The premise of this book is very simple. While acknowledging that much progress has been made since the end of World War II to improve life conditions for billions of people and reduce the likelihood of war, current global challenges threaten to undermine, undo, or even reverse much of the progress made. Growing political and social polarization, and the resultant increasing fear of each other, is on a trajectory that could cause unprecedented harm. The book illustrates how everyone can have an impact on peace and that many already do so in both constructive and negative ways, illustrated by many examples. The book offers an expansive view of peace, which includes promoting human rights, identifying and resolving situations of slow violence, working to promote fair and sustainable economic development, identifying and resolving injustices, and establishing institutions and practices for resolving conflicts by communicative means. The book especially focuses on the role universities can and should play in promoting peace. Universities, which have played a pivotal role in creating a more humane and just world through their research, teaching and scholarship, now face the challenge of thoughtfully examining how each discipline and vocation and the university as a whole can contribute to fostering peace. In general, universities help to prepare students actively to work for peace by cultivating their capacities at reasoning and reflecting, developing their skills in communicating and research, and fostering among them an active awareness of their responsibilities as citizens of the world. While not every discipline or vocation shares the same level of responsibility to advance peace, all have the potential to do so as they intentionally and thoughtfully look for avenues to do so.

The educational system across the world has experienced a significant transformation just within the past two decades. With this transformation came an array of challenges that are imperative to solve in order to cultivate an inclusive, efficient, and constructive educational system. To address these challenges, innovations in learning design, educational policies, educational technology, and more have been developed. It is essential that these innovations and research are shared and applied. Challenges of the Educational System in Contemporary Society presents an overview of the pedagogical innovation experienced in the 21st century. It shares a novel and transformative view on education practice. Using empirical research, as well as including theoretical chapters, this volume tackles some of the most relevant topics currently discussed in educational sciences. Covering topics such as intercultural awareness, emotional recognition, and gender equality policies, this premier reference source is an indispensable resource for administrators and educators of both K-12 and higher education, government officials, preservice teachers, teacher educators, librarians, researchers, and academicians.

In-service teacher professional development is central to most empirical conceptions of educational quality. As the techniques and strategies for educational reform have spread rapidly throughout the world, teacher professional development practices have been borrowed across borders. It is important to study the global sharing of information on teacher professional development. Global Perspectives on Teacher Performance Improvement examines the implementation of proven, high quality teacher professional development practices in unique environments around the world. It further explains the power of a globally connected community of teacher quality improvement. Covering topics such as mentoring programs, education technology, and education workforce, this book is an essential resource for educational administration and faculty, pre-service teachers, the public education sector, government officials, educators of both K-12 and higher education, researchers, and academicians.

This book introduces students to education as a vehicle for social change. Douglas Bourn begins by providing historical context of how education has been linked to social change around the world and moves on, in the second section of the book, to discuss potential theoretical and conceptual frameworks for thinking about education for social change. The third sections covers how social change has been explored and promoted within different areas of learning, including schooling, youth work and higher education. The fourth section looks at the opportunities and challenges for promoting education for social change and reviews current international initiatives including those of global citizenship and climate change. Key theorists are introduced throughout the book including bell hooks, Dewey, Giroux, Gramsci, and Freire. Each chapter begins with an opening question and ends with bulleted concluding points, questions for discussion and a further reading list. The book includes a foreword written by Tania Ramalho (State University of New York, USA).

"Good lesson plans have an almost mysterious power; they declare that all information can be interesting, that every skill acquired broadens our potentials to make a better world, and that all impassioned activity leads to learning. Our best teachers have shown us over and over that life is not a struggle against boredom and compliance; it is a wonder to be apprehended. Every bit of SEL you can integrate into your planning will not only begin to heal the wounds of passivity, racism, and inequity, but also give students an experience today, in your classroom, of that better world." Jeffrey Benson draws from his 40-plus years of experience as a teacher and an administrator to provide explicit, step-by-step guidance on how to incorporate social and emotional learning (SEL) into K-12 lesson planning-without imposing a separate SEL curriculum. The book identifies SEL skills in three broad categories: skills for self, interpersonal skills, and skills as a community member. It offers research-based strategies for seamlessly integrating these skills into every section of lesson plans, from introducing a topic in a way that sparks students' interest, to accessing prior knowledge, providing direct instruction, allowing time for experimentation and discovery, using formative assessment, and closing a lesson in a purposeful rather than haphazard manner. In addition to practical advice on lesson planning that can lead to improved student motivation and achievement, Benson offers inspiration, urging both new and veteran teachers to seize every opportunity to develop caring, joyful communities of learners whose experiences and skills can contribute to a better, more equitable world both inside and outside the classroom.