Melanie C. Brooks – författare

While nation engages in debates concerning central issues of religion and religious diversity in education, the historic saliency of religion and spirituality in the Black community and in the education of its children continues to be largely ignored. Historically, religion and spirituality were foundational to the development and understanding of social justice issues, including, but not limited to, issues of protest, community up-lift, notions of care, and anti-oppression. Taking into account the historical significance of religion and spirituality in the Black community, it is essential for education scholars to cultivate these long-standing connections as a means for advancing contemporary struggles for social justice, religiosity in education, and counter-hegemonic praxis. The purpose of this book is to expand our understanding of spirituality and religion as related to the p-20 schooling of Blacks students.

Educational scholarship continues to explore the workings of social justice to ameliorate inequities for those who have not been well served in schools. Although the concept of social justice remains a somewhat inchoate term in educational literature, this book seeks to explore the historicity of religion and spirituality while offering a scaffold that links ordinary everyday acts of justice, religion, and spirituality in education to a culture that systematically and institutionally assaults the worth of Black students. It is important to note that this book is grounded in a broad concept of religion and spirituality and the editors seek to be inclusive of all types, styles, and traditions of religiosity and spirituality.

Globalization and Education: Teaching, Learning and Leading in the World Schoolhouse explores the various ways educators’ work is influenced by globalization. This book presents topics and contexts traditionally marginalized in mainstream education research discourses and shows how local and global education issues are intersecting and shaping the ways in which ideas and practices are shared around the world. Each chapter presents an educational issue in an understudied international context, such as Saudi Arabia, Guyana, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brazil, and Nepal. Topics range from how the knowledge industry shapes education in schools to the impact of globalization on school leadership, teaching, and learning. We invite scholars and practitioners to join us in the world schoolhouse, a place where discussion about educational understanding and improvement is not bounded by national borders, school systems or language.

This book will both challenge and expand thinking about the complexities of education during a time of globalization and change.

The chapters in Urban Educational Leadership for Social Justice: International Perspectives constitute a collection of works that explore dynamics related to equity in multiple contexts. Authors examined these issues in Turkey, Egypt the United States, Thailand and at a global level by comparing and contrasting school leadership practice across borders. Considered as a whole, these papers explore various topics that will be at the forefront of educational research for years to come. Increasingly, educational leadership understand that there are important lessons to be learned internationally and globally. This book includes important research conceived from these perspectives. Our hope is that individually and collectively, they might contribute to our understanding of international and global issues in educational leadership and that they will extend, challenge and deepen extant lines of inquiry and begin others.