In an era of globalization and urbanization, various social, economic, and environmental challenges surround advances in modern biological sciences. Considering how biological knowledge and practice are intrinsically related to building a sustainable relationship between nature and human society, the roles of biology education need to be rethought to respond to issues and changes to life in this biocentury. This book is a compilation of selected papers from the Twenty Third Biennial Conference of the Asian Association for Biology Education 2010. The title, Biology Education for Social and Sustainable Development, demonstrates how rethinking and reconstruction of biology education in the Asia-Pacific region are increasingly grounded in deep understandings of what counts as valuable local knowledge, practices, culture, and ideologies for national and global issues, and education for sustainable development. The 42 papers by eminent science educators from Australia, China, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and the U.S., represent a diversity of views, understandings, and practices in biology education for sustainable development from school to university in diverse education systems and social-cultural settings in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. The book is an invaluable resource and essential reference for researchers and educators on Asian perspectives and practices on biology education for social and sustainable development.
Historians often ignore the day-to-day struggles of ordinary people to improve their lives. They tend to focus on the accomplishments of illustrious leaders. Peace Education from the Grassroots tells the stories of concerned citizens, teachers, and grassroots peace activists who have struggled to counteract high levels of violence by teaching about the sources for violence and strategies for peace. The stories told here come from the grass roots meaning the educators are close to the forms of violence they are addressing. This collection of essays tells how citizens at the grassroots level developed peace education initiatives in thirteen different nations (Belgium, Canada, El Salvador, Germany, India, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, the Philippines, South Korea, Spain, Uganda, and the United States). A fourteenth article describes the efforts of the International Red Cross to implement a human rights curriculum to teachers on the ground in the Balkans, Iran, Senegal, and the United Sates. These chapters describe a variety of schools, colleges, peace movement organizations, community-based organizations, and international nongovernmental organizations engaged in peace education.