only changing covers and reducing text-size will not bring success for the learners or make the learners communicatively competent. There should be some room in the evaluation process for speaking and listening skills-based items. For better understanding of reading passages, learners’ schemata should be active at the time of reading and the reading passages which have connection with learners’ background knowledge can help learners understand well.46 Reading passages or any poem should be such as to facilitate the development of learners’ reading skills. English pedagogical changes are not in line with prior testing levels. If congruence is maintained, ultimately pedagogical changes will contribute positively to Bangladesh’s overall educational “development.” As a matter of fact, English teaching-learning situation is beset with problems in testing, syllabus, curriculum, and text arenas, among others. Only implementing them pedagogically can help improvement. The underlying conflict between the texts and testing exposed this and other problems in developing students’ English listening and speaking skills. This finding alone can help relevant authorities enhance Bangladeshi learners’ English competency. Results at the “local”/“leaf” levels fall short of “tree”/ state here eventually do not conform to expectations of both Bangladeshi teachers and learners. Internal weaknesses can only echo only externally, at the “global”/“forest” level, since multiple countries belong to the “English as a second language” club. Whether Bangladesh’s specific experiences get replicated in other cases or not, traditional “development” is not happening: idiosyncratic interventions alter actual outcomes drastically from desired targeted ones. As variety enters any discussion of “development,” perhaps an in this age of increasing transparency, communications, and interactions is not conducive enough for intellectual growth.

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Recommendations Based on the findings from analysis of the two EFT (present and previous) texts and the FGD session with the teachers, some recommendations have been given below: 1. The curriculum developers should take special care to design the different items of the evaluation process focusing on the curriculum objective. 2. There should be a change in the evaluation process so that the learners may be encouraged to develop their speaking and listening skills. There should be some evaluation of learners’ speaking and listening skills. 3. Reading passages should be selected carefully concentrating on the need, interest, and background of the learners for the smooth development of learners’ reading skills. 4. The teachers can at least introduce some selected activities for the development of students’ speaking and listening skills and after regular interval they can ask for feedback. 5. The frequency of activities should be presented proportionately. 6. There is no alternative to motivation in this regard and so the teachers can make the students aware about the importance of listening and speaking skills and suggest them to practice English speaking wherever and whenever they find it convenient and even at home they can enjoy English cartoon and movie for their development of skills. Teachers can deliver their lecture in English and make the learners practice some speaking skills-based activities since through the process of conversation the learners will get chance to listen to English. 7. Some marks should be allotted for class participation and by this way learners’ presence in the class can be ensured. 8. Training of the teachers should also be ensured to apply the present approaches in the classroom.

Notes 1. Robert Phillipson, Linguistic Imperialism (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992).

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2. Shahen Ara, “The contribution of the communicative language teaching approach to teaching writing in the English classroom,” Harvest: Jahangirnagar Studies in Language and Literature, vol. 24 (2009): 9–26. 3. Sanjoy Kumar Mazumder, “Bangladeshi secondary teacher educators’ experiences and understandings of communicative language teaching (CLT),” Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Education at the University of Canterbury (2011). 4. Md. Masir Uddin (2001). 5. Md Minhajul Abedin, Saiful Hassan Khan Majlish and Shorna Akter, “Listening skill at tertiary level: A reflection,” The Dhaka University Journal of Linguistics, vol. 2 (2009): 69–90. Also see Shahen Ara (2009). 6. H Douglas Brown, Principles of Language Learning and Teaching (Prentice Hall Regents: Prentice Hall Inc: 1994), 226. 7. Dell Hymes, “1971” in Mohammad Elius Hossain, “English for today, for classes 9–10: An empirical study,” BRAC University Journal, vol. 1 (2010): 111–127. 8. Brian Tomlison, Materials Development in Language Teaching (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1989), viii. 9. Jack C. Richards and Theodore S. Rodgers, Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2001), 159. 10. Rumana Siddique, “CLT: Another assumed ideal from the west?,” The Dhaka University Studies, vol. 61, no. 1 (2004): 16. 11. Jeremy, Harmer, The Practice of English Language Teaching (Edinburgh: Person Education, 2001), 84. 12. Hans-Eberhard Piepho (1981) in Jack C. Richards and Theodore S. Rodgers, Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2001), 8. 13. Peter F. Oliva, Developing the Curriculum (New York: Person Education, 2009), 310. 14. Ibid., 310. 15. Ibid., 214–216. 16. Ibid., 460–461. 17. David Nunan, Syllabus Design (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988), 98. 18. Ibid., 98. 19. Ibid., 96. 20. Ibid., 70. 21. Ibid. 22. Ibid., 70. 23. Brian Tomlison (1998, ix). 24. Dawn Garinger, “Text book selection for the ESL classroom, Digest (2002), Retrieved on July 3, 2006. https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/vie wdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.507.8175&rep=rep1&type=pdf.

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25. Mohammad Elius Hossain. “English for today, for Classes 9–10: An empirical study,” BRAC University Journal, vol. 1 (2010): 113. 26. Ibid. 27. Alan Cunningworth, Choosing Your Coursebook (Great Britain: Heinemann, 1995), 117. 28. Jeremy Harmer (2001, 16–17). 29. George M. Jacobs and Jessica Ball, “An investigation of the structure of group activities in ELT text course books,” ELT Journal, vol. 50, no. 2 (1996): 99–101. 30. Andrew Harrison, A Language Testing Handbook (London and Basingstoke: Macmillan Publisher Ltd., 1983). 31. Arthur Hughes, Testing for Language Teachers (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1989). 32. Ibid., 4. 33. Md. Minhajul Abedin, “The present mode of teaching in the ELT classes at the Higher Secondary level in Bangladesh,” Stamford Journal of English, vol. 7 (2012): 2–3. 34. Rumana Siddique (2004, 15). 35. Mohammad Elius Hossain (2010, 111). 36. Muhmmed Shahidullah et al. (2001, 33). 37. Mohammad Elius Hossain (2010, 112). 38. Sanjoy Kumar Mazumder (2011, 4). 39. Shahen Ara (2009, 11). 40. Ibid. 41. Ucca Madthamic certificate Parikher Patha Shuchi, (Dhaka: NCTB, 2014), 61–62. 42. Ibid. Also see Ucca Madthamic certificate Parikher Patha Shuchi (Dhaka: NCTB, 2015), 61–62. 43. Narayan Chandra Paul in Quazi Mustain Billah, Fakrul Alam, Muhammed Shahidullah, Shamsad Mortuza, Zulfeqar Haider and Goutam Roy, English For Today For Classes 11–12 (Dhaka: National Curriculum and TextBook Board, 2015), iii. Also see Md. Masir Uddin in Dr. M Shahidullah et al. (2001). 44. Ibid. 45. Ibid. 46. Md Minhajul Abedin, Shorna Akter and Md. Julhas Uddin, “Reading skills of undergraduates in private universities: A schematic perspective,” Prime University Journal, vol. 3, no. 1 (2009): 121–137.

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Bibliography Abedin, Md Minhajul, Saiful Hassan Khan Majlish and Shorna Akter. 2009. “Listening skill at tertiary level: A reflection.” The Dhaka University Journal of Linguistics, vol. 2, no. 3: 69–90. Abedin, Md Minhajul, Shorna Akter and Md. Julhas Uddin. 2009. “Reading skills of undergraduates in private universities: A schematic perspective.” Prime University Journal, vol. 3, no. 1: 121–137. Abedin, Md. Minhajul. 2012. “The present mode of teaching in the ELT classes at the Higher Secondary level in Bangladesh.” Stamford Journal of English, vol. 7: 1–15. Ara, Shahen. 2009. “The contribution of the communicative language teaching approach to teaching writing in the English classroom.” Harvest: Jahangirnagar Studies in Language and Literature, vol. 24: 9–26. Brown, H. Douglas. 1994. Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. Prentice Hall Regents: Prentice Hall Inc. Chaudhury, Tazin Aziz. 2009. “Identifying the English language needs of humanities students at Dhaka University.” The Dhaka University Journal of Linguistics, 59–91. Cunningworth, Alan. 1995. Choosing Your Coursebook. Macmillan. Garinger, Dawn. 2002. “Text book selection for the ESL classroom.” ERIC DIGEST , 12. http://www.cal.org/resources/Digest/0210garinger. html. Retrieved on July 3, 2006. Harmer, Jeremy. 2001. The Practice of English Language Teaching. Edinburgh: Person Education. Hossain, Mohammad Elius. 2010. “English for today, for classes 9–10: An empirical study.” BRAC University Journal, vol. 1: 111–127. Hughes, Arthur. 1989. Testing for Language Teachers. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Hymes, Dell. 1971. “English for today, for classes 9–10: An empirical study.” In Hossain, Mohammad Elius. 2010. BRAC University Journal, vol. 1: 111– 127. Jacobs, George M. and Jessica Ball. 1996. “An investigation of the structure of group activities in ELT text coursebooks.” ELT Journal, vol. 50, no. 2: 99–107. Mazumder, Sanjoy Kumar. 2011. Bangladeshi Secondary Teacher Educators’ Experiences and Understandings of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT). Canterbury, NZ. From: https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download? doi=10.1.1.946.3372&rep=rep1&type=pdf. Retrieved on June 2015. Narayan Chandra Paul in Billah, Quazi Mustain, Fakrul Alam, Muhammed Shahidullah, Shamsad Mortuza and Zulfeqar Hai. 2015. English for Today for Classes 11–12. Dhaka: National Curriculum & Textbook Board. Nunan, David. 1988. Syllabus Design. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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Oliva, Peter F. 2009. Developing the Curriculum. New York, NY: Person Education. Phillipson, Robert. 1992. Linguistic Imperialism. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Piepho, Hans-Eberhard. 1981. “Approaches and methods in language teaching.” In Jack C. Richards and Theodore S. Rodgers. 2001. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Quazi Mustain, Billah, Fakrul Alam, Muhammed Shahidullah, Shamsad Mortuza and Zulfeqar Hai. 2015. English for Today for Classes 11–12. Dhaka: National Curriculum & Textbook Board. Richards, Jack C. and Theodore S. Rodgers. 2001. Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Shahidullah, Muhammed, Jahurul Islam, Iffat Ara Nasreen Majid and Najma Shams. 2001. English for Today for Classes 11–12. Dhaka: National Curriculum & Textbook Board. Siddique, Rumana. 2004. “CLT: Another assumed ideal from the west?” The Dhaka University Studies, vol. 61, no. 1: 15–26. Tomlison, Brian. 1989. Materials Development in Language Teaching. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Ucca Madthamic certificate Parikher Patha Shuchi. 2014. Dhaka: NCTB. Ucca Madthamic certificate Parikher Patha Shuchi. 2015. Dhaka: NCTB.

CHAPTER 4

Pixar in Classrooms Refat Ara Jerin

Introduction One of the media sources that has had a great impact on learning and teaching objectives with surprising positive results is the cinema visual medium, especially animation. Exposure to various two and threedimensional animated films have given new perspectives of studying enhanced cognitive and creative skills in academic institutions, and thereby enhancing pedagogical ‘development’. Pixar Animation Studios have produced animated films, featuring simplistic narrative structure, memorable characters, vivid visuals, and relatable universal themes that resonate stronger among young audiences despite cultural differences.1 This study investigates whether Pixar animated films, both short and feature-length, can be used as a source of curriculum content in classrooms, then whether ‘local’ observations become a ‘development’ piece at the country level to be able to fit in other countries. If so, it is also pertinent to discover how and in what

R. A. Jerin (B) Department of Media and Communication, School of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB), Dhaka, Bangladesh e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 I. A. Hussain (ed.), Multifaceted Development, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1798-3_4

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ways these films would serve and facilitate or hamper the growth of cognitive and creative skills, among the students of 4–7th Grade of an English medium school in Dhaka. It is important to address the significance of such research: media have infiltrated, taken shape, and has become a part of society. Every participant in society has been exposed to the power and sources of media, at every organizational and institutional level. There have been constant observations on media effects upon the different participants of society, where young viewers play a very important role. As technology advances, the use of media contents as sources of information and examples in classrooms has also become a common practice in schools, in turn opening a window through which ‘local’ advances could become ‘global’, just as animated films entered from that ‘global’ arena to the ‘local’. Perhaps because Pixar animated films are primarily in English, their popularity among young audiences globally raises the proposal of English as a language also thriving as a spin-off, even though nationalism pushing ‘local’ languages over ‘global’ ones, in a way animation does not. As the previous chapter shows this impediment growing for English, animation may fit the bill of a less pedantic global population in the future. How these films can be approached and screened with utmost reliability across language barriers in classrooms boosts not just entertainment but also enlightenment on an increasingly diversified planet.

Background The use of multimedia in education has been the main focus of many researchers and analysts. Constant collection of relevant data and information helps understand how the media greatly impact young audiences and why identified impacts may change concepts of education studies. Supporting this theory, researchers Richard E. Mayer and Roxana Moreno have examined the role of animation in multimedia learning by applying cognitive theories, arguing learners can better understand the substantive content.2 Both the researchers found improved comprehension of theories of multimedia principle (present animation and narration rather than narration alone), temporal contiguity principle (present corresponding animation and narration simultaneously rather than successively), coherence principle (exclude extraneous words, sounds, and video), redundancy principle (present animation and narration rather than animation, narration, and on-screen text), and personalization principle (present words in

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conversational rather than formal style). Their findings also reaffirm why animations are well perceived by young audiences rather than other media content. On the other side of the spectrum, analyzing the counter-effect of animation, i.e., too much exposure to animation in education, researchers Barbara Tversky and Julie Bauer Morrison suggest too much exposure could be ‘distracting’ (‘from its original content’), or ‘harmful’ (‘when conveying important ideas’).3 Quantitative analysis not only ‘calculates’, but also supplies data demonstrating those negative effects of animation on students. Other detailed studies show animations have not actually facilitated learning abilities, and why such exposure creates psychological oppressions, too much dependence, and a lesser grip with realities. In an age of modernizing in just about every domain of human life, these observations strengthen the argument why no ‘one-track’ approach can reproduce the original: too many person- or institution- or mediaspecific variables intervene to alter the desired outcome. In short, they promote an alternate platform in the learning process; and since this learning process in the modern age represents one strand or another of ‘westernization’, this appraisal, without distracting at all from ‘westernization’ shows how multiple platforms can coexist, not just with routine texts, but the same message each text portrays through animation of sorts. What this means is how ‘western’ ideas flow as much into ‘non-western’ societies as ‘non-western’ do to ‘western’, thus inviting a different breed of the net population (much like having multiple ways of learning any given script), but playing the same ‘development’ game as we are accustomed to, that is, ‘local’ and ‘global’ dynamics meshing with each other, just as ‘western’ and ‘non-western’ traits also blend.

Method Participants Data was collected over a 1-year period (one academic year) using a purposive sample of Second Language English-speaking students from Year 5 to Year 8, attending one specific school in Dhaka, Bangladesh. A total of 55 students were academically observed as a part of this research (32 males, 23 females), classified and categorized into groups of the same class they attended. This makes it a ‘place-related’ study, a ‘local’ appraisal of scripts from the ‘global’ domain.

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Year 5 consisted of 10 students (7 males, 3 females); Year 6 consisted of 12 students (7 males, 5 females); Year 7 consisted of 18 students (8 males, 10 females); Year 8 consisted of 15 students (6 males, 9 females). Materials Since the research relied upon and was limited to just the samples, descriptive analysis of the collected quantitative data proved most appealing. Two sets of cumulative data (students’ grades) were collected; the first time following their half-yearly examination which was prior to the exposure to Pixar animated films, and the second following the students’ final exam, after they were subtly exposed to the films. Procedure The data collected, before and after the exposure to Pixar films, of the student records came only from the following courses, through the assistance of the respective course instructors: English Language (creative writing), Geography, General Science, and General Education. Census of only class test marks and exam grades were collected, while keeping the names and identities of the students anonymous. Class tests were always out of 20 marks, while the half-yearly and final term exam weighed out of 30.

Results The sample data collected went through the descriptive analysis method and therefore, and calculated the mean, median, mode, and the percentage of students’ grades, before and after screening and incorporating Pixar animated films as course content. This allowed differentiating the impact and outcome from the exposure. The mean, median, and mode scores for Year 5 to Year 8 are reported in Tables 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 4.8, 4.9, 4.10, 4.11, 4.12, 4.13, 4.14, 4.15 and 4.16 each recording the scores attained by students before and after Pixar was introduced in the curriculum. In the overall, test and examination score data collected indicate exposure to Pixar films in the classroom as curriculum content boosted the students’ cumulative scores from Year 5 to Year 8. While almost all classes demonstrated a significant increase in their test grades, counter-effects of

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Table 4.1 Mean, median, and mode scores of year 5 students’ class tests (before Pixar)

Table 4.2 Mean, median, and mode scores of year 5 students’ half-year exam (before Pixar)

Table 4.3 Mean, median, and mode scores of year 5 students’ class tests (after Pixar)

Table 4.4 Mean, median, and mode scores of year 5 students’ final term exam (after Pixar)

Table 4.5 Mean, median, and mode scores of year 6 students’ class tests (before Pixar)

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Courses

Mean

Median

Mode

English Language Geography General Science General Education

9.4 8.5 8.7 6.15

9.25 8 9 5

13 8 9 5

Courses

Mean

Median

Mode

English Language Geography General Science General Education

21.1 18.7 22 20.4

21 20 18 20

21 18 19 13

Courses

Mean

Median

Mode

English Language Geography General Science General Education

16.4 15.5 17 19.7

17 14.5 16 18

17 15 16 18.5

Courses

Mean

Median

Mode

English Language Geography General Science General Education

24.2 29.7 25 27.1

24 26.5 26 25

24 28.5 24.5 26

Courses

Mean

Median

Mode

English Language Geography General Science General Education

13.4 10.2 7.8 12.5

10 7.5 8 6

10 7.5 8 6

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Table 4.6 Mean, median, and mode scores of year 6 students’ half-year exam (before Pixar)

Table 4.7 Mean, median, and mode scores of year 6 students’ class tests (after Pixar)

Table 4.8 Mean, median, and mode scores of year 6 students’ final term exam (after Pixar)

Table 4.9 Mean, median, and mode scores of year 7 students’ class tests (before Pixar)

Table 4.10 Mean, median, and mode scores of year 7 students’ half-year exam (before Pixar)

Courses

Mean

Median

Mode

English Language Geography General Science General Education

20.1 22 15.5 12.7

18 17 16.5 17

12 15 18 17

Courses

Mean

Median

Mode

English Language Geography General Science General Education

15.5 12.5 13 14

14 10 12 13

14 11 12 13.5

Courses

Mean

Median

Mode

English Language Geography General Science General Education

13 29 28 15.7

13 19 16 13

12 20 16 13

Courses

Mean

Median

Mode

English Language Geography General Science General Education

20.5 14.5 17 19

16 16 14 14

12 14 15 14

Courses

Mean

Median

Mode

English Language Geography General Science General Education

22.4 18 22 23.6

23 15 18 13.5

20 16 18 15

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Table 4.11 Mean, median, and mode scores of year 7 students’ class tests (after Pixar)

Table 4.12 Mean, median, and mode scores of year 7 students’ final term exam (after Pixar)

Table 4.13 Mean, median, and mode scores of year 8 students’ class tests (before Pixar)

Table 4.14 Mean, median, and mode scores of year 8 half-year exam (before Pixar)

Table 4.15 Mean, median, and mode scores of year 8 students’ class tests (after Pixar)

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Courses

Mean

Median

Mode

English Language Geography General Science General Education

36.7 32 37 29.7

17.5 16 18 18.5

17 18 12 17

Courses

Mean

Median

Mode

English Language Geography General Science General Education

27 29 28 29.6

26.5 27 26 24

26 27 26 25

Courses

Mean

Median

Mode

English Language Geography General Science General Education

13.4 15.4 10 17

10 8 10 12

9 8 10 11

Courses

Mean

Median

Mode

English Language Geography General Science General Education

20.1 28.4 26.5 23.2

13 18 18 17

20 15 18 17

Courses

Mean

Median

Mode

English Language Geography General Science General Education

27.7 22.5 26 24.5

18 16 19 17

18 17 19 17

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Table 4.16 Mean, median, and mode scores of year 8 students’ final term exam (after Pixar)

Courses

Mean

Median

Mode

English Language Geography General Science General Education

32.4 28 29 25.7

28 27 27 26

28 28 27 27

the exposure to Pixar films were noted in Year 6. Tables 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, and 4.8 show these computations. Final term scores of students drastically dropped for English Language and General Education examinations, reaffirming the negative impact of visual media on young viewers. Furthermore, Year 8 demonstrated a drastic increase in their English Language course, along with creative writing, as evident in Tables 4.15 and 4.16. Upon further investigation with the course instructor, it was also revealed that the students of Year 8 began showing more in English grammar skills and the use of vocabularies to express ideas in text and writing.

Discussions From collective and combined appraisals, we note a significant rise in grades among most students in all years. This is consistent with the Mayer and Moreno conclusions, exposure to visual medium positively impacts the students’ learning experience. It is also evident that students began showing more interest in classrooms, especially for the courses applying this teaching method. Instructors also noted how students in the investigated courses began showing more comprehension, participation, and curiosity to learn and pay attention in class. Students were far more responsive and participatory, as they began drawing ideas and examples from certain scenes of the films that correlate with their study content. Furthermore, students were able to craft newer thoughts and ideas to tasks, hence making them fear less of class-work assessments and more enthusiastic. Upon inquiry why Year 6 saw a slight decline in the students’ final term exam mean score in English Language and General Education (as indicated in Tables 4.7 and 4.8) with the course instructor, it was revealed that the students began relying too much on media content for their source of inspiration during their creative writing sessions:

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contents included copying of characters, subliminal narratives, and even the themes. The instructor further noted how, after three screenings in classroom, students began requesting more visual content: either scenes from a Pixar feature or a Pixar short film. Students began withdrawing from proper class participation and therefore, started taking the screening sessions for granted. There was a lack of interest in reading and writing, as these students felt that the visual media and relying on the said visual media were effortless, thus withdrew from the reading and writing in routine style. Tversky’s and Morrison’s analysis of the counter-effect of animation were supported in this study. The results found in this research also imply a strong sense of use, sometimes abuse, and most importantly, the impact of media on education curriculum. Based on the findings of only one school, incorporating Pixar Animated Films and Shorts to the pedagogical platform carries the crucial advantage of enhancing cognitive skills in students’ education scenario. In the current day and age, when everyone must rely on digital media on a regular basis for any type of communication, let alone education, and on top of that harmonizing comprehension across language barriers, incorporated Pixar animation as an educational catalyst tool might be a blessing in disguise. for the young minds. This recommendation is not only for English medium private schools in Dhaka, but also at Bangla medium schools following national curriculum in Dhaka, and English version schools following national curriculum in Dhaka. Applying audio-visual content as a learning aid and a part of the curriculum may allow students to enhance education performances, the very epitome of ‘development’ with education as its backbone. Western educational institutions have already begun incorporating visual media content in their curriculum, though adding mainstream Pixar animated films into the academic curriculum could be expanded. It might offer non-western educational institutions one more instrument to bridge the knowledge gap with their western counterparts. Since this research also revealed how students exposed to Pixar films also showed a drastic improvement in their English Language skills. In the Bangladeshi context, English is spoken and practiced as a Second Language, hence second language speakers of English showed more confident to speak or even express their thoughts in this foreign language, although the previous chapter noted from a more focused investigation how the quality of English being learned is actually deteriorating.

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This study’s findings are not exclusive to a particular type of school or students, but its inclusive and applicable traits should be more universally attractive. As mentioned previously, where Pixar animation can be incorporated in the course curriculum of any school, regardless of the curriculum they study. To extend this claim even further, due to the positive reinforcement of Pixar films in education is quite evident through this research, this practice may also be applicable in other countries as well, where English is practiced as a Second Language.

Conclusions Adding visual media into traditional methods of learning and teaching is growing, and with it implementing strategies favoring that have also expanded creative and cognitive skills. English medium schools in Dhaka may have started applying such learning and teaching methods, yet at grassroots levels only, that is, at the ‘leaf’ level. The findings from this research are a prime example of how the local-level application of visual medium, in this case Pixar animated films, can enjoy a reciprocal relationship with ‘global’ audiences and initiatives, in turn reinforcing and enlightening education, individually, socially, nationally, and pedagogically. All of these add bits and pieces to ‘development’, in this case of the education system. Bangladesh can profit from such progressive pedagogical methods. When applying visual media to education, the intended contents to be screened for educational purposes can be tailored for each class. Yet too much exposure can also have negative effects on the creative and cognitive skills of young viewers, but in a package with visual media content should be implemented into academic curriculum for enhanced skills among the young students, but in a package with precautionary measures (such as the number of viewings, gate-keeping scenes depending on relevance, and proper application of the viewings in the course content). This research’s findings fit beyond English medium classrooms outside Dhaka and Bangladesh, indeed, wherever knowledge-enhancement is pursued, keeping it as a robust example of ‘westernization’, yet in which the flow can be reversed: ‘non-western’ animation can permeate ‘western audiences’ theoretically. In addition to streamlining ‘western’ and ‘nonwestern’ domains, animation also helps break cultural barriers even within the ‘western’ world (for example, the French and Anglo Saxons), and within eastern contexts (Arabs and Persians), if employed adroitly. As

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this issue does see more streamlining than conflict between ‘modernization’ and ‘post-modernities’, and it belongs better as in a ‘culture-based’ context than ‘place’-related since every place can accommodate animation, but not all ‘cultures’ can fit animation in.

Notes 1. E. Herhuth, “Cooking like a rat: Sensation and politics in Disney-Pixar’s Ratatouille,” Quarterly Review of Film and Video 31 (2014): 469–485; C. Leslie, “Pixar shorts: Handling tough emotions,” Screen Education, Issue 75 (2014): 24–29; and T. Porter & G. Susman, “Creating lifelike characters in Pixar movies,” Communications of the ACM 43, Issue 1 (2000): 25–29. 2. Richard E. Mayer & R. Moreno, “Animation as an aid to multimedia learning,” Educational Psychology Review 14, Issue 1 (2002): 87–99. 3. B. Tversky & Julie B. Morrison, “Animation: Can it facilitate?,” International Journal Human-Computer Studies, 247–262.

Bibliography Herhuth, E. (2014). “Cooking like a rat: Sensation and politics in Disney-Pixar’s Ratatouille.” Quarterly Review of Film and Video, vol. 31: 469–485. Leslie, C. (2014). “Pixar shorts: Handling tough emotions.” Screen Education, Issue 75: 24–29. Mayer, Richard E. & Moreno, R. (2002). “Animation as an aid to multimedia learning.” Educational Psychology Review 14, Issue 1: 87–99. Porter, T. & Susman, G. (2000). “Creating lifelike characters in Pixar movies.” Communications of the ACM 43, Issue 1: 25–29. Tversky, B. & Morrison, Julie B. (2002). “Animation: Can it facilitate?” International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 247–262.

CHAPTER 5

Unplugging the Matrix: Bridging the Urban–Rural Gap Tanvir Ahmed Haroon

Introduction Universities may be exciting places replete with new experiences, but when the four undergraduate years finish, will the student be prepared to face a far different world than at the time of admission? Will the urbanite student with expert skills in virtual reality, social media engagements, and hands-on experiences with all modern devices be ready to challenge the future, let alone live in the rural-dominated past? Of particular interest to migrant students from rural backgrounds and as a ‘frontier’ for urban-born-and-bred counterparts to explore, this matter could feed into the quality of the modernizing experiences unfolding in any ‘Global South’ country. Whether unplugging students from the virtual reality world and teleporting them to the real rural world, or replugging those with one foot in traditional culture and the other testing the modern world simply to refine the modernizing process, a true eye-opening

T. A. Haroon (B) Department of Environment, School of Environment & Life Science, Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB), Dhaka, Bangladesh e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 I. A. Hussain (ed.), Multifaceted Development, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1798-3_5

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journey opens up. Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB), opened LFE 201, entitled ‘Live in-Field Experience’, to capture and finesse these transitions. Beyond bridging gaps, LFE 201 also tones down the modernization speed, if only to cultivate the remnants of the world’s most vulnerable country against climate-change imperatives: a thoroughly deltaic Bangladesh, filled as it is with eroding hillsides and toxic rivers, an imperiled life-saving mangrove, and catering to a million refugees. These constitute the ‘local’ challenges to Bangladesh’s ascent into middle-income demands. Typical LFE 201 students join a group to be sent to a distant rural place for twelve days. When s/he returns, full of tears, and with neverbefore-felt experiences, wiser than before, and full of humanity and humility, it will be akin to taking a breather from the material growth of being educated, and rekindling memories of the past, fonder with each passage of time. Laurence Wylie eloquently depicted such a transformation in France’s rural exodus from the 1950s, mournfully lamenting of “the world we have lost”. In short, as Harvard University noted in the third edition of his classic (Village in the Vaucluse,1 researched during his maiden visit to Peyrane village in the early 1950s in south-west France), as the country had “become a primarily industrial nation” by his third visit in the 1970s, “French village life ha[d] changed in many ways”, even more so by the 1990s, when he witnessed “the Peyranais’ gradual assimilation into the outside world they once staunchly resisted, the flux of the village population, and the general transformation in the character of French rural communities”.2 Similar changes have been unfolding closer to home. William and Charlotte Wisers noted them in India in their equally classical Behind Mud Walls 3 : “.… Karimpur in 1920s was different from Karimpur in the second half of the century … because of the changes in the roles of women over the years, the decline in the caste and jajmani system, and increased education … changes … tied to each other … a change in one system [bringing] a change in another”.4 These snippets underlie the IUB LFE 201 mission: to capture the unique yet versatile and ever-adaptive experience of sustaining as much of the ‘old’ in accelerating ‘new’ frontiers. Twenty-first Century urbanites experienced mostly disconnected lives from the very roots of the rural community. This is not necessarily a fault of their own. With the ever-changing landscape (from lush green to grey

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concrete jungle), the rural connections and touch with nature have rapidly changed. Compounding the effect is the lack of campus playgrounds in congested metropolitans, a university education paying more attention to the theoretical than the practical, and the increasing dependence on or addiction to social media and the virtual world than plights possibly unfolding in the country’s ‘back-yard’. Urbanization has never been limited to any part of the world. It has had a history of attracting people through ‘pull’ factors in many cases, as much for economic engagement as for educational opportunities. At the other extreme lie ‘push’ factors, portraying more crises of sorts, be they economic, environmental, or political, and many, if not all, conflated by the urbanization process, among other factors. Bangladesh experienced all of the above. Its urban population has exploded from 15% or so at the time of independence to two-thirds of the country’s 170 million population in 2022. This means at least half the population born in 2020 never witnessed rural life, while in the 1970s more than half had not experienced urban life. Disparities of this sort have consequences. Dhaka itself may be able to accept this flow of migrants, whether temporarily or permanently, but at the cost of food, health, sanitation, and other amenities basic to Twenty-first-Century living. Urban life directly constrains upon population size, density, as well as the social structure, culture, personality, and heterogeneity. These cannot be ignored, especially by those living in self-constructed bubbles.5 Despite plunging into urbanization and industrialization, Bangladesh’s rural and agrarian outlook remains. Though the definition of rural is slowing changing, the country is moving toward the path of a peri-urban than the rural community of the early ‘70s or even the early’90s. Two out of three persons in our population depend on agriculture directly or indirectly for livelihood and sustenance. The occupational structure remains predominantly agricultural even as manufacturing production, transport, trade, and services attract more each year. This sheer dependency on agriculture is due to lack of work opportunities in non-agriculture sectors while the vastness of the size of the agriculture-labor explains why underemployment riddles the sector. Agriculture of a seasonal nature also invites agricultural unemployment.6 A peasant or a rural inhabitant becomes the main mode of production in Bangladesh, even in its drift toward that peri-urban allusion, with technology catalyzing the spread. It might be affecting the agricultural sector, which is about as ‘local’ as ‘development’ trajectories go, but agriculture

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remains the heart of the country-minded inhabitant. Since ‘the village is the peasant’s world’, to paraphrase Teodor Shanin, an understanding of the village ‘locality’, the peasantry, and their relationship with the country at large is essential for every member of the polity. The urbanite student is the result of the large-scale exodus of the rural population to the urban centers during the late ‘80s to mid-’90s. Over time the systematic understanding and study of the village community (the ‘local’ being the analytical ‘leaf’ level) impacted every concerned individual, especially urban students (at a broader analytical ‘tree’ setting), slowing losing connections with the villages. Rural poverty, unemployment and the chain reaction of both create in the urbans cannot be ignored, since they all add up at the national level (part of the analytical ‘forest’). Access to education and employment in the urban cities spin off from higher economic growth, with an increasing proportion of students studying in the more expensive private universities. Such a vacuous ‘local’– ‘tree’– ‘forest’ reality is disturbing, which no term other than being ‘unplugged’ from reality better exposes the growing abyss. Social, economic, religious, and cultural chasms can be found in every nook and corner, which the student mostly fails to recognize. Differences and sensitivity only intensify. The lack of this skill and understanding impedes the ability of the individuals to perform adequately. ‘Why’ must this status continue? The most understandable yet the most important answer is also simply put: urbanites remain the largest portion of the country’s consumers of just about any product available.

“What is ‘real’? How does one define ‘real’? If one is talking about what one can feel, what one can smell, what one can taste and see, then real is simply electrical signals interpreted by one’s brain” [sic]. —The Matrix

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Live In-Field Experience (LFE) ‘Innovative’, ‘insightful’, ‘dynamic’, and ‘evolutionary’ may be the simplest LFE definitions from participants. Among private universities in the country (country symbolizing the ‘forest’ level), the IUB initiative firmly re-connects/ensures the graduating urban student (urban areas being the ‘tree’ level, in this case, the denizen making ‘forest’ plans), or is at least cognizant of her/his/the country’s roots through first-hand experiences, across numerous rural ‘localities’ (‘leaf’ level). The principal LFE idea is to unplug from the bubble, to show ‘leaf’-level reality in its full colors. The key IUB belief to harness leadership skills among its students, and to serve not only the country, but also humanity, cannot happen without student cognizance of how the country revolves around rural areas. How they live becomes a part and parcel of education anywhere in the country. Cultivating the difference between urban (‘trees’) and rural (‘leaf’) lifestyles more pointedly themselves, and promoting twoway relationships even as the country becomes more urban, both feed the country’s most needed goal of national integration and the scholarly need for new data from needs and wants of the country. At the ‘forest’ level, climate change and U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) demand this conjunction as a statement as a starting point. In this view, the mandatory IUB program for all students, irrelevant of school or department or major, is a course ensuring every student to disconnect from their bubbles and be plugged into the real world via adulthood learning life skills, better communication abilities, and taking up challenges in a situation that are alien to most of them.

“I’m trying to free your mind. But I can only show you the door. You’re the one that has to walk through it.” —The Matrix.

This compulsory LFE 201 course serves as an important vehicle toward attaining such a goal. It opens the door to a wider world. But to have one utilize that opportunity opens gateways to understanding rural life, and with it the predominant cultures, values, principles, and economic modes necessary for comparative rural–urban studies. What exists with

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more or less technology, exchanging experiences under different times, experiencing different lifestyles, all go into nurturing the more worldly individual that the LFE mission nurtures.

“Don’t Think You Are, Know You Are.” —The Matrix

To know and grow means to live and see the village community, and thereby gain first-hand knowledge of the lifestyle of the peasant population. One can only begin to work toward the improvement of current conditions by learning about ‘local’ or ‘leaf’-level problems. Since the Liberation War (1971) , Bangladeshis have experienced how, in the name of rural upliftment, village development, and ‘empowerment’ of the rural masses (especially women community), nothing substantial has happened toward achieving the goals. The IUB commitment (from a ‘tree’ perspective) is to a systematic field study and comprehension of the village (or ‘leaf’-level locality) as a step toward enhancing both the rural stock of experiences and the collection of urban–rural relations. This involves two key facets: (a) dealienation: impacting both the urban student and village community; and (b) stark-reality recognition: the discovery of some of the stark realities of Bangladesh not only its abysmal poverty and backwardness, but also how life can be quite simple and viable without lots of amenities, resources, and facilities. As an LFE outcome, unplugging from bubble reality bridges the gap between the historical knowledge and the present. Almost all exercises help us learn slices of the root of our culture (particularly how village and rural communities evolved, what keeps them so hinged, and why, under changed circumstances, these dynamics need to be sustained). Such knowledge merges practical skill and knowledge in the country’s serene rural environment (‘local’) with a theoretical setting understood not only in urban areas (‘trees’) but also the world over (‘forest’).

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Objective Any urban ‘concrete jungle’ and everyone living in it enveloped in a social media represent a virtual reality construction. With personal contacts diminishing, the IUB takeaway was to add action-plans to the growing desires of restoring root-connections to alienated generations of students. Logging two decades of experiences, the LFE initiative remains as conceptually clear and important today as when it first started. Even amid Covid-19 pandemic, it opted for a ‘book-alternative’, as opposed to deepfreezing the program itself for the duration, just to keep the relative ‘juices’ flowing. LFE activities develop life skills by design and impress the young minds of the large and vital socio-economic rural laboratory where a large proportion of the country’s people live, and to get to know them culturally, sociologically, economically, and politically. Are they the key vehicles of downwardly technological transmission and upwardly mobile sustainable indigenous responses? Projecting solely urban problems, which takes away a good portion of the population from the equation but also the kernels of ‘development’, is like a half-filled bottle of incomplete understanding of the community as a whole, while continuing to remain pertinent for the future of Bangladesh. This gap will be detrimental to the future socio-economic and socio-political ‘development’ of this country as it will sharpen cleavages between the urban and rural populations, a process already underway. Knowing the rural situation proves more valuable than urban knowledge, since urban lifestyles change constantly, influenced by both economic refugees from impoverished rural areas and newer technologies. These sudden urban migrants create large pockets of overcrowded and unclean slums, exacerbating disease outbreaks, particularly in a pandemic, or even damage ecological infrastructure, as the over-crowding of Dhaka does particularly to its rivers. Slums become potential centers of social unrest, affecting our politics, society, and economic well-being. Without controlling our village flows, this urban degradation cannot be tackled. Other impinging factors include awareness of the environment and access to education. Thus, when making decisions and ‘developing’ economic activities dissemination rather than centralization is important. But one cannot understand this if one does not experience it. This is the ‘experience’ component of the LFE rubric.

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‘Curious’, ‘exceptional’, ‘illumination’, lively, exciting, uncommon, self-discipline, tardiness, adaptive, organized eye-opener—all expose perspectives of how the LFE venue is a loving experience and growing exercise, from the obscured view of an isolated ‘tree’ or city. Spending 12 days away from family and friends, staying in hostels, sharing amenities and utilities but without the luxury of their own homes consists of a kind of a huge leap out of the comfort zone for such LFE ventures. Waking up in the early morning, having breakfast, lunch dinner on time, staying over 7 hours in the field experiencing how farmers and rural workers must stay and work twice as long each day to just to make the two ends meet, then an extra few hours on lecture and group works, all become a part and parcel of a typical LFE day. The host organization, as seen in Fig. 5.1, arranges where they stay, study, eat, and work. Elsewhere, the host organization facilitates the student’s village work, designed to build a robust, all-rounded country. How this is nurtured and disseminated more widely is important, beginning with those students returning to their campus to submit a written report. Over time, with their input the LFE program builds a network of possible host agencies, a tally likely to grow as the plight of threatening crises (river toxicity, land erosion, deforestation, and so forth), grow.

Unplugging Three different life segments constituting LFE 201 depict how the ‘developmental’ ‘leaf’ and ‘tree’ levels mix: classroom lectures (‘tree’), study assignments (‘tree’ mixing with the ‘leaves’), and living (‘leaf’ experiences). There is no substitute for a personal experience in visiting villages, the socio-economic conditions prevalent, and possible constraints. Even Google searches or typical conferences or library investigations cannot equal the depth, effort, and enthusiasm of the LFE experience. Only one’s own senses, eyes, and hands can capture the essences of rural poverty and rural development, as well as the efforts that go into them. In short, an IUB LFE experience resembles a pebble thrown in the pond (‘leaf’) whose ripples reach every countryside shore (‘tree’, then ‘forest’). Students will find the present Bangladesh rural condition has become a function of population dynamics, undeveloped resource base, low level of education, and poor management both at national and local levels. Over the past fifty-odd years there have been many attempts to improve the situation through projects and programs, yet none compares

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Host Organization

IUB Sudents.

Villagers

IUB Faculty

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Fig. 5.1 The host organization

to the hands-on experiences LFE students accumulate since the ‘heart’, ‘mind’, and ‘soul’ of at least one other rural resident. Against the poverty they confront, LFE hope steps in to inspire them to step in and chip in. With proper guidance, the students should trace the root cause to the poor social and political rural research management and opportunities. Five major themes typically greet the LFE student, all rooted in and reflecting rural communities, encapsulated in Fig. 5.2: market analysis; environmental and health; microcredit; village resources; and local politics.

Market Analysis

Envionment and Health

Microcredit

Fig. 5.2 L.F.E. Welcoming themes

Village resources

Local Politics

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LFE Experiences Figure 5.3 shows the ‘experience’ of the LFE sojourn to each student. The journey starts with three orientation classes on the IUB campus, in which students break up into groups. Beginning with on-campus basic training on communication skills and other important and logistical elements they need for the entire event, they set off for the playground. Two more orientations await them upon arrival, one with the local host explaining the situation of the villages and do’s and don’ts, and the sensitivity issues of the local community, among others. This is for accustoming the students to a village viewpoint, not urban. Spending time with roommates is a critical part of the LFE mission since many may be meeting fellow students for the first time. Hostel arrangements also give them a new view of social skill development. Intended to enable local communities to conduct their analysis and to plan and take action,7 any PRA (participatory rural appraisal) and RRA (rapid rural appraisal) involvement (as shown in Figure 5.3) promotes project staff-learning alongside villagers, about the village, a workable and effective formula for the student in understating and communicating with other students. The exposure focuses on the practical part, starting with village walks, rapport-building with the host organization

A. LFE

B.

C. Interactions/Socilaization.

PRA/RRA

D. Rural View

E.

F.

Concept Challange

NEW OUTCOME

Fig. 5.3 The ‘Experience’ component of the L.F.E. Study sojourn

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and village guides, topographical-excursions to know about the geography of the village. In the past only hand-drawn maps were used, but with new technology, both hand-drawn maps and GPS guides, along with village-assisted participatory and historical maps, also expose and attract local narratives to the students about the place. Communication techniques taught in the briefing session are useful here for students, whereas faculties judge student articulation abilities to immerse themselves and converse with the villagers, how they manage their temperament and overall behavior with the community. Interaction and socialization usually fall into two folds, one with the village and host community, the other with the classmates. Many of the students may not have ever shared a room and amities in their pre-LFE years. LFE mediation when conflicts helps reduce the differences between them and seek resolutions, thus enhancing yet other non-rural and more universal skills. During the sessions, lectures, and field works, the student is encouraged to engage in social activities. On the last night a ‘Gala and Cultural Night’ brings the hosts as invited guests, with the students taking on the host’s responsibilities of cooking and arranging the event with the help of the faculties and actual hosts. This is usually the pinnacle of interacting and socialization for a student here. Usually at the end of the last night and once students reach the university, nostalgia typically engulfs the students. Since fieldwork breeds understanding of the social and economic dynamics within the villages, the student finds opportunities to not only view but empathize with the community and in the process, the value of simplifying everything from conversations to expectations with new realities as in conception in behaviors. Correlating the hard work and dedication of the villages, which contrasts the relative luxury and daily amenities of urban life, becomes a fundamental learning lesson for the average person. This mindset is expected to change, as handling reality is not only sought from the LFE experience, but it is also expected, cultivated, and cultured.

“Walking a mile in someone else’s shoes isn’t as much about the walk or the shoes, it’s to be able to think like they think, feel what

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they feel, and understand why they are who and where they are. Every step is about empathy.”--Toni Sorenson.

The LFE conceptual exercise exposes how students understand differences. Registering these in their daily journals, presentations, shared stories with the villagers, sometimes with other students in groups with villagers, and in sharing their knowledge and skill, e.g., teaching in a class, playing games, or even helping in the fields, say a lot more than written, spoken, or imparted words can. Helping the elderly or helping someone with their household fits the bill of permissible experiences and engagements in sensitive local debates conflicts and village politics. Learning what to encourage and discourage begins right in the countryside through first-hand experiences. This ultimately becomes the main challenge in conceptually reshaping the student. Such changes are expected to be irreversible. One LFE outcome is to develop an understanding of all social changes, but how each empowers the student with some of the skills necessary to embark upon postuniversity challenges becomes the long-term residue which cannot be graded: how it is picked up is the LFE measurement essence. The outcome helps the student to deal with the changes and open-endedness in deciding jobs the student will persue. If the net effect is to mesh the rural-urbanite contexts, and gram Bangla (a village in Bangladesh) becomes a part of each student’s dictionary mindset and vocabulary, a large part of the pedagogical mission will have been attained.

Challenges Normally logistic and social challenges exist when trying something new. IUB start-ups, too, faced challenges from urbanites to explain the rationale and importance of such an exercise. Results spoke for themselves, which helped keep the machine running during the 2020–22 Covid-19 pandemic. The LFE 201 field-visit substitution for a different, only conceptual exercise, was for students whose graduation would be hampered due to the global pandemic. Through the IUB option of a special LFE version, only very special circumstances were permitted to trigger that change, and only if no other options were available. Entitled ‘Book LFE’, the pandemic LFE experience derived from the related

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published volumes of LFE reports, invoking previous LFE experiences. We have yet to see how this pans out, but it shows LFE flexibility.

Conclusions As a revolutionary LFE idea to bridge the gaps between the urbanite (‘tree’) and rural communities (‘leaves’), desired outcomes also invited and predicted social changes (‘development’). Among other revelations, any IUB search for enhancing structural skills, knowledge, and ability to face challenges not only for students (‘leaf’), but also for the country (‘tree’) and overall humanity (‘forest’) stands at the precipice of rural blossoming. If that enhances the underlying pillars of the country’s ‘development’, it will become the very breath of fresh air the LFE visionaries sought. It would signal to the rest of the world the green IUB light, that learning begins in the real ‘home’: the countryside. How it meshes with the ‘city’, in that case, becomes the key developmental pillar.

“This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill—the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill—you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes. Remember all I am offering is the truth nothing more.” —The Matrix

Notes 1. Laurence Wylie, Village in the Vaucluse (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1974). 2. From the description available on https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog. php?isbn=9780674939363, last consulted July 4, 2022. 3. William Wiser and Charlotte Wiser, Behind Mud Walls: Seventy-five Years in a North Indian Village (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2001, 4th edition), with a chapter from Susan Wadley and a foreward from David G. Mandelbaum.

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4. Behind Mud Walls, last chapter, from https://www.markedbyteachers. com/university-degree/historical-and-philosophical-studies/change-in-anindian-village-analysis-of-charlotte-and-william-wiser-s-behind-mud-walls. html, last consulted, July 4, 2022. 5. Wirth Louis, “Urbanism as a way of life,” American Jorunal of Sociology 44 (July 1938): 3-24. 6. S.I. Khan, “Gram Bangla model for poverty alleviation and self–reliance,” International Journal of Social Economics, vol 27 (2000):878-892. 7. Robert Chambers, Challenging the Professions: Frontiers for Rural Development ( ITDG Publishing, 1993).

Bibliography Chambers, Robert. 1993. Challenging the Professions: Frontiers for Rural Development. ITDG Publishing. Khan, S. I. 2000. “Gram Bangla model for poverty alleviation and self-reliance.” International Journal of Social Economics, vol 27, 878–892. Louis, Wirth.1938. “Urbanism as a way of Life.” American Jorunal of Sociology, vol 44 (July): 3–24. Shanin, Teodor. 1971. Peasants and Peasant Societies. Penguin. Wiser, William and Charlotte Wiser. 2001. Behind Mud Walls: Seventy-five Years in a North Indian Village. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2001, 4th edition. Chapter from Susan Wadley and Foreward from David G. Mandelbaum. Wylie, Laurence. 1974. Village in the Vaucluse. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

CHAPTER 6

Pedagogy Shifts, Andragogy Knocks? From the ‘International’ in Classes to the ‘Global’ in Job-Markets Imtiaz A. Hussain

Introduction Pedagogy is changing. From the proverbial ivory tower to where disciplines were forged, theories produced, and intellectual frontiers were constantly being opened, mainstream university education today targets ‘job-related’ training. Some have dubbed the new educational function andragogy,1 defined as self-learning, in which excavating or disseminating work-related knowledge dominates. With more rapid technological innovations/advancements only accelerating the new learning process, the time to dig deep and digest becomes more difficult as newer contraptions constantly keep reconfiguring both intellectual substance and structure. Pushing that argument to its limits, the faster the technological breakthroughs, the more transient the typical job-market becomes. One

I. A. Hussain (B) Department of Global Studies and Governance, Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB), Dhaka, Bangladesh e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 I. A. Hussain (ed.), Multifaceted Development, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1798-3_6

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consequence: Main Street citizens become less certain about what profession to train for increasingly, indeed, if there will be a job out there. A Pandora box of possibilities haunt the fate of education: can it keep pace with technological progress, and if it does, what classroom and curricula changes must it make? How must they be sold to students? This chapter explores what happens to the substance being taught when ‘development’, in this case, software-based, comes in a fleeting box. Must the new knowledge be retained? If not, does the exercise retain the intellectual identity associated with higher learning? If not, must the job-training become the only goal of higher education? International Relations (IR), which faces more challenges, particularly with non-state actors severely challenging the state (and with it, stability), is placed under the microscope. As the bedrock of International Relations theoretically, practically, and pedagogically, the state becomes the ‘tree’ in this study, navigating policy-making choices, relying upon the ‘leaves’, that is, all its citizens, for both their independent functions and state-related contributions or dependence. Since the IR symbiotic partner, ‘development’, begins when forces at all of these above levels move in the same upward direction, could its season in the sun also be similarly constrained? Pedagogy, often directed at knowledge seekers, such as ‘students’, evolved from a string of ‘local’ dynamics: France’s 1795–1799 Directorate and Napoleon Bonaparte’s Consulates,2 supplied the platform (public universities), many authors the theories, including Johann Friedrich Herbart in the early nineteenth century, while James Alexander supplied the analytical framework to digest net intellectual works through a fivephase flow: preparation, presentation, association, generalization, and application locally.3 The first section below spells out the evolving IR curricula in ‘local’ theaters, detailing discipline possibilities. Appropriate courses get spelled out as they facilitate association-explorations beyond the ‘local’ arena. Over time hitherto ‘local’ observations enter the ‘global’ arena once the generalization process gets underway. Given the rapidity alluded to, this exercise must be constantly and fearlessly harnessed. It may be safe to say at least one common denominator bound all the ‘founding fathers’ of International Relations: the state. The discipline evolved in fits and starts between the two world wars when numerous other ‘local’ developments, such as abolishing empires, catapulted into headline news, if only to be consistent with the growth

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of self-determination, but if not, then to stop one major indulgence culminating in war across Europe (if needed). One could then look beyond European to other continents through more civilized eyes, if not to permit them to have a say in global affairs, then to open up the outdoors to a gender hitherto confined largely within the homestead. IR growth was significantly aided by the Cold War and the emergence of a communist threat. When the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) evaporated in 1990, International Relations began to change significantly in both substance and structure, which, in turn, weakened the trans-Atlantic relationship, built as it was on an Anglo-Saxon substructure. In essence, British world leadership yielded to fellow Anglo-Saxon U.S. leadership between World War I and the end of the Cold War. U.S. Woodrow Wilson’s ‘self-determination’, proposed in his Fourteen Points, culminated in the 1919–1924 Paris Peace Conferences ending the AustroHungarian, Hohenzollern, and Ottoman empires, and paved the way to end the British Empire by 1945. It logically followed any ‘global’ compact would be a lot less like Europe’s was until 1914. Based on a changing balance-of-power between empires, and being a lot more influenced by an ‘international’ mandate in a way the League of Nations was not, the United Nations still remains at the mercy of great/superpowers while rightfully claiming its own sovereignty. The fate of both global governance bodies lay with the states themselves: some directly emasculated the League (Germany and Japan primarily), yet the divided Security Council, has not stopped the United Nations from ticking. Perhaps the nuts-and-bolts argument is not just the presence of the state, but also the state as the stepping-stone unit of any broader compacts, such as international organizations: an ancient ‘forest’ level of community aggregation relinquished its platform for a different kind of a ‘forest’, one more likely to disburse aid for ‘development’ which was not on the agenda of hitherto military-minded states. Though theorists (rather than policy-makers), like David Mitrany in the 1940s,4 envisioned borderless futures, the state stayed central and was strengthened by the many emergent members (contrast the original 54 with the 198 today). Yet, secular forces were at work, some from within the state system (for example, surrendering state sovereignty over the Euro currency as a step towards a fuller ‘economic integration’ across West Europe), or some too secular (like the rapid technological developments, such as the Internet and social media, violating all national boundaries). Many more ask if a

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non-state alternative is in the offing, ostensibly like the European Union, or more ambitiously, global. Feeding these, the International Relations discipline faces natural disaggregation or modification: ‘Global Studies’ or ‘Globalization’ of some sort grow in popularity, giving non-state entities more unfettered attention to play out their looser identity and roles. Our vision and mission culminated in producing a Global Studies & Governance Department. Here is its story. Since International Relations as a knowledge mode was born alongside the ‘development’ drive between the two world wars, the emergent discipline faced questions (such as the one posed above). Would its ‘development’ prescription be singular, and handed down from the top, or would bottom-up ‘local’ pressures produce multiple, even competitive prescriptions, given the advent of new countries? As the chapter notes, any IR transition would be too evolutionary to threaten the status quo of whatever ‘development’ stemmed from. Bangladesh’s International Relations undergraduate program was founded in 1969 in Dhaka University. After the country’s Liberation War in 1971, the department expanded until 50-years later it is a giant integral body of knowledge-makers and -takers. Yet, prospective students belong to an upper-scale twenty-first-century Bangladesh. Their socio-cultural or political economic evolution was at a higher place than in the 1970s or 1980s, predicting changes. Far from shedding its agricultural historical identity (when education becomes too privileged for too many to engage in), the country began assembly-line manufacture (with private education particularly targeting material goals), and feeding industrial units (with technical training). Commensurately, Bangladesh climbed from a low-income grouping into the middle-ranks (meaning a spiraling growth in possessing material goals). Climbing up the ladder to a middle-rank on its 50th Birthday Year (2021), Bangladesh today targets the top tier by the 2040s. It is also shifting, albeit in fits and starts, towards upperend manufacturing (automobile and ship assembly) and service sector and IT (information technology) outlets (such as hi-tech parks). Such ‘jobrelated’ drivers target a ‘developed country’ (DC) setting, economically with income, politically with freedom, particularly in the private sector, and socially by softly meshing traditional and ‘Western’ actions, beliefs, habits, structures, and tastes. All of the above features typify ‘development’ in the relevant literatures. All of these also require the twofold per capita income increment by 2021: World Bank uses USD12,500 for the ‘developing country’ entry-level threshold, and other agencies twice

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that figure, but Bangladesh is safely in. This income must rise sixfold by the 2040s. Such a momentous transformation necessitates appropriate curricula adjustments to match job-marker needs. How is this being done? Realities behind this breathtaking climb include some or all of the following: (a) shifting from low-technology in the factories to high-tech involve, to at least some minimal degree, spillovers into the farmlands in order to boost both food quantities and quality (for instance, biotechnological inputs), but also substantial enhancement, since that is already a survival tool; (b) a simultaneously growing service sector both complementing manufacturing production, such as through banks, research and development (R&D), and skills-training, and exploring relatively new frontiers, such as investment diversification, deepening and diversifying artificial intelligence, and such side-concerns as balancing equality with efficiency, environmental protection, and sustainability; (c) engaging the external world more profoundly, with each country both as hosts and guests: it must manage emigrants and remittances, scout markets and resources, conduct seminars, conferences, and exhibitions, and simply keep abreast of rapidly expanding and increasingly intricate laws, rules, regulations, exchange-rates, stock-market performances, treaties, and so forth; and (d) building necessary infrastructures, for example, either through practices of diplomats, plenipotentiaries, and language experts for foreign interactions, or schools, colleges, universities, roads, rails, ports, airports, steamers, electricity, bazaars and malls, banks, insurance companies, and so forth, to blend domestic needs with technological adjustments. Underpinning them is a ‘governance’ of sorts. Since Bangladesh’s needs in this respect can only expand with every climb up the income ladder that the country makes, Independent University, Bangladesh, took the unusual step of going beyond opening an IR Department by giving the Global Studies & Governance (GSG) proposal a chance in 2016. This name change reflected the many non-state worldwide flows impacting the country, from remittance flows to entering the global RMG supply network, embracing new technologies it cannot control, and catering to the vast growth of dual citizenship. The proposed department only gathers more moss, urgency, and ripeness, given growth in these flows. Trading defensive pedagogical contexts for andragogic alternatives, the GSG option of the IUB institution illustrates another ‘local’ or ‘placerelated’ outgrowth. Fungible skills enter the erudition domain, constantly changing society demands and which can be measured anywhere in the

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world in the same way. In other words, the cutting-edge of today’s graduates is not to be a doctor, lawyer, business person, or engineer alone, as these are ancient (though still well-paid) jobs, but to have the training to shift profile and adjust to another profession as and when required or desired, or even to handle more than a single profession. The answer was: ‘multitasking’, an emergent job-market need. One simple motto captures this gigantic thrust: the more the skills, the better; and the more multidimensional each skill, the more apt the training. Paulo Friere succinctly labeled this as ‘critical pedagogy’ before and under quite different circumstances.5 It outlines a future IUB fulcrum through the ‘place-related’ ‘Global Studies & Governance’ Department.

Transiting Knowledge Science As the GSG Department unfolded from mid-2016 (imparting classes from January 2017), a completely incidental development half a world away resonated louder than expected (much akin how the advent of the IR discipline coincided with two world wars, the breakdown of imperialism, and the growth of international governance). In its annual January congregation, the World Economic Forum dedicated the 2016 session to ‘The Fourth Industrial Revolution’, as if to remind us how every industrial revolution has coincided with, or itself unleashed, a knowledge threshold change. Simply adjusting to new contraptions/inventions/ directions necessitates demands for classroom training of one kind or another. The First Industrial Revolution, for example, which was launched in late eighteenth century across England, came on the heels of the European Enlightenment. Anchored in Paris, it attracted bright minds, dubbed the philosophes 6 : Jean Jacques Rousseau,7 who subsequently influenced the works of Emile Durkheim,8 Karl Marx,9 and Max Weber,10 among other ‘founding fathers’ of the discipline of Sociology; similarly, François Quesnay’s works inspired Adam Smith,11 and thereafter David Ricardo,12 Thomas Malthus,13 and Marx, to initiate Economics as a discipline. Other similar ‘place-related’ outgrowths or revamped knowledge modes were Political Science, and, under Max Weber, the foundation stone of Public Administration was laid—all across the entire nineteenth century with an Atlantic Ocean springboard, spanning both the First and Second industrial revolutions, and eventually sprouting out across the rest of the world and across the entire knowledge platforms.

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Symbolizing the First Industrial Revolution, the steam engine and ‘spinning jenny’ widened and deepened the process, paving the way for the advent of steel, railway transportation, the automobile industry, and so forth. These altered the social fabric, if not through jobs, then by building completely unthinkable infrastructures during the Second Industrial Revolution. How this ‘place-related’ development spread across the world gave a new meaning to the term we still have difficulty with now: globalization. Herbert Spencer and Frank Boas squeezed Culture as a discipline from Sociology,14 while Sigmund Freud did likewise for Psychology.15 By the 1970s, each of these disciplines had been internationally disseminated, even as newer forces converted manufacturing societies into post-industrial modes. Experimentation and digitalization during World War II (when Game Theory was formulated to facilitate efficient aerial bombing), led to the emergence of Computer Science or Econometrics subsequently, as too various subdivisions of Engineering. Indeed, the Third Industrial Revolution witnessed older disciplines like Economics, Political Science, and Sociology branching out into newer dimensions, such as Economics, Political Science, and Sociology of ‘this’ or ‘that’ region or behavioral pattern (such as Environmental Economics, the Politics of Developing Countries, or Sociology of Gender). Political Science further glided into International Relations after World War II, which stemmed from History and Foreign Policy between the two world wars. Interestingly, the growth of inter-disciplinary intellectual inquiries and terrains, all fitting and feeding new job demands, were picked up by new and younger generations attracted by these new job outlets. Notice how growing job demands and increasing ‘place-related’ triggers saw a shift from the ‘Ivory Tower’, that is, the purely intellectual European Enlightenment-type domain that ‘modernization’ or ‘Westernization’ was hinged to, towards ‘Main Street’ considerations and imperatives (necessitating the French Assembly, Directorate, and Consulate to introduce public education), where consumers gulp products from a distant ‘global’ source. ‘Global Studies & Governance’ fitted such a genealogy. Beginning with an interdisciplinary start through International Relations, it opened the doors to a post-inter-disciplinary future. Some inter-disciplinary knowledge modes, like Public Administration, cannot drift far from the ‘tree’ it branched off, but others, such as business, law, nursing, education, and others, spawned ‘professional’ schools, and trained high-end students

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for a specific job that traditional ‘vocational’ schools supplied for mainstream students. In shifting foci from feeding the ivory towers to staffing exploding mundane workplace needs, pedagogy cannot but yield to andragogy. We return to the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Dotted with robots, drones, smartphones, and other sources of artificial intelligence, the Fourth Industrial Revolution is entirely information-based, demands more sophisticated education and training, and threatens many ‘basic’ disciplines, such as those already mentioned: the job-market needs interdisciplinary skills, even then on a far shorter time-leash than ever before needs, generating the newest job-market call for ‘multitasking’ training. Just the ‘blue-collar’ demand-base shifting to a ‘white-collar’ ambit illustrates the momentous change from physical inputs to intellectual or from low-skilled to high-skilled training underway. The evolution of universities also sheds crucial light. Amid the era of Medieval Scholasticism in Europe (roughly the twelfth century),16 two developments grabbed attention: establishing the University of Paris in 1170, listing only 4 disciplines. These were Theology, Medicine, Canonic Law, and Arts. Established earlier, in 1088, the University of Bologña in Moorish Spain, encouraged scholars to translate works of their distant colleagues: Islamic scholarship of Ibn Sina,17 Ibn Khaldûn18 ; China’s Han Feizi,19 Fa-hsien,20 Sun Tzu,21 or India’s Kautilya.22 From the Catholic Church’s 1277 Condemnation to the seventeenth century European Enlightenment, religion in the Christian world faced a diminishing space in pedagogy—much like Muslim countries today also face a similar vanishing prospect, eliciting, like the 1277 Catholic Condemnation, fatwa counterparts, from Imams and Mullahs. During Europe’s Renaissance (fourteenth to fifteenth centuries across the Italian peninsula, fifteenth to sixteenth centuries across northern Europe),23 humanism and nature replaced God and religion on the academic front burner. Meaning ‘rebirth’, the Renaissance revived and standardized contributions from European scholars of Antiquity: Socrates,24 Plato,25 Aristotle,26 Homer,27 Sophocles,28 Thucydides, and so forth.29 New knowledge modes replaced Theology, Medicine, Canonic Law, and Art: Politics, from Niccolò Machiavelli,30 down to John Locke;31 History, from Dante Alighierri,32 Francesco Petrarch,33 Niccolò de Niccoli,34 of many; Literature, through William Shakespeare,35 et al.; Law, with Hugo Grotius as ‘father’,36 among others. ‘Western Civilization’ courses anchor them selectively today.

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The term ‘science’ was coined in the nineteenth century to absorb the First and Second industrial revolutions, and immediately distinguished ‘natural’ from ‘social’ sciences. Whereas Physicists (from seventeen century Sir Isaac Newton down to twentieth century Albert Einstein), nineteenth century ice-age theorists (Louis Agassiz, Jean de Charpenter, and Karl Friedrich Schimper), and the nineteenth-century U.S. ‘fluvialists’ (James Dwight Dana and John Strong Newberry) were among the interpretive forerunners of the former,37 to be followed in Medicine (by Louis Pasteur’s discoveries)38 and Chemistry (by Antoine Lavoisier, the ‘father’),39 among others. In the latter, or ‘social’ group, many already mentioned disciplines (Anthropolog y, Economics, Culture, Law, Philosophy, Politics, Sociology, and others). Each discipline came in a package. One set of assumptions, hypotheses, methods, and theoretical arguments tested other assumptions, hypotheses, and theories. On the other hand, society was far from being so ordered, swaying from cooperation to conflict and back, thus finding new outgrowths, often in disciplinary interstices or overlaps (thus producing such inter-disciplinary knowledge modes as International Relations). Not only is this a sign of greater social complications and sophistication, but the more so of them, the lesser the order within the intellectual domain. ‘Global Studies’ and ‘Governance’ fall in a more fluctuating, transient lot, adopting broader analytical compasses (‘global’ as compared to ‘Inter’-national, that is, between ‘states’), than even the multifaceted International Relations. ‘Global Studies & Governance’ (GSG) is a ‘place-related’ offshoot amid the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’: where the innovation emanates, there its marketing sprouts. Governmental knowledge and cooperation no longer provide the be-all and end-all framework for discipline-based pedagogy: ministries, for example, increasingly depend on independent think-tanks or forum-based research reports, such as the McKinsey Report or the Economic World Forum, for policy-making discipline-based pedagogy. It is this parceling out of pedagogy that not only warrants a name-change to andragogy but also signals how fleeting any knowledge platform may remain in future. Society’s Transition and Educational Adjustments Transiting ‘Global Studies & Governance’ stemmed directly from International Relations, but carries heavy dosages of other ‘place-related’

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considerations, like Economics, History, Political Science, and Sociology, among other disciplines. One IR ‘father’ nudging the shift from History40 and Foreign Policy41 was Quincy Wright, who found more knowledge than could be fitted under, or would be beneficial to, history. Another was E. H. Carr, whose appraisal of foreign policy of European powers between the two world wars could not but find a push into unchartered territory not explicable by History. A third was Hans J. Morgenthau, who carved out the ‘nuts and bolts’ of International Relations as a discipline after World War II.42 In the absence of any reactions from the ‘mother’ disciplines, IR flourished so much as to become a discipline.

Bangladesh’s Place on the Education Map Unlike in the Western countries, IR did not formally break from the mother disciplines of History, Political Science, or Sociology in East Pakistan/Bangladesh. M. A. Aziz organized the new department upon foreign policy, history, law, ideologies, and organizations as pillars (with a substantive mixture of both ‘Western modernization’ and ‘place-related’ finger-prints). Full salience remained with stalwarts in the ‘realist’ theoretical camp (those who believed military power was the key policy instrument), thus keeping a sturdy ‘Western’ anchor. Morgenthau was studied, as too works by Norman D. Palmer and Howard C. Perkins, confirming an inherent ‘Western’ dependence.43 Since that time, the department’s deepening and diffusion have been acknowledged, but overshadowed by the growth of private universities from 1993 and the prioritization of other disciplines within academia, particularly job-driven Business Administration—another case of ‘place-related’ influences. With them, the purpose shifted from breeding intellectuals at first, but to feeding the workplace (business workplaces but increasingly environmental, and others). Still reflecting inter-disciplinary modes of knowledge, IR stood on the threshold of post-inter-disciplinary transitions, which it refused to take. If that necessitated a GSG Department, other ‘place-related’ urgencies made this more urgent. Since 1971, Bangladesh has had the unenviable task of confronting and absorbing the social pressures of the first three industrial revolutions simultaneously, and only recently adding the Fourth Industrial Revolution to that list. Its First Industrial Revolution, however, steals the show by displacing agriculture from behind the steering wheel for low-wage readymade garments (RMGs), as this sector thrived, only inevitably, privatizing

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universities from 1993. This opened the twenty-first century ‘intellectual/ innovational playgrounds to Second and Third industrial revolutionary possibilities. Its robust RMG industry can now diversify from low-wage production to designing fashion to hit the haute-couture market. Amid these, the Fourth Industrial Revolution seed was also sown, evident most conspicuously through the Digital Bangladesh: Vision 2021 campaign from December 2008 to take every home into a digital platform. Involving the growth of e-commerce, e-banking, e-education, e-book, e-voting, e-health service, e-filing, e-mutation, e-paper, Digital Bangladesh established 5,865 Union Digital Center offices across the country, and Muktopath, an e-learning platform, has trained over 585,000 students, 3,000 governmental officers, and 250,000 teachers. In addition, Bangladesh Hi-tech Park Authority has established at least 11 hi-tech parks, software technology parks, and IT incubation and training centers (all profiting from the speedy flows permitted by the 2022 completion of Bangladesh’s most significant self-made venture: the Padma Bridge, across the mighty Ganges). Pharmaceutical industries and information technologies demand new skills, available only in specialized universities, laboratories, and through research. To these the 2020–2022 pandemic exposed automation possibilities, thus threatening assembly-line factories, face-to-face class teachers by online counterparts, and professionals, like accountants, with robots and the likes. ‘Western’ call centers, which have been spreading across India, Malaysia, and the Philippines, could also find Bangladesh as a competitive location. Right under our very eyes, therefore, enormous changes have taken place, even as institutions remain steadfast. That is the nut the GSG initiative hopes to crack. Elsewhere in Bangladesh, ‘mother’ social science disciplines still remain strong, but new interests, such as immigration or environmental studies, cannot but shake the academic landscape. One consequence could be to push whatever inter-disciplinary initiatives into post-inter-disciplinary mode, given the nature of borderless dynamics like dual citizenship or climate change demographic changes. Even the IR menu traditionally neglected migration, sustainable development, or environmental knowledge modes, but absorbing them slowly suggests other issue-specific knowledge modes could be knocking on IR doors unless attracted elsewhere. ‘Global Studies & Governance’ opens that alternative. It carries ‘place-related’ training to another level, through ‘tree’-level training, that is, multi-sided ‘governance’ demanding as many ‘trees’, that is, more than one discipline, to generate a ‘forest’-level explanations (expertise to fit

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multiple job-markets, and temperament to handle its more fickle nature with multidisciplinary training). It fits a new post-inter-disciplinary genus. Other more established disciplines have also profited, such as business schools edging Social Science disciplines in both student interest and jobmarket needs; textiles universities and studies of fashion have blossomed, given the growth of private universities, and IT courses and degrees with spiraling public demands. With all four industrial revolutions making noise in twenty-first-century Bangladesh, the remaining tasks include (a) recognizing, consolidating, and streamlining them to generate other outcomes; and (b) spurring them to induce cost-minimizing products, policies, and institutional innovations to fit tomorrow’s needs. ‘Governance’ demands only grow in every field: politically we note the decay in institutionalized party positions over a few issues, such as the militarily (Chittagong, or as now called, Chattogram, Hill Tract ruffles and scuffles between indigenous and modernizing lifestyles), economically (income distribution deteriorating, blending currency values to global fluctuations, managing remittances, supervising the explosion of banks or unregulated factories, and so forth), environmentally (land erosion, deforestation, climate-change coastal consequences, urban pollution, and so forth, socially (the rapid social-climbing reconfiguration of society), or culturally (Islamic pressures, Westernizing practices). We need more than one discipline to understand these dimensions: overlaps between disciplines abound, but the treatment of each has been shallow because of the growing inter-disciplinary attention. In Politics, the government is yielding to non-governmental organizations; in Economics, from bank-controlled macroeconomic levers to rootless microeconomic pressures, like platform production that multinational corporations (MNCs) increasingly utilize and off-shore investment (other questionable MNC favorites include recruiting illegitimate actors, like illegal immigrants, thus interrupting routine labor market-flows, while illegitimate practices like drug-trafficking, gold-smuggling, and now even oil-trading in ISIS-held Iraq/Syria, also taint the discipline-based knowledge modes); in Environmental Science to make developmental economic, political, or social goals more sustainable; and in Sociology, the decline of the family parallels the growth of single-mothers, in conjunction with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender behaviors changing the gender/cultural/social landscapes profoundly. The demand to go beyond

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is only likely to intensify for new modes of knowledge to slowly edge ‘mother’ disciplines out. ‘Global Studies & Governance’ emerged to confront these ‘placerelated’ developments since no IR thrust can go the distance anymore: the number of diplomats have spiraled, our exports reach more markets than we have intellectually examined, and our migrants have not only expanded but also entered more countries than we can handle with extant policies or knowledge modes. As the demand for trained personnel grows to sift their needs and translate these into meaningful policies, IR graduates cannot alone feed this demand. This is a demand triggered by ‘development’: just as any GSG proposal in the 1970s would be hard to sell, so too must be an unreformed IR discipline struggle outside a pedagogical fold. That transition is ‘development’ at play.

‘Place-Related’/‘Leaf’-Based Andragogy With ‘Governance’ as the urgent new call of the era, GSG credentials beg further scrutiny. Defined as the movement from disorder to order, or instability to stability, ‘governance’ necessitates governmental and nongovernmental actors, in one sweep derailing the state-centric IR claim to quench emergent demands. It could handle a few forms, for example, the GSG Department opened up to investigate multiple types of governance, many either new or brought under the microscope for the first time: there could be a case of political governance (quashing corruption or diplomatic negotiations), military (security the border), and economic (managing loans or the public sector efficiency). Yet it would be hardpressed to govern in other newly emergent arenas, such as, corporate (given the increasing numbers of bankruptcies, gouging practices, price manipulations, and scandals); environmental (correcting environmental pollution as an indication of fighting against climate-change pressures); and human flows (managing refugee camps unilaterally). This latter list is set to grow, as too the need to find IR alternatives to stem any rot. Accenting negotiations and conflict-resolution, a GSG curriculum touches many more disciplines, invokes both inter-disciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches, and seeks solutions with a multitasking accent. Given its ‘place-related’ springboard, any GSG Department carries a number of advantages. First, it strengthens ‘governance’ ontologically, giving it a more generic tone among all the different and disparate extant disciplines. Second, no epistemological or theoretical losses have been

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discerned among those disparate and different disciplines, meaning no structural losses. Third, a common methodology is also possible, linking the dependent variable (governance) with infinite independent variables (epistemologies). Fourth, new pathways could be opened, akin to Kuhn’s paradigmatic cycle rather than closed with each hypothesis tested successfully.44 Finally, the new department supplies the much-needed learning and job-market flexibility that candidates increasingly complain of even today, of not having acquired in their training. Before selecting their own track to specialize in, students take 11 core courses, beginning with the concepts and actual dynamics of ‘globalization’ and ‘governance’ (two courses), shift to theories and methods of inter/trans-disciplinary studies from the various literatures (third), thus expanding beyond routine inter-disciplinary IR contours, and International Political Economy (fourth). Five other core courses concentrate on relevant discipline-based dynamics covered in Global History, Security Studies (security ranging from the military to human), Global Culture and Communications, Global Ecology, and Socio-political Economy of Development. Note how these core courses address the interstices of, rather than exclusively within, dominant disciplines. Culture and Communications, for example, take a ‘global’ configuration. Ecology does likewise. Even Development courses go beyond the ‘political economy’ approach to also include the social. Two more courses remain, both combining quantitative and qualitative methodologies to highlight the specific GSG ontology. GSG students can immediately resort to experimental studies,45 surveys,46 comparative studies,47 case studies,48 content analysis,49 simulation,50 time-series,51 aggregate analysis studies,52 interviews,53 polls analyses,54 and use of documents,55 among others.56 These reassert ‘governance’-specific multidimensional methodology fit for knowledge-mode transiency, workplace suitability, and flexibility. After selecting a specific track (their Plan A), students shift to Plan B, to build expertise and prepare for job-market fluctuations and new forms of inter-meshing of global events. Each of the six discipline-based core courses convert into a specialized track, with the seventh being an independent track, in which five courses from two other specialized tracks can be chosen. Elective courses from two arenas supplement specialized track-based training. One is ‘place-related’, representing geographical concentrations, the other is largely ‘culture-based’ policy-relevant, issue-specific

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option, and a foreign language. There is not much diversification in the geographical concentration, but the issue-specific cluster offers such ‘governance’-demanding choices, about peace, religion, violence, and identity, on the one hand, and ethics, environmental consciousness, health concerns, gender intercourses, and information technology manipulation, on the other. Either a governance-related internship or a capstone senior-level project closes the undergraduate chapter. By Autumn 2022, all GSG graduates (half a dozen or so thus far) opted to do both, thus keeping one foot in the job market (internship), and the other, as a Plan B, graduate schooling (thesis). Scope is left for students to build a minor area of expertise, alluding to the Plan B reference already made. These advantages of a ‘governance’-fed approach over the previous discipline-centric approaches clearly clarify and permit choice. Against the discipline-based graduate, each governance-based graduating student would (a) carry more skills; (b) elevate methodological component of training over the substantive; (c) feed the more skilled, multitasking job-demands; and (d) carry more mileage.

Conclusions By learning how industrial innovations intimately relate to curricular changes and against a rapidly changing technological tool-set, the GSG Department opens a curriculum better tailored for the short-haul and the transient job market. By collapsing a myriad of knowledge and knowledge modes, it gives the undergraduate a better grip on the future at a lower expense. The missing link remains for the prospective undergraduate to be just as flexible with his/her mind and choices as the platform has become. The chapter makes two key observations. First, even with similar ontological and epistemological trajectories, the GSG offshoot permits a more discipline-free approach and pays lesser attention to theories and methods than any inter-disciplinary counterpart. Second, it subordinates or eliminates methodologies and reverses the historical tendency favoring analytical rigor for workplace interests. In short, it plays more for the technologically determined unknown future than the familiarity thickened scripted past.

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Implications Broader still, post-inter-disciplinary studies also benefit from theorybuilding, methodology-development, and empirical-testing attention, preparing for post-classroom online-based education, and takes slowmoving ivory tower indulgences into a rapidly transiting job-market nexus. But the focus shifts to ‘action’, what the students do. In other words, andragogy enters the picture, at least as a perspective. Our shift into an age where the staying-power of intellectual pursuits can historically be no better than the proverbial one-night stand, we will need the rest of our lives to learn to consummate the net products of, not one, nor even two or three, but four industrial revolutions. Only one of those streams is moving forward, against the defensive shields of the other three, but it is the one to follow if we can isolate it in a congested transformational playground.

Notes 1. Alex Gitterman, “Interactive andragogy: Principles, methods, and skills,” Journal of Teaching in Social Work 24, nos. 3/4 (2004): 95–112, from: https://doi.org/10.1300/J067v24n03_07, last consulted June 28, 2022. Also see Ranjit Podder, “Pedagogy and andragogy: What and why?” The Daily Sun, June 10, 2015, from: http://www.daily-sun.com/ post/49900/%3Cp%3EPedagogy-and-Andragogy:-What-and-why%3C/ p%3E, last consulted June 28, 2022. 2. F. H. Hayward, and J. F. Herbart, The Meaning of Education as Interpreted by Herbart (1907) (Whitefish, MT: Kessinger Publishing, 2009). 3. James Alexander, “The major ideologies of liberalism, socialism, and conservatism,” Political Studies Association (2014), https://doi.org/10. 1111/1457-9248.12136, last consulted June 13, 2021. 4. David Mitrany, “A working peace system: An argument for the functional development of international organisation” (London: Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1943, then published by Oxford University Press, 1943). Also see International Affairs 20, Issue 1, (January 1944), from: https://doi.org/10.2307/3016454, last consulted June 27, 2022. 5. Paolo Friere, The Pedagogy of the Oppressed (New York, NY: Bloomsbury Academic, 2000, 30th Anniversary Edition). 6. Mark Hulliung, The Autocritique of Enlightenment: Rousseau and the Philosophes (Piscataway, NJ: Transactions Publishers, 2014). 7. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract (New York, NY: Penguin Classics, 1968); David Ricardo, The Principles of Political Economy and

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12. 13. 14.

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16. 17.

18. 19. 20.

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Taxation (Mineola Press, NY: Dover Press, 2004); Thomas Malthus, An Essay on the Principle of Population (San Francisco, CA: Malthus Press, 2013). Emile Durkheim, The Division of Labour in Society (New York, NY: Free Press, 1977). Steve Shipside, Karl Marx’sDas Kapital: From Capitalist Exploitation to Communist Revolution (London: Infinite Ideas, 2006); and Karl Marx, and Friederich Engels, The Communist Manifesto (New York, NY: International Publishers, 2014). Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (New York, NY: Routledge, 2001). François Quesnay, The Economical Table (Honolulu, HI: University Press of the Pacific, 2004); and Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations (Hollywood, FL: Simon Brown, 2012). David Ricardo, The Principles of Political Economy and Taxation (Mineola Press, NY: Dover Press, 2004). Thomas Malthus, An Essay on the Principle of Population (San Francisco, CA: Malthus Press, 2013). Herbert Spencer, The Man Versus the State (Indianapolis, IN: Liberty Fund, 2009); and Franz Boas, Race and Nationality: International Conciliation, Special Bulletin, January 1915 (Whitefish, MT: Literary Licensing, 2013). Sigmund Freud, Civilization and its Discontents (New York, NY: W.W. Norton, 2010); Sigmund Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams: The Complete and Definite Text, New York, NY: Basic Books, 2010); and Sigmund Freud, The Ego and the Id (New York, NY: W.W. Norton, 1990). Josef Pieper, Scholasticism: Personalities and Problems of Medieval Philosophy (South Bend, IN, St. Augustine Press, 2001). His name took the Spanish form, Avicenna. See M. Abu-Asab, H. Abri, and M. C. Micozzi, Avicenna’s Medicine: A New Translation of the 11th Century Canon with Practical Applications for Integrative Health Care (Rochester, VT: Healing Arts Press, 2013). Ibn Khaldûn, Muqqadimah: An Introduction to History (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2015). Han-Feizi, Han Feizi: Basic Writings, trans., B. Watson (New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 2003). Fa-hsien The Travels of Fa-hsien (399–414, AD), or Record of the Buddhistic Kingdoms, trans., H. A. Giles (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2012). Sun Tzu, The Art of War (Minneapolis, MN: Filiquarian, 2007). Kautilya, The Arthashastra (New York, NY: Penguin Classics, 2000). Susan Weiss Bauer, The History of the Renaissance World: From the Rediscovery of Aristotle to the Conquest of Constantinople (New York, NY: W.W.

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35. 36.

37. 38. 39. 40.

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Norton, 2013); J. H. Tiner and M. L. Denman, Louis Pasteur: Founder of Modern Medicine (Fenton, MI: Mott Media, 1999); A. Lavoisier, The Elements of Chemistry (Minieola, NY: Dover Publications, 1984). Xenophon and R. H. Waterfield, Conversations of Socrates (New York, NY: Penguin Classics, 1990). Plato, The Republic (Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2000). Aristotle, Politics, trans., B. Jowett (Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2000). Homer and Bernard Knox, The Iliad, trans., R. Fagles (New York, NY: Penguin Classics, 1998). Sophocles and Bernard Knox, The Three Theban Plays: Antigone, Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus (New York, NY: Penguin Classics, 2000). Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War (Skyros, Greece: Skyros Publishing, 2015). N. Machiavelli, The Prince, trans., N. H. Thompson (Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 1992). J. Locke, Two Treatises of Government (New York, NY: Everyman Paperback, a Random House Division, 1993). D. Alighieri, The Divine Comedy (The Inferno, Purgatorio, and the Paradiso), trans., J. Cardi, (New York, NY: New American Library, 2003). F. Petrarch, Petrarch’s Lyric Poems: The Rime Sparse and Other Lyrics, trans., R. M. Durling (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1979). B. L. Ullman and P. A. Stadter, The Public Library of Renaissance Florence: Niccolo Niccoli, Cosimo de’ Medici and the Library of San Marco (New York, NY: American Council of Learned Societies, 2013 [Humanities ebook]). W. Shakespeare, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (New York, NY: Race Point Publishing, 2014). Hugo Grotius and Richard Tuck, The Rights of War and Peace: Three Volume Set (Indianapolis, IN: Liberty Fund, 2004); and Hugo Grotius, The Free Sea (Indianapolis, IN: Liberty Fund, 2004). Fluvial: concern with hydraulics and sedimentology. John Hudson Tiner and Michael L. Denman, Louis Pasteur: Founder of Modern Medicine (Fenton, MI: Mott Media. 1999). Antoine Laurent Lavoisier, The Elements of Chemistry (Minieola, NY: Dover Publications, 1984). Quincy Wright, A Study of War (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1983, 2nd Edition); and Quincy Wright, The Study of International Relations (New York, NY: Appleton-Century Crofts, 1995). Edward Hallett Carr, Twenty-Years Crisis, 1919–1939: An Introduction to the Study of International Relations (New York, NY: Harper Perennial, 1964).

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42. Hans J. Morgenthau, Politics Among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace (New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1948). 43. Norman D. Palmer and H. C. Perkins, International Relations (London: Steven & Sons, 1954). 44. Thomas Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1970, 2nd Edition). 45. B. MacMahon, S. Yen, D. Trichopoulos, K. Warren, and G. Nardi, “Coffee and cancer of the pancreas,” The New England Journal of Medicine, 304 (1981): 630–633. 46. Ole Holsti, and James N. Rosenau, “Vietnam, consensus, and the belief system of American leaders,” World Politics 32, no. 1 (1971): 1–56. 47. Arend Lijphart, “Religious vs. linguistic vs. class voting: The ‘crucial’ experiment of comparing Belgium, Canada, South Africa, and Switzerland,” American Political Science Review, 73, no. 2 (1979): 442–458; and Arend Lijphart, “Comparative politics and the comparative method,” American Political Science Review 65, no. 3 (1971): 682–693. 48. Alexander George, “Case studies and theory development: The method of structured, focused comparison,” in Diplomacy: New Approaches in History, Theory, and Policy, ed., P. Gordon Lauren (New York, NY: Free Press, 1979); and Avi Shlaim, and Raymond Tanter, “Decision process, choice, and consequences: Israel’s deep-penetration bombing in Egypt, 1970,” World Politics 30, no. 4 (1978): 483–516. 49. Ole Holsti, Richard A. Brody, and Robert C. North, “Measuring affect and action in international reaction models: Empirical material from the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis,” Journal of Peace Research 1, nos. 3–4 (1964): 170–190. 50. Donella H. Meadows, Dennis L. Meadows, Jørgen Randers, and William. W. Behrens III, The Limits to Growth (New York, NY: Signet, 1972). 51. James Caporaso, and Alan L. Pelowski, “Economic and political integration in Europe: A time-series, quasi-experimental analysis,” American Political Science Review, 65, no. 2 (1971): 418–433. 52. J. David Singer, Stuart Bremer, and John Stuckey, “Capability distribution, uncertainty, and major power wars, 1820–1965,” in Explaining War: Correlates of War Project, ed., Singer, (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1979). 53. Lewis Anthone Dexter, Elites and Specialized Interviewing (Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 1970). 54. George Gallup, The Sophisticated Poll Watcher’s Guide (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1966). 55. Philip J. Stone, General Inquirer: A Computer’s Approach to Content Analysis (Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 1966). 56. Adam Przeworski, and Henry Teune, The Logic of Comparative Social Inquiry (Malabar, FL: Krieger Publishing Company, 1982, 2nd Edition).

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Bibliography Abu-Asab, M., H. Abri, and M. C. Micozzi. 2013. Avicenna’s Medicine: A New Translation of the 11th Century Canon with Practical Applications for Integrative Health Care. Rochester, VT: Healing Arts Press. Alighieri, D. 2003. The Divine Comedy (The Inferno, Purgatorio, and the Paradiso). Trans., J. Cardi. New York, NY: New American Library. Aristotle. 2000. Politics. Trans., B. Jowett. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications. Bauer, S. W. 2013. The History of the Renaissance World: From the Rediscovery of Aristotle to the Conquest of Constantinople. New York, NY: W.W. Norton. Berlin, I. 1984. The Age of the Enlightenment: The 18th Century Philosophers. New York, NY: Plume. Boas, F. 2013. Race and Nationality: International Conciliation, Special Bulletin, January 1915. Whitefish, MT: Literary Licensing. Caporaso, J., and A. Pelowski. 1971. “Economic and political integration in Europe: A time-series, quasi-experimental analysis.” American Political Science Review 65, no. 2: 418–433. Carr, E. H. 1964. Twenty-Years Crisis, 1919–1939: An Introduction to the Study of International Relations. New York, NY: Harper Perennial. Dexter, L. A. 1970. Elites and Specialized Interviewing. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press. Durkheim, E. 1977. The Division of Labour in Society. New York, NY: Free Press. Fa-hsien. 2012. The Travels of Fa-hsien (399–414, AD), or Record of the Buddhistic Kingdoms. Trans., H. A. Giles. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Freud, S. 1990. The Ego and the Id. New York, NY: W.W. Norton. ———. 2010a. Civilization and its Discontents. New York, NY: W.W. Norton. ———. 2010b. The Interpretation of Dreams: The Complete and Definite Text. New York, NY: Basic Books. Friere, P. 2000. The Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York, NY: Bloomsbury Academic, 30th Anniversary Edition. Gallup, G. 1966. The Sophisticated Poll Watcher’s Guide. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. George, A. 1979. “Case studies and theory development: the method of structured, focused comparison.” In Diplomacy: New Approaches in History, Theory, and Policy. Ed., P. G. Lauren. New York, NY: Free Press. Gitterman, Alex. 2004. “Interactive andragogy: Principles, methods, and skills.” Journal of Teaching in Social Work 24, nos. 3–4: 95–112. From: https://doi. org/10.1300/J067v24n03_07. Last consulted June 28, 2022. Grotius, H., and R. Tuck. 2004. The Rights of War and Peace: Three Volume Set. Indianapolis, IN: Liberty Fund. Grotius, H. 2004. The Free Sea. Indianapolis, IN: Liberty Fund.

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Han-Feizi. 2003. Han Feizi: Basic Writings. Trans., B. Watson. New York, NY: Columbia University Press. Hayward, F. H., and J. F. Herbart. 2009. The Meaning of Education as Interpreted by Herbart (1907). Whitefish, MT: Kessinger Publishing. Holsti, O., R. Brody, and R. C. North. 1964. “Measuring affect and action in international reaction models: Empirical material from the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.” Journal of Peace Research 1, nos. 3–4: 170–190. Holsti, O., and J. N. Rosenau. 1971. “Vietnam, consensus, and the belief system of American leaders.” World Politics 32, no. 1: 1–56. Homer, and B. Knox, B. 1998. The Iliad. Trans., R. Fagles. New York, NY: Penguin Classics. Hulliung, M. 2014. The Autocritique of Enlightenment: Rousseau and the Philosophes. Piscataway, NJ: Transactions Publishers. Kautilya. 2000. The Arthashastra. New York, NY: Penguin Classics. Khaldûn, I. 2015. Muqqadimah: An Introduction to History. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Kuhn, T. 1970. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2nd Edition. Lavoisier, A. 1984. The Elements of Chemistry. Minieola, NY: Dover Publications. Lijphart, A. 1971. “Comparative politics and the comparative method.” American Political Science Review 65, no. 3: 682–693. ———. 1979. Religious vs. linguistic vs. class voting: The ‘crucial’ experiment of comparing Belgium, Canada, South Africa, and Switzerland. American Political Science Review 73, no. 2: 442–458 Locke, J. 1993. Two Treatises of Government. New York, NY: Everyman Paperback, a Random House Division. Machiavelli, N. 1992. The Prince. Trans., N. H. Thompson. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications. MacMahon, B., S. Yen, D. Trichopoulos, K. Warren, and G. Nardi. 1981. “Coffee and cancer of the pancreas.” The New England Journal of Medicine, no. 304: 630–633. Malthus, T. 2013. An Essay on the Principle of Population. San Francisco, CA: Malthus Press. Marx, K., and F. Engels, F. 2014. The Communist Manifesto. New York, NY: International Publishers. Meadows, D. H., D. L. Meadows, J. Randers, and W. W. Behrens III. 1972. The Limits to Growth. New York, NY: Signet. Morgenthau, H. J. 1948. Politics Among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf. Quesnay, F. 2004. The Economical Table. Honolulu, HI: University Press of the Pacific.

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Palmer, N. D. and H. C. Perkins. 1954. International Relations. London: Steven & Sons. Petrarch, F. 1979. Petrarch’s Lyric Poems: The Rime Sparse and Other Lyrics. Trans., R. M. Durling. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Pieper, J. 2011. Scholasticism: Personalities and Problems of Medieval Philosophy. South Bend, IN, St. Augustine Press. Plato. 2000. The Republic. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications. Podder, Ranjit. 2015. “Pedagogy and andragogy: What and why?” The Daily Sun, June 10, 2015. From: http://www.daily-sun.com/post/49900/%3Cp% 3EPedagogy-and-Andragogy:-What-and-why%3C/p%3E. Last consulted June 28, 2022. Przeworski, A. and H. Teune. 1982. The Logic of Comparative Social Inquiry. Malabar, FL: Krieger Publishing Company, 2nd Edition). Ricardo, D. 2004. The Principles of Political Economy and Taxation. Mineola Press, NY: Dover Press. Rousseau, J. J. 1968. The Social Contract. New York, NY: Penguin Classics. Shakespeare, W. 2014. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. New York, NY: Race Point Publishing. Shipside, S. 2006. Karl Marx’s Das Kapital: From Capitalist Exploitation to Communist Revolution. London: Infinite Ideas. Shlaim, A., and R. Tanter. 1978. “Decision process, choice, and consequences: Israel’s deep-penetration bombing in Egypt, 1970.” World Politics 30, no. 4: 483–516. Singer, J. D., S. Bremer, and J. Stuckey. 1979. Capability distribution, uncertainty, and major power wars, 1820–1965. In Explaining War: Correlates of War Project. Eds., Singer. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Smith, A. 2012. The Wealth of Nations. Hollywood, FL: Simon Brown. Sophocles, and B. Knox. 2000. The Three Theban Plays: Antigone, Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus. New York, NY: Penguin Classics. Spencer, H. 2009. The Man Versus the State. Indianapolis, IN: Liberty Fund. Stone, P. J. 1966. General Inquirer: A Computer’s Approach to Content Analysis. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. Thucydides. 2015. History of the Peloponnesian War. Skyros, Greece: Skyros Publishing. Tiner, J. H., and M. L. Denman. 1999. Louis Pasteur: Founder of Modern Medicine. Fenton, MI: Mott Media. Tzu, S. 2007. The Art of War. Minneapolis, MN: Filiquarian. Ullman, B. L., and P. A. Stadter. 2013. The Public Library of Renaissance Florence: Niccolo Niccoli, Cosimo de’ Medici and the Library of San Marco. New York, NY: American Council of Learned Societies. Humanities e-book. Weber, M. 2001. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. New York, NY: Routledge.

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Wright, Q. 1955. The Study of International Relations. New York, NY: AppletonCentury Crofts. ———. 1983. A Study of War. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2nd Edition. Xenophon, and R. H. Waterfield. 1990. Conversations of Socrates. New York, NY: Penguin Classics.

CHAPTER 7

Standardizing Bangladesh’s Maritime Education & Training: Global Challenges & The Job Market Razon Chandra Saha

Introduction Is Bangladesh’s maritime education and training (MET) system capable of filling the growing ‘global’ shortage in the seafarer job market? This ‘local’ or ‘place-related’ challenge does not involve reinventing the wheel against the rising demand, just simply stepping in. The proposition opens challenges. Does Bangladesh have human and technological resources to teach and train candidates for competency examination in developed maritime countries, like the United Kingdom, Singapore, and others? Its teaching methods and practical sea training hinder the production of world standard Bangladeshi seafarers, stymying MET purposes.1 Since MET standards vary in developing qualitative undergraduate and post-graduate studies as per the requirements of International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and

R. C. Saha (B) Bangladesh University of Professionals, Dhaka, Bangladesh e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 I. A. Hussain (ed.), Multifaceted Development, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1798-3_7

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Watch-keeping for Seafarers-STCW-78/95, how can Bangladesh establish the fundamentals of a seafarer discipline to supply manpower for different vessels? Since globally the seafarer’s multinational, multicultural, and multifunctional profession demands the capacity to work in complicated environments, training must begin with international standards, respecting related regulations to make seafarers competitive and remain enthusiastic. With shipping ownership, operation, finance, legality, supply, demand, labor, and commodities relying upon ‘global’ recruitments, recruits have to be tailored for job-intensity and any unpredictability in training.2 Can Bangladesh deliver? If it can, we can document ‘development’ in the traditional, indeed ‘western’ sense. If it cannot, we learn why the ‘local’ pull is so strong. The next section describes the list of MET providers at all stages, from the able seaman to officer-ranks and the details of maritime universities and associated organizations briefly. Section “Research Methodology” then articulates the research methodology, data collection techniques, and limitations as well as research ethics shortly, while section “Literature Review” reviews the relevant literature on MET standards, such as STCW 78/95 and Maritime Labor Convention-MLC 2006.3 Similarly the section “Challenges & Opportunities in Seafarer’s Job-Market” lives up to what it spells out step-by-step, while the section “Women Seafarers in Bangladesh: A Case Study” explores a seafarer cast study, leaving the section “Result of Quantitative and Qualitative Primary Research” to pool all outcomes of quantitative and qualitative analysis. Moving on, the section “Comparative Analysis” compares Bangladesh MET and seafarer plight. Necessary steps for further development to sustain in the global job market and attract ship-owner and ship management companies are brought out in “Conclusions”, leaving “Future Directions” to supply recommendations. Though seafaring is a fatigue-filled and abuse-laden inimitable sea job offering a high salary and living facilities with dignity, a seafarer’s challenging job invites adventurous young men.4 It is a skill-based profession expected to process a diversity of skills and promote qualities to get a job in the global market, Bangladeshi MET teachers and instructors have the experience to provide basic and technical education as per STCW 78/95 requirements and designed curriculum accredited from developed countries. How seafarer challenges get examined against the innovative teaching and certification seafarers carry constitutes the puzzle being investigated.

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Overall, this chapter extracts ‘global’ challenges in the job market to help standardize maritime training institutes to cope with recruitment requirements. A seafarer’s job market feeds ‘development’ since earning foreign exchange directly helps investment in various industries, builds foreign exchange reserves, and ultimately contributes to a ‘multifaceted development’.

Bangladesh MET Institutions Bangladesh’s first maritime institution of higher learning, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Maritime University (BSMRMU), was established in 2013 with the vision to “Envision promoting and creating a learning environment for higher maritime education with excellence, through the state-of-the-art facilities and gadgets, competent faculty and staff, the expanded frontier of research-based knowledge and international standards supportive of the new horizons in diverse fields by 2021.” Of the two public and 18 private MET institutions providing undergraduate cadets for sea-going vessels, some conduct ancillary courses for the Department of Shipping’s competency examination, while a specialized MET agency, the National Maritime Institute, evaluates and upgrades candidates to a cadet position based on merit. Two public academies (the Marine Academy and Marine Fisheries Academy), develop quality office for the Navigation and Engineering Department for sea-going vessels. While the Marine Fisheries Academy, which specializes in sea-going fishing trawlers, allows the opportunity to join merchant vessels competently, Bangladesh’s Marine Academy alone develops qualified seafarers for all kinds of global vessels. A prestigious military institution affiliated with the revolutionary Bangladesh University of Professionals, the Bangladesh Naval Academy also became a pioneer in training female officer cadets. As a maritime state with a reliable source for seafarers, Bangladesh’s Marine Academy was the only source of seafarers, though private presea training is opening new doors producing many seafarers regularly. It began in 1972, though existed as Mercantile Marine Academy since 1962. In 2010, all Marine Academy courses were revised as per STCW 2010 guidelines, training for female cadets began from 2012. Its professional status was confirmed when it became a branch of World Maritime University in 1990 and after Bangladesh’s White List inclusion in 2000. As a part of the World Maritime University, Malmo, Sweden, the Marine

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Academy remains at the forefront of South Asian maritime professional excellence. The other public MET institution, Marine Fisheries Academy, was entrusted with the task of exploring and pooling the country’s seafaring talents and training them as Navigator, Engineer, or Fish Processing Technologist. Currently, Bangladesh’s Department of Shipping (DoS) is the Ministry of Shipping’s specialized agency ensuring the quality or standards of the public Marine Academy, 18 private academies, and all other maritime institutions and certification of seafarer competence. Among other DoS responsibilities: exploring, advising the government, and ensuring the compliance of international maritime conventions.

Research Methodology Choosing the research methodology was difficult for such a topic. Nonetheless, one objective is to make Bangladesh’s MET standards compatible with other maritime countries and MET standards, while the other explores the challenges in the ‘global’ seafarer job market against ‘global’; standards and requirements. A critical examination was undertaken with a quantitative survey, and one qualitative case study. The study began in November 2015 and ended in April 2016. Plans to survey 100 persons were trimmed. Invitations by e-mail were followed by telephonic interviews, with some respondents open to giving physical interviews (held in Dhaka, the capital, and Chattogram, the key port city). Finally, telephonic and physical interviews followed the survey, and 8 target groups were covered by the 15 responses: MET Provider (n = 3), Ship Management Company (n = 3), Ship Survey Company (n = 1), Teacher (n = 2), Policy Advisor (n = 1), Seafarer (n = 1) and Ex-Seafarer (n = 4). Though responsible for the quality and standard of pre-sea cadet training of all MET public and private institutions in Bangladesh, the DOS did not respond. Since guidelines (not harming anyone or being dangerous for the seafarer’s job industry globally), and other human elements raised ethical questions of the process, alphabetical letters A, B, and C were utilized instead of the actual respondent names. Literature reviews of journals, books, and particularly World Maritime University dissertation papers, and the IMO website for information was also a part of the research.

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Literature Review Maritime education means class-based teaching for ex-seafarers and nonseafarers,5 with pre-sea training revolving around classroom teaching, workshop, and simulation for producing new seafarers. Pre-sea training is the entry-point of the shipping industry and further placement of shore-based jobs. Students from many part of the world get involved in STCW studies to get qualified seafarers to apply and bring pre-sea training to ‘global’ standards. This is because of the specialty of direction to work at sea efficiently and minimize the risk of accidents or occurrences during operating the ship. MET knowledge begins with sea job training, climbs to shore shipping management before proceeding to logistics, transport, and supply chain management. Another study found exchanging pedagogical experience to raise the motivation of training among the cadets by using information technology.6 Importantly, the result of teaching and educational process in many respects depends on the quality that is appreciated appropriately. Still, it is difficult to imagine modern teachers not using additional methodical grants (except where the textbook where quality and standards decrease significantly in the age of modern technology). A third argument promoted a qualitative MET system to determine faculty pedagogy, how to present in the class, and supply courses in the light of STW-95-based international quality standards.7 To this was added a fourth: advise all MET institutions (a ‘local’ task) to cooperate with the leading MET institution in each developed country (involving a ‘global’ scope) capable of (a) helping develop an international standard curriculum, and (b) working with the shipping company by taking the job of their institution’s cadets.8 MET enrollment was also influenced by the student need for inspiration and motivation, so as to opt for undergraduate or pre-sea training from MET institutions rather than taking maritime education in maritime business and management for shorebased position.9 Current MET marketing strategies were found to be irrelevant and ill-focused on attracting students to seafarer jobs or advice as a seafarer. That the MET literature downplays a MET focus without adequate description is unfortunate, but Norway, India, and Vietnam make such training meaningful (Fig. 7.1). ‘Global’ demand for maritime transport influences total seafarer demand, in turn affected by financial sectors, regulators, and new-tech applications.10 In its 2015 report, the United Nations Conference on

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Fig. 7.1 Seafarer demands, step-by-step (Source Wagtmann and Poulsen [2009])

Trade and Development (UNCTAD) noted the slow-moving ‘global’ recovery from the 2008–11 ‘Great Recession’, led by uneven growth in developed economies and a slowdown in transitional and developing countries. Since nowadays seafarers stem from many countries, their different qualifications carry ‘local’ trademarks: different cultures, even on a single ship.11 Emerging opportunities like the open search for competent and medically fit seafarers of all kinds on any ship with a flag of convenience (FOC) portray the MET institution’s image and name to recruiters in all countries. By giving special attention to women, another transition from ‘local’ practices to ‘global’ trends began: 95% of respondents mentioned how they need educational opportunities, good remunerations, and suitable service conditions to be inspired to work as a seafarer.12 Authorities from

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educational institutions and through advertisements in newspaper and social media must particularly inspire women learners to take the challenge. Though treated as a solely male profession, seafaring has seen women win scholarships, then act as Steward or Captain of a ship. They are more appropriate to work in the office after necessary training and knowledge of running a ship. Because of a changing environment in the maritime industry,13 the FOC cause and low-cost Asian seafarers combine with IMO pressures expose a dangerous lack of interest and attraction for this profession. Bangladesh has the opportunity to enter the ‘global’ market with FOC advantages, and unlike Romania, where unemployment did not exist. Bangladesh may be seriously impacted because seafarers will not get any shore-job if they return from sea. Unemployment rate spirals high, and no shore-based shipping job prevails. Challenges & Opportunities in Seafarer’s Job-Market Today’s unstable situation in the ‘global’ shipping industry is partly due to the transition from a low-profile economy to higher echelons of cargo movement since the 2009 recession. Challenging MET standards also face ‘local’ challenges: differences in seafarer countries, cultures, and backgrounds to work in difficult framework to produce excellent teamwork.14 This labor market changes as frequently in the direction of the volume of world trade as the determinants of the modern shipping industry.15 Recruitment, trade unions, and collective bargaining, as well as training, certification, and fraudulent certification pose other challenges. Investigating wages, contracts, and tours of duty also includes in-depth treatment of seafarer safety and hazard exposure. Internationalizing ship registrations, multinational crewing and reductions in crewing levels, and the rise in ship management companies have profoundly affected seafarer living and working conditions. New international regulations, new technology, and survival against market uncertainty constantly wait on the sidelines throwing more challenges. Seafarer shortage is not equally distributed ‘globally’ as it is for traditional maritime countries, an outcome exposing the consequences of differential ‘development’ (but also exposing why streamlining ‘development’ has been pursued over becoming nativist)—a true tip-toeing of ‘western’ pattern.16 Emerging seafarer supplies from Asia not being at

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the level of experience and quality to replace aged seafarers in developed countries. Job dissatisfaction intervenes, resignation by experienced seafarers proliferate, making global recruitment costlier. Bangladeshi had 475 vessels in 2006, increasing 300% to 1,271 in 2012, according to a 2006 UNCTAD Review of Maritime Transport report.17 New seafarers can be recruited according to government rules under the Bangladesh Flag Vessels (Protection) Ordinance, 1983.18 Since standard, standard English language skills play an important role in the development and occurrence of near-miss or accident situations at sea.19 All Bangladesh METs conduct appropriate courses and prepare relevant syllabi in English. These soften on-board communication challenges and attract recruiting or manning companies. The MET quality and DOC monitoring system vary from institution to institution. Visa restriction to certain countries is a greater Bangladeshi challenge: manning companies keen to take seafarers from Bangladesh cannot because of visa problems, indicating the speed-bumps well-intentioned ‘globalizing’ efforts must face.20 In addition, manning costs also remain an external challenge to get the job in the foreign flag vessel. Since MET foci should be to manage the young generation to fill the gap and spread the opportunity of sea jobs and facilities available at sea,21 it is necessary to solicit the youth to choose this challenging seafarer job, traveling opportunities, and tasting the world. An effective MET institution is essential for this to apply internationally recognized standards, including STCW, MLC, or any rules guided by respective national agencies or under IMO directions.22

Women Seafarers in Bangladesh: A Case Study Does the male-dominated maritime industry feed gender imbalance or inequality? Female maritime participation breaks tradition, changes male attitudes over female capabilities, and balances this equation. Education and training of women is a pre-requisite, and a plus in gender breakthroughs.23 Bangladesh Marine Academy introduced women cadets in the pre-sea training in 2012, influenced by Russian women seafarers, like Captain Anna Schetinina. Bangladesh Naval Academy, Marine Fisheries Academy, and private MET institutions also recruit women cadets as seafarers, raising expectations of women to both work and lead, not just locally, but also globally.

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Women accounted for merely 2% of the world total, according to the International Women Seafarer’s Foundation (IWSF).24 International Transport Federations (ITF) translated that to mean about 23,000 women globally, most working in cruise-liners.25 On the other hand, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) calculated this number and estimated 1,647,500 seafarers globally.26 As per Fig. 7.2, a total of 84 female seafarers work at sea, a truly low number for maritime Bangladesh. After Bangladesh Marine Academy started female cadet recruitment, 73 women cadets passed in 2019. Similarly, Marine Fisheries Academy (MFA) graduated 11 female cadets as Marine Engineer only up to 2019. The market share of Bangladesh is 0.31% only.27 The shipping industry has the lowest female workforce, due, in part, to the traditional male mind-set.28 Bangladesh’s pathetic score is only 84 female seafarers.29 Most of the female seafarers belong to the cruise and ferries sectors, and rarely in sea-carriage goods or the shipping industry itself. MET institutions in some countries are not allowed to take the

84

Female(1)

5063

Male(2)

5147

Bangladesh (3)

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

Fig. 7.2 Number of Bangladeshi seafarers in the world (Source Female [1]: Data collected from Marine Academy and Marine Fisheries Academy. Bangladesh [3]: UNCTADSTAT, 2019. Male [2]: Calculated [3-1])

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nautical course with limited seats, say, in engineering courses, but ITF produced guidelines for seafarers to take the challenges and get MET admission or further sea-work help boost the number of seafarers arguably and significantly. These include developing sexual harassment policies and appropriate training, including cadet training and education. Valuing women’s empowerment for ‘development’ must be underscored even more in Bangladesh: ‘development’ cannot become multifaceted without women inclusion, not to mention the increasing efficiency, while also increasing personal value. Some shipping companies do not accept women seafarers and see them as complicating a sea environment.30 However, IMO change is in the air, with shipping company attitudes, even as similar situations and environmental conditions prevail in MET institutions. The proportion of office-holding women seafarers with officer capacities is also increasing, with pilots in all kinds of vessels (though limited opportunity in cargo ships, which represent one in the main components of the shipping industry).31 Women seafarers thinking and acting properly in a maledominated profession must prove they are no less than men, especially to become officers. This requires physically, emotionally, and spiritually for overcoming all kinds of hindrances, obstacles, and challenges during the pre-sea MET training32 (Fig. 7.3).

Strongly Disagree Disagree Not Sure Agree Strongly Agree

Series1

0.0% 5.0% Strongly Agree 13.3%

10.0% Agree 20.0%

15.0%

20.0% Not Sure 26.7%

25.0%

30.0% Disagree 40.0%

Fig. 7.3 Existing M.E.T. institutional standards in Bangladesh

35.0% 40.0% Strongly Disagree 0.0%

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Result of Quantitative and Qualitative Primary Research Nearly half (40%) of respondents ‘disagreed’ if existing MET primary or undergraduate skills in Bangladesh are good, and if international standards abide by STCW 78/95 and ILO Maritime Labor Convention 2006. Even in qualitative analysis, many of the respondents pinpointed only the Marine Academy for having the quality and teaching style of international standards, while private MET institutions thinking only for business instead of organizational quality development for quality maritime education benefiting qualified seafarers (Fig. 7.4). Approximately 46.7% believed MET institutions to be “capable to produce good and trained seafarers” to compete with other countries and jobs in the seafarer global market, while approximately 26.7% ‘disagreed’ and expressed it is necessary to recruit a good teacher or instructor to produce qualified seafarers (Fig. 7.5). Though many respondents appreciated the quality of teachers or instructors of Bangladesh’s MET institutions, 20% disagreed. In the qualitative direct interview process, they confided how qualified instructors seem too much in flux, teaching only temporarily. Learners do not get adequate training, they said (Fig. 7.6). More than half of the respondents ‘agreed’ with the DOS role, but questioned monitoring the private MET institutions and advised to take care of quality education because it is a prestigious matter for the country. On the contrary, 26.7% and 13.3% ‘disagreed’ and ‘strongly disagreed’,

50.0% 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% Series1

Strongly Agree 13.3%

Agree

Not Sure

Disagree

46.7%

13.3%

26.7%

Fig. 7.4 Capacity of Bangladesh M.E.T. institutions

Strongly Disagree 0.0%

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70.0% 60.0% 50.0% 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% Series1

Strongly Agree 6.7%

Agree

Not Sure

Disagree

66.7%

6.7%

20.0%

Strongly Disagree 0.0%

Fig. 7.5 Quality of Bangladeshi M.E.T. teachers/instructors: institutional appraisal

40.0% 35.0% 30.0% 25.0% 20.0% 15.0% 10.0% 5.0% 0.0% Series1

Strongly Agree 13.3%

Agree

Not Sure

Disagree

40.0%

6.7%

26.7%

Strongly Disagree 13.3%

Fig. 7.6 Role of Department of Shipping, Bangladesh: monitoring M.E.T. institutions

respectively, and recommended to leave this responsibility to the newly established maritime university and take the competency examination only (Fig. 7.7).

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Strongly Disagree Disagree Not Sure Agree Strongly Agree

Series1

0.0% Strongly Agree 6.7%

10.0% Agree 20.0%

20.0% 30.0% Not Sure 13.3%

40.0% 50.0% Disagree Strongly Disagree 46.7% 13.3%

Fig. 7.7 M.E.T. promotion in Bangladesh

Around 46.7% of respondents ‘disagreed’ while 13.3% ‘strongly disagreed’ that present publicity and information disseminating procedures of Bangladesh’s Department of Shipping and MET institutions are enough to attract students to take education and understand the future of sea job as a good profession. While the respective authority must pay more attention to this, the Marine Academy has enough names to get cadets automatically and remain competitive enough to get a chance for studying maritime subjects. So, if MET quality increases, promotion activity will be completed automatically (Fig. 7.8). This is good news for MET institutions that the government, exmariners, and specialized people have been helping develop Bangladesh’s MET institutions. They see this as a great opportunity to mobilize available human resources and motivate learners, students, and teachers as a maritime state of the world. All respondents invariably disclosed how they focus on Bangladeshi seafarers to recruit their incoming vessels in port cities in qualitative analysis (Fig. 7.9). All respondents ‘agreed’ (60% ‘agreed’ and 40% ‘strongly agreed’) Bangladesh has a huge opportunity to cover the global seafarer job market

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Role of Government, Ex-mariner and specialized peoples to develop MET in Bangladesh 45.0% 40.0% 35.0% 30.0% 25.0% 20.0% 15.0% 10.0% 5.0% 0.0% Series1

Strongly Agree

Agree

Not Sure

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

20.0%

40.0%

13.3%

20.0%

6.7%

Fig. 7.8 Bangladesh M.E.T. development: roles of government, ex-mariners, & specialized peoples

by utilizing the available manpower/women-power. Of course, it must provide the effective and best MET teachers and graduates to earn foreign exchange consequently. In the qualitative analysis, one respondent advised to utilize the unemployed manpower/women-power to teach them for sea-work in Officer-level rankings (Fig. 7.10). Particularly, 53% of respondents ‘agreed’ the current MET standards in Bangladesh are enough to attract international ship-owners or ship management companies to recruit seafarers from Bangladesh. Still. 33% ‘disagreed’ and advised improving the quality of private MET institutions. Interestingly, one respondent argued for foreign accreditation of private MET institutions and added how international ship management companies could, or should, take practical sea training of their cadets. Comparative Analysis Bangladesh has the capacity to produce qualified seafarers through pre-sea training and supply new seafarers to the ‘global’ market. Furthermore, it can take the professional DOS examination as per IMO direction with STCW, MLC, and other international regulatory compliance, and as

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Opportunity of Bangladesh to earn foreign exchange through MET 70.0% 60.0% 50.0% 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% Strongly Agree

Series1

Agree

Not Sure

Disagree

Strongly Agree

Agree

Not Sure

Disagree

40.0%

60.0%

0.0%

0.0%

Strongly Disagree

Strongly Disagree 0.0%

Fig. 7.9 Bangladesh, M.E.T. & foreign exchange earnings opportunities

demanded by the shipping industry or manning companies. By contrast, DC (developed countries) seafarers have been leaving the job, the younger they are, the more so, as evident in Romania’s case.33 How interested might Generation Y be to fill the gap of aged seafarer?34 With DC job market absence, the opportunity for others like Bangladesh to supply seafarers cheaply only grows more promising. One of the respondents stated: “As an economist, I can contribute to MET by sharing my analytical expertise as regards global economic and trade trends and scenarios which are critically important to understanding the environment within which maritime/shipping-related activities take place. However, as a Least Developed Country (LDC), Bangladesh has been accorded preferential market access for Services under the ‘Services Waiver’ WTO decision, until 2026. This is likely to open opportunities for the export of various services from Bangladesh including maritime/shipping services. There is a need for MET to be sensitive to these emerging opportunities (for relevant marine human resources).”

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Disagree 33%

Strongly Agree 7%

Strongly Disagree 0%

Agree 53% Not Sure 7%

Fig. 7.10 Managing international ship-owning or ship-managing companies to recruiting Bangladeshi seafarers

About seafarers of Bangladesh, another respondent argued: “We are always focusing on the ship-owner and Ship Management Company to take Bangladeshi seafarers. Actually, Bangladeshi seafarers are well trained and have the capabilities to adapt to the sea job and functional always. In this situation, our company during [its] survey of Bangladesh government may take initiative to inform all shipping companies and related organizations about our seafarers and quality education of Bangladeshi seafarers.” According to respondents, literature review, and qualitative interviews of experts in the maritime sector, Bangladesh sees a windfall seafarer opportunity to take the maximum share. This is likely to grow. Bangladesh has unutilized manpower to spare, and is able to train and prepare seafarers for any job in both routine- and officer-level positions where quality training from all MET institutions is appreciated in the country. Existing ‘global’ market challenges, like new curricula as per amended STCW, MLC 2006, visa restriction rules, and others, could be solved by governmental initiatives.

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Conclusions Getting an ‘international’ job (or being placed in the ‘forest’) is a cut above getting a ‘local’ job (or being just a ‘tree’). Owing to international regulations and requirements or standards intervention, recruitment produces the most qualified seafarers in the global market. Bangladesh’s prestige will be on the line with its own seafarers. With shipping as the most dangerous ‘global’ sector in which financial investment is very high and returns very low, ship-owners or ship management companies always recruit qualified and competent seafarers to operate the ship at low operations cost while minimizing fixed vessel operating costs. Given the IMO argument that shipping is a modern highly technical professional discipline requiring a great deal of skill knowledge, and an expert maritime workforce, it is necessary to maintain a high MET standard for Bangladesh (which also promotes sustainable development goals). Expectations of ILO (International Labor Organization)-driven Maritime Labor Convention (MLC) from 2016 enable the industry to attract more young people and will provide the opportunity to MET institutions to easily maintain the quality accordingly.35 Women have to prove their capabilities and efficiency during cadet training and also at sea during working to win the respect of their male classmate and colleagues physically and technically competent for this specific sea job.36 Like many developed countries, Hong Kong, where the young are not interested in taking pre-sea training to choose the seafarer profession, viewed this as an opportunity to deploy Bangladeshi seafarers in the ‘global’ job market.37 Therefore, it is necessary to adapt the policy to encourage exclusive sea training for officers who will become human resources of operational seagoing vessels and shipping companies ashore where all pre-sea public, private, and BSMRMU training academies may serve simultaneously. New ‘global’ regulations, an unpredictable shipping environment, and a newly established manual for training and operating ships challenge MET institutions to survive in an uncertain market-place.38 This study concludes by providing the future direction as strategic guidelines by which MET institutions and seafarers will prepare to face the global challenges of the shipping industry as well as the seafarer’s job market. Articulating women empowerment highlights the contributions of this study, itself enhancing a ‘global’ standard for both MET curricula and institutions producing more female-included cadets. It represents one aspect of ‘multifaceted development’ within Bangladesh.

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Future Directions This study aimed to determine how exactly Bangladesh’s MET institutions run and what kind of standard or quality they maintain to produce seafarers and future onboard jobs. What challenges await the graduating cadets, and what steps may be taken to mitigate the challenges of the global seafarer job market? On the basis of the study and related qualitative analysis, a list of future directions is supplied below. Hopefully, future directions will help MET institutions, DOS, the government, and researchers to understand Bangladesh’s MET predicament, and what to do to maintain the quality and attract global recruiters or manning companies to take Bangladeshi seafarers first: • To follow the STCW, MLC 2006, and other IMO conventions to mitigate the demand of recruiting or manning agency as well as for ship-owners or ship management companies; and to also comply with the related international conventions and regional EMSA (European Maritime Safety Awareness) compliance. • All MET institutions providing pre-sea training or undergraduate degree may go or affiliate with BSMRMU, instead of Department of Shipping, Bangladesh. • Department of Shipping, Bangladesh, may handle the certification of seafarers and need to increases its manpower as the number of the seafarer is increasing every year. Moreover, it may monitor the quality and standard of all MET institutions and issue the category certificate as per cadet admission, the infrastructure of the institution, training equipment availability, and teaching procedures. • Reference to visa restriction for Bangladeshi seafarers is a great problem to enter the global job market.39 Government should take immediate action to solve this problem and contract with the respective country and may take IMO help. • As the number of MET institutions increased highly and it is not possible to absorb all graduating cadets in Bangladeshi ships, it’s a duty of the government through its Department of Shipping to establish a marketing department at the embassy or council office in all foreign countries to promote the Bangladeshi seafarers because of the job’s nature and availabilities in the global market. • As the oldest MET institution in Bangladesh, with a global certification and prestigious name in the seafarer job market, the Marine

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Academy can exchange teachers with the private MET institutions for developing their curriculum and teaching technique, and offer to provide practical training or simulations opportunity in its campus and training vessels for the interest of the country. To produce good teachers and instructors in all MET institutions, DOS and BSMRMU counterparts may arrange necessary training, workshop, and other similar get-togethers. Moreover, DOS and BSMRMU scholarship offers to get higher education in the developed countries or World Maritime University for getting the qualified teachers to develop the curriculum for MET institutions in Bangladesh would help. All MET institutions of Bangladesh may build a relationship with the pioneer and foreign established MET institutions to get the standard curriculum, teaching technique, or exchange student for making the international standard of MET. Promote the MET essence in all schools and colleges to attract students, organize seminars in all districts of Bangladesh, and advertise on the radio, satellite television, newspaper on behalf of the government about the seafarer profession. To get women seafarers, it is necessary to create a good environment in the MET institution for recruiting women cadets and prioritize the issue of women engagement in the national fleet by which the country can earn more foreign exchange by women seafarers. In this connection, it is necessary to allocate women seats in the pre-sea training MET institutions.

Notes 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.

Demirel and Mehta (2009). Roe (2013). Zhang and Zhao (2015). Kabir (2014). Sudhakar (2015). Kuntchulia (2015). Sletner (2000). Demirel and Mehta (2009). Pallis and Ng (2011). Wagtmann and Poulsen (2009). Short (1996).

142 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39.

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Aggrey (2000). Barsan (2003). Manuel (2005). Alderton et al. (2004). Cahoon and Haugstetter (2008). UNCTAD (2006, 2012). DoS (2016). Demirel and Mehta (2009). Kabir (2014). Cahoon and Haugstetter (2008). Demirel and Mehta (2009). Aggrey (2000). IWSF (2021). ITF Seafarers (2016). ICS (2021). UNCTADSTAT (2019). Marineinsight (2016). ITF Seafarers (2016). Aggrey (2000). Jo (2010). Magramo and Eler (2012). Barsan (2003). Cahoon and Haugstetter (2008). Ziarati et al. (2010). Aggrey (2000). Ng and Yip (2009). Muirhead (2004). Kabir (2014).

References Aggrey, H. A. (2000). “In the maritime industry: A review of female participation and their role in Maritime education and training [MET] in the 21st Century.” World Maritime University Dissertations, Paper #383. Alderton, T., Bloor, M., Kahveci, E., Lane, T., Sampson, T. M., Winchester, N., Wu, B., & Zhao, M. (2004). The Global Seafarer: Living and Working Conditions in a Globalized Industry. Geneva: International Labor Office. Bangladesh Naval Academy. (2016). “Home.” Retrieved March 20, 2016 from http://www.bna.org.bd/index.html#home. Barsan, E. (2003). “Social aspects of the seafarers’ integration on the maritime jobs market. Proceedings of 4th International Association of Maritime University-IAMU General Assembly, Alexandria, Egypt.”

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BSMRMU. (2016). Vision. Retrieved March 20, 2016 from http://www.bsm rmu.edu.bd/About%20us.php. Cahoon, S., & Haugstetter, H. (2008). “Shipping, shortages and Generation Y.” Paper, 8th International Conference on Maritime Training, Communication and Technology (MARTECH). Singapore, 2008. Demirel, E., & Mehta, R. (2009). “Developing an effective maritime education and training system- TUDEV.” IMLA Conference, Accra-Ghana, 7–10 September 2009. Department of Shipping-DoS. (2016). “Approved Maritime Training Academy/ Institutes.” Retrieved March 20, 2016 from http://dos.gov.bd/maritime-tra ining/approved-maritime-training-academyinstitutes/. ICS. (2021). “Shipping and world trade: Global supply and demand for seafarers.” Retrieved May 16, 2021 from https://www.ics-shipping.org/ shipping-fact/shipping-and-world-trade-global-supply-and-demand-for-seafar ers/. IMO. (2016). “Human element.” Retrieved March 15, 2016 from http://www. imo.org/en/OurWork/HumanElement/Documents/gotosea.doc. ITF Seafarers. (2016). “Seafarers.” Retrieved March 20, 2016 from http://www. itfseafarers.org/ITI--seafarers.cfm. IWSF. (2021). “Profile.” Retrieved June 16, 2021 from https://www.iwsf.co/ public/frontend/documents/iwsf-brochure-nov-2017-898098.pdf. Jo, S.-H. (2010). “Why not seafarers? Towards a development strategy for the recruitment and retention of seafarers in cargo ships with particular reference to the Republic of Korea.” World Maritime University Dissertations, Paper 207. Kuntchulia, S. (2015). “Employment new technologies in methodology for the Maritime Education and Training (MET).” Retrieved March 10, 2016 from http://atsu.edu.ge/Conferences/HENTI2015/ebook/Pro grammeModern.html. Kabir, M.M. (2014). “Enhancement of seafarers’ employability through capacity building in Maritime Education and Training (MET): A Case study of Bangladesh.” World Maritime University Dissertations. Paper 465. Marine Academy. (2016a). “Historical background.” Retrieved March 22, 2016 from http://macademy.gov.bd/portal/com_view.php?page=4&task=bdma_p rofile. Marine Academy. (2016b). “Overview, mission & vision.” Retrieved March 22, 2016 from http://macademy.gov.bd/portal/com_view.php?page=24&task= bdma_profile. Marine Fisheries Academy. (2016). “History of Bangladesh Marine Fisheries Academy,” Retrieved March 22, 2016 from http://www.mfacademy.gov.bd/ #.

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Magramo, M., & Eler, G. (2012). “Seafarers: Solution to shortage of competent officers? International Journal on Marine Navigation and Safety of Sea Transportation 6, no. 3, pp. 397–400. Marineinsight. (2016). “A woman seafarer describes the challenges she faces on board ships.” Retrieved March 14, 2016 from http://www.marineinsight. com/life-at-sea/women-seafarer-ship-challenges/. Manuel, M.E. (2005). “Beyond rules, knowledge and skills.” Retrieved March 8, 2016, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254110454_Beyond_ rules_knowledge_and_skil.l. Muirhead, P.M.P. (2004). “New technology and maritime training in the 21st Century: Implications and solutions for MET institutions.” WMU Journal of Maritime Affairs 3, no. 2, pp. 139–158. Ng, J.M., & Yip, T.L. (2009). “Maritime education in a transdisciplinary world: The case of Hong Kong.” The Asian Journal of Shipping and Logistics 25, no. 1, pp. 69–82. Pallis, A.A. and Ng, A.K.Y. (2011). “Pursuing maritime education: An empirical study of students’ profiles, motivations and expectations.” Maritime Policy and Management 38, no. 4, pp. 369–393. Roe, M. (2013). “Maritime governance and policy-making: The need for process rather than form.” The Asian Journal of Shipping and Logistics 29, no. 2, pp. 167–186. Sletner, T.C. (2000). “Quality system for the implementation of STCW-95 in higher maritime education in Norway.” Maritime Policy and Management 27, no. 1, pp 89–100. Short, R. (1996). “Networking Maritime Education and Training in the Asia Pacific region.” Maritime Studies, Vol. 1996, No. 90. Sudhakar, U.R.P. (2015). “Maritime Education & Training in India: Challenges ahead.” International Journal of Innovative Research and Development 4, no. 7, pp. 101–106. UNCTAD. (2006). “Review of maritime transport 2006. Annex III (a): Merchant fleets of the world (p. 137). United Nations Publication, New York and Geneva. UNCTAD. (2012). “Review of maritime transport 2012. Annex II (a): Merchants fleet of the world (p. 150). United Nations Publication, New York and Geneva. UNCTAD. (2015). “Review of maritime transport 2015.” United Nations Publication, New York and Geneva. UNCTAD STAT. (2019). “Maritime profile: Bangladesh.” Retrieved March 8, 2021 from http://unctadstat.unctad.org/countryprofile/MaritimeProfile/ en-GB/050/index.html. Wagtmann, M.A., & Poulsen, R.T. (2009). “Recent developments and probable future scenarios concerning seafarer labour markets.” MET Trends in

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the XXI Century: Shipping Industry and Training Institutions in the Global Environment-Area of Mutual Interests and Cooperation. Ziarati, R., Demirel, E., & Albayrak, T. (2010). “Innovation in Maritime Education and Training.” Retrieved March 9, 2016 from http://www.spi naker.si/images/stories/mediji/2010_10_01_cn_IMLA2010_innovation_in_ maritime_education_and_training.pdf. Zhang, P. and Zhao, M. (2015). “Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 and the Chinese seafarers: How far is China to ratification?” Marine Policy, vol. 61, pp. 54–65.

CHAPTER 8

Controlling Climate, Facilitating Modernization: Comparing Bangladesh and Mexico Gloria Soto-Montes-de-Oca

and Sharnila Nuzhat Kabir

Introduction Effective policy changes have become fundamental to tackling today’s brewing climate change threats. Decision-making at the ‘national’ level has, in turn, only gotten more complicated to adequately fit ‘sub-national’ governance. ‘National’ laws and policies demand attention because they promote incentives for climate mitigation and adaptation, serve as a focal point for all actors (both ‘sub-national’ and ‘international’), and mobilize actions through various levels of actors. Yet, it alone is responsible for multilevel governance (Setzer and Nachmany 2018). Attention

G. Soto-Montes-de-Oca Department of Social Sciences, Metropolitan Autonomous University (UAM), Mexico City, Mexico S. N. Kabir (B) Department of Environmental Science & Management, Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB), Dhaka, Bangladesh e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 I. A. Hussain (ed.), Multifaceted Development, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1798-3_8

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must shift in connecting ‘vertical’ and ‘horizontal’ governance (Betsill and Bulkeley 2006). The sooner this happens, the more confident we become ‘globally’. Our study, therefore, adopts a ‘place-related’ comparative analysis of policy-making in two countries. One is the most vulnerable deltaic Bangladesh, and another, Mexico, with its growing exposure to floods, hurricanes, drought, aridity, and declining biodiversity, carries its own concerns. Both happen to be at different ‘development’ stages utilizing both ‘Western’ and ‘non-Western’ integrative prisms, yet the ‘lesser-developed’ Bangladesh, instead of tip-toeing full-fledged ‘developed’ countries, could probe and benefit more from pragmatic initiatives in other ‘developing’ countries. True to a ‘place-related’ investigation, ours fits a particular locality (or firm) against a ‘national’ (industrial) framework, in essence casting the ‘tree’ of mitigation and adaptation at ‘local’ levels against the ‘forest’ of sustainability and climate change imperatives at the ‘national’ and ‘international’/‘global’ levels. Thus the ‘forest’ could be as small as the ‘country’ itself, or as large as the ‘international’/‘multilateral’/‘global’. Governance in such cases involves ‘horizontal’ and ‘vertical’ governmental coordination and goes beyond the state to also include non-state actors. Hooghe and Marks (2003) identify two types of multilevel governance: Type I is the hierarchical approach of how competences and authority get distributed ‘vertically’ between different levels of government; and Type II is a polycentric model drawing many overlapping and interconnected horizontal spheres of authority to govern particular issues (Bulkeley and Betsill 2003). Though key, the existence of ‘national’ climate change policies does not guarantee the presence of ‘local’ plans and actions nor higher performance levels in emission reductions or adaptation strategies (Heinrichs et al. 2013). Yet, without ‘local’ action, ‘national’ policy targets inevitably fall short. A national climate change policy framework by itself cannot guarantee the success of a policy reform, but a supportive institutional environment is more enabling and enduring (Lockwood 2013). Climate change institutional frameworks can feed structural transformation, for example, by breaking up ‘cozy policy subsystems’, and strengthening governing capacities in any relevant policy area (Patashnik 2008: 26, cited in Lockwood 2013). Whereas ‘national’ institutional arrangements provide the framework and impetus for change, consistent policy development and implementation across multiple sectors help deliver the required targets (Schmidt and Fleig 2018).

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‘Vertical’–‘horizontal’ coordination reveals the coherence of public policies, opening an arena in which goals can be achieved as long as different forms of support help design and implement the same public problem (Cejudo and Michell 2016). Coherence is observed when instruments complement or reinforce each other to achieve the objectives within the same space, without gaps or duplication. Consistent and coherent policy denotes collaborative processes, connectivity, or networks across scales, departments, levels of authority, and sectors, permitting cross-level engagement in policy-making, from planning to implementation (Scobie 2016; Schmidt and Fleig 2018). Increasingly the success of ‘national’ policies depends on involving ‘sub-national’ governments, particularly those of cities. These are fundamental to both forging and implementing mitigation and adaptation policies/actions (Jörgensen 2015; Harker et al. 2017 ; Castan 2017; Sharp et al. 2011), and the very process of ‘modernization’ in which metropolitans have historically absorbed the shifting fulcrum of ‘national’ policy-making frameworks from the countryside. What the Sixteenth Century ‘enclosure movement’ initiated in England and the 1930s Depression magnified for the United States, that is, massive population and productive shifts from the countryside to cities, is being replicated in many more countries in this century than ever, in turn, exacting increasing tolls of the environment. Engaging ‘sub-national’ governments becomes a key element of effective multilevel governance because ‘local’ governments may be authorized to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (Somanathan et al. 2014), or because vulnerability originates from processes in specific ‘local’ places. Under both circumstances ‘sub-national’ governments directly impact the ability of ‘national’ governments to reach ‘internationally’ agreed targets (Betsil and Bulkeley 2006). Likewise, ‘national’ policy is important for ‘sub-national’ governments because the extent of climate impacts and cross-sectoral effectiveness to reduce GHG emissions often demands the coordination at larger scales, e.g., forest management, river basin management, transport sector, and spatial planning (Heinrichs et al. 2013; Jänicke and Quitzow 2017). Here, the legal frameworks of higher levels of government play an important role in the effectiveness of ‘local’ policy options (Homsy and Warner 2015). As evident, part of the ability of ‘states’ and ‘municipalities’ to enact climate change policies gets conditioned by the powers granted by higher authority levels, such as ‘federal’ and ‘state’ (‘state’

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in this chapter means ‘province) authorities (Browman and Kearney 2012). ‘Municipalities’, with competences for the provision of services like waste management, transportation, or energy efficiency, demonstrate legal capacity (Bulkeley 2010). Besides the competences granted to ‘sub-national’ governments, a series of other variables and motivations influence ‘local’ governments to address climate actions in their own way (Sharp et al. 2011; Castán 2017). Demographic, economic, and government dynamics constantly prowl upon GHG reduction commitments at the ‘local’ level (Krause 2011), as too other internal policy issues, such as inter-sector coordination within the ‘local’ government and outside actors, jurisdictional fragmentation requiring agreement with other actors, short-term objective versus long-term results, and the feasibility of mobilizing resources in pursuit of climate change opportunities (Hughes 2017). ‘Local’ authorities might also be concerned about reducing the impact of climate change effects where land-use planning, building regulations, and civil protection actions become relevant. Some ‘local’ governments might have considerable experience in addressing certain environmental problems, and undertaken innovative mitigation and adaptation strategies as demonstration projects at ‘regional’ or even ‘national’ levels (Betsil and Bulkeley 2006; Kemmerzell 2018). Still, we cannot assume these anywhere at any given time. Heinrichs et al. (2013) explain the importance of considering, with different scales of government, such capacities as the ‘resources’ of ‘local’ authorities to take action, which covers the legal, administrative, political, and financial authority of ‘local’ governments and their autonomy to exercise these in key sectors (p. 1871). Another important capability resource is ‘local’ knowledge, since relevant scientific information at the state or municipal level get determined by both how ‘local’ responses emanate and what ‘national’ policy-making tailors in each ‘locality’-specific case (Heinrichs et al. 2013). Appropriation of relevant ‘local’ information is also articulated with the expectations of co-benefits of ‘local’ climate change policies. Kemmerzell (2018) explains how any multilevel governance impact on the ‘local’ level is policy learning, ‘local’ administrators learn of a ‘national’ policy framework their community must fit into, both in terms of the specific sector and procedurally. Connected to the issue of co-benefits is the safeguarding function of multilevel governance arrangements, such as the establishment of shared goals, standards of action, and monitoring (Kemmerzell 2018).

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Co-benefits, such as financial, material or human resources from ‘national’ or ‘international’ sources, muster a strong rationale and basis for ‘sub-national’ actions (Somanathan 2014; Puppim de Oliveira 2009). Gaining political support is another co-benefit of ‘vertical’ governance whereby sub-national governments perceive different benefits depending on the maturity of their climate policy. In an early stage of climate policy development, ‘local’ actors use the ‘national’ or ‘international’ actors/actions for the establishment of authoritative constraints for action (Bendlin 2016: 112, cited in Kemmerzell 2018), the formation of benchmarks and the introduction of a methodology for climate and energy planning. At a later stage of climate policy development, external actors create opportunities to lock-in already-established trajectories. External benefits at an early stage include fund facilitation, broadening visibility of local leaders, and exposing ‘place-branding’ (Busch 2015: 224, cited in Kemmerzell 2018). Benefits typically shift to technical aspects, like auditing existing policies or sustaining advocacy platform subsequently (Kemmerzell 2018). The impact of transnational networks on ‘sub-national’ governments has been studied in different contexts (Betsil and Bulkeley 2006; Sharp et al. 2011). In some cases, ‘local’ governments engage in ‘international’ initiatives independent of the federal government. The International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) is one vehicle through which ‘municipal’ authorities have developed their climate change strategies, some being more successful than others in terms of implementation (Sharp et al. 2011). Today’s ICLEI membership extends to ‘local’ authorities in Africa, Asia–Pacific, Latin America, Europe, and North America. How these ‘municipal’ strategies integrate into ‘provincial’ and ‘national’ policies represent just the first step, while another opens up from what implementation requires in terms of resources and inter-linking strategies with other government levels. Among the limitations of ‘sub-national’ governments, Puppim de Oliveira (2009) emphasizes how ‘municipalities’ may not have the institutional capacity or financial resources to implement climate action. ‘Sub-national’ governments may be challenged with other local demands, and climate policy may be lowered down on the priority list. There is also the economically rational argument of ‘sub-national’ governments lacking incentives to implement mitigation policies because investing in reducing GHG emissions does not generate tangible benefits: indeed, whatever the benefits, they accrue to a population wider than the ‘local’

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community, thus generating a ‘distance’ that boomerangs when outcomes get measured. Besides, a perception that the ‘national’ government has established the international commitment to climate policy can also mean ‘sub-national’ governments being implemented at higher levels by ‘national’-level leaders. If this is the case, ‘local’ governments get disconnected from the ‘international’ and ‘national’ climate policies (Betsill and Bulkeley 2006). The next sections detail the case study and methods used to collect and analyze data on mitigation and adaptation performance. Sectorbased light is shed on the main mitigation and adaptation policies at the ‘federal’, ‘provincial’, and ‘municipality’ levels. Bangladesh’s economic growth trajectory is at significant risk due to climate change, with on average nearly USD 1 billion or 0.7% of the GDP being lost annually to cyclones alone (World Bank 2022). As such, a strong approach to climate change across the governance levels is imperative to its ambition of accelerated growth in trade and industrialisation aligned with those of its global counterparts. By comparing Bangladesh and Mexico, this chapter aims to highlight an oft overlooked aspect of the South Asian country’s development narrative. What stands out in the discussions is how policies made in the wider domain, like ‘international’ or ‘national’ find ‘local’ implementation; and thereby how ‘local’ outcomes exert enormous influence on ‘national’ and ‘international’ actions. On average the two contrasting forces balance out procedurally and in principles, but how ‘local’ success (or failure) is increasingly being made the pivotal feature in ‘national’ and ‘international’ success (or failure). Whether the ‘local’ has a ‘place-related’ or ‘culture-based’ input is not important as long as the ‘local’ has a voice. Any ‘place-related’ trigger might be replicable enough globally, but ‘culture-based’ catalysts just happen to be far more circumscribed, either regionally, or issue-based. We examine this general picture specifically, taking two countries for a rough comparison: they are not equal along any ‘development’ scale, but offer a different approach to comparing modernization by pitting a near‘Western’ case against a ‘non-Western’ case. Both cases have high-level policies that align with global discourses and international policies relating to climate change, but through this comparison we can better assess Bangladesh’s climate change and development context in respect to that of its Mexican counterpart. Just as that hypothesized approach highlights

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contrasts, ours depict commonalities and make any ‘gap’ across boundaries easier to fathom and digest than may be possible through contrasts. Bangladesh’s ‘modernization’ needs to net more mileage than Mexico’s, but Mexico’s relative ‘advancement’ show more tangible hurdles to cross than typical ‘Western’ cases because they fit the realm of what we might dub Bangladeshi ‘probabilities’ rather than ‘possibilities’. This is most evident in how they respond to multilateral governance, which emerged mostly after ‘Western modernization’ had already built its infrastructure. National and Sub-National Climate Change Policy Levels: Comparative Study of Bangladesh and Mexico Although climate change governance has been broadly studied in ‘developed’ countries, particularly across Europe and the United States, there is relatively little research in developing countries (DiGregorio et al. 2019; Somanathon et al. 2014; Castan 2017; Heinrichs et al. 2013; SotoMontes-de-Oca 2022), particularly comparative studies involving them. We treat the two countries individually and in alphabetical order first, leaving some comparative observations for later. Due to its unique geographical positioning between the Himalayas and the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh has been no stranger to climate shocks and natural disasters (MoEF 2009). The loss and damage from the devastating 1970 Bhola hurricane climaxing with the 1971 Liberation War, gave the country an inauspicious beginning. Reportedly 12 billion USD worth of economic losses have been lost over the past four decades due to climate vulnerabilities. Cyclone Sidr damages alone put the country back by 2.6% of its GDP, or 1.7 billion USD, in 2007 (World Bank). Environmental challenges have prickled policy-makers from the early 1980s (Boyce 1990), and one reason why might be the ‘local’ level awareness of its ‘global’-level reputation. Though the ‘national’ government acknowledged the importance of climate change adaptation and resilience in its ECOSOC-supervised middle-income ‘graduation’ plans (Economic and Social Commission [of the United Nations]), virtually annual weather-triggered havocs like cyclones, flooding, and salinity intrusion also diverted and dominated attention. The fate of every ‘international’ mandate depends helplessly on ‘local’ performances. It is likewise for the need to address GHG emissions (mitigation), sustainable urban planning, and the accommodation of communities displaced due to climate change (adaptation). The ‘pie’

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problem only gets bigger, just as the need to pierce the bubble only grows more urgent ‘nationally’ and ‘internationally’. At the ‘federal’ level, the Bangladeshi government consistently adapted ‘national’ policies reflecting ‘international’ treaties and protocols: the 1995 National Environmental Management Action Plan (NEMAP) incorporated the concept of Sustainable Development for the first time after the 1992 Earth Summit. Similarly, Bangladesh ratified the Kyoto Protocol in 2001, a year after Mexico. When the Protocol became effective in early 2005 (UNFCCC n.d.), despite being an outlier (a non-Annex 1 country), Bangladesh signed on before many others, with the 2005 National Adaptation Programme for Action (NAPA) building resilience against climate shocks (MoEF 2005). More recently, Bangladesh published the ‘Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan: Decade 2030’, in September 2021, to ‘shift Bangladesh’s trajectory from one of vulnerability to resilience to prosperity (VRP)’. This forward-looking plan combines both mitigating strategies (in line with the Paris Agreement to ensure low emissions, such as through carbon financing schemes) and integrating ‘locally’-led adaptation into the development narrative. In its 2021 NDC (nationally determined contributions), Bangladesh pledged an unconditional 6.73% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030 in its business-as-usual (BAU) energy, agriculture, and waste sectors. Climate resilience has been a major focal area in legislative discussions, and unlike Mexico’s General Law on Climate Change (LGCC), the Bangladeshi government has not yet updated laws to include a holistic climate-focused law. Whether this is because of the developmental gap between the two or not, various legislative documents addressing air pollution, environmental conservation, and water-resource management can see clearer Mexican mirrors in them than those from fully developed countries: this newer learning opportunity is larger and more effective than the experiences of cases farther off. What is common to both is the climate change multilateral framework, as emerges below. Despite the lack of a concrete legal framework, Bangladesh has no dearth of strategy-and-planning documents spearheaded by various state actors, keeping in line with the ambitions of the ‘national’ 5-year plans. Across the power, transportation, and industry sectors, in the eighth 5year plan, the country has voluntarily committed to reducing nearly 5% below the BAU scenarios.

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As such, addressing climate change is an integral part of the mandates of almost every public institution, particularly due to Bangladesh’s multilateral engagements on related topics. With over 35 ministries working in close coordination with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to implement climate initiatives, MoEFCC leadership is replicated at a ‘sub-national’ level, that is ‘municipal’ governments, such as the City Corporations (CC), or the rural equivalent of Upazila Parishads (Sub-District Councils). These ‘sub-national’ levels have been funded for project implementation by the Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund (BCCTF), raised via various bilateral and multilateral partners. For example, the City Corporation of Rajshahi overlooking not only the Western border with India but also the vital River Ganges entering into Bangladesh, illustrates this interconnected hierarchical pattern, as too Narayanganj, right on the outskirts of the country’s capital city, Dhaka, doing the same in implementing climate policies. Between 2014 and 2016, Rajshahi had become the top city globally to improve air quality by reducing particulate matter levels. Similarly, the CC option for low-carbon solutions, like solar-powered street lights, was augmented by tax incentives to property owners planting trees on their property. As per their Climate Resilient City Action Plan (CRCAP) for Rajshahi, the target for annual GHG emissions reduction by 2026– 2027 by 12.5% of the 2017–2018 baseline. Narayanganj City Corporation became the first Bangladeshi metropolitan to adopt a Climate Resilient City Initiative. Exemplifying how the ‘local’ met the ‘national’, thence traveled to a ‘global’ level, these were supported by the European Union and jointly implemented by Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI) and UN Habitat. Climate Resilient City Action Plan (CRCAP) plans for actions that could potentially mitigate the 2018–2019 annual baseline GHG emission by 12.6% over the next five-odd years. Dhaka, and other major divisional cities, such as Chattogram or Sylhet, have not yet adopted or publicized such plans, but with specific policy documents such as the manual titled “Planning for Climate Resilience in Bangladesh: A Training Manual for Local Governments”. ‘Sub-national’ level, government representatives lack the technical capacity and sufficient budget allocations to duly incorporate climate resilient initiatives on a widespread scale locally [TIB report]. How many development partners have now taken on capacity-building initiatives to improve local-level planning [LoGIC project, Helvetas], exposes precisely

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the ‘multifaceted’ nature ‘development’ has taken, indeed must take given ‘local’, ‘national’, and ‘global’ inputs and practices. Inter-institutional coordination is stronger on the adaptation front, especially in climate-vulnerable regions facing frequent natural disasters, such as the southeast coast and the northern floodplains. Whereas the Standing Orders on Disaster 2019 represents one such policy document ensuring coordination across ‘national’ and ‘sub-national’ actors, the MoEFCC agency symbolizes coordination across all climate change related planning, advocacy, and implementation efforts. Groups such as the National Disaster Management Council (NDMC) and the InterMinisterial Disaster Management Coordination Committee (IMDMCC) coordinate disaster-related activities at the national level. Whereas coordination at various hierarchical levels (going downwards from the ‘national’ level to, the ‘district’, ‘city’ corporation, ‘upazila’, ‘pourashava’, ‘union’, and ‘wards’) is entrusted to the respective Disaster Management Committees (DMC), a large portion of the annual budget goes toward supporting these ministries and their sub-organizations. Around 56.69% of the National Budget of FY2020–21 accounted for the entire allocation of the major ministries/divisions working toward climate resilience. In terms of addressing climate change through state-backed networks, the government established the Bangladesh Climate Change Trust (BCCT) under the 2010 National Climate Trust Act. Its 100 million USD fund provides monetary support for implementing the projects prioritized within the Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan 2009 (BCCSAP). Apart from adaptation practices, there is little being done on the mitigation front. Though implementing interventions at the upazila and zilla levels were carried out through cross-sector partnerships, multilateral and development partners, donor agencies, as well as NGOs play a large role in the progress being made at the ‘sub-national’ level, illustrating the multi-layered institutional framework at hand. Bangladesh’s climate documents acknowledge the intersectional and multi-dimensional nature of the impacts of climate change, hence the focal areas are not limited to those relating to the natural environment, but also those of socioeconomic nature such as livelihood opportunities, and gender issues. The areas of focus for addressing climate change vary significantly across districts. While district-level planning is guided by ‘national’-level plans, each ‘district’ is affected by its own unique set of climatic challenges, in a true ‘place-related’ fashion. As such, while the ‘sub-national’

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actors in Khulna prioritize rising salinity and cyclones, those in Rangpur aim to tackle flooding and extreme temperature fluctuations, meaning the adaptation domain. In more urban settings, such as Dhaka City Corporations, Chattogram, and Sylhet, solid waste management, transport, and energy have been more prioritized in the GHG mitigation domain. Table 8.1 shows a summary of Bangladesh’s progress in national and subnational policies. Mexico Mexico is one of the first non-Annex 1 countries to have such a ‘national’ legislation. One milestone was the publication in 2012 of the General Law on Climate Change (LGCC), recently amended in July 2018 to incorporate the contents of the NDC. The NDC offers unconditional reductions of 22% Greenhouse Gases and Compounds (GHGC) and 51% black carbon emissions compared to a 2000 baseline. For adaptation, it seeks to reduce by half the list of ‘municipalities’ highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change; increase actions for the protection and restoration of ecosystems; achieve a zero rate in deforestation by 2030, and implement systems of prevention and early warning of extreme hydro-meteorological events (LGCC 2012). To achieve the objectives at the national and sub-national levels, the government approach has been to integrate climate change into all public policy planning through a series of regulatory and institutional arrangements mandated in this LGCC. The objective is to create an integrated framework of public interventions in the three levels of government – ‘federal’ (‘national’), ‘state’ (‘province’), and ‘municipal’ (LGCC 2012). The authorities have stated that climate change represents a risk to national security. Scenarios project that by 2050, the country’s arable areas could be reduced by 25%, half of the forest ecosystems could be lost with impacts on biodiversity and droughts could affect 80% of the population in the north and center of the country, where economic activity is concentrated (SEMARNAT 2014; Galindo 2009). At present, official data shows that the costs of climate-related disasters increased between 1999 and 2017 and are 10 times higher than for geological disasters (SEMARNAT-INECC 2018).

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Table 8.1 Climate change policy overviews in Bangladesh and Mexico Bangladesh NDC

National policy instruments

Subnational initiatives

Subnational focused areas

6.73% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030 in its BAU-energy, agriculture, and waste sectors

Mexico

22% GHG and 51% black carbon emissions compared to a 2000 baseline. Reduce by half the list of ‘municipalities’ highly vulnerable; achieve a zero rate in deforestation, and implement systems of prevention and early warning of extreme hydrometeorological events -‘National’ 5-year plans General Law on Climate Change -Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund The National Climate Change Strategy vision 10-20-40 -National Disaster Management Council Special Climate Change Program -Inter-Ministerial Disaster Management Coordination National Institute of Ecology Committee and Climate Change -Disaster Management Inter-Secretariat Commission of Committees Climate Change -57% of the National Budget of National System of Climate FY2020-21 is directed towards Change (co-ordinate the three climate resilience levels of government) Scarce national resources directed the transport and waste management sectors Climate Resilient City Action For a sample (6 out of 32 Plans (finished or in progress) states with 18 municipalities) for Rajshahi, Dakah, Narayanganj 3/6 State Laws of Climate and Gazipur and the Change municipalities of Singra, Kushtia, 5/6 State Climate Change and Mongla Program 5/18 Municipal Climate Change Program Abundant adaptation actions as compared to mitigation both at state and municipal level Salinity, cyclones, flooding, Transport, waste, biodiversity extreme temperature, solid waste, conservation, forest fires, transport, energy flooding

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Mitigation In terms of mitigation, Mexico contributed 1.4% of global emissions in 2011. According to the National Inventory of Emissions of Gases and Greenhouse Compounds, three sectors contribute almost fifty percent of total emissions: transportation with 26.2%, electricity generation 19%, and waste 4.6% (INECC 2015). Consequently, the LGCC mandates that the reduction of 22% of GHG emissions must be achieved through the commitment of the different participating sectors; with reductions from electricity generation, transportation, and waste sectors of 31, 18, and 28%, respectively. Here is one contrast with Bangladesh: emission sectors can be more easily modified and assessed than in Bangladesh, in part because of the latter’s neglect of the numbers of ‘medium’ or ‘heavy’ industries, and in part owing to their more recent attention in Bangladesh, resembling much as an industrialization ‘frontier’ country. Bangladesh also reports lesser GHG emissions, 20 percent of Mexico’s. Mexico has been working on climate change since several years ago. In 2005, the Inter-Secretariat Commission on Climate Change was created. The National Climate Change Strategy vision 10–20-40 (2013) establishes the pillars of the ‘national’ policy that underpin the strategic axes. At the ‘federal’ level, the Special Climate Change Program (PECC) defines the objectives and asserts that each state should develop its Climate Change program, and also at the municipal level there should be a climate change program, at least for those most vulnerable or with greater emissions. The LGCC proclaims the creation of the National Institute of Ecology and Climate Change (INECC) as a decentralized institution to strengthen scientific capacity, including evaluating compliance of the adaptation and mitigation objectives established by the different policy instruments. However, this policy framework could be only the beginning of a major transformation, as observed in other countries. Since the gap between the objectives contained in the ‘national’ climate change legal and policy frameworks and their ‘local’ implementation (Lockwood 2013), Mexico stands on the precipice of doing that. Analyzing Mexico’s climate change policy framework at the ‘federal’ and ‘sub-national’ levels for adaptation and mitigation objectives with a sample of six ‘states’ and 18 ‘municipalities’ (three for each state), showed

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interesting patterns (Soto-Montes-de-Oca et al. 2022 is used to obtain the information of the sampled cases). To understand how ‘federal’ and ‘sub-national’ governments are responding to the climate change agenda, at the ‘national’ level governance is led by the National System of Climate Change (SINACC), enhances coordination between the authorities of the three government levels. Though formed by the Inter-Secretariat Commission of Climate Change (CICC), the National Institute of Ecology and Climate Change (INECC), the State Authorities, the Association of Municipal Authorities, the Congress, and the Climate Change Council, that is, a string of high-powered, ‘national’ groups carry obvious ‘international’ obligations. However, SINACC held annual meetings. Whereas the CICC is most generally responsible for coordinating climate change policy at the ‘federal’ level, by promoting coordination among the agencies and entities of the Federal Public Administration (LGCC 2012), as well as mitigations and adaptation at the ‘federal’ level, the competence of each sector changes. Sector-specific Analysis Across Policy-making Levels The analyzed domains (transport, waste, and adaptation) require actions at the three levels of government, thus the ‘sub-national’ climate change policy framework becomes relevant. Three out of the six analyzed ‘states’ have Laws on Climate Change (Estado de México, Jalisco, and Veracruz) and five out of the six ‘states’ have a CICC (not Nuevo León), formalized in the existing ‘state’ laws on climate change. While both countries see policies percolating downwards in Mexico, more ‘local’ units have been brought under a monitoring system than in Bangladesh. Table 8.2 offers a cursory comparison of the two. Five out of six ‘states’ have a Climate Change Program: Estado de México (2013), Jalisco (2014), Nuevo León (2010), Veracruz (2009), and Yucatán (2014). Sinaloa, the exception, is building its own. In the case of Veracruz, besides the Climate Change Program, a document titled Sector Agendas for Climate Change 2012–2016 defines specific actions for each CICC Secretariat. These governance activities from multiple jurisdictions and levels were observed in the studied ‘states’ to manage their CC state policy. In the case of Yucatán, in addition to the State Inter-Secretarial Commission, the ‘state’ is also a member of the Regional Commission on Climate

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Table 8.2 Comparative Bangladesh–Mexico environmental overviews Features

Bangladesh

Mexico

Multilateral triggers (climate change and SDG mandates) Country policy-making pattern Prospects of fulfilling multilateral goals Problems

present and actively pursued: horizontally integrated

present and actively pursued: horizontally integrated

‘vertical’ integration

incomplete ‘vertical’ integration

low

low

very low sub-national capacities; pollution and cottage-industry-based toxic emissions

low sub-national capacities; natural constraints: aridity; biodegradation capacities weakening man-made constraints: pollution and heavy-industry emissions

Change with other two ‘state’ governments and a representative of the ‘federal’ government, showing how multiple jurisdictions complement the efforts indicated in the ‘national’ policy. Jalisco state created Inter-Municipal Environmental Boards (JIMAs) with the participation of municipal authorities, academics, ‘state’ and ‘federal’ officials, and citizen organizations. In the case of Yucatán, the ‘state’ government implemented a strategy of regional waste management, in which infrastructure for the collection, recycling, and final disposal was developed for inter‘municipal’ systems. These multilevel governance structures show that at the ‘state’-level specific networks of ‘local’ governments have coordinated climate change actions (Betsill and Bulkeley 2006; Kemmerzell 2018). ‘Local’ knowledge is key in the identification of risks and analysis of ‘local’ vulnerability, in turn generating political interest in understanding and acting on predicted ‘local’ climate change impacts (Heinrichs et al. 2013). Existing State Climate Change Programs present information about the vulnerability, with outstanding cases in Jalisco and Yucatán presenting disaggregated data for their territory. The existing risk atlases have been complemented with training courses for ‘municipal’ authorities. However, risk atlas information is rarely considered in the ‘state’

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planning and construction instruments. Furthermore, these atlases do not integrate climate change risks, denoting a lack of horizontal coordination, and the actions reported as adaptation are not necessarily the outcome of a diagnosis linked to climate change exposure. As recognized in previous studies, adaptation actions seem to be more connected to existing environmental programs than to climate change policy (Heinrichs et al. 2013). However, it is clear that adaptation actions included in the CC programs and then implemented both at the ‘state’ and ‘municipal’ levels are more abundant than mitigation actions. This trend is consistent with the Di Gregorio et al. (2019) argument about how local actors are more engaged in sharing information and collaboration on adaptation issues because they are in front lines experiencing the impacts of climate change. Of the 18 ‘municipalities’, only five have a Climate Change Program: Cuautitlán de García Barragán (2014) and Guadalajara (2012) in Jalisco, Toluca in the Estado de México (2015), Mérida in Yucatán (2017), and Culiacán in Sinaloa (no date). All except in Mérida were supported by the Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI® ) and the British Embassy. Three out of the four Municipal Climate Change Programs (Toluca, Mérida, and Culiacán) are capital cities, while Cuatitlan de García Barragán is a ‘municipality’ in Jalisco. Neither SEMARNAT nor INECC, the key ‘national’ institutions, have agreed to develop guidance to help ‘municipalities’ in the preparation of their Municipal Climate Change Programs. Therefore, ‘municipalities’ do not know the scope of the Program and how it should be prepared, thus contrasting the support for ‘state’ government where the INECC published a guideline document, called ‘Minimum elements for the preparation of climate change programs of the federal entities’, in 2015. With co-benefits as an important driving force for climate change policies for ‘sub-national’ governments (Somanathan et al. 2014; Kemmerzell 2018; Sharp et al. 2011), ‘cohabitation’ is even furthered: adaptation domain, ‘state’ and ‘municipal’ programs include actions such as dengue prevention, forest fires prevention, natural protected areas, restoration of ecosystem services, which have a broader impact on social and environmental issues, such as health and poverty alleviation or biodiversity conservation. In cities where transport practices contribute to air pollution problems, municipal involvement in climate change mitigation facilitates solving this local problem, such as in the cases of Culiacán, Monterrey,

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and Guadalajara which report different actions to control vehicle emissions and monitor air quality. Whichever way we look at the puzzle, the ‘place-related’ impulse is beating, reflecting not any ‘culture-based’ force, but ‘globally-felt urgencies ‘locally’ (see Table 8.1 for a summary progress in national and sub-national policies).

Conclusions Climate change governance literature highlights the importance of ‘national’ policies and the role of ‘sub-national’ governments to achieve mitigation and adaptation targets (Gillard et al. 2017; Setzer and Nachmany 2018; Schmidt and Fleig 2018). Given the insufficiencies of ‘national’ policies, complementing them with consistent policy development and implementation in multiple sectors and government levels picks up much of the slack. Mexico’s ‘state’-level efforts to create a climate governance structure that considers legal and planning instruments as well as institutional coordination contrast with more scarce ‘municipal’ level efforts. With less than 20% of the sampled ‘municipalities’ bonding with Climate Change Programs, the action remains confined only to the ‘capital city’. As Mexico has almost 2,500 ‘municipalities’, ‘regionalization’ might be an interesting strategy to support the development of ‘locally’ relevant scientific information that indicates appropriate, locallevel response options (Benner and Pastor 2011). Clearly ‘place-related’ forces need to be encouraged, legitimized, and advanced just to grapple with the problems. Yet this may be the Rubicon at the ‘municipal’ level. A national climate change policy requires a clear financing strategy, but in Mexico, scarce resources in the transport and adaptation sectors and none in the solid waste sector compound the crisis. Multilevel governance provides benefits of synergy between different levels of government and across sectors (Betsill and Bulkeley 2006), yet, the existing legal and institutional framework needs to be supported by financial resources to tackle the problems, which the ‘national’ domain dominates. The ‘federal’ and sub-national governments are not ‘monolithic actors’ but composed of different actors governing economic sectors (Gillard et al. 2017; Jänicke and Quitzow 2017). Here the technological and process alternatives in each sector here prove relevant at the ‘sub-national’ level. Jänicke and Quitzow (2017) see ‘national’ policies and incentives (regulations, subsidies, programs) being used to mobilize economic interest for climate-friendly technologies in specific sectors.

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If the success of ‘national’ policies depends on involving ‘sub-national’ governments, the struggles that the ‘national’ governments might face to reach internationally-agreed targets are evident. Moreover, the lack of monitoring and clarifying indicators in the mitigation and adaptation sectors make it difficult to track the progress. Overall limited actions seem to show that many emerging economies will be unable to meet their ‘international’ commitments for addressing climate change without more explicit engagement and support to ‘sub-national’ governments. Although ‘state’ and certain ‘municipal’ governments show interest to integrate the climate change agenda, they lack the capacity to reduce GHG emissions at the ‘local’ level and to undertake effective adaptation actions. Regarding vulnerability to climate change impacts, important decisions such as land-use planning and building regulations, do not consider the climate change impacts yet. Bangladesh and Mexico both exhibit strong commitment to addressing climate change. Apart from aligning with global policies, the two nations can take inspiration from the other’s approach to green growth. This comparative analysis highlights some key aspects of Mexico’s environmental governance that Bangladesh can learn from in its growth journey; from greening public transport to empowering local-level government.

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Lockwood, M. (2013). “The political sustainability of climate policy: The case of the UK Climate Change Act.” Global Environmental Change 23(5), 1339– 1348. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2013.07.001. MoEF. (2005). “National adaptation programme of action (NAPA).” Bangladesh. Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh. https://unfccc.int/res ource/docs/napa/ban01.pdf. MoEF. (2009). “Bangladesh Climate Strategy and Action Plan 2009.” Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Puppim de Oliveira, J. A. (2009). “The Implementation of climate change related policies at the subnational level: An analysis of three countries.” Habitat International, 33(3), 253–259. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2008. 10.006. Schmidt, N. M., & Fleig, A. (2018). “Global patterns of national climate policies: Analyzing 171 country portfolios on climate policy integration.” Environmental Science & Policy, 84, 177–185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci. 2018.03.003. Scobie, M. (2016). “Policy coherence in climate governance in Caribbean small island developing states.” Environmental Science & Policy, vol. 58, 16–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2015.12.008. Setzer, J., & Nachmany, M. (2018). “National governance: The state’s role in steering polycentric action.” In Jordan, A., Huitema, D., van Asselt, H. & Forster, J. (Eds.), Governing Climate Change: Polycentricity in Action. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. SEMARNAT. (2014). Programa Especial de Cambio Climático. (PECC 2014– 2018). Gobierno de la República, México. SEMARNAT-INECC. (2018). Sexta Comunicación Nacional y Segundo Informe Bienal de Actualización ante la Convención Marco de las Naciones Unidas sobre el Cambio Climático. Gobierno de México. Sharp, E. B., Daley, D. M., & Lynch, M. S. (2011). “Understanding local adoption and implementation of climate change mitigation policy.” Urban Affairs Review, 47(3), 433–457. https://doi.org/10.1177/1078087410392348. Somanathan E., Sterner, T., Sugiyama, T., Chimanikire, D., Dubash, N. K., Essandoh-Yeddu, J., Fifita, S., Goulder, L., Jaffe, A., Labandeira, X., Managi, S., Mitchell, C., Montero, J. P., Teng, F., & Zylicz, T. (2014). National and Sub-national Policies and Institutions. In Edenhofer, O., Pichs-Madruga, R., Sokona, Y., Farahani, E., Kadner, S., Seyboth, K., Adler, A., Baum, I., Brunner, S., Eickemeier, P., Kriemann, B., Savolainen, J., Schlömer, S., von Stechow, C., Zwickel, T., & Minx, J. C. (Eds.), Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment. Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

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Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press. Soto-Montes-de-Oca, G., Cruz-Bello, G. M., Quiroz-Rosas, L. E., & FloresGutiérrez, S. (2022). “The challenge of integrating subnational governments in multilevel climate governance: The case of Mexico. Territory, Politics, Governance, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/21622671.2022.2106298.

CHAPTER 9

Questioning Questions: Can Questions Help Build Neuron Clusters? Yusuf Mahbubul Islam and Umam Mustain Nashikh

Engaging Students to Learn How to motivate students to learn, independently apply their subject knowledge, and continue adding to their experience and develop expertise areas pose challenges. To discover how the human brain learns to reach these goals, recent scientific research has tied learning with physical activity in the brain, e.g., “the brain is effectively hijacked when a question is posed and the whole brain instinctively goes into action to look for answers”.1 Realizing how questions interrupt the regular brain operations to find answers, is it a wonder why more than 60 years ago, to help teachers adopt a questioning strategy, the educational psychologist Dr. Benjamin Bloom not only identified domains of learning,2 but

Y. M. Islam (B) School of Engineering, Technology & Sciences (SETS), Independent University Bangladesh (IUB), Dhaka, Bangladesh e-mail: [email protected] U. M. Nashikh Office of Graduate Studies, Research & Industry Relations, IUB, Dhaka, Bangladesh © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 I. A. Hussain (ed.), Multifaceted Development, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1798-3_9

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also suggested verbs useful to teachers to formulate questions to engage the learning domains. With similar objectives in mind, being frustrated by the lack of mathematical ability developed in students, the Appalachia Educational Laboratory (AEI) sought to find the relationship between Questioning and Understanding to Improve the Learning and Teaching (QUILT) of this subject ‘locally’.3 Applicable ‘globally’ to any subject, the QUILT framework involves five stages: (a) question preparation; (b) presentation of questions; (c) prompting; (d) processing of student responses; and (e) reflection on questioning practice. The QUILT methodology, however, deals with the management of formative questions after part of the subject material has been taught in a class to test understanding. Similarly, with the belief that questioning is key to learning, the multinational corporation Intel introduced the Socratic Questioning Method (SQM) claiming: “By using Socratic Questioning, teachers promote independent thinking in their students and give them ownership of what they are learning”.4 The Socratic Questioning Method uses the following sequence to create and apply questions in the classroom: 1. Plan significant questions that provide meaning and direction to the dialogue; 2. use wait time: allow at least thirty seconds for students to respond; 3. follow up on students’ responses; 4. ask probing questions; 5. periodically summarize in writing key points that have been discussed; 6. draw as many students as possible into the discussion; and 7. let students self-discover knowledge by probing questions the teacher poses. As explained, the questioning dialogue takes place after the unit has been introduced and is well underway, again implying the use of formative questioning to discuss, debate, and contrast ideas to improve understanding and go deeper into the topic. The questioning methodology does not probe students’ interest or current knowledge/perception of the topic as the topic is launched.

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Gaps in Learning With much ado designing questions to help students learn,5 are students in transferring the thinking skills they have learned through tertiary education to situations faced in daily life or a job? For example, are we producing graduates who can think for themselves as desired and needed by employers? As concerns about the employability of graduates grow, the website Employability Skills you need for a job, defines such skills as: “... skills and attitudes that enable employees to get along with their colleagues, to make critical decisions, solve problems, develop respect and ultimately become strong ambassadors for the organization”. It goes on to add soft skills as the foundation stone of one’s career building-blocks, and referenced in the media as lacking in school-leavers, graduates and those already in employment”.6 Recognizing the problem as far back as in 1993, the U.S. Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) funded and published a research report on Developing Employability Skills which concerned itself with the gaps between skill requirements of entry-level employment and the skill levels of job applicants.7 The research studied 63 documents on the subject from 1982 to 1993. More interestingly, among these, one of the research articles from 1990 referred to in the study carried the title Jobs of the Future and the Skills They Will Require: New Thinking on an Old Debate that appeared in the American Educator. We are still discussing the skills gap ‘universally’ three decades later. Where are we going astray? As Table 9.1 shows, Cotton (1993) divided the skills required by employers into basic, higher order, and affective categories.8 Among all these skills,9 the top three (dependability, reliability, and a positive attitude to work in the rightmost column) were highlighted as a must or essential without which the employee would be of little use to an organization. Locally, in Bangladesh, at Daffodil International University (DIU) in 2016, 36 employers were invited to share the gaps they found in the graduates they hired. They wrote their answers on cards which were thematically clustered. The findings came out much the same as shown in Table 9.1 with additional requirements, such as that of being Tech Savvy. So it would seem that the demands of the employers have not changed over the years—only increased with additional requirements. A Forbes.com study by Eikenberg highlights: “... soft skills are quickly becoming the difficult skills to recruit for and develop in our organizations... these skills are those that turn our everyday work into hard dollars. It’s time we take

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Table 9.1 Soft skills identified from the 63 documents studies (Cotton 1993) Basic skills

Higher order thinking skills

Affective skills and traits

Oral Communications (speaking, listening) Reading, especially understanding and following instructions Basic arithmetic

Problem solving

Dependability/Reliability

Learning skills, Strategies

Positive attitude toward work

Creative, Innovative thinking Decision making

Conscientiousness, punctuality, efficiency

Writing

Interpersonal skills, cooperation, Working as a team member Self-confidence, positive self-image Adaptability, flexibility Enthusiasm, motivation Self-discipline, self-management Appropriate dress, grooming Honesty, integrity Ability to work without supervision

a fresh look at these soft skills to understand why they’re more difficult to find and more valuable to build than ever”.10 Despite the development of teaching methodologies globally and the focus of question management in classrooms, little progress has been made toward enabling students to extend or transfer their analytical or problem-solving skills to job situations. Probing the problems impeding the imparting of required soft skills, Tang (2018) points to the importance of the teachers themselves having the right set of soft skills.

Trial Approach: Questioning the Questioning Methodology It is obvious that in the academic arena, we need to continue to look for solutions to improve the teaching–learning process. This chapter proposes to experiment with the following.

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1. Revisit a ‘local’ arena, the classroom, questioning a ‘globally’ applicable methodology while relating it to how the brain responds to questions. 2. Given methodological questions, develop and propose a basic data model based on literature, science, and references from the Holy Scriptures that can be applied to the questioning methodology ‘universally’. 3. Go deeper into the questioning methodology for classroom/online delivery that relates more to how the brain learns and stores concepts. 4. Train teachers on the importance of questions using the developed methodology. 5. Use an assessment methodology that examines the nature of the participants questions at the end of the delivery, i.e., check whether the questions demonstrate an overall understanding and a willingness to apply their learning ‘universally’, i.e., transfer their learning to their own classroom situations 6. Present a stepwise lesson plan approach using the proposed model.

Brain Model: Exploration Literature Resources Available While the methodology of inserting progressive questions in a class is seen to develop critical thinking among students11 —a thinking skill that is essential in the real world and is in high demand by employers world over, the questioning methodology could further benefit from answering the following queries. The first is at which point in the lecture delivery should the first question be asked or launched: At the beginning of the class or only during a strategic point, i.e., formatively, when trying to find out what they have learned thus far? What type or nature of question should the initial question be? A second follows: What is the biological as well as data relationship between questions and the brain, i.e., in what way is the brain equipped to tackle questions? The application of the scientific method generally involves generating a hypothesis and then setting up experiments to check the hypothetical assumptions. Three sources are being used here as references: science, logic, and spirituality. Therefore, to develop a more comprehensive literature review, the next question that arises while trying

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to come up with a hypothesis on how the brain reacts to questions and its relationship to brain use: can we get spiritual guidance on the use of the brain? That is, whether the scriptures provide any guidance that can be useful for developing the hypothesis, i.e., a basic data model for launching the brain to learn? Ultimately, a third question creeps in: whether analyzing the types of questions asked by the participants reveals a motivation to apply the learned technique? Developing the Brain Use Model The trend of asking progressively formative questions during classroom engagement has been seen to yield learning benefits.12 Formative assessments, tasks, and activities focus on intermediate processes to give both the teacher and the student feedback on learning thus far. In addition to identifying gaps, formative assessments consisting of questions asked to test learning as part of the teaching/learning process have been motivational toward subsequent learning.13 In contrast, the progressive questioning approach being developed in the proposed Brain Use Model supports the theory of constructivism—where in a constructivist classroom, questions are asked for the purpose of progressively constructing knowledge, i.e., for learning. Students are not treated as blank slates upon which knowledge is etched and then formatively tested progressively during the class. The constructivist theory assumes that they come to learning situations with their own formulated knowledge, ideas, and understandings,14 that is, what has been labeled as ‘place-related’ development: since every idea stems from a context, that context begins subjectively. This previous knowledge is the raw material for the new knowledge that they will create.15 The proposed approach supports the assumption that knowledge cannot be ‘created’ at any point; concepts that already exist in the brain have to be found and subsequently linked to create new knowledge. New knowledge is therefore ‘constructed’ by linking existing concepts to form or enhance already linked clusters in the brain. This is like saying that a house is built with different types of bricks—the pre-requisite being the existence of individual bricks. To enhance a building, for example, a second level may be constructed on top of an existing floor. Calvo Tapia, et al., recently revisited research so far on the concept of single-cells containing individual concepts that make such construction possible.16 If we assume that single concept cells exist, then the brain consists

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of a database of single concepts which need to be initially found and then subsequently linked to construct complex concepts. The task of learning would then be: first locate the concept under discussion, confirm the finding, and progressively search for additional concepts to link. Not unlike using a query to find the required table in a computer database; querying or ‘questioning’ would then need to play a significant role in finding each of the brain concepts to be linked (as opposed to asking a formative question simply to test learning thus far). Therefore, in contrast to formative questions which assess gaps, questions in the proposed model are more like database queries—to locate concepts and not only to check the quality of intermediate learning per se. This supports the theory of Constructivism by answering the methodological questions: where in the brain should the next construction take place and why? The following sections inspect Holy Scripture references on functioning of the human brain while teaching. Can we find confirmation of the fact that the brain primarily consists of a database of concepts from the Holy Scriptures? This assumption is confirmed by the first part of Verse 31 of Chapter 2 of the Qur’an: And He taught Adam the nature of all things…17

The Verse confirms how basic concepts are pre-loaded in the brain. Questioning the brain would then help to locate concepts much like a query to a browsing software. Not surprisingly, this understanding must have existed earlier as the etymological meaning of the word ‘educate’ is to “bring out or lead out or draw out or rear” nowhere implying that knowledge has to be put in or for that matter injected into the brain.18 Evidently as far as ‘knowledge’ is concerned, the idea of an existing internal database of concepts can be applied to how the brain works by linking (i.e., constructs) concepts for learning. The notion that the working of the brain can be likened to the workings of the computer database/table or vice versa is not new,19 coming up, as it does, with complex neuroscience models mimicking the brain’s vast cognitive mechanisms. In our case, however, to help teachers understand the role of questions while accessing concepts in the brain, a basic model should suffice, in which how questions posed can interact with the brain to progressively link concepts to construct new knowledge can be understood.

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The Launching Question The first step to working with any existing database of concepts is to locate the primary concept or existing concepts that need to be linked. Should there be any difference where the brain is concerned? As the location of the required concept in the brain is unknown, the only way it can be found is through a query or question. What type of query or question? Again, if we turn to the Holy Scriptures for reference, we find the following Verse in the Qur’an: Now, what is that in your right hand, O Moses?20

The question is apparently straightforward and innocent. To understand the underlying significance of the question, however, we would have to place the question in its context. God is about to train Moses on how to use his stick in the presence of Pharaoh. The main or central concept involved is the stick or the rod of Moses. God needs to get Moses to mentally access the ‘neurons’ that store and connect all the concepts related to the rod. How does God do this? Without mentioning the word rod, God asks, “now, what is that in your right hand, O Moses?” To answer this question, Moses’ brain has to locate the neurons (or data) where all the concepts related to the rod are stored. Now, how does God know that Moses has successfully accessed the correct neurons? Moses responds: He said, “It is my rod: on it I lean; with it I beat down fodder for my flocks; and in it I find other uses”21

The fact that Moses is able to elaborate on the concepts related to the rod confirms that his brain is pointing to the correct neuron or area/cluster in the brain where the related concepts are stored or linked together. The first or launching question or query is designed in such a way that would allow Moses to access the neuron with the main concept of ‘rod’ by himself. Using the notion of ‘single concept cells’ a conceptual model of how concepts would interact is diagrammatically shown in Fig. 9.1. Once the appropriate site is found, God then proceeds to ask Moses to throw the stick which becomes a snake. Given a new experience, the brain has now to link the concept of the ‘stick’ or rod to the concept of ‘snake’—a link (a synapse) connects the ‘snake’ neuron

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Linked neuron Linked neuron

Beat fodder

Fetch Leaves

Linked neuron

Use-n

Rod/ Stick

Linked neuron

Linked neuron

Walking Support

Snake

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Poisonous

Central concept neuron

Central Concept Neuron (CCN)

Fig. 9.1 Linked neuron network connected to a Central Concept Neuron

(from the ‘rod’ neuron), constructing a new learning for Moses, i.e., rod < becomes > snake! Based on this notion of accessing the correct neuron and then linking with new concepts draws a picture of how to engage the brain to learn, i.e., link concepts < to > concepts by asking question/s step-by-step that the student guesses/answers. The student then needs to be able to compare his/her answers with that of peers and get feedback from the teacher to correct any misconceptions—a concept supported by the purpose of discussion in the Socratic method.22 Basic Data Query Model for the Brain To create the data query model for the brain we make the following assumptions: Concepts reside in neurons and need to be linked to form neuron clusters incrementally. For example, with the main concept of ‘rod’, all experiences gained with the rod concept are linked to the neuron that takes on the role of a Central Concept Neuron (CCN), as shown in Fig. 9.1, to form a neuron network or cluster linked to it. Figure 9.1 is a conceptual interpretation of Verse 20.18.23 Finally, once new knowledge is linked, at the end of the lesson, the objective of the lesson should be tied back to the purpose of the lesson as is done at the end of Moses’s training as demonstrated by Verse 20.24 where he is asked to take what he learned to Pharaoh.24 Although Fig. 9.1 makes a distinction between the Central Concept Neuron (CCN) and Linked Neurons, each and every neuron can be a CCN in its own right—depending on the concept located by the question

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posed. A single concept neuron becomes ‘central’ when many neurons become linked to it with concepts related to it. A cluster of neurons is therefore a ‘radially’ organized network of neurons based on a concept. This method of central and apparently ‘radial’ organization allows quick and efficient retrieval once the CCN is accessed through a query type of question. The response from Moses in Verse 20.18 comes from the linked neurons shown in Fig. 9.1. The case for a ‘single’ concept neuron cell has been recently revisited by Calvo Tapia, et al. (2020) by explaining how a musical note can be recognized by the brain—this idea being first launched in the 1960s as reported by Quiroga, et al. (2005).25 Figure 9.2 shows how the new learning, i.e., the rod becoming a snake is linked to the CCN ‘rod’ extending the existing cluster. The corresponding data operations are itemized in Table 9.2 linking with the subsequent Verses found in the Qur’an. After having located the CCN through a ‘Central Concept Locating Query (CCLQ)’, as confirmed by a listing of the linked concepts, Moses is then asked to throw the ‘rod’. The fact that a rod can become a ‘snake’ is a new experience for Moses. To record this learning in his brain, a link (synapse) must now form from the CCN of the rod to the CCN of ‘snake’. The CCN of ‘snake’ has its own linked neuron concepts like poisonous, risk of dying, etc. However, as far as the CCN of the ‘rod’ is concerned, the CCN of snake now becomes a Linked Neuron for the CCN ‘rod’. The resulting new connection is shown in Fig. 9.2 with a dashed arrow (- - - - > ). Table 9.2 elaborates on the data exchanges taking place in an attempt to extract the Linked neuron Linked neuron

Beat fodder

Fetch Leaves

Linked neuron

Use-n

Rod/ Stick

Linked neuron Walking Support

Snake

Poisonous

Linked neuron/Central Concept Neuron

Central Concept Neuron

Fig. 9.2 The Central Concept Neuron (CCN) linking with another CCN

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Table 9.2 Data exchanges taking place to train moses Data exchanged

Nature of data

Now, what is that in your right hand, O Moses? (Data input)

A simple question that Moses can easily answer. In this chapter we call the nature of question a Central Concept Locating Query (CCLQ) (Ref Verse: 20.17) It is my rod… (Data Directly answered output) from the Central Concept Neuron or single concept cell on the ‘rod’. (Ref Verse: 20.18) …on it I lean; with Answered from the it I beat down neurons linked to fodder for my flocks; the Central Concept and in it I find other Neuron (CCN) uses. (Data output) (Ref Verse: 20.18)

Throw it down, O Moses (Data input)

Practical activity (Linked Subsequent Engaging Activity, LSEA) (Ref Verse 20.19)

Go thou to Pharaoh. Objective of lesson (Data input) given. Linking back to the purpose of training (Ref Verse 20.24)

Purpose

Result

To get Moses to locate the neuron with the concept of ‘rod’ so that new experiences can be added linked to other concept neurons.

Moses is able to locate the Central Concept Neuron (CCN) and has access to all linked experiences related to the ‘rod’.

So that Moses’ brain is able to locate the correct Central Concept Neuron and thereby respond to the question. The multiple uses (Confirming Answers from Linked Neurons, CALN) indicate that Moses has accessed the correct Central Concept Neuron cluster in the brain linked to all applications. To allow Moses to experience what happens to the rod and form a new link to another Central Concept Neuron

It becomes known that Moses has accessed the correct single concept neuron in his brain It is confirmed that Moses’ brain has accessed the correct cluster to which a new experience can now be added.

To allow Moses to understand the purpose of the training encounter with God, thereby contextualizing the training received.

A new synapse is formed linking the concept of ‘rod’ to the concept neuron of ‘Snake’. This adds to the ‘rod’ cluster (Fig. 2) The objective links back to the purpose.

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1.Central Concept Locating Query launching question to locate the appropriate neuron cluster (20.17)

2.Confirming Answers from Linked Neurons responses to show that the correct neuron cluster (table) has been accessed (20.18)

Neuron cluster with concepts linked with the stick (rod)

3a. Linked Subsequent Engaging Activity new synapse linking the concept of rod to snake (20.19)

3b. Linked Subsequent Engaging Activity - new synapse linking the concept of rod to Pharaoh (Verse 20.24)

Neuron cluster with concepts linked with snake

Neuron cluster with concepts linked with the Pharaoh

Fig. 9.3 Operations for Extending Neuron Clusters (ENC): Adding links to existing central concept clusters

sequence of how to effectively extend existing neuron clusters. Figure 9.3 summarizes the extracted data exchange. Figure 9.3 extracts how a sequence of questions and activities can be designed as part of a lesson plan to engage the correct neuron cluster and subsequently link related concepts. Questions and the Physical Brain Before considering the design of a lesson plan for organized Extending of Neuron Clusters (ENC), let us look at the relationship between the physical brain and questions. In what way is the brain equipped to handle questions? In the Science of Work series published by Fast Company, Hoffeld (2017) writes: “Questions trigger a mental reflex known as ‘instinctive elaboration’... And when your brain is thinking about the answer to a question, it can’t contemplate anything else”.26

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Essentially, the entire brain becomes a prisoner to the question posed and does not release itself till an answer is found. In addition, a chemical called serotonin is released to relax the brain so that the answer searching mechanism works without stress.27 Linking phenomena observed by science with the guidance given in the Holy Scriptures we may conclude that God has designed the human brain to respond to query questions and form links between the concepts pre-set in the brain to create knowledge. Locating existing clusters (on a topic) to subsequently link with new experiences helps organize related ideas together and subsequent retrieval as shown in Fig. 9.2. This method of organizing linked concepts around a central/main concept cell may explain the speed of subsequent retrieval of all ideas linked to the central concept.28 During learning proper organization of concepts is therefore important for the subsequent successful retrieval of all connected ideas. With one simple question, Moses was able to respond with all the uses of his ‘rod’—O, Moses, what is that in your right hand? Deriving the Methodology for a Lesson Plan and an Experimental Lesson Design Table 9.3 provides the reasoning used for the experimental Lesson Design. Figure 9.3 shows the derived methodology for the Lesson Plan diagrammatically. A 3-step methodology for extending (existing) neuron clusters is proposed. The methodology shows the possibility of multiple linked concepts (3a and 3b) once the Central Concept Neuron has been located. Notice, also, that one of the third steps, 3b, in fact, links back to the purpose of the lesson—go to Pharoah (Verse 20.24). Column 4 of Table 9.3 proposes the experimental Lesson Design—a set of questions and activities for the lesson to be conducted on teachers—teachers who have recently gone to teaching online without any formal training. The idea behind the experimental lesson was to help teachers become aware of the type of questions that can support extending of neuron clusters as opposed to just using formative questions that assess knowledge taught, while delivering lectures online. The challenge is that teachers, normally, in their face-to-face classes, are not interactive, i.e., they do not ask questions that promote interaction and discussion. However, when asked in the pre-class questionnaire, as shown in Fig. 9.4, they feel that they do ask adequate questions—a pre-conceived notion regarding the use of questioning and questions in class. Linked concepts may now be discussed

Confirming Answers from Linked Neurons (CALN)

It is my rod; on it I lean; with it I beat down fodder for my flocks; and in it I find other uses. (Verse 20.18)

Central Concept Locating Now, what is that in your right Query (CCLQ). The question hand, O Moses? (Verse 20.17) should allow freedom to answer openly

Questions and texts from scripture Potentially, a CCLQ question could have been asked on ‘snake’ or ‘Pharoah’. However, as it is the rod that becomes a snake and it is the rod that needs to be used in front of Pharaoh, the most logical central concept is the ‘rod’. Moses’ brain has located the ‘rod’ CCN as shown in Fig. 1. He is therefore immediately able to respond with the various uses from the Linked neurons confirming that the correct CCN has been located. The CCN is now ready to connect to concepts being taught.

Reasoning

Guiding steps and design of experimental ENC lesson plan

Name and sequence of step

Table 9.3

As it was felt that taking ‘online’ classes and its success has become a major concern, the chosen CCLQ for the experimental class was: “What type of tools do you use for interaction in your online classroom?” As the experimental test class was itself online, participants were provided with a number of multiple-choice answers to select from, i.e., Google Meet, Zoom, BigBlueButton, etc., and allowed multiple responses.

Sample lesson design questions for testing the ENC methodology

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Reasoning

This is a practical activity. Moses is able to immediately recognize it as a moving snake. As he becomes afraid, it means the correct ‘snake’ CCN has been located. As the ‘rod’ has become a snake, which is a new experience, a link now forms between the rod CCN and the snake CCN as a Linked Neuron. This is an application of the rod which needs to be quickly retrieved when he faces Pharaoh. This is the objective of the training conducted. Objective is given afterward to tie the concepts back to the purpose of the training

Questions and texts from scripture Throw it down, O Moses! (Verse 20.19)

Go to Pharaoh for he had indeed transgressed all bounds. (Verse 20.24)

Name and sequence of step

Linked Subsequent Engaging Activity (LSEA)

Linked Subsequent Engaging Activity (LSEA)

Can a topic be effectively launched with a question? (Linking back to the purpose of lesson, also allowing the participants to compare with what they normally do)

In your opinion how should a topic be launched? This question allows each participant to locate their current thoughts on the teaching process.

Sample lesson design questions for testing the ENC methodology

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Fig. 9.4 Teachers response to whether they ask questions during class

As shown in Fig. 9.4, prior to conducting the experimental lesson a total of > 97% of teachers (n = 394) asserted that they do ask at least some questions. However, further questioning during the online class revealed that they meant questions to gauge understanding so far (formative questions), quiz questions, review questions, but not questions that query the current understanding or perception the students have. Table 9.3 shows the 3 main steps for launching a class to construct appropriate new links with central concepts. Step 3 is shown twice as it may be an activity or another question and can be repeated any number of times till the purpose of the lesson is linked back. The first two steps essentially lay a foundation upon which any number of further steps can be taken, i.e., an activity or a question, to link with the current neuron. For the sake of clarity, the steps are isolated and again shown in Fig. 9.5. The steps are given the name Extending Neuron Cluster (ENC) Lesson

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Plan. After it is confirmed that the brain’s pointer is at the correct Central Concept Neuron, having located it through the Central Concept Locating Query, multiple activities including further questions may be asked to continue extending the links to the concept neurons. Once done the neurons may be linked back to the purpose or objective of the lesson through a statement or question. Extending Neuron Clusters (ENC) Lesson Plan: Experimental Design Considerations As the all-important question is the first one to locate the central concept, i.e., the Central Concept Locating Query (CCLQ), tapping into the participants immediate concerns regarding the tools they have to use for their online classes, i.e., the tools they select to start online teaching (first row, Table 9.3)—so that whenever they think of online ‘tool’ they should be able to access the newly constructed linked neurons. This question is also something that they could easily answer. It was arranged so that the teachers could respond online by selecting multiple-choice answers or by writing a short sentence that would be displayed. To do this an interactive online tool available at Mentimeter.com was used. The tool allows a PowerPoint type of presentation while allowing respondents to respond to questions by first entering a code at a companion website at Menti.com. All the subsequent questions (Linked Subsequent Engaging Activity, LSEA) used as a follow-on to build upon this central concept were prepared slide by slide in Mentimeter interactive PowerPoint as shown in Table 9.4. The lesson was designed simply by asking the series of questions (Table 9.4), allowing the teachers to answer, giving feedback on the answers, and concluding. Using the experimental Lesson Plan design template (Fig. 9.5), a 2-hour online session was designed for teachers who were forced to suddenly start teaching online without any sort of training. Teaching in general, in the usual face-to-face classroom, is PowerPoint based with occasional formative questions to gauge understanding thus far. At the beginning of each batch, the responses to the pre-class question “Do you ask questions in a face-to-face or online class?” was shown and the nature of questions asked was discussed. It was found that the teachers are more familiar with questions that gauge understanding thus far during class rather than questions that engage students’ curiosity and inquisitiveness.

Confirming Answers from Linked Neurons (CALN)

Objective

Linked Subsequent Engaging Activity (LSEA)

Fig. 9.5 Extending Neuron Clusters (ENC): lesson plan design

Central Concept Locating Query (CCLQ)

Linked Subsequent Engaging Activity (LSEA)

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Table 9.4 Question sequence for the experimental ENC online class Sequence of Questions

Main Concepts

Concepts linking forward

1. What type of tools do you use for interaction in online classroom? 2. Do you feel students are motivated/interested during an online class? 3. In your opinion how should a topic be launched? (Note: Be reminded that we need to engage students right at class beginning) 4. Can a topic be effectively launched with a question? 5. What happens to the brain when a question is asked? (Research online and find an answer. Please write your answer in one sentence) 6. When we address the brain, should there be any difference between face-to-face and an online class? 7. In how many ways can students be engaged? 8. What type of question should be asked to launch a class? 9. Now think of an easy question to launch one of your next topics 10. In your opinion what was the purpose of today’s lesson? 11. Write a sentence on how the Q&A methodology can be used to deliver your own lesson

online tools

online, classroom, < actual online tools used >

class, online

students, motivated, interested

Students

launch class, engage, topic

topic,

launch, question

Question

brain, < new concept >

Brain

online, face-to-face—< links online and face-to-face to brain >

Students

engage, < ways, linking with benefits of questioning > launch, type

Question

Launch

topic < question to transfer knowledge gained >

Objective

sum up from the cluster formed < metacognitive question > successfully transfer knowledge to own topic < question to transfer knowledge gained >

Link today’s topic to own subject

(continued)

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Table 9.4 (continued) Sequence of Questions

Main Concepts

12. Do you have any specific What kind of questions questions on how to apply would be asked if concept the Q&A methodology to linking was successful? your own class? (Question used to assess motivation and understanding toward application of learned concepts)

Concepts linking forward With new linked cluster to take to their classes, they should ask application questions < question used to assess motivation and understanding toward transfer of knowledge gained >

Design of the Sequential Questions for the ENC Experimental Class: An in-depth study of the columns of Sequence of Questions and Main Concepts in Table 9.4 will reveal how the Concepts Linking Forward of each question builds upon the previous one. The are shown conceptually in Fig. 9.6 as the central concept of Online Tools being extended. The resulting foray of links appears complex, however, matching the Main Concepts and Concepts to Link in Table 9.4 with the corresponding neurons in Fig. 9.6 would help see the overall logic behind the links. It will be seen that many of the concepts are reinforced by linking back to the ‘Launch Class’ neuron and the ‘Brain’ neuron back to the ‘Online Tools’ neuron. The last three questions in Table 9.4, e.g., “In your opinion, what was the purpose of today’s class?”, attempts to tie up the purpose of the lesson, i.e., the objective and transfer of learning to own classes. Online ENC Lesson Delivery, Collection of Teacher’s Questions and Assessment: The 12 questions of the ENC lesson were delivered to a number of batches of teachers both within Bangladesh and outside the country using the online meeting tool Google Meet . Google Meet was used to present the interactive PowerPoint slides made in Mentimeter.com. The total number of participants were 311 from Bangladesh, 64 from Nepal, and 19 from Malaysia. For the total of n = 394 responses to Question 12 (as given in Table 9.4) were collected and an inductive thematic analysis was done. The emerging themes identified with sample questions are shown in Table 9.5. As shown, the thematic analysis shows motivation and thinking

Engage

Central Concept Neuron

Online Tools

FaceBook

Linked neuron Motivated

Launch Class Topic

Intereste d

Linked Students neuron

Class

Linked neuron

Fig. 9.6 Extending Neuron Cluster (ENC) Lesson design for the class “are your online students engaged?”

Type

Google Meet

Zoom

Question

Linked neuron

Brain

Application

Associated Issues

Linked

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toward application, i.e., a desire to transfer the methodology to their own classroom practice. The teachers also started working out associated issues if and when applied as shown by dashed lines in Fig. 9.6. The phrases used (from the Participant’s Questions) to work out the themes are underlined in the left column of Table 9.5. Out of the total of 394 participants only 86 or 22% asked a parting question. The 4 themes emerging (Application question, Meta-cognition question, Similar question, and Didn’t understand) from the questions at the end of the workshop, “Are Your Online Students Engaged?” are shown in Table 9.5 and diagrammatically shown as a pie-chart in Fig. 9.7. The nature of questions asked by the teachers shows thinking beyond what was taught in the ENC session: 84.9% of the questions (51.2% + 33.7%) demonstrate concerns about application of the methodology. A thorough review of the psychological factors that demonstrate effective learning done by Richardson, et al. ,29 show that to judge the transfer of learning it is better to assess goal-orientation of the students, i.e., whether students have a strategic approach to the learning they have achieved, thoughts that indicate effort regulation and self-efficacy. The questions posed by the students show intentions to carry their learning into their classes.

Discussions, Conclusions, and a Way Forward: Good teachers all over the world intuitively know that students need to be engaged or hooked into the subject matter right from the beginning. Accordingly, in the website blog, socialstudies.com, Fowler writes: “Some teachers simply take attendance, others jump right into their lesson... no structured way to start their class every day... most effective and connected educators purposely plan a creative, engaging ‘hook’ that grabs the students’ attention, and sets the tone for the rest of class’. He continues that when “students walk into class, they must be immediately engaged. Otherwise, they will get bored, mentally wander, and turn their young minds off to learning completely”.30 Conceptually the idea of ‘hooking’ for introducing new content is similar to the ENC method proposed.31 The ENC method essentially sheds light on the ‘why’ and ‘how’ behind the need for the ‘hook’ at the beginning of the class. Understanding ENC will allow teachers to focus on the why of the hook and plan exactly how to engage the students to deliver a class.

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Table 9.5 Analysis of questions asked by participants: themes covered Teacher’s questions

Question theme

Nature of question

Total count

How does menti.com used to Question and Answer in online class if the class is related to a series of mathematics equations? How can I draw a circuit diagram in mentimeter.com? There are 4 to 5 zoom classes every day. For interactive class it needs more class hours. How can we minimize it? It seems that students need to be groomed before using the tools you have just shown. What would you think should be the time lag before having the students come up to the speed? Sometimes the front page of google meet becomes scrambled. It becomes OK after refreshing. Is it a network or computer problem? How to conduct online exams, without compromising quality? when lecturing, students get bored.But I have to finish the content…how to engage them in an online class? If the class is lecture oriented then how can one spend time on the student engaging process using such tools?

Application question

How can I apply what I have learned? < question shows participant is motivated to apply >

29

Meta-cognition question

What might happen if I apply the methodology? < question shows thinking beyond application >

44

Similar topic question

How can I solve other technical problems? < thinking about technical issues >

8

Didn’t understand

Question shows that the main point of the lecture was missing

5

The Launching Question: Engaging the appropriate Central Concept It is important to understand why the neurons should be connected in a particular sequence; this all has to do with instant retrieval of the linked concepts when needed. In the example with Moses, God had three major concepts to deal with, rod, snake, and Pharaoh. What if He had started with the concepts of snake or Pharaoh first? He could have started with, “O, Musa, what do you fear most in the desert?” In such a

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Fig. 9.7 Thematic analysis of questions posed by teachers at the end of the class

case, the Central Concept Neuron would be ‘snake’. And then say, “Ok, now throw your rod”. The linked neuron concept would then be the ‘rod’. Then finally say that you have to take this to Pharaoh. A possible construction of the resulting neuron cluster could be as shown in Fig. 9.8. If ENC launches started with the Central Concept Neuron of ‘snake’, could Moses be later blamed, e.g., if he wondered if all ‘snakes’ could Linked Neuron

Linked Neuron

Rod

Poisonous Pharaoh Snake

Central Concept Neuron

Linked Neuron

Fig. 9.8 Extending Neuron Cluster (ENC) launched with the ‘snake’ concept

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become a ‘rod’ when picked up? The reason for such a possible question will become apparent when Fig. 9.8 is compared with Fig. 9.2. Appropriate choice of the Central Concept Neuron (CCN) is essential for logical retrieval of concepts when needed, i.e., when standing before Pharaoh, would hooking into the concept of ‘snake’ (Fig. 9.8) be useful? Rather hooking into the concept of ‘rod/stick’ as shown in Fig. 9.2 would allow immediate recall and exactly what to do with the rod. The objective of a class would also have to be tied in to the launching concept so that when needed, recalling the launching concept would promote proper transfer of knowledge to the real world. This would be particularly important when teaching STEM subjects, as such learning would have to follow logical sequences that are a fundamental part of theories and application in STEM subjects. Random launching of concepts complicates logical recall and application. According to Panopto active learning is an instructional approach that engages students in the material they are learning through problemsolving activities, writing assignments, group discussion, reflection activities, and any other task that promotes critical thinking about the subject.32 The work of Auerbach & Andrews focused and examined active learning applied to STEM education and reasons for variation in the outcomes of student performance.33 They point out: “Though activelearning instruction has the potential to positively impact the preparation and diversity of STEM graduates, not all instructors are able to achieve this potential... Instructors who report using active-learning instruction displayed knowledge of principles of how people learn, practical knowledge of teaching strategies and behaviors, and knowledge related to classroom management... yet many college STEM instructors have little or no training in teaching (methods)”. Further work by Auerbach, et al., confirms these findings.34 What would be interesting to investigate is STEM classes initially launched with ENC followed by the regular active learning classroom activities. Tying the Objective to the Launching Concept at the End of the Lesson: Recommended lesson planning activities generally follow Gagne’s Nine Events where immediately after gaining the students’ attention, the students are to be informed of the learning objectives.35 In contrast, the ENC lesson plan requires the objectives to be tied in to the launching concept at the end. This allows the objectives to be situated together with

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the launching concept, and for the students to contextualize the application of the learning. While the objectives provide essential guidance for the teacher for preparing a lesson, the novice student may not be able to relate to unheard or unknown terms at the beginning of the class. As the meaning of the terms used in the objective is likely to be unknown, the objectives delivered at the beginning may become intimidating rather than inviting or motivating. As an example, how would the use of the term ‘SUBTRACTION’— “Children, today we are going to learn about Subtraction” sound to youngsters being taught the concept for the first time? The term would be more meaningful after having shown examples from the student’s lives where subtraction would be needed, e.g., checking the change after buying some chocolates using their own pocket money. Therefore, experimentally, if Gagne’s Event 2 were moved to just before Event 9, i.e., just before ‘enhance retention and transfer to job’ (Singapore Management University, 2021), the differences between the learning imparted would be interesting to compare. The ENC Lesson Plan Design Template: In summary, the steps to build upon or extend existing neuron concept clusters, i.e., to develop an ENC lesson plan, are as follows: 1. Study the main ideas or concepts involved in the lesson to be taught—this is to decide on the central concept. (In the case of Moses, God had three concepts to deal with rod, snake, and Pharaoh. Why did He choose to use ‘rod’ and not snake or Pharaoh as the launching concept—even though Pharaoh was the objective? Notice that the objective was tied in last.) 2. Compare all concepts involved and take a decision on which concept should be central. This can also be done by answering some questions, e.g., when applying the lesson, which thought or main concept best connects most of the related ideas? (For example, when Moses finally faced Pharaoh if he thinks of his familiar ‘rod’, will he know what to do?). 3. Decide on a launching question that can be answered without actually mentioning the main concept. The student should be able to answer this question on his/her own easily. (For example, O Moses, what is that in your right hand? Notice that ‘rod’ was not

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mentioned—why not? Is this because the brain works with concepts and not necessarily with words?) 4. Next, check whether the related Central Concept Neuron has been successfully located, by asking relevant questions. Moses answers with multiple uses of his rod; this confirms that his brain has located the Central Concept Neuron relating to the rod. 5. Design further questions or activities that allow sequential linking of concept neurons and to achieve the learning objectives of the lesson. (For example, rod becomes a snake). 6. To end the lesson, tie the final questions back to the objective of the lesson and the Central Concept Neuron. (For example, the rod and the lesson learned by Moses was to be taken to the Pharaoh). This will help transfer of the lesson to new situations. If Moses can subsequently locate the CCN of the ‘rod’, the linked neurons will be immediately accessed. 7. To check student understanding, students should be invited to ask questions on application of the concepts taught. The ENC lesson plan provides an instructional methodology to launch and engage the students into new topics in a way that addresses the development of neuron clusters that build on and are related to single concepts—concepts that may already have clusters. The methodology supports the theory of Constructivism that allows for the cluster to be organized in a manner that makes subsequent retrieval and application of all related concepts efficiently.

Notes 1. D. Hoffeld, “Want to know what your brain does when it hears a question?” FastCompany, February 21 (2017), Retrieved December 13, 2020. https://www.fastcompany.com/3068341/want-to-know-whatyour-brain-does-when-it-hears-a-question. 2. Bloom, “Bloom’s taxonomy of learning domains,” Review of Bloom’s Taxonomy (1956): 1–4. 3. J. Craig, & L. Cairo, “Assessing the relationship between questioning and understanding to improve learning and thinking (QUILT) and student achievement in Mathematics: A pilot study,” Appalachia Educational Laboratory at Edvanta, 2005. 4. Intel Teach Program, “Designing effective projects: Questioning the Socratic questioning technique,” Designing Effective Projects (2007): 1–3.

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5. C. Manduca, M. Savina, & D. Merritts, “How to use the Socratic method in the classroom,” 2018. https://serc.carleton.edu/. https:// serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/socratic/fourth.html. 6. SkillsYou Need, “Employability skills: The skills you need to get a job,” Skills You Need: Helping You Develop Life Skills, 2020, Retrieved January 8, 2021. https://www.skillsyouneed.com/general/employabilityskills.html. 7. K. Cotton, Developing Employability Skills (1993), Retrieved July 22, 2018. https://educationnorthwest.org/sites/default/files/Developin gEmployabilitySkills.pdf. 8. Ibid. 9. Ibid. 10. D. Eikenberg, “Why soft skills are harder than they look,” Forbes.com (2018), Retrieved July 27, 2018. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbes coachescouncil/2018/07/12/why-soft-skills-are-harder-than-they-look/ #17f3ffcc359e. 11. G. Gupta, “Progressive questioning: Improving students’ critical-thinking, logic, and problem-solving skills,” Journal of College Science Teaching, 34, no. 04 (2005). https://my.nsta.org/resource/2927/progressive-que stioning-improving-students-critical-thinking-logic-and-proble. 12. A. Chandler-Grevatt, “Writing effective questions for formative assessment,”edu.rsc.org, August 11, 2020. https://edu.rsc.org/feature/howto-write-questions-for-formative-assessment/4012260.article. 13. Ibid. 14. The ‘constructivism’ used here is quite different from that used in the International Relations literatures. 15. Educational Broadcasting Corporation, “Constructivism as a paradigm for teaching and learning,” 2004. https://www.thirteen.org/edonline/ concept2class. https://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/constr uctivism/index_sub2.html. 16. C. Calvo Tapia, I. Tyukin, & V.A. Makarov, “Universal principles justify the existence of concept cells,” Scientific Reports 10, no. 7889 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-64466-7. 17. Qur’an Verse 2.31. 18. https://en.wiktionary.org, November 19 (2020), Educate. https://en.wik tionary.org/wiki/educate, Retrieved January 14, 2021. 19. Y. Wang, B. Widrow, L.A. Zadeh, N. Howard, & S. Wood, OctoberDecember (2016). https://www.teachbetter.com/blog/strategies-toincrease-critical-thinking-skills-in-students. International Journal of Cognitive Informatics and Natural Intelligence 10, no. 4. file:// /Users/yusufislam/Downloads/IJCINI-104-CognitiveIntelligenceBrainInspiredSystems.pdf. 20. Qur’an Verse 20.17.

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21. 22. 23. 24. 25.

26. 27. 28.

29.

30.

31. 32.

33.

34. 35.

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Qur’an Verse 20.18. Manduca et al. (2018). Qur’an Verse 20.18. Qur’an Verse 20.24. R. Quiroga, L. Reddy, G. & Kreiman, “Invariant visual representation by single neurons in the human brain,” Nature, 435 (2005): 1102–07. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03687. Hoffeld, op. cit. Ibid. “The Human Memory 2010–2021,” Memory Recall and Retrieval System, November 20 (2020), from: https://human-memory.net/. https:// human-memory.net/memory-recall-retrieval/. M. Richardson, C. Abraham, & R. Bond, “Psychological correlates of university students’ academic performance: A systematic review and metaanalysis,” Psychological Bulletin 138, no. 2 (2012): 363–387. https://doi. org/10.1037/a0026838. D. Fowler, “The Hook: 4 Ways to dynamically engage your students from day one,” socialstudies.com, April 10 (2019). https://blog.socialstudies. com/the-hook-4-tips-for-daily-engagement. Ibid. “What is active learning and why does it work?” panopto.com, July 19, 2019. https://www.panopto.com/blog/what-is-active-learning-and-whydoes-it-work/. A. J. Auerbach, & T.C. Andrews, Pedagogical knowledge for activelearning instruction in large undergraduate biology courses: a large-scale qualitative investigation of instructor thinking. International Journal of STEM Education, Ed 5 (19), 2018. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594018-0112-9. Ibid. Singapore Management University, Lesson Planning, 2021. https:/ /cte.smu.edu.sg. https://cte.smu.edu.sg/approach-teaching/integrateddesign/lesson-planning.

References Auerbach, A. J., & T. C. Andrews. 2018. “Pedagogical Knowledge for activelearning instruction in large undergraduate Biology courses: A large-scale qualitative investigation of instructor thinking.” International Journal of STEM Education 5, no. 19. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-018-0112-9. Auerbach, A. J., M. Higgins, P. Brickman, & T. Andrews. 2018. “Teacher knowledge for cctive-learning instruction: Expert–novice comparison reveals

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differences.” Cell Biology Education 17, no. 12. https://doi.org/10.1187/ cbe.17-07-0149. Bloom, B. 1956. “Bloom’s taxonomy of learning domains.” Review of Bloom’s Taxonomy, 1–4. Calvo Tapia, C., I. Tyukin, & V.A. Makarov. 2020. “Universal principles justify the existence of concept cells.” Scientific Reports 10, no. 7889. https://doi. org/10.1038/s41598-020-64466. Chandler-Grevatt, A. 2020. Writing Effective Questions for Formative Assessment. August 11. edu.rsc.org. https://edu.rsc.org/feature/how-to-write-questionsfor-formative-assessment/4012260.article Cotton, K. 1993. Developing Employability Skills. Retrieved July 22, 2018. https://educationnorthwest.org/sites/default/files/DevelopingEmplo yabilitySkills.pdf. Craig, J., & L. Cairo. 2005. Assessing the Relationship Between Questioning and Understanding to Improve Learning and Thinking (QUILT) and Student Achievement in Mathematics: A Pilot Study. Appalachia Educational Laboratory at Edvanta. ED489125. Educational Broadcasting Corporation. 2004. Constructivism as a Paradigm for Teaching and Learning. https://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concep t2class. https://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/constructivism/ index_sub2.html. Eikenberg, D. 2018. “Why soft skills are harder than they look.” Forbes.com. Retrieved July 27, 2018. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoache scouncil/2018/07/12/why-soft-skills-are-harder-than-they-look/#17f3ff cc359e. Fowler, D. 2019. The Hook: 4 Ways to Dynamically Engage Your Students from Day One. April 10. Socialstudies.com. https://blog.socialstudies.com/thehook-4-tips-for-daily-engagement. Gupta, G. 2005. “Progressive questioning: Improving students’ critical-thinking, logic, and problem-solving skills.” Journal of College Science Teaching 34, no. 04. https://my.nsta.org/resource/2927/progressive-questioning-improvingstudents-critical-thinking-logic-and-proble. Hoffeld, D. 2017. February 21. Want to Know What Your Brain Does when it Hears a Question? FastCompany. Retrieved December 13, 2020. https://www.fastcompany.com/3068341/want-to-know-whatyour-brain-does-when-it-hears-a-question. Howard, N., & H. Amir. 2018. “The fundamental code unit of the brain: Towards a new model for cognitive geometry.” Cognitive Computation 10, (2018): 426–436. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12559-017-9538-5. Intel Teach Program. 2007. “Designing effective projects: Questioning the Socratic questioning technique.” Designing Effective Projects, 1–3.

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Lam, F. 2018. The Socratic Method as an Approach to Learning and Its Benefits. Carnegie Mellon University. Thesis. https://doi.org/10.1184/R1/668657 0.v1 Manduca, C., M. Savina, & D. Merritts. 2018. How to Use the Socratic Method in the Classroom. May 7. https://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/socratic/fourth. html. Quiroga, R., L. Reddy, & G. Kreiman. 2005. “Invariant visual representation by single neurons in the human brain.” Nature, no. 435: 1102–1107. https:// doi.org/10.1038/nature03687. Quiroga, R. Q., I. Fried, & K. Christof. 2013. “Brain cells for grandmother.” Scientific American 308, no. 2: 30–35. https://www.scientificamerican.com/ article/single-brain-cell-stores-single-concept/ Richardson, M., C. Abraham, & R. Bond. 2012. “Psychological correlates of University STUDENTS’ academic performance: A systematic review and meta-analysis.” Psychological Bulletin 138, no. 2: 363–387. https://doi.org/ 10.1037/a0026838. Singapore Management University. 2021. Lesson Planning. https://cte.smu. edu.sg https://cte.smu.edu.sg/approach-teaching/integrated-design/lessonplanning. SkillsYouNeed. 2020. “Employability skills: The skills you need to get a job.” Skills You Need: Helping you Develop Life Skills. Retrieved 18, 2021. https:/ /www.skillsyouneed.com/general/employability-skills.html. Tang, K. N. 2018. “The importance of soft skills acquisition by teachers in higher education institutes.” Kasetsart Journal of Social Sciences. https://www.scienc edirect.com/science/article/pii/S2452315117304939. The Human Memory 2010–2021. 2020. November 20. Memory Recall and Retrieval System. https://human-memory.net/. https://human-memory. net/memory-recall-retrieval/ Wang, Y. 2015. “Cognitive learning methodologies for brain-inspired cognitive robotics.” International Journal of Cognitive Informatics and Natural Intelligence 9 no. 2: 37–54. https://doi.org/10.4018/IJCINI.20150401003 Wang, Y., B. Widrow, L. A. Zadeh, N. Howard, & S. Wood, S. 2016. International Journal of Cognitive Informatics and Natural Intelligence 10, no. 4 (October-December). https://www.teachbetter.com/blog/strate gies-to-increase-critical-thinking-skills-in-students/ https://www.teachbetter. com/blog/strategies-to-increase-critical-thinking-skills-in-students/. What is active learning and why does it work? panopto.com. July 19 (2019). https://www.panopto.com/blog/what-is-active-learning-and-why-does-itwork/ Wiktionary.org. 2020, November 19. Educate. Retrieved January 14, 2021, 426– 436. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/educate.

CHAPTER 10

‘Theory’ Meets ‘Turf’ in Bangladesh: Melting-Pot, Mottled, or Menacing ‘Development’? Imtiaz A. Hussain

Introduction: Volume Overview, Future Preview Two broad findings were indicated in Table 1.1. The first involved the fairly fluent and ‘non-western’ transitions into ‘western development’ types, with ‘leaf’-level improvements shaping ‘tree’-level identities to merge with ‘forest’-level patterns. This was evident in five chapters: animation, urban–rural divide, pedagogical shifts in an andragogyanchored direction, maritime blending, and Socratic Learning Method. They typify a ‘melting-pot’ outcome by meshing both ‘western’ and ‘nonwestern’ dynamics. They fuel ‘globalization’. The more tenderly they get treated at the ‘leaf’ level, the more ‘forest’-level unity and identity. By contrast, the second had three cases that did not blend so fluently: one of them (environmental sustainability) carried ‘forest’-level hopes but

I. A. Hussain (B) Department of Global Studies and Governance, Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB), Dhaka, Bangladesh e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 I. A. Hussain (ed.), Multifaceted Development, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1798-3_10

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faced too many ‘leaf’-level constraints to go the distance (dubbed a ‘mottled’ outcome). Both ‘forest’-level mandates of adaptation and mitigation policies depend so critically upon ‘local’ acceptance and delivery, they become more serious hostages of ‘local’ dynamics. A ‘global’ war is not as foreseeable as the collapse of sustainability at that level. ‘Forest’-level negotiations, such as SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) conferences, can help elicit palliatives (as a step to complete cleansing). Two other cases in this second group (‘western’-Islamic education; and English as a second language), face ‘uneasy’ prospects given how both have been constantly haunted ‘locally’, the former by fundamentalism, the latter by excessive nationalism, with little, if any, SDG counterpart. Both suggest a ‘menacing’ outcome. These two cases not only refuse blending, but also diverge structurally from each other, enough to collide: today’s ‘cohabitation’ between ‘western’ and Islamic education may be the best we can expect in the foreseeable future; and similarly the degrees and nature of English comprehension diverging worldwide threatens a future with too many alliterations and mangling of sorts to preserve the original version of the language. Bangladesh-based ‘leaf’-level observations may not be unique: not only other ‘non-western’ countries show similar stripes, but also the original shift of English from England, for example to the United States, both altered the accent and the tones/terms of linguistic formality (for example, contrasting the English used in Harvard against Hollywood’s version). In the final analysis, though the ‘local’/’leaf’– ‘global’/’forest’ intermixtures can create more vicious cycles than virtuous (if counting dynamics is the measurement), at least in the Bangladesh case, since the strength of the ‘local’/’leaf’ in some cases (for example, a two-streamed religious-secular society, or the gap between native English language and emergent English outside native countries), could still rattle even the virtuous cases. Other studies would have to examine that hypothesis further in other countries and by bringing in other dimensions. Neither of the catalyzing networks, whether ‘western’ or ‘non-western’ have the encompassing power of the ‘western modernization’ paradigm that dominated the world for three full centuries, albeit with diminishing clout. This permits one robust future implication: if the short-term involves what the past depicted, that is, pitting ‘western’ against ‘nonwestern’ dynamics (that is, a ‘forest’-driven panoply), eventually to produce various forms of ‘cohabitation’, the long-term might dispense entirely of this stereotypical term ‘westernization’ for a collection of

10

‘THEORY’ MEETS ‘TURF’ IN BANGLADESH: MELTING-POT …

203

‘leaf’-based, ‘place-related’, or ‘culture-based’ models explaining ‘development’. ‘Globalization’ will not vanish, and the ‘local’ cannot triumph when all dynamics are lumped together, but it is this uncertainty and hustling-bustling hither or thither mode that Bangladesh depicts that could evolve into a long-term ‘global’ trait.

Index

0–9 1919–21 Paris Peace Conferences, 3 1919–24 Paris Peace Conferences, 101 1922–23 Lausanne Treaty, 3 1930s Depression, 3, 149 1970 Bhola hurricane, 153 1992 Earth Summit, 154 1995 National Environmental Management Action Plan (NEMAP), 154 2005 National Adaptation Programme for Action (NAPA), 154 2010 National Climate Trust Act, 156 2010 National Education Policy, 24 A Adaptation, 157 Africa, 151 Agassiz, Louis, 107 Ahsania Mission, 27 Akamatsu, Kaname, 4 Alexander, James, 100 Alighierri, Dante, 106

Alliance for Progress from March 1961, 4 Almond, Gabriel, 5 Andragogy, 99 Andrews, T.C., 193 Anglo Saxons, 2, 82 Anglo-Saxon substructure, 101 Animated films, 73 Anthropolog, 107 Antiquity, 106 Appalachia Educational Laboratory (AEI), 170 Arabs, 82 Aristotle, 106 Arts, 106 ASA, 27 Asia-Pacific, 151 Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), 5 Auerbach, A.J., 193 B Baldwin, S.C., 16 BANBEIS, 28

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 I. A. Hussain (ed.), Multifaceted Development, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1798-3

205

206

INDEX

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Maritime University (BSMRMU), 125 Bangladesh, 24, 82, 87, 124, 188 Bangladesh’s 2010 Education Policy, 26 Bangladesh’s Department of Shipping (DoS), 126 Bangladesh’s Marine Academy, 125 Bangladesh’s multilateral engagements, 155 Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan 2009 (BCCSAP), 156 Bangladesh Climate Change Trust (BCCT), 156 Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund (BCCTF), 155 Bangladeshi education system, 24 Bangladesh Naval Academy, 125 Bangladesh University of Professionals, 125 Bangla medium schools, 81 Bauer, Julie, 75 Befaqul Madarisil Arabia Bangladesh (wifaq, pronounced as befaq), 27 Befaqul Madarisil Arabia (considered the national education board of qawmi madrasahs ), 41 Behind Mud Walls , 86 Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg (BENELUX), 5 Betsill, M.M., 148, 149 Bharatiya Janata Party, 10 Binder, Leonard, 5 Bloom, Benjamin Dr., 169 Boas, Frank, 105 Bowman, A.O., 150 Boyce, 153 BRAC, 27 British Empire, 101 Buddhism, 10

Buddhist, 27 Bulkeley, H., 148, 150 C Calvo Tapia, et al., 174 Canonic Law, 106 Captain Anna Schetinina, 130 Caritas, 27 Carr, E.H., 108 Castán Broto, V., 149 Catholic Church’s 1277 Condemnation (in 1277), 106 Cejudo, G.M., 149 Central Concept Locating Query (CCLQ), 178 Central Concept Neuron (CCN), 177 Chattogram, 28, 110, 126, 155, 157 Chemistry, 107 Christian, 27 Christian education, 27 Christianity, 12 City Corporation of Rajshahi, 155 Climate Resilient City Initiative, 155 CLT principles, 55 Cold War, 101 Committee for Policy Development (CPD), 6 Corona virus (COVID)-19, 2 Cuautitlán de García Barragán, 162 Culiacán, 162 Culiacán in Sinaloa, 162 Culture, 107 Culture and Communications, 112 Culture as a discipline, 105 Cyclone Sidr, 153 D Daffodil International University (DIU), 171 Dakhil , 26 Dana, James Dwight, 107

INDEX

Darul Uloom Deoband madrasah (India), 41 de Charpenter, Jean, 107 Densely populated countries (eighth largest) Brazil, 23 China, 23 India, 23 Indonesia, 23 Nigeria, 23 Pakistan, 23 United States, 23 Densely populated countries (ninth largest) Bahrain, 23 Gibraltar, 23 Hong Kong, 23 Macao, 23 Maldives, 23 Malta, 23 Monaco, 23 Singapore, 23 Department of Shipping, 125 Developed, 5 Developed country (DC), 23, 102 Developing, 2, 5 ‘Developing country’, 102 ‘Development’, 91, 100, 132 Development courses, 112 Dhaka, 81, 126 Dhaka City Corporations, 157 Digital Bangladesh, 109 DiGregorio, et al., 2019, 153 Disaster Management Committees (DMC), 156 Discipline of Sociology, 104 ‘Doctrine of Two Swords’ (separating the realm of God from that of the ‘Emperor’), 12 Drug-trafficking, 110 Durkheim, Emile, 104

207

E Ebtedayeemadrasahs , 32 Ecology, 112 Economic and Social Commission [of the United Nations, 153 Economic integration, 5 Economics, 105, 107 Economic vulnerability index (EVI), 6 Economic World Forum, 107 Eikenberg, D., 171 Einstein, Albert, 107 Eisenstadt, Schmuel N., 9 Engineering, 105 England, 149 English as a second language, 202 English Language (creative writing), 76 English-medium classrooms, 82 English medium schools, 29 Environmental Economics, 105 Estado de México, 160 Euro currency, 101 Europe, 151 European Enlightenment, 104 European Union, 155 Europe’s Renaissance (fourteenth to fifteenth centuries, 106 Export-led growth (ELG), 4 Extending of Neuron Clusters (ENC), 180

F Fa-hsien, 106 Fazil , 24 ‘Federal’ (‘national’), 157 First Industrial Revolution, 104 Flag of convenience (FOC) portray, 128 Fleig, A., 148, 163 “Flow-chart”, 64 Foreign Policy, 105

208

INDEX

Forest, 2, 89, 139 ‘Forest’-level, 202 Fourie, Elsje, 9 Fourteen Points, 3, 101 Fourth Industrial Revolution, 108 France’s 1795–99 Directorate, 100 French, 82 French Assembly, 105 Freud, Sigmund, 5, 105 Fukuyama, Francis, 10

G ‘Gala and Cultural Night’, 95 Game Theory, 105 Ganges, 109 Garinger, Dawn, 57 General Education, 76 General Science, 76 Geography, 76 Germany, 3, 101 Global, 139 Global Culture and Communications, 112 Global Ecology, 112 Global History, 112 ‘Globalization’, 12, 201 ‘Global’-level reputation, 153 Global Studies & Governance, 14 Global Studies and Governance Department, 102 Glocal , 13 Gold-smuggling, 110 Google Meet , 188 Government Aid and Relief in Occupied Areas plan for Japan, from 1945, 3 Graduating, 2 “Graph description”, 64 Great Britain, 3 Greenhouse Gases and Compounds (GHGC), 157

Gross national income (GNI), 6 Grossraumwirtschaft , 4 Grotius, Hugo, 106 Guadalajara, 162, 163

H Haas, Ernst B., 5 Han Feizi, 106 Harker et al., 2017, 149 Harmer, Jeremy, 55 Harrison, Andrew, 57 Harvard, 202 Health development, 4 Herbart, Johann Friedrich, 100 Higher departments (fieldwork) adab, 41 hadith, 41 ifta, 41 mantiq, 41 qirat , 41 ulumul haadith, 41 ulumul quran, 41 Higher School Certificate (HSC), 27 Higher secondary (HSC) level, 26 Hill Tract, 110 Hindu, 27 History, 105 Hitler, Adolf, 4 Hollywood, 202 Holy Qura’n, 42 Holy Scriptures, 175 Homer, 106 Homsy, G.C., 149 Hooghe, L., 148 Hossain, Mohammad Elius, 57 Hughes, Arthur, 57 Human assets index (HAI), 6 Huntington, Samuel P., 10 Hydro-meteorological events, 157 Hymes, Dell, 54

INDEX

I Ibn Khaldûn, 106 Ibn Sina, 106 “Imaginary Travel,”, 63 Import-substitution industrialization (ISI), 4 Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB), 12 Indigenous, 91 Information technologies, 109 Inter-Ministerial Disaster Management Coordination Committee (IMDMCC), 156 ‘International’ actors/actions, 151 International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), 131 International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watch-keeping for Seafarers-STCW-78/95, 124 International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), 151 International Labor Organization (ILO), 139 International Literacy Day (September 8, 2021), 8 International Political Economy, 112 International Relations (IR), 100 International Relations undergraduate program, 102 International Transport Federations (ITF), 131 International Women Seafarer’s Foundation (IWSF), 131 Inter-Secretariat Commission of Climate Change (CICC), 160 ISIS-held Iraq/Syria, 110 Islam, 12 J Jalisco, 160

209

Jalisco, Toluca in the Estado de México, 162 Jänicke, M., 149, 163 Japan, 101 Japan’s ‘flying-geese’ strategy, 4 ‘Job-related’ training, 99 Jörgensen, K., 149 Joseph, Stephen, 15 K Kamil , 24 Kautilya, 106 Kearney, R.C., 150 Kemmerzell, J., 151 Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes (KSA), 169 Kyoto Protocol in 2001, 154 L Latin America, 4, 151 Latin American Free Trade Agreement (LAFTA), 5 Lavoisier, Antoine, 107 Law, 106 Laws on Climate Change (Estado de México, Jalisco, and Veracruz), 160 Leaf, 2, 89 ‘Leaf’-level, 202 League of Nations, 3, 101 Least Developed Country (LDC), 137 Less developed, 5 Less developed country (LDCs), 8, 23 LFE mission, 94 Liberation War (1971), 90, 102 Linked Subsequent Engaging Activity (LSEA), 185 Literature, 106 ‘Live in-field experience’ (LFE), 13 Local, 139 ‘Local’ actors, 151

210

INDEX

‘Local’ community, 152 ‘Local’ dynamics, 202 ‘Local’ level awareness, 153 Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI), 155 ‘locality’-specific case, 150 Locke, John, 106 Lockwood, M., 148

M M.A. Aziz, 108 Machiavelli, Niccolò, 106 Madrasahs , 26 Main Concepts , 188 Main Street citizens, 100 Malaysia, 188 Malthus, Thomas, 104 Marine Academy and Marine Fisheries Academy, 125 Marine Engineer, 131 Marine Fisheries Academy, 125 Maritime education and training (MET), 123 Maritime Labor Convention (MLC), 139 Marks, 148 Marshall Plan from 1947, 3 Marx, Karl, 5, 104 Mayer, Richard E., 74 McKinsey Report, 107 Medicine, 106 ‘Melting-pot’ outcome, 201 Mentimeter, 185 Mérida in Yucatán, 162 Mexico’s General Law on Climate Change (LGCC), 154 Michel, C.L., 149 Middle-income ‘graduation’, 153 Ministry of Education (MoE), 24 Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), 155

Ministry of Primary and Mass Education (MoPME), 24 Ministry of Social Welfare (special school) Chandpur, 36 Chattogram, 36 Dhaka, 36 Faripur, 36 Khulna, 36 Rajshahi, 36 Sylhet, 36 Mitrany, David, 5, 101 ‘Modernization’, 8, 83 Monterrey, 162 Moreno, Roxana, 74 Morgenthau, Hans J., 108 Moses, 176 ‘Mottled’ outcome, 202 Muktopath (an e-learning platform), 109 Multinational corporations (MNCs), 110 Multiple modernities, 8 ‘Municipal’ (LGCC, 2012), 157 Municipal Climate Change Programs (Toluca, Mérida, and Culiacán), 162 Murphy, David, 15 “My Brother, the Traffic Policeman,”, 63 N Nachmany, M., 147, 163 Napoleon Bonaparte’s Consulates, 100 Narayanganj, 155 National Climate Change Strategy vision 10-20-40 (2013), 159 National Curriculum and Text book Board (NCTB), 54 National Disaster Management Council (NDMC), 156

INDEX

National Institute of Ecology and Climate Change (INECC), 159 National Inventory of Emissions of Gases and Greenhouse Compounds, 159 ‘National’-level leaders, 152 National Maritime Institute, 125 National System of Climate Change (SINACC), 160 Navigation and Engineering Department, 125 Navigator, Engineer, or Fish Processing Technologist, 126 Need Analysis (NA), 56 Nepal, 188 Newberry, John Strong, 107 New Deal, 3 Newton, Isaac Sir, 107 New Zealand, 4 Niccolò de Niccoli, 106 Nijera Kori, 27 Non-governmental institutions (NGOs), 27 ‘Non-western’ domains, 82 ‘Non-western’ transitions, 201 North America, 151 Nuevo León, 160 Nunan, David, 56 O Oil-trading, 110 Oliva, Peter F., 55 Organization of African Unity (OAU), 5 Ottoman empires, 101 P Padma Bridge, 109 Pali, 27 Palmer, Norman D., 108 Panopto, 193

211

Parsonian emphasis, 8 Parsons, Talcott, 5 Pasteur, Louis, 107 Patashnik, 148 Pedagogy, 99 Perkins, Howard C., 108 Persians, 82 Pharaoh, 176 Pharmaceutical industries, 109 philosophes , 104 Philosophy, 107 Physical Quality of Life Index (PQLI), 5 Physicists, 107 Piepho, Hans-Eberhard, 55 Pixar animated films, 76 Pixar Animated Films and Shorts , 81 Pixar Animation Studios , 73 ‘Place-related’ fashion, 156 ‘Place-related’ or ‘Culture-based’, 152 Place-related’ trigger, 152 Plato, 106 Political development, 5 Political Science, 104, 105 Politics of Developing Countries, 105 ‘Post-modernities’, 83 PowerPoint , 185 Primary and secondary schools (Chattogram) Barisal, 28 Gazipur, 28 Hobiganj, 28 Khulna, 28 Lakshmipur, 28 Rangpur, 28 Primary education levels (6, 7 and 8) Australia, 25 Bhutan, 25 Ireland, 25 Proshika, 27 Psychology, 105 Public Administration, 104

212

INDEX

Puppim de Oliveira, J.A., 151 Pye, Lucian, 5 Q Qawmi madrasahs , 28 Quesnay, François, 104 Questioning, 175 Questioning and Understanding to Improve the Learning and Teaching (QUILT), 170 Quincy, y Wright, 108 Quiroga, et al (2005), 178 Quitzow, R., 149, 163 Qur’an, 178 Quran, 30, 175 R Rajshahi, 155 Ready-made-garment (RMG), 7 “Rearrange”, 64 Remittance-earning country China, 7 Egypt, 7 India, 7 Mexico, 7 Pakistan, 7 Philippines, 7 Research and development (R&D), 103 Ricardo, David, 104 Richards, Jack C., 55 Richardson, et al., 190 RMG industry, 109 RMG supply network, 103 Rodgers, Theodore S., 55 Rohingyas, 10 Rostow, Walt Whitman, 5 Rousseau, Jean Jacques, 104 Rubicon, 163 Rural condition, 92 Rural inhabitant, 87

Rural poverty, 88

S Sanskrit, 27 Sanskrit and Pali Board, 27 Schimper, Karl Friedrich, 107 Schmidt, N.M., 148, 163 School Management Committee (SMC)/Parent Teacher Association (PTA), 40 Scobie, M., 149 Secondary School Certificate (SSC), 27 Second Industrial Revolution, 105 Second Language English-speaking students, 75 Sector Agendas for Climate Change 2012–2016, 160 ‘Secular’/‘western’, 24 Security Studies, 112 Self-determination, 101 Sequence of Questions , 188 Setzer, J., 147, 163 Shahidullah, Muhammed, 58 Shakespeare, William, 106 Sharp et al., 2011, 149 Ship Management Company, 126 Ship Survey Company, 126 Siddique, Rumana, 55 Sinaloa, 160 Singapore, 123 Smith, Adam, 104 Social development, 4 Social Science Research Council (SSRC’s), 5 Sociology, 105 Sociology of Gender, 105 Socio-political ‘development’, 91 Socio-political Economy of Development, 112 Socrates, 106

INDEX

213

Socratic Learning Method, 201 Socratic Questioning Method, 170 Socratic questioning methodology, 170 Somanathan E., 151 Somanathan et al., 2014, 149 Sophocles, 106 Soto-Montes-de-Oca, 2022, 153 Spencer, Herbert, 105 ‘State’ (‘province’), 157 STEM education, 193 ‘Sub-national’ governments, 151 Sunnah, 42 Sun Tzu, 106 Sustainble Development Goals (SDGs), 89 Sylhet, 155, 157

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), 128 United Nations Educational, Social, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), 24 United States, 3, 149 University of Bologña, 106 University of Paris, 106 U.N. (United Nations) Declaration of Human Rights, 29 UpazilaParishads (Sub-District Councils), 155 Urbanization, 87 U.S. Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), 171 U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, 3

T Tang, K.N., 172 Technical Education Board, 28 Tech Savvy, 171 Thanas , 32 Theology, 106 “The Wonders of Vilayet.”, 63 Third Industrial Revolution, 105 Tomlison, Brian, 54, 56 Trans-Atlantic relationship, 101 Transnational networks, 151 Tree, 2, 89, 139 Tversky, Barbara, 75

V Veracruz, 160 ‘Vertical’ governance, 151

U UNCTAD Review of Maritime Transport report, 2006, 130 Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), 101 United Kingdom, 123 United Nations, 3, 101 United Nations’ Economic and Social Organization (ECOSOC), 2

W Wallerstein, 149 Warner, M.E., 149 Weber, Max, 5, 104 ‘Western’, 82 Western Civilization, 106 ‘Western development’, 201 ‘Western’-Islamic education, 202 ‘Western’ model, 8 Western modernization, 9 Wilson, Woodrow, 101 Wiser, Charlotte, 86 Wiser, William, 86 Women’s empowerment, 5, 132 Women suffragette, 4 World Bank, 7, 102, 153 World Maritime University, Malmo, Sweden, 125 World War I, 3

214

INDEX

World War II, 3, 105

Y Yucatán, 160