This book explores a new approach to cultural literacy. Taking a pedagogical perspective, it looks at the skills, knowledge, and abilities involved in understanding and interpreting cultural differences, and proposes new ways of approaching such differences as sources of richness in intercultural and interdisciplinary collaborations. Cultural Literacy and Empathy in Education Practice balances theory with practice, providing practical examples for educators who wish to incorporate cultural literacy into their teaching. The book includes case studies, interviews with teachers and students, and examples of exercises and assessments, all backed by years of robust scholarly research.
This book explores a new approach to cultural literacy. Taking a pedagogical perspective, it looks at the skills, knowledge, and abilities involved in understanding and interpreting cultural differences, and proposes new ways of approaching such differences as sources of richness in intercultural and interdisciplinary collaborations. Cultural Literacy and Empathy in Education Practice balances theory with practice, providing practical examples for educators who wish to incorporate cultural literacy into their teaching. The book includes case studies, interviews with teachers and students, and examples of exercises and assessments, all backed by years of robust scholarly research.
This open access book discusses how cultural literacy can be taught and learned through creative practices. It approaches cultural literacy as a dialogic social process based on learning and gaining knowledge through emphatic, tolerant, and inclusive interaction. The book focuses on meaning-making in children and young people's visual and multimodal artefacts created by students aged 5-15 as an outcome of the Cultural Literacy Learning Programme implemented in schools in Cyprus, Germany, Israel, Lithuania, Spain, Portugal, and the UK. The lessons in the program address different social and cultural themes, ranging from one's cultural attachments to being part of a community and engaging more broadly in society. The artefacts are explored through data-driven content analysis and self-reflexive and collaborative interpretation and discussed through multimodality and a sociocultural approach to children's visual expression. This interdisciplinary volume draws on cultural studies, communication studies, art education, and educational sciences. Tuuli Lähdesmäki is an associate professor at the Department of Music, Art and Culture Studies, University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Jūratė Baranova was a professor at the Department of Continental Philosophy and Religious Studies, Vilnius University, Lithuania. Susanne C. Ylönen is a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Music, Art and Culture Studies, University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Aino-Kaisa Koistinen is a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Music, Art and Culture Studies, University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Katja Mäkinen is a senior researcher at the Department of Music, Art and Culture Studies, University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Vaiva Juškiene is a junior researcher at the Institute of Educational Sciences, Vilnius University, Lithuania. Irena Zaleskienė is a senior researcher at the Institute of Educational Sciences, Vilnius University, Lithuania.
Educating for Empathy presents a compelling framework for thinking about the purpose and practice of literacy education in a politically polarized world. Mirra proposes a model of critical civic empathy that encourages secondary ELA teachers to consider how issues of power and inequity play out in the literacy classroom and how to envision literacy practices as a means of civic engagement. The book reviews core elements of ELA instruction—response to literature, classroom discussion, research, and digital literacy—and demonstrates how these activities can be adapted to foster critical thinking and empathetic perspectives among students. Chapters depict teachers and students engaging in this transformative learning, offer concrete strategies for the classroom, and pose questions to guide school communities in collaborative reflection. “If educators were to follow Mirra’s model, we will have come a long way toward educating and motivating young people to become involved, engaged, and caring citizens.” —Sonia Nieto, professor emerita, University of Massachusetts, Amherst “Grounded in respectful research partnerships with youth and teachers, this is a book that will resonate with and inspire educators in these precarious times.” —Gerald Campano, University of Pennsylvania “If ever there were a time for a book on empathy in education, the moment is now.” —Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz, Teachers College, Columbia University
In Why Knowledge Matters, E. D. Hirsch, Jr., presents evidence from cognitive science, sociology, and education history to further the argument for a knowledge-based elementary curriculum. Influential scholar Hirsch, author of The Knowledge Deficit, asserts that a carefully planned curriculum that imparts communal knowledge is essential in achieving one of the most fundamental aims and objectives of education: preparing students for lifelong success. Hirsch examines historical and contemporary evidence from the United States and other nations, including France, and affirms that a knowledge-based approach has improved both achievement and equity in schools where it has been instituted. In contrast, educational change of the past several decades in the United States has endorsed a skills-based approach, founded on, Hirsch points out, many incorrect assumptions about child development and how children learn. He recommends new policies that are better aligned with our current understanding of neuroscience, developmental psychology, and social science. The book focuses on six persistent problems that merit the attention of contemporary education reform: the over-testing of students in the name of educational accountability; the scapegoating of teachers; the fadeout of preschool gains; the narrowing of the curriculum to crowd out history, geography, science, literature, and the arts; the achievement gap between demographic groups; and the reliance on standards, such as the Common Core State Standards, that are not linked to a rigorous curriculum. Why Knowledge Matters makes a clear case for educational innovation and introduces a new generation of American educators to Hirsch’s astute and passionate analysis.
Pedagogical Opportunities of the Review Genre unleashes the pedagogical potential of the review genre, reframing the act of reviewing of cultural products as a communicative practice from a pedagogical perspective. Negotiating between traditions of journalism and media studies and pedagogy, the author presents a novel approach that will increase the readers’ understanding of an activity that is on the increase in an era where 'everyone can be a critic'. She identifies, describes, and develops genre-based pedagogies in formal, non-formal, and informal contexts of learning and teaching, in order to recontextualize the review as a form of learning and rethink of its potential as an inclusive, engaging, and a transformative critical cultural practice. This innovative and truly interdisciplinary study will interest students and researchers in the areas of media literacy, digital media, media and communication studies, cultural studies, sociology of arts, and pedagogical studies – in particular, cultural journalism and criticism, audience studies, cultural production, and cultural mediation, as well as critical media pedagogy and literacy studies.
The assertion that empathy is an essential characteristic of equity work in higher education demands educators operate from a place of justice, fairness, and inclusive practice. Empathy is a personal quality that allows educators to consider another's perspective to inform the decision-making process about policy, procedures, program and service design, and teaching pedagogy. Thus, engaging empathy in everyday practice supports the potential to create more equitable and inclusive environments as well as standards for serving a diverse student population. Achieving Equity in Higher Education Using Empathy as a Guiding Principle explores what empathy is, how empathy can be developed, and how empathy can be applied in an educator’s practice to achieve equity-mindedness and mitigate inequitable student outcomes in and out of the classroom. The book also argues that self-examination and engaging empathy is a way to thoughtfully examine differences and uphold the values of humanity. Covering topics such as intercultural listening and program development, this reference work is ideal for administrators, practitioners, academicians, scholars, researchers, instructors, and students.
'Prof. Klees' book is a must read for anyone interested in politics, economics, and education today. During the latter part of the 20th century, in far too many countries we have witnessed an unconscionable and steady shift to the right by liberals and social democratic parties resulting in a neoliberal consensus. Prof Klees' critique from a progressive perspective is extremely timely as it contributes to a necessary strategic reflection on how to rebuild a truly progressive movement.' General Secretary, Education International, the global teachers' union The Conscience of a Progressive begins where Senator Barry Goldwater's The Conscience of a Conservative (1960) and Paul Krugman's The Conscience of a Liberal (2007) leave off. Prof. Klees draws on 45 years of work around the world as an economist and international educator to paint a detailed picture of conservative, liberal, and progressive views on a wide range of current social issues. He takes an in-depth look at his specializations: education, economics, poverty and inequality, international development, and capitalism. He examines major social problems like health care, the climate crisis, and war. Throughout the book, Prof. Klees tries to give a fair and careful depiction of how conservatives and liberals see these issues, whilst focusing on critiques by progressives, and on the alternatives they offer.
Researchers in the new field of literary-and-cultural studies look at social issues – especially issues of change and mobility – through the lens of literary thinking. The essays range from cultural memory and migration to electronic textuality and biopolitics.
