As Western educational practices have become global, the cultural aspects and the problems associated with them have become more apparent as they are contrasted with local ways of learning and knowing in the widely diverse societies around the world. The Western world has tended to assume that its concepts of progress and development should be universally welcomed, especially in countries that are struggling economically. Most cultures tend to feel a similar preference for their own world views. However, the West has had a history of not only ethnocentrism, but colonialism, in which it has forcibly attempted to reshape the cultures, societies, politics, and economics of conquered territories in its own likeness. Though some of the more overt, political colonialist practices have been abandoned, colonial ways of thinking, thinking about thinking, and training in how to think, are still practiced, and these in turn, through the education of each nation-state’s children, affect every aspect of economics, politics, and social development in the global village that our world has become. It is critical to examine the basic assumptions of Western education in order to trace their effects on local ways of knowing in many areas which may not share these assumptions, and which may be threatened and destroyed by them as global interaction in politics, economics, and education increases. The argument that education is primarily a moral endeavor may have been forced into the background for a time by rationalism and secularism, but it is reappearing as an important consideration in education once again. The question remains, however; whose morality should be institutionalized by compulsory educational programs—that of the individual, the family, the professional, the elite, the state, or the nation? And if the rules of science are no longer the single authority in identifying truth and reality, who decides the authorities we should rely on?

Celebrates the work of educators who explore ecological issues in school and non-school settings. Gives examples of ways to impact the thinking of children and adults in order to affirm the values of sufficiency, mutual support, and community.

Two dozen of the most prominent clinicians and scholars in the field reflect on The Formation of Pastoral Counselors from clinical, theological, and theoretical perspectives. This unique book explores the challenges to the personal and professional formation of pastoral counselors in a cultural and historic context that's radically different from the era when the profession first emerged as a specialized ministry. Contributors examine formation from a variety of contexts and perspectives, including spirituality and gender, address theological education and intercultural issues, and present emerging models for pastoral counselors.

"No other work treating Indian philosophy on a comparable scale contains the illuminating comparisons between doctrines of Indian schools and the thought of Western philosophy ranging from Plato to Sartre and Wittgenstein...It will, moreover, contribute to the understanding of Western philosophy by Indian thinkers and vice versa...Raju has an intimate acquaintance with a remarkable range of Western thinkers and this distinguishes his work from most of what has gone before...Raju, moreover, is himself a critical thinker and consequently, although he has written a history, he treats the ideas and doctrines in a philosophical mode and his assessments of positions are often original and illuminating." -- John E. Smith, Clark Professor of Philosophy, Yale University "Purpose: To deal with Indian philosophy in a fashion reflecting the way the best German historians of philosophy deal with Western philosophy...The book is remarkable for its comprehensiveness in combination with extensive critical discussions...Raju's book...is more critical than Radhakrishnan's and more philosophical than Dasgupta's. Radhakrishnan's comments are far less philosophically sophisticated and interesting than Raju's....a monument to a senior Indian philosopher's lifelong study and thoughtful critical consideration of the great classical systems of his tradition." -- Karl H. Potter, Professor of Philosophy, University of Washington "Raju's credentials are impeccable. He is one of the few scholars in the world who could presume to write a major work on Indian thought. Accordingly, his knowledge of the Indian schools is accurate and impressive. To the extent that one of his intentions is to cast those schools in terms which make them more intelligible to western readers, his work measures up very well." -- Harold H. Oliver, Professor of Philosophy, Boston University

“The little girl I was would have been thrilled to encounter Meilan... having found a character who embraces the complexity of being both Chinese and American, I would have been able to echo her words: 'I am not alone.'” —New York Times Book Review by Jean Kwok A family feud before the start of seventh grade propels Meilan from Boston's Chinatown to rural Ohio, where she must tap into her inner strength and sense of justice to make a new place for herself in this resonant debut. Meilan Hua's world is made up of a few key ingredients: her family's beloved matriarch, Nai Nai; the bakery her parents, aunts, and uncles own and run in Boston's Chinatown; and her favorite Chinese fairy tales. After Nai Nai passes, the family has a falling-out that sends Meilan, her parents, and her grieving grandfather on the road in search of a new home. They take a winding path across the country before landing in Redbud, Ohio. Everything in Redbud is the opposite of Chinatown, and Meilan's not quite sure who she is--being renamed at school only makes it worse. She decides she is many Meilans, each inspired by a different Chinese character with the same pronunciation as her name. Sometimes she is Mist, cooling and invisible; other times, she's Basket, carrying her parents' hopes and dreams and her guilt of not living up to them; and occasionally she is bright Blue, the way she feels around her new friend Logan. Meilan keeps her facets separate until an injustice at school shows her the power of bringing her many selves together. The Many Meanings of Meilan, written in stunning prose by Newbery Honor-winning author Andrea Wang, is an exploration of all the things it's possible to grieve, the injustices large and small that make us rage, and the peace that's unlocked when we learn to find home within ourselves.

This volume is the result of a colloquium on socio-political dimensions of language policy and language planning held at the 1997 American Association of Applied Linguistics (AAAL) Conference. The focus is on language planning and policy in the USA, but the issues raised will be applicable to other parts of the world as well. Three broad issues are addressed: general aspects, case studies dealing with certain languages or ethnic groups, and language planning in practice. The first, general, part, provides a historical analysis of language planning and language policy in the US, and proceeds to deal with maintenance and loss of indigenous languages, and the constraints imposed by current policies and how these constraints can be effectively dealt with. The second part contains a number of case studies. It discusses aspects of planning policies pertaining to pidgin languages, gestural languages used by the deaf (ASL) and constraints in foreign language education; this part also raises issues relating to ethnic groups, concentrating on the position of Mexicans and Puerto Ricans in the US. In the third part some practical issues are raised by looking into the role of language and culture in teaching reading, foreign language policy in higher education, Hawaiian language regenisis, and gender neutralization in American English. The book is a tribute to Charlene Junko Sato, a sociolinguist and a language activist. She died in 1996 and will be remembered for her work not only in linguistics, but also for her dedication in advancing Hawaiian Pidgin, influencing language policy through various publications and court-room appearances.

Stereotypes are mere 'pictures in our heads'. Prejudice and suspicion against all that is perceived of as ‘different’ give rise to cultural stereotypes. Creating stereotypes also involves connecting the created categories with values, equipping the categories with an ideational label. Thus, stereotypes often contain the presupposition that one’s own group represents the normal, or even universal and that one’s own culture and ist socially construed concepts of reality is superior and normative in relation to other cultures and world-views. The stereotypes are not just one person’s private attitude but are always shared with a larger socio-cultural group. Stereotypes result in simplifications that prevent people from seeing the ‘otherized’ individuals as they truly are. This book, aims at transgressing the boundaries of the strategically generated stereotyped image of a homogenous Indian culture. Rather, by highlighting the marginalised issues related to class, caste and gender, this book, by citing examples of select Indian literary and cinematic representations, argues that the stigma related to the non-conformist /alternative/minority identities, is baseless and fraudulent.

For many millennia, Indigenous Australians have been engineering the landscape using sophisticated technological and philosophical knowledge systems in a deliberate response to changing social and environmental circumstances. These knowledge systems integrate profound understanding of country and bring together knowledge of the topography and geology of the landscape, its natural cycles and ecological systems, its hydrological systems and natural resources including fauna and flora. This enables people to manage resources sustainably and reliably, and testifies to a developed, contextualised knowledge system and to a society with agency and the capability to maintain and refine accumulated knowledge and material processes. This book is a recognition and acknowledgement of the ingenuity of Indigenous engineering which is grounded in philosophical principles, values and practices that emphasise sustainability, reciprocity, respect, and diversity, and often presents a much-needed challenge to a Western engineering worldview. Each chapter is written by a team of authors combining Indigenous knowledge skills and academic expertise, providing examples of collaboration at the intersection of Western and Indigenous engineering principles, sharing old and new knowledges and skills. These varied approaches demonstrate ways to integrate Indigenous knowledges into the curricula for Australian engineering degrees, in line with the Australian Council of Engineering Deans’ Position Statement on Embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives into the engineering curriculum first published in 2017.