Freshed

What’s the connection between education and development? My guest today, Dan Wagner, argues that it’s past time to move beyond conceptualizing development as economic growth. For Dan, the framework we should use is learning as development. He calls on social scientists to work towards a Learning Gini Index that not only takes learning seriously but also equity. Dan Wagner is Professor of Education and UNESCO Chair in Learning and Literacy at the Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania, where he is also the director of the International Literacy Institute and International Educational Development Program.  In today’s show we talk about his new book, Learning as Development: Rethinking International Education in a Changing World (Routledge 2018). He has also published a new book for UNESCO entitled Learning at the Bottom of the Pyramid (UNESCO 2018). www.freshedpodcast.com/danwagner/ email: info@freshedpodcast.com twitter: @freshedpodcast

What’s the connection between education and climate change? My guest today, Arjen Wals, takes a critical take on sustainability yet offers a hopeful outlook. In our conversation, Arjen details a few examples of school-level practices that could be seen as working towards a sustainable future while also critiques educational competition and the hidden curriculum of commodification. He ultimately calls for more dissonance in education systems as a way to learn new forms of sustainability to combat climate change. Arjen Wals is the UNESCO Chair of Social Learning and Sustainable Development and Professor of Transformative Learning for Socio-Ecological Sustainability at Wageningen University in The Netherlands. I spoke with Prof. Wals at the 2018 Global Education Meeting, which was a high-level forum held in Brussels in early December that reviewed the progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. www.freshedpodcast.com/arjenwals/ email: info@freshedpodcast.com twitter: @freshedpodcast

Today we look at the role of education in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. My guest is Parfait Eloundou, professor and department chair of development sociology at Cornell University and member of the independent group of scientists writing the Global Sustainable Development report. I spoke with Parfait during a break at the UNESCO Global Education Meeting held in Brussels in early December. In our conversation, Parfait calls wealth inequality, demographic changes, and parental choices the perfect storm of inequality. Education plays an important role in overcoming this social trifecta of disparity. We also discuss the assumption of meritocracy in education and the lack of a class analysis in the SDGs. www.freshedpodcast.com/parfait-eloundou-enyegue/ email: info@freshedpodcast.com twitter: @freshedpodcast

This is the final episode of 2018. It’s been an incredible year for FreshEd. We’ve aired 41 new episodes and had nearly 130,000 downloads over the past 12 months. We’ve also received financial support from the Open Society Foundations, which is allowing us to transcribe episodes and translate a few into Chinese and Arabic. I’d like to say thank you to Sherry, Hang, and Lushik for their tireless efforts producing the show. FreshEd would not be possible without you. I’d also like to thank our listeners for your continued support. It’s been wonderful to hear from you over the year. Please do consider rating us on iTunes or sending your comments directly to me through our website. Your feedback will only make the show better. In what is now becoming a tradition, today we review the field of comparative and international education for 2018. With me are Susan Robertson and Roger Dale, co-editors of the journal Globalisation, Societies and Education. In our conversation, we touch on many topics, from the contr

Sustainable Development Goal 4 is all about education. Under the goal, there are seven targets, ranging from providing equitable access to education worldwide to making sure students have relevant skills for the future. The most revolutionary yet incredibly complex indicator is 4.7. My guest today, Aaron Benavot, takes us through the history of target 4.7. How did the international community agree on such a revolutionary target? But Aaron warns us about the future of the target given there is no consensus on how to measure it across countries. Aaron Benavot is a Professor in the department of educational policy and leadership at the school of education, University at Albany, State University of New York. He was previously the Director of the Global Education Monitoring report. www.freshedpodcast.com/aaronbenavot email: info@freshedpodcast.com twitter: @freshedpodcast

Today we take stock of the Sustainable Development Goals, which were adopted by the United Nations three years ago. With me is Silvia Montoya who is the director of the UNESCO Institute of Statistics. UIS is charged with monitoring some of the SDGs. In our conversation, which we had on the sidelines of the Global Education Meeting in Brussels, we dive into the problems and challenges of trying to measure concepts such as literacy, global citizenship, and sustainability. Today’s episode of FreshEd was made possible through the support of the Graduate School of Education at the University of Tokyo and Education International. www.freshedpodcast.com/montoya email: info@freshedpodcast.com twitter: @freshedpodcast

How can we define comparative education? That question has long vexed scholars in the field. My guest today is Angela Little, who has spent her entire career in comparative education and has wrestled with this very question. Angela argues that it is best to define the field through shared action rather than agreed-upon definitions and talks about the challenges of being an academic-slash-practitioner. She also discusses the recent role that southern theory plays in the field of comparative education. Angela Little is Professor Emerita at the University College London, Institute of Education, University of London.

Is there a worldwide learning crisis today? My guest, Keith Lewin, argues that the real issue in much of international education development has to do with financing. In our conversation, we discuss aid to education and the ways in which the Sustainable Development Goals don't take the idea of sustainability seriously. Keith Lewin is an Emeritus Professor of International Education and Development at the University of Sussex. http://www.freshedpodcast.com/keithlewin twitter: @freshedpodcast email: info@freshedpodcast.com

Today we look at the power of Participatory Action Research in public science. My guest is Michelle Fine. In the 1990s, she worked on a study called Changing Minds, which looked at the impact of college in a maximum-security prison. The research team comprised of women in and outside of prison. For Michelle, participatory action research plays an important role in the struggle for social justice. It not only can change legislation, impact critical social theory, and mobilize popular opinion for educational justice; but seemingly small issues can also have deep and lasting implications. Michelle Fine is a Distinguished Professor at the Graduate Center at the City University of New York where she is a founding member of the Public Science Project. http://www.freshedpodcast.com/michellefine twitter: @freshedpodcast email: info@freshedpodcast.com

Today we bring you a special episode of FreshEd. With me is Manos Antoninis, the Director of the Global Education Monitoring Report, which was just released. Each year, UNESCO publishes an editorially-independent Global Education Monitoring report to monitor the progress towards the education targets in the Sustainable Development Goals. This year’s topic is migration, displacement and education. Based on evidence from around the world, the report argues that investing in the education of mobile people can actually create cohesion and peace. Of course, there are many challenges facing children, teachers, policymakers, and society from the displacement and migration of large numbers of people. The 2019 GEM report is entitled "Migration, Displacement, and Education: Building Bridges, not Walls" and is available online now. http://www.freshedpodcast.com/Antoninis twitter:@freshedpodcast email: info@freshedpodcast.com

Today I continue my two-part conversation with Justin Driver, the author of the new book, The Schoolhouse Gate: Public Education, the Supreme Court, and the Battle for the American Mind. In today’s episode Justin recounts his biography from growing up in Washington DC to clerking for two Supreme Court justices. Justin takes us through some of the Supreme Court cases involving public schools he thinks are most important but that receive little attention today. He also looks to the future given the recent confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Justin Driver is the Harry N. Wyatt Professor of Law at the University of Chicago Law School. His book, The Schoolhouse Gate (2018 Pantheon), is receiving rave reviews. The New York Times called it “indispensable” while the Washington Post called it “masterful.” http://www.freshedpodcast.com/driver-p2 twitter: @freshedpodcast email: info@freshedpodcast.com

Do constitutional rights stop at the schoolhouse gate? Are American students, in other words, granted the freedom and protections outlined in the US constitution? This question doesn’t have an easy answer. My guest for the next two episodes is Justin Driver. In his new book, The Schoolhouse Gate: Public Education, the Supreme Court, and the Battle for the American Mind, Justin explores most if not all Supreme Court rulings on students in public education. In the first part of my conversation with Justin, we explore the constitutional significance of school rulings and focus much of our attention on the issue of race. Justin Driver is the Harry N. Wyatt Professor of Law at the University of Chicago Law School. His first book,The Schoolhouse Gate(2018 Pantheon), is receiving rave reviews. The New York Times called it “indispensable” while the Washington Post called it “masterful.” http://www.freshedpodcast.com/driver-p1 twitter: @freshedpodcast email: info@freshedpodcast.com

Nine public service employees are suing Navient, the student debt service provider, for providing misleading and inaccurate information. They allege that Navient engaged in predatory lending, more interested in turning a profit than finding them the best repayment plan. My guest today is Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. ATF has been helping their members navigate the student loan industry. What they found is shocking. For Randi, there is a legal and electoral path to find justice for student loan borrowers. For listeners living in the USA, please make sure you vote tomorrow. www.freshedpodcast.com/weingarten twitter: @freshedpodcast email: info@freshedpodcast.com

Today we explore the feminist movement in China. My guest is Leta Hong Fincher, an award-winning journalist and scholar. Leta argues that the jailing of the Feminist Five in 2015 was a turning point for the movement. Leta Hong Fincher recently published the book, Betraying Big Brother: The Feminist Awakening in China, published by Verso (2018). www.freshedpodcast.com/fincher twitter:@freshedpodcast email: info@freshedpodcast.com

Today marks the 3rd anniversary of FreshEd. To celebrate, we are going to air our first ever FreshEd Live event where Saskia Sassen joined me for a conversation about her life and work. Saskia Sassen is a professor at Columbia University. In 1991, she published the now classic book called The Global City where she chronicled how New York, London, and Tokyo became the centers in the new digital economy. What she focused on was the rise of intermediary services that allowed corporations to operate globally. Instead of seeing place as no longer necessary in the digital economy, she saw certain cities as physical sites that became more important than ever in the global economy. For Sassen, intermediaries concentrated in certain parts of the city and relied on high-level knowledge, like algorithmic mathematics. In New York City, financial services took over lower Manhattan. This left a peculiar reality for the physical buildings in the city. As a result, many people who didn’t work in intermediary services we

Many universities worldwide hope to internationalize and push faculty to produce knowledge across disciplines. That’s easier said than done. My guest today, Angela Last, looks at these university fads and finds difficult ethical dilemmas that scholars must overcome. Angela Last is Lecturer in Human Geography at the University of Leicester. Angela is an interdisciplinary researcher in the field of political ecology, drawing on her background in art & design and science communication to investigate environmental controversies and geographical knowledge production. She has been writing the blog Mutable Matter since 2007. The chapter discussed in today's podcast was published in Decolonizing the University (2018, Pluto Press). www.freshedpodcast.com/last

Many listeners probably use LinkedIn. That’s the social media website aimed at connecting employers with employees. My guest today, Janja Komljenovic, researches the ways in which LinkedIn is shaped by and shaping higher education. Janja argues that LinkedIn furthers the employability mandate in universities. Janja Komljenovic is a lecturer of higher education at Lancaster University. In today’s show, we discuss her new article “Linkedin, Platforming labour, and the new employability mandate for universities,” which was published in Globalisation, Societies and Education. http://www.freshedpodcast.com/janjakomljenovic/

Today we discuss education, gender and sexual health. My guest, Marni Sommer, has helped develop puberty books for girls and boys in low-income countries. To date, these books have been developed in seven countries, with almost two million copies distributed to girls and boys. Marni Sommer is an Associate Professor of Sociomedical Sciences at the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University where she leads the GATE (Gender, Adolescent Transitions and Environment) program. She is also the President of the non-profit Grow and Know. In our conversation she discusses how she navigates being both an academic and development practitioner. http://www.freshedpodcast.com/marnisommer/

Today we interrogate the idea of creativity. My guest, Oli Mould, says 21st Century capitalism has redefined creativity from being a power to create something from nothing to the ability to create new products for markets. Creativity, in other words, feeds capitalism’s own growth. Students and workers alike are told they must be entrepreneurial and flexible to survive the global economy. We are told businesses and governments seek out these character traits. In effect, the power to create has become an individual characteristic that can be traded and exploited. Oli Mould is a human geographer based at Royal Holloway, University of London. He argues for a creativity that forges entirely new ways of societal organization. His new book, Against Creativity, published by Verso, goes on sale tomorrow. Oli Mould works at Royal Holloway, University of London. His new book is Against Creativity. http://www.freshedpodcast.com/olimould/

American students are in debt. Some forty-four million Americans collectively hold over $1.4 trillion worth of debt. Those numbers have increased since the Global Financial Crisis from 10 years ago. Today I speak with Ben Miller, a senior director for Postsecondary Education at the Center for American Progress. Ben specializes in higher-education accountability, affordability, and financial aid, as well as for-profit colleges. His most recent op-ed – “The Student Debt Problem is Worse than we Imagined” – appeared in the New York Times in August. http://www.freshedpodcast.com/benmiller/