The Morphogenesis of the Norwegian Educational System

The Morphogenesis of the Norwegian Educational System
Author: Margaret S. Archer
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 266
Release: 2022-03-21
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1000547698

Based in the philosophy of critical realism, this book employs a range of Margaret Archer’s theoretical concepts to investigate temporal and spatial aspects of Norwegian education. Stemming from Archer’s engagement as visiting professor from 2017 to 2019 in the Department of Education at UiT The Arctic University of Norway, the book explores a new area for critical realist theorizing by asking how different spatial contexts affect the workings of the system. The various chapters employ diverse sets of Archer’s theoretical concepts; from morphogenetic cycles and the emergence of educational systems at the macro level, to the exercise of reflexivity among individual school leaders and students at the micro level. In contrast to the focus on educational homogeneity and similarity among Nordic and Scandinavian countries, and promotion of the conception of the ‘Nordic Model’, this book draws attention to differences between these nations as well as regional differences within Norway. As such, it will appeal to scholars with interests in education, sociology, critical realism, educational sciences and pedagogy, education history and political science as well those with a specific interest in the Nordic region.

Morphogenesis Answers Its Critics

Morphogenesis Answers Its Critics
Author: Margaret S. Archer
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 233
Release: 2024-03-31
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1009405446

Margaret S. Archer was responsible for important conceptual developments in critical realism and the structure-agent problem, but her explanatory framework often opposed those of other influential theorists. In this book she provides a response to critics of her work in the form of a set of discussions of published articles.

The Bloomsbury Handbook of Caribbean and African Studies in Education

The Bloomsbury Handbook of Caribbean and African Studies in Education
Author: Sheron Fraser-Burgess
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 328
Release: 2024-09-19
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1350373699

This handbook covers the history, policy, practice and theories of African and Caribbean education and promotes the sustainability of socio-cultural beliefs, values, knowledge and skills in the regions. Africa and the Caribbean share commonalities of the geopolitical and historical dominance by European empires and colonialism and aftereffects of anti-blackness in the global trade in enslaved persons. Indigenous religious, cultural, and ethnic currents in Africa are echoed in the Caribbean along with a strong infusion of Asian and other ethnic influences. The handbook shows how educators in both regions are grappling with Western education eclipsing indigenous epistemology and contributes to important debates and discourses including culturally relevant teaching, decolonization, critical race theory, Africana studies, Black emancipation, the African diaspora, Bi-cultural experiences, and the climate emergency. It is organized into three sections covering past issues that frame education in Africa and the Caribbean; the present challenges and opportunities of Education in the regions; and future opportunities for education post-2020.

Globalisation, Ideology and Social Justice Discourses

Globalisation, Ideology and Social Justice Discourses
Author: Joseph Zajda
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 294
Release: 2022-05-31
Genre: Education
ISBN: 3030927741

This book examines dominant discourses in social justice education globally. It presents cutting-edge research on the major global trends in education, social justice and policy research. Using diverse paradigms, ranging from critical theory to discourse analysis, the book examines major social justice and equity education reforms and policy issues in a global culture, with a focus on the ambivalent and problematic relationship between social justice education discourses, ideology and the state. The book discusses democracy, ideology and social justice, which are among the most critical and significant factors defining and contextualising the processes surrounding social justice education reforms globally. It critiques current social justice education practices and policy reforms, illustrating the shifts in the relationship between the state, ideology, and social justice education policy. Written by authors from diverse backgrounds and regions, this book examines current developments in research concerning social justice education. It enables readers to gain a more holistic understanding of the nexus between social justice education, and dominant ideologies, both locally and globally. It also provides an easily accessible, practical, yet scholarly insights into local and global trends in the field of social justice education. Discourses of Globalization, Ideology and Social Justice, with contributions from key scholars worldwide, should be required reading for a broad spectrum of users, including policy-makers, academics, graduate students, education policy researchers, administrators, and practitioners.

Contributions to Social Ontology

Contributions to Social Ontology
Author: Clive Lawson
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 354
Release: 2013-01-11
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1136016066

Recent years have seen a dramatic re-emergence of interest in ontology. From philosophy and social sciences to artificial intelligence and computer science, ontology is gaining interdisciplinary influence as a popular tool for applied research. Contributions to Social Ontology focuses specifically on these developments within the social sciences. The contributions reveal that this revived interest in social ontology involves far more than an unquestioning acceptance or application of the concepts and methods of academic philosophers. Instead as ontology permeates so many new areas, social ontology itself is evolving in new and fascinating ways. This book engages with these new developments, pushing it forward with cutting-edge new material from leading authors in this area, from Roy Bhaskar to Margaret Archer. It also explicitly analyzes the relationship between the new ontological projects and the more traditional approaches. This book will be of great interest to students and researchers alike across the social sciences and particularly in philosophy, economics and sociology.

English in the Nordic Countries

English in the Nordic Countries
Author: Elizabeth Peterson
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 241
Release: 2023-11-10
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1003805094

People in the Nordic states – Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Iceland – rank as among the most proficient speakers of English in the world. In this unique volume, international experts explore how this came to be, what English usage and integration looks like in different spheres of society and the economy in these countries, and the implications of this linguistic phenomenon for language attitudes and identity, for the region at large, and for English in Europe and around the world. Led by Elizabeth Peterson and Kristy Beers Fägersten, contributors provide a historical overview to the subject, synthesize the latest research, illustrate the roles of English with original case studies from diverse communities and everyday settings, and offer transnational insights critically and in conversation with the situation in other Nordic states. This comprehensive text is the first book of its kind and will be of interest to advanced students and researchers of World/Global Englishes and English as a lingua franca, language contact and dialect studies/language varieties, language policy, multilingualism, sociolinguistics, and Nordic/Scandinavian and European studies.

Working with Critical Realism

Working with Critical Realism
Author: Alpesh Maisuria
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 185
Release: 2022-12-30
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1000804615

This international and interdisciplinary collection gathers stories from researchers and research students about their methodological encounters with critical realism. Whether the contributors are experienced or novice researchers, they are predominantly new to critical realism. For various reasons, as the contributors’ detail, they have all been drawn to critical realism. It is well known that critical realism can be bewildering and even overwhelming to newcomers, especially to those unfamiliar with language of, and without a grounding in, philosophy. While there are now numerous and important introductory and applied critical realist texts that make critical realism more accessible to a broader audience, stories from newcomers have been absent – especially as part of a single collection. The significance and uniqueness of this collection lies in its documentation of first-hand reflective insights on the practical use and implementation of critical realism. The contributors feature critical realist inspired research journeys in Australia, England, Scotland, Belgium, Sweden, and Spain. The hope of this book is that the stories and accounts presented in it will inspire – or at least sufficiently arouse – the curiosity of others to explore critical realist possibilities, which we believe offer enormous value to serious researchers across and within all disciplines and subjects who are interested in rigorous intellectual work with a socially progressive purpose.

Big Picture Perspectives on Planetary Flourishing

Big Picture Perspectives on Planetary Flourishing
Author: Nicholas Hedlund
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 329
Release: 2022-07-29
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 100060828X

This book, split across two volumes, is a follow-up and companion to Metatheory for the Twenty-First Century (Routledge, 2016). All three of these volumes are the dialogical outcome of a multi-year symposia series wherein critical realists and integral theorists deeply engaged each other and their distinct but complementary approaches to integrative metatheory. Whereas Metatheory for the Twenty-First Century is primarily theoretical in its focus, Big Picture Perspectives for Planetary Flourishing: Metatheory for the Anthropocene aims to more concretely and practically address the complex planetary crises of a new era that many scholars now refer to as ‘the Anthropocene.’ In this first of two new volumes, participants of the symposia series articulate a variety of ‘big picture perspectives’ and transformative interventions in the domains of society and economics, social psychology, and education. Together, these chapters demonstrate how integrative metatheory and its application can make powerful contributions to planetary flourishing in the Anthropocene. With one of the defining characteristics of the Anthropocene being the sheer complexity and multi-valent nature of our interconnected global challenges, these volumes crucially present new forms of scholarship that can adequately weave together insights from multiple disciplines into new forms of metapraxis. As such, this book will be of interest to students, scholars, and practitioners in the areas of philosophy, social theory, critical realism, integral studies, metamodernism, and current affairs generally.

Interdisciplinarity and Wellbeing

Interdisciplinarity and Wellbeing
Author: Roy Bhaskar
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 219
Release: 2017-07-06
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 135170995X

In this book, the authors provide a much-needed general theory of interdisciplinarity and relate it to health/wellbeing research and professional practice. In so doing they make it possible for practitioners of the different disciplines to communicate without contradiction or compromise, resolving the tensions that beset much interdisciplinary work. Such a general theory is only possible if we assume that there is more to being (ontology) than empirical being (what we can measure directly). Therefore, the unique approach to interdisciplinarity applied in this book starts from ontology, namely that there is a multimechanismicity (a multiplicity of mechanisms) in open systems, and then moves to epistemology. By contrast, the mainstream approach, which fails to acknowledge ontology, is “unserious” and tends to result in a methodological hierarchy, unconducive of interdisciplinarity, in which empiricist science is overtly or tacitly assumed to be the superior version of science. This book is primarily aimed at those people interested in improving health and wellbeing – such as researchers, policy-makers, educators, and general practitioners. However, it will also be useful to academics engaged in the broader academic debate on interdisciplinary metatheory.