Abstract
The primary purpose of this book is to demonstrate the use of non-traditional and Eastern epistemologies to implement the sustainability goals established in 2017 by the United Nations in partnership with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). There are 17 sustainability goals outlined for 2030 completion. Sharma’s focus is on Sustainable Development Goal 4, which aims to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” (p. 2). A subset of this goal, Target 4.7, focuses on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) so that learners know to act individually and in a collective capacity to promote global sustainability. Target 4.7 also focuses on Global Citizenship Education (GCE), which inculcates learners with a cultural appreciation for global peace, diversity, and common humanity (p. 2).
Sharma develops a framework for teaching value-creating GCE based on the pedagogical approaches of Soka Education, or value-creating education, and Nai Talim, or new education. Soka Education, developed in the Buddhist tradition by Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, Josei Toda, and Daisaku Ikeda, teaches that the purpose of life is happiness achieved through learning that develops the student’s fullest potential. The Nai Talim, or new education, teachings of Mahatma Gandhi propose integrating all aspects of learning as part of basic education. Skills are taught in the context of their application, and socialization is respectful of others and non-violent. Additionally, Sharma draws on philosophies and practices of less known, non-Western, traditional cultures (pp. 26–30).
As the central point of departure, Sharma defines value-creating GCE as learner-centered and focused on the student’s happiness while cultivating knowledge and skills that lead to a contributive life both for oneself, for others, and for the global community (p. 26). It follows that learning occurs at a grassroots basic level. The educator’s role is to help the learner find linkages between cultural ways of knowing and their relationship to the global community. By focusing on value-creating GCE, the sustainability goals of UNESCO are tangible and retained by the learner.
Sharma develops six themes for value-creating GCE that align with the education domains of cognitive, socio-emotional, and behavioral. Each supports the four pillars of learning: learning to know, learning to do, learning to be, and learning to live together (p. 11). Sharma ties each theme to the UNESCO-led initiatives of GCE and ESD, providing pedagogical and teaching suggestions for each theme. The first theme, a commitment to sustainable development through intercultural perspectives, supports learning to know and is developed in chapter 1. It advocates for incorporating practices and philosophies from other cultures, such as the indigenous cultures of the Americas or Eastern epistemologies. An educational paradigm shift that redirects education from the Western, neoliberal epistemology towards a value-creating initiative at both the individual and collective level will increase awareness about issues common to all humanity, such as climate change and fundamental human rights (p. 8).
In the second chapter, Sharma develops an in-depth discussion of Soka and Gandhi’s teachings and their relevance for value-creating GCE. Using Soka and Nai Talim teaching philosophies creates a global awareness not found in neoliberal Western epistemologies. The second theme, tied to the pillars of learning to know and learning to live together, is discussed in chapter 3. The second theme is to create an awareness of climate change as planetary citizens that can be supported by exploring intersections of traditional ways of knowing with global environmental and climate-change goals. For example, an African legend honoring the fig tree led to the Green Belt Movement in Kenya to stop deforestation (p. 5). The personal connection to the fig-tree legend led to personal convictions about the importance of conservation and then to collective action to conserve the soil from erosion by planting more trees. In this way, the African agricultural community was able to align tradition with UNESCO goals. Sharma submits that learners need to see relevance to their daily lives for sustainability goals to become operational.
For UNESCO’s sustainability and global citizenship goals to coalesce into global awareness and action, in chapter 4 Sharma proposes two themes that support learning to be. These themes are a commitment to reflective dialogic and transformative learning and developing a sense of interdependence, common humanity, and a global outlook. Tsunesaburo Makiguchi and John Dewey’s teaching philosophies advocate for placing students at the center of learning and aligning their experiences with the common goals. Although Dewey is a Western educational philosopher, Sharma notes that both Makiguchi and Dewey were contemporaries sharing many conceptual ideas, though they did not meet each other. Both envision that education starts in the home, the school, the community, and then beyond the community. Through dialogue and exploring humanity’s interdependence, linkages between learners’ personal experience and ways of knowing to the broader community and planetary concerns can effect constructive change.
A fifth theme proposed and elaborated upon by Sharma is that learners develop an understanding of peace and non-violence as being central to the human rights agenda. Current perspectives are incomplete and lack humanistic criteria such as creating a sense of interdependence between people, creative thinking, unification to solve global problems, and an understanding of global justice and the need for global peace. This theme is tied to the pillar of learning to do.
The last theme, detailed in chapter 7 and supporting the pillar of learning to live together, is a belief in the value-creating capacity for social and self-actualization, uncertainty, and change. Sharma explores the possibilities of value-creating, self-actualizing education and how it serves humanity during times of uncertainty and change, especially as the world confronts two significant crises, climate change and the global pandemic. Sharma provides three guiding principles as students and teachers learn to navigate the value-creating proposition. The first is to be an active citizen and engage in conversation and dialogue with many people across cultures and generations. Second, become a creative citizen by addressing issues, even if it is on a small scale. Finally, to be an inclusive citizen that reads, evaluates, and discerns information (pp. 124–5).
Teachers are an essential element in value-creating GCE. To that end, Sharma provides an entire curriculum for teaching value-creating GCE based on the work of Soka and Gandhi that is useful for the practitioner. The impetus for this inclusion is to counter the internationalization of GCE that looks to programs inherently favoring Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Lesser developed countries or countries with travel restrictions, for example, may not have access to the type of GCE that includes exchange programs or specialized international studies programs. As an alternative, available across all platforms and to all practitioners, Sharma presents a detailed proposal for value-creating GCE course development in chapter 6. She includes an overview of the Soka education and the Nai Talim program, provides recommended readings, goals and objectives for the course, and explains how to organize and conduct lessons. She encourages both teacher and student to reflect Soka and Nai Talim human commonality and how both relate to non-violence within their respective political structures.
Sharma approaches her work using a methodical framework for each theme that includes commentary for teaching and curriculum. Sharma bases most of her work on the Soka school of thought, with some inclusion from Gandhi and other less known educational philosophies. This book is a practical manual for those interested in incorporating non-traditional thought into GCE since each chapter can be pulled out of the book and used as a reference. It is best for the reader to know Sharma’s previous works and understand Soka and Nai Talim to fully appreciate Sharma’s bold proposals for shifting the paradigm of GCE away from Western thought.
