Emerald Publishing Limited

Environment, Social, Governance (ESG) has become the noun, verb, and adjective of the modern business era. Faced with societal and regulatory pressure, big business in America, Asia, and Europe has been forced to define and articulate ESG goals to combat climate change and save the planet. The only problem is that ESG has been captured by the PR hype machine as a few prominent business leaders make bold promises to save the planet but are vague about how they propose to achieve this. Eager to showcase their green credentials, companies are making all kinds of promises to reduce their carbon footprint and to play their part in reducing global warming and improving social outcomes. How to separate fact from fiction and exaggerated commitments from realistic goals?

Vasuki Shastry spent several years at the coal face itself – running ESG for a major international bank in the City of London – and argues that corporate cultures are too focused on the profit motive and quarterly business targets. Change can only really come through a paradigm shift for business which aligns business with social purpose. Getting there will require a corporate revolution which will disrupt and dislodge the ancien régime and usher in a new age of sustainable business. The author offers a solution in the form of a Climate Manifesto for Business that will Make Our Planet Great Again!

Winning through Platforms achieved #1 bestseller status, and is a Best Business Book Awards winner for 2024. It is your new go-to guide for modern competitive advantage.

Digital platforms are no longer for just the tech elite. They’re spreading to every company and industry, powered by the growth of customer sensors, streaming data, and artificial intelligence—lighting the valuable customer Use journey that was formerly dark.

How will you succeed when your markets get platform-crowded? Three senior advisers to the world’s leading technology companies reveal how to win through platforms when every competitor has one.

Winning Through Platforms decodes growth moves from a decade of platform competition, communicates them through a platform playbook. It’s a treasure trove of 24 proven platform strategies—such as customer coalition design, in-use enrichment, AI branding, and much more. These playbook strategies are delivered through engaging stories of over 50 companies, plus proprietary frameworks and workshop-style questions that lead you to act.

This game-changing playbook will teach you how to:

• Revitalize your business through strategic use of platforms
• Design platforms that are compelling to customers and hard for competitors to match
• Accelerate in-market growth through brand-and-demand excellence that spans your customer’s entire platform journey
• Innovate in high-impact benefit areas to differentiate your platform
• Elevate your customer’s personal platform experience
• Transform your enterprise and operations to drive superior performance

Every CEO, innovator, go-to-market leader, and aspiring professional will gain valuable insight through this book. Whether your company is just starting on its first platform journey or is a born platform disruptor, this book will transform your ability to win.

Learn the platform playbook. Find and apply your plays.

This book forms part of the American Marketing Association (AMA) leadership series.

Empirical Design in Structural Engineering explores the history, applicability and uses of empirical design. This book aims to show that empirical design is practised much more widely than is generally understood, that it can make a particularly valuable contribution to your structural engineering design, and that it can be found embedded within the procedures of rational engineering design. Through examples of practices from North America, Europe and Asia, the author investigates the capabilities of the key materials for structural engineering – steel, concrete, wood and masonry – and how they connect to engineering, especially the engineering of building structures.

This book also considers the value of prior experience in determining the configuration and size of designed structures including bridges, buildings and other structures. With case studies that focus on historic structures, forensic engineering and reinforced concrete, this book explores: philosophical empiricism and rationalism; engineering empiricism and rationalism; empirical builders and their products; contemporary building codes; ethical issues in the application of empirical design; and contemporary uses of empirical design.

This book will be of interest to any student or practising engineer interested in the role that empirical design can play in their project. It will have additional appeal to those interested in or engaged with architecture, construction management and buildings management..

Business fluency is essential today for effective strategic communication. To fulfill the mandate of trusted counselors and advisors to executives and the C-suite, communication professionals must no longer just have excellent communication skills, but they must understand and speak the language of the business world. The challenge is that many communication graduates and professionals did not go to business school and do not hold an MBA.

Business Acumen for Strategic Communicators: The Workbook provides the essential practical learning needed to help upskill communication professionals into bona fide business leaders and advisors. Through briefs, exercises and discussion activities, readers will learn to analyze and interpret key business materials produced by companies and nonprofit organizations, including CEO letters, annual reports, financial statements, earnings releases, CSR, DEI and ESG reports, and more. A revised and expanded glossary is provided, as are answer keys for the exercises.

Drawing on the success of Ragas and Culp’s prior books, this innovative workbook offers hands-on learning opportunities to help put newly acquired business acumen knowledge into practice.

This volume explores education in the Deep South, with a focus on LGBTQ students and educators, and on queer theoretical perspectives in education. The topics in this volume include teaching LGBTQ issues and queer studies in the Deep South, educational policy and practice in the Deep South as related to queer issues, and efforts to introduce queer literature to libraries and queer collections to archives. Authors in this volume examine what realities exist in education in the U.S. South currently, and what possibilities might be imagined in the future.

In a post-COVID-19 pandemic era of cost-of-living crises and global displacements of people due to conflicts and climate challenges, food poverty is a growing and ever-pressing issue across both the Global North and the Global South. Presenting a collection of cases drawn from higher education research, teaching and learning, as well as campus and community-based initiatives, Higher Education and SDG2 addresses food security, nutrition, sustainable and resilient agriculture, and ending hunger for all.

Featuring chapters and cases from Australia, Canada, China, Indonesia, Italy, Malawi, Northern Ireland, Peru, Turkey, the UK, the USA, Vietnam and Zimbabwe, this edited collection demonstrates the fundamental role Higher Education has in helping deliver Zero Hunger. The chapters cover education, research and community engagement initiatives that aim to address how this issue impacts the nations that face the most widespread and severe effects of hunger, food insecurity, malnutrition, and unsustainable food systems. Focusing on opportunities for Higher Education to positively influence academic, innovation, and policy agendas, this synthesis of global approaches is an inspirational call to action for increasing meaningful engagement by universities and colleges to address SDG2 Zero Hunger.

Higher Education and the Sustainable Development Goals is a series of 17 books that address each of the SDGs through the lens of higher education. Adopting a solutions-based approach, each book focuses on how higher education is advancing delivery of Agenda 2030. The series is edited by Wendy Purcell, Professor with Rutgers University and Academic Research Scholar with Harvard University; Emeritus Professor and University President Emerita.

Sustainable Water is a practical and accessible book for built environment professionals who play vital roles in creating and maintaining water services. It outlines a framework of fundamental principles, methodologies and approaches needed to deliver high quality, economical and sustainable infrastructure across the globe by approaching it from the time-limited, output-driven perspective of practical infrastructure engineers and practitioners. 

The applied examples from existent civil engineering projects identify the key sustainability issues and challenges for the water sector, their common principles and how these can be applied in practice.

As an invaluable resource Sustainable Water:

• Identifies the sector priorities for change to sustainability
• Uses the latest best practice
• Describes opportunities and methodologies with leading edge examples
• Discusses the barriers and potential ways to innovate
• Identifies opportunities and constraints
• Advises on the right questions to ask at each stage of project delivery

Sustainable Water identifies and applies the critical changes needed to provide more sustainable solutions, and to embed these into a tradition of excellent by delivering sufficient water through a good service, of the right quality and at an affordable cost, as straightforwardly as possible.

Modern day buildings are now expected to be low energy or near zero energy to reduce carbon emissions. A key step in making building low energy is to minimise heat transfer through the building fabric with insulation fabrics. However, how can a practitioner choose the most effective fabric for the job in hand? With so many thermal insulation materials on the market and each making claims associated with their performance, it is difficult for a specifier, contractor or an end user to select the insulation material most appropriate for a specific building project. Thermal Insulation Materials for Building Applications aims to address that problem.  

This book presents the variations, technical details and capabilities of state-of-the-art of thermal insulation materials for building applications. As a single source of information on all aspects of insulation materials, the reader can make an informed choice and select the necessary insulation accordingly.

Thermal Insulation Materials for Building Applications includes discussions on various properties of thermal insulation materials such as

• thermal conductivity
• heat capacity
•  moisture resistance
• moisture adsorption and absorption capacity
• role of thermal and hygric mass in dynamic hydrothermal boundary conditions
• sustainability with regards to insulation materials
• embodied and operational energy with regards to insulation materials
• bio-based and synthetic insulation materials
• durability of insulation materials
• acoustics and insulation materials and economics of insulation materials.

It is an essential purchase for any practitioner looking to understand and select the right modern thermal insulation materials for their building project.

A Guide to the Reservoirs Act 1975 provides expert guidance on the application of the Reservoirs Act 1975, reflecting the current views and practices of the dam engineering profession.

This fully updated second edition for reservoirs located in England incorporates the latest amendments introduced through the Flood and Water Management Act 2010, reflecting a more risk-based approach to reservoir regulation. The new edition also incorporates updates from the Water Act 2003.

Designing for Cycle Traffic compares and evaluates international principles and practices for designing for cycle traffic. It sets design for cycling in the wider context of public realm design, traffic planning, traffic engineering and traffic management. The book mainly draws on UK, Dutch, Danish and North American principles, and it enables readers to understand how effective design can create efficient transport systems that support economic vibrancy, social activity, and environmental sustainability. A key theme is that only distinct and separate provision for cycle traffic can ensure the creation of attractive and comfortable infrastructure for cyclists.

Coverage includes:

• principles for design to ensure inclusivity
• planning processes for cycle route networks 
• design approaches, including capacity calculations for links and junctions, roundabouts and crossings, and signal control
• modelling and level of service assessment approaches.
• each chapter is extensively illustrated, provides a concise overview of the topic, and includes an introductory overview and summary of chapter highlights.
• Written in an accessible style by an established international authority, Designing for Cycle Traffic is essential reading for students, designers and planners in the fields of traffic and highway engineering, spatial and transport planning, architecture and urban design.

Welcome to Bardstown, KY: The Bourbon Capital of the World®

Bourbon’s popularity is now a global phenomenon, but you need only look at Bardstown, Kentucky, to see its remarkable and evolving impacts. This historic city of 13,500 people is booming as a result, but it’s also enduring growing pains.

The economic impacts from a massive influx of tourists to what is now America’s bourbon epicenter are positive on many levels, but with those crowds comes pressure on infrastructure, services and accommodations. The demand for hotels, bars and restaurants is at an all-time high, and investors from across the globe are addressing those needs.

Still, as a two-century-old Kentucky cultural and entertainment center long before it was discovered by bourbon drinkers ;– many locals want to ensure the traditional Bardstown experience doesn’t disappear amid novel entertainment options.

The ebook edition of this title is Open Access and freely available to read online.

As Africa stands at the threshold of rapid global and technological change, Transforming Africa offers a timely, agenda-setting response to the urgent call for bold, future-oriented innovation across the continent.

This edited volume explores how African countries can reshape their innovation ecosystems to meet contemporary challenges and opportunities. It brings together diverse perspectives on emerging issues such as artificial intelligence, fintech, and smart agriculture, alongside critical socio-economic themes including food systems, health, education, culture, fashion, and peacebuilding. Transforming Africa is a call to action: to reimagine Africa’s innovation agenda with greater urgency, creativity, and contextual relevance. It highlights the rise of alternative paradigms and local approaches to innovation that challenge dominant models and offer more inclusive and sustainable pathways forward.

Rich in insight and grounded in practice, this volume is essential reading for policymakers, entrepreneurs, researchers, and students interested in Africa’s development and innovation futures. It is the third in a series produced by the Africa Innovation Summit Foundation and is supported by ICESCO.

Stress and Coping of English Learners addresses the many ways that ELs face academic and socioemotional stress in the K–12 school environment, the consequences of this stress at school, how they cope with this stress, and how school personnel and families can provide support and help. While enrollment in school programs offers assistance to many ELs, it often fails to provide the socioemotional support that ELs need as they navigate the rough waters of schooling. American schooling is often not prepared and/or unwilling to help ELs as they adapt to an unfamiliar language, culture, social norms, communication techniques, and teachers' expectations. Given the proper foundation and emotional support, ELs will be positioned for greater academic success, comfort at school, and a decrease in their sense of alienation in both the school environment and at home as they try to negotiate between two cultural environments.

In our rapidly evolving "complexponential" world, where complexity and exponential change intersect, traditional leadership models are failing us. Drawing profound wisdom from nature's patterns and ancient Taoist principles, The Four Forces reveals how emergent generative team leadership can transform teams and organizations. Self-organizing, autonomous teams exercise this team-led leadership close to stakeholders where responsive decisions matter most.

At the heart of this revolutionary approach lie four fundamental forces that mirror nature's own organizing principles. When team members align with intent, clear purpose that guides without constraining, they create space for authentic emergence. Through hope, they cultivate resilience and possibility thinking that enables teams to navigate uncertainty with confidence. Care becomes the nurturing force that allows individual talents to flourish while maintaining collective coherence. And love emerges as the binding energy that creates unshakeable connection, trust, and commitment.

Perhaps most critically, this book illuminates how relationships become the stabilizing anchor in our turbulent times. Just as ecosystems derive their resilience from interconnected webs of relationship, teams that prioritize authentic human connection find stability amid chaos. These relational foundations do not constrain change, they enable it, creating the psychological safety and mutual trust necessary for true innovation and adaptation.

The Four Forces offers leaders a pathway beyond command-and-control toward something far more powerful: the ability to ignite collective intelligence, foster genuine collaboration, and create organizations that thrive in complexity rather than merely survive it. This is leadership that works with life's natural flow rather than against it.

Vol. II: Short-Term Programs features eight OST STEM programs for females from across the United States that run one to three days in length, in most cases, a single day. In this book, the chapter authors describe their programs, the effectiveness of those programs, and practical implications of their program evaluation data. This book series is the first of its kind to offer researchers, educators, school administrators, policy makers, and others detailed insight into the promise and practice of out-of-school-time STEM programs for females.

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines play a pivotal role in societal progress and economic prosperity, in addition to enhancing individual lives. However, U.S. students lack strong STEM performance in an international context. The pool of STEM-proficient workers is thus insufficient to fuel the nation, with females being one group that is noticeably absent.

Out-of-school-time (OST) programs, which are on the rise, are increasingly suggested as a way to support and encourage underrepresented groups in STEM. Participants in OST programs have shown improved achievement, interest, and confidence in STEM, as well as greater awareness of STEM role models and careers.

This guidebook is designed to be the high school teacher’s friend in addressing a wide variety of questions regarding the use of educational and instructional technologies. It can serve as a companion and guide through the myriad challenges and opportunities related to the effective use of technology in one’s classroom and school.

A sample of U.S. high school teachers provided us with detailed answers about their experiences with using technology in their teaching. Specifically, they shared their challenges, barriers, ideas, and suggestions for working successfully with administrators, technology specialists, students, fellow teachers, and parents when teaching with technology. We have organized the teachers’ experiences and recommendations according to each stakeholder group.

Rather than recommending or reviewing specific educational technology companies, applications, or tools, we provide a large number of strategies that are “built to last” and should be applicable regardless of the specific tool under consideration. We assume that it doesn’t ultimately matter what the tool or technology is that you’re using—it’s how and why you’re using it for teaching and learning that will determine whether it is successful or not. The “how” and “why” aspects encompass the built-to-last strategies included in this guidebook.

Students’ school motivation and engagement are key contributors to the quality of their academic learning and performance, as well as growth in other important areas of life (social, emotional, and physical health). Fostering motivation and engagement is thus a meaningful educational purpose, both in and of itself and as a pathway to holistic student development. However, motivation and engagement do not develop in a vacuum, and effort seeking to facilitate them cannot be effectively pursued without understanding their underpinning sociocultural influences. In the first edition of this volume, “Big Theories Revisited” (McInerney & Van Etten, 2004), authors of major models of school motivation and engagement were ‘challenged’ to look into their theoretical work through a sociocultural lens. The volume has been well received as objectively reflected in the number of citations of its chapters.

Significant progress has since been made in the theorizing and research of ‘big theories’ of school motivation and engagement. In this volume, we invited a group of internationally-renowned scholars to re-examine their theoretical and conceptual work by highlighting the ‘what’ (factors) and ‘how’ (processes) of sociocultural influences in association with the key motivation and/or engagement construct(s) of their expertise. We made it clear to our contributors that we solicited new chapters rather than chapters with merely rehashed materials. As a result, this volume, “Big Theories Revisited 2” (Liem & McInerney, 2018) contains chapters that critically discuss sociocultural influences on school motivation and engagement constructs as viewed from focal theories including self-determination theory, achievement goal theory, personal investment theory, expectancy value theory, self-efficacy theory, self- and co-regulated learning models, and many others. Whereas some of the chapter topics covered in the initial edition are also part of this edition, some are new and provide fresh sociocultural angles on achievement-relevant processes and outcomes. Likewise, whereas some of the authors contributed to the earlier edition of the Volume, many of them are different. What appears to be the same across the two editions is the scholarly distinction of the authors and the substantive rigor of the chapters in advancing our current understanding of this field of enquiry. Readers will learn much from and be inspired by stimulating ideas presented in this volume.

Second Language Testing for Student Evaluation and Classroom Research and its accompanying Student Workbook are introductory-level resources for classroom teachers of all levels of experience, and early-career graduate students in applied linguistics, TESOL, and second/foreign language teaching programs. The book gives a balance between practice and theory for student evaluation, and also aims for readers to use testing to connect to classroom research and to their own teaching. Indeed, Second Language Testing for Student Evaluation and Classroom Research aims at self-discovery and empowerment for readers, even as second language testing as a field undergoes major shifts in scope and areas of concern.

Second Language Testing offer a strong basis for readers who wish to analyze and improve their own classroom tests, and for readers who wish to evaluate standardized tests they are required to use, or are thinking of using. We work with the general idea, “OK, now that I know test X has these strengths and weaknesses, what do I do?” Or, “Alright here are students’ scores, now how do I use them in my teaching?” At the same time our book provides more in-depth treatments of key testing topics for those readers who want to know “Why?” and “How?” “Why these terms?” “Why this or that analysis?” “Why does it work?” “How does it work?” “What do these numbers mean?” “How do I use them and how do I explain them to my students, my colleagues, my supervisors?” Second Language Testing for Student Evaluation and Classroom Research includes five Appendices for those readers whose interests continue into more advanced areas. Our information and observations on issues such as rater training (Appendix B) are current and discerning, and our Reference section and Glossary would be valued by any advanced testing practitioner or researcher.

Second Language Testing is useful to readers at varied levels of engagement, at their choice.

In a society that is still experiencing the crisis generated by the pandemic due to the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, aggravated also by the conflict in Ukraine, it is necessary to rethink the concept of culture, which must be declined in its factual reality of everyday life, since the cultural system and its elements not only produce relationships (meaningful interactions) but also individual and collective social action, hence the use of the term rela(c)tion in the title.

The text proposes to discuss the theme of culture and cultural processes with an innovative slant that takes into account the changes that have occurred in recent years. One thinks, for example, of the great interest in processes that lead to social justice, particularly in the Global South, and the sustainability strongly brought about by Generation Z. The authors, without omitting theoretical insights necessary for understanding the transformation of this concept, will proceed to outline the areas, dimensions and cultural processes that influence the dynamics of everyday life and that in turn influence culture itself.

The idea behind this book was to construct a reflection on culture that goes beyond the individual definitions of this concept and allows for the exploration of the processes that take place in contemporary society on different levels (individual, social, and cultural) in the unfolding of individuals' everyday lives. To sum up, the objective pursued is to provide a picture of the dynamics, but at the same time of the future challenges to be faced by the different cultural systems due to the continuous changes in society, without neglecting to highlight what may be the orientations and/or innovative models (sustainability, social justice, democratic culture, etc.) that should be pursued for the construction of a cultural system that favours the peaceful and cohesive existence of differences.

Leading the Transition toward Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Schools brings together the latest educational research and powerful first-person narratives to explore how culturally responsive and sustaining practices can reshape K–12 education for the better.

This timely and essential volume highlights the work of school principals, teacher leaders, student and parent advocates, district administrators, and external consultants who are actively leading change in their communities. Each section pairs research-based chapters with authentic testimonials, followed by expert analysis that draws out key themes and actionable insights. Together, these voices offer a rich, multidimensional portrait of what it takes to create inclusive learning environments.

Leading the Transition toward Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Schools offers a roadmap for navigating systemic challenges with courage, care, and a commitment to justice. A vital resource for practitioners and students of educational leadership, this book charts a path toward schools where all students can thrive.

Ideas always have and always will change the world, whether this be via incremental shifts in understanding or behaviour, or from the introduction of revolutionary new ways of knowing and being. Being Human presents the concept of an ideas-informed society, in which new thinking and innovation drive decision-making and citizens are encouraged to engage in and actively participate in this process.

Chris Brown and Ruth Luzmore present a practice-orientated manifesto that details what is needed to actualise an ideas-informed world, and the role of education systems and policymakers in facilitating an increasingly happier, healthier, smarter and more fulfilled society.

Educational Embodiments: Life Writing the Body focuses on life writing that centers body politics and embodiment in educational spaces. The aim of the book is to consider, examine, and voice the lived, fleshy, textured body as a site of politics, a site of embodied educative experiences, and a site of learning and teaching. Researchers and educators alike have long championed the disembodied researcher and teacher as the ideal collectors and vehicles for knowledge production and emphasized the intellect over the body in pedagogies, analyses, and fieldwork. We are always enfleshed in diverse ways in various locales, always changing, moving, becoming, aging, singing, aching, growing, becoming marred and scarred and stronger and bigger, and smaller again. We are embodied with others, interacting with other body-mind-souls that awaken interrelational proxemics and kinesthetic experiences.

Educational Embodiments offers perspectives from which scholars, teachers, and students can draw to support their work. The 14 chapters in this collection attend to national, international, and local concerns, include varied theoretical and methodological approaches, and reflect a range of class, ethnic, and racial heritages. Chapters consider practical, theoretical, ethical, and educational issues. The authors include established and emerging scholars. The book sparks conversation, debate, and reflection and is a valuable resource that inspires scholarship about how embodied intersections shape the life-writing inquiry process.

This book contains an Open Access Chapter.

Latinas represent one of the fastest-growing populations in the US, yet Latina faculty in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers remain underrepresented. Advancing Latinas in STEM Academic Careers shares ideas, strategies, and best practices in the following areas: (1) work-life issues, policies/practices, mentoring, and climate that affect the pathways/pipelines, recruitment, retention, and advancement/leadership of Latinas in academic STEM careers; (2) challenges and opportunities for STEM Latinas across faculty rank and within and outside academia; (3) best practices and lessons learned in the recruitment and advancement of STEM Latinas; (4) intersectionality issues, particularly those related to gender and ethnic diversity in STEM; and (5) pipeline/pathways for advancing Latinas in STEM.

Academic research in STEM is often conducted without the perspectives of members of underrepresented groups, including Latinas. An increase in the number and representation of underrepresented minorities and women in STEM has the capacity to build more informed public policy formulation, discussion, and implementation. Having an inclusive STEM faculty that advances Latinas exposes students to a range of perspectives and experiences, counters stereotypes students might have about Latinas and BIPOC populations, strengthens the pipeline for Latina/o students, and prepares non-Latina/o students to work productively in an increasingly diverse and competitive workforce. The audience for this book includes researchers in STEM equity and Latina/o studies, college and university administrators, and faculty, especially Hispanic Serving Institutions seeking knowledge, best practices, and resources for advancing Latinas in STEM academic careers.

Active and Engaging Classrooms: A Practical Exploration of P-12 School Contexts empowers educators to transform their classrooms into vibrant spaces where students actively lead their own learning. This edited volume explores how teachers can design and facilitate learning environments that promote student agency, curiosity, and collaboration. It emphasizes that active and engaging learning is not accidental—it requires intentional planning, responsive teaching, and a deep understanding of how students learn best.

The book offers practical strategies for creating classroom climates that support meaningful participation, including classroom management techniques, systems thinking, and the importance of trust in student-teacher relationships. It also explores how active learning connects with multicultural education and Culturally Responsive Teaching, providing inclusive approaches that resonate with diverse learners. Real-world examples include project-based learning, dual-enrollment courses, problem-solving games, and the integration of multimedia and AI.

Designed for both new and experienced educators, as well as teacher educators, this collection provides a comprehensive look at how to cultivate classrooms where students are not just engaged—but empowered. Whether you're refining your teaching practice or preparing future educators, this book offers the tools and insights needed to foster dynamic, student-centered learning environments.

The distinct nature of LGBTQ+ Leadership in Education is often misunderstood, overlooked, and undervalued. This groundbreaking book explores the contributions and transformative potential of LGBTQ+ educational leaders, weaving together personal stories, strategic insights, and critical analysis. Across job functions, contexts, and career stages, it explores the challenges, priorities, and contributions of LGBTQ+ leaders—including educators with multiple marginalised identities.

Grounded in the realities of the UK education sector, LGBTQ+ Leadership in Education highlights the vital role of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in leadership, recognising the advocacy work of LGBTQ+ leaders and the transformative power of queer networks in shaping institutional cultures. Chapter authors offer a nuanced appreciation of authenticity, visibility, influence, and leadership development, while engaging with queer theory to challenge dominant models that perpetuate inequality.

An essential resource for educators at all levels, it empowers leaders to reexamine, refine, and strengthen their own leadership practice, fostering inclusive and effective educational environments for all.

Teachers matter. Stories matter, too. However, in the context of education, teachers’ stories matter even more. What happens in classrooms -in New Zealand and elsewhere - affects not only the teachers and pupils concerned but also those interested in teaching pedagogy and teaching in general. Teacher stories are a way to tell others about the personal experiences that inform educational environments.

From a Dutch Colony to a New Zealand Classroom: The Teaching Story of Will Potter tells part of the personal and teaching story of one post-primary commerce teacher - Will Potter - who taught in New Zealand from 1958 until 1976. He was also Jacqui Burne’s father. Will’s story has unique features: he was an immigrant who came to teaching later in life at age 51 without a degree or teaching qualifications, English was not his first language, and he went on to write textbooks in his chosen subjects. He also began teaching in the 1950s - a time when school enrollments were increasing, but facilities and teachers were limited. The Thomas Report of 1944, with its emphasis on education of the whole pupil as well as the revised School Certificate and the introduction of new subjects, also shaped the time. Will had a colonial upbringing in what was the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia, and was also interned in concentration camps during the Second World War. These experiences added to his personal history. Will passed away in 1993.

Will’s story is an intrinsic case study of a rich teaching life. His story helps illustrate a teacher’s life in context revealing how aspects of the time, such as the lack of classrooms in the 1950s, affected teachers’ experiences and pedagogy. From a Dutch Colony to a New Zealand Classroom is vital reading for those interested in the history of education and the biographical and professional insights of teacher stories.

Thriving in Higher Education: Uncovering Institutional Counter-Stories Through Abolitionist Feminist Mentoring shares personal narratives that highlight the critical role of mentoring in academic success—especially for women and people of color on the tenure track. Institutions often use mechanisms of control to shame those who challenge hegemonic norms and expectations. These shaming practices serve to silence and isolate victims, contributing to the hidden and ongoing nature of these mechanisms. In this book, scholars share experiences of microaggressions, racial battle fatigue, and institutional retaliation, revealing the hidden costs of advocating for justice and truth within academia.

These nineteen chapters, authored by multidisciplinary educators—some in collaboration with their mentors or mentees—serve as both guidebooks and cautionary tales necessary to navigate the potential perils of higher education through mentoring relationships. These brave counter-stories present tales of joy, resistance and solidarity for scholars deemed outsiders, troublemakers, boat-rockers, critical scholars, truth tellers, and the like.

While the work of dismantling institutional oppression is often costly—bringing stress, fear, and even trauma—this book stands as a beacon of hope. It offers readers not only validation and solidarity, but also practical strategies for building empowering mentoring relationships rooted in care, resistance, and community. Thriving in Higher Education is both a call to action and a testament to the resilience of those who dare to thrive in spaces not built for them.

Mentoring in Formal and Informal Contexts was intended to meet a gap in the academic literature that addressed mentoring practice in different contexts. The book highlights practice and research in higher education of both faculty and students, K-12 teacher education (both general and special education), healthcare education and practice, and business. 

This new edition provides potential readers with four new chapters that enhance the book by providing research and practice on mentoring: junior tenure track university faculty, a collaborative community of learners, k-12 educators engaged in new methods of science teaching, and pharmacy education faculty charged with utilizing new assessment methods for their students. These chapters provide a fresh, updated look at how mentoring can be applied in both formal and informal settings in new and different ways. New models have emerged from the mentoring research and are applied in contexts new to the book. Additionally, a new Introduction is provided to update readers as to the book’s changes. 

Featuring accounts of P-12 educators, Rebellious Education: Joyful Teaching as Resistance in the American South and Appalachia offers a rebellious counter-narrative to the modern tale that teaching is a profession void of joy. Like the teaching profession itself, the American South and Appalachia are areas with juxtaposed narratives, both romanticized and villainized in popular culture. In this book, teachers in Southern and Appalachian spaces reveal their experiences of enacting their practice in challenging situations, but this is balanced with purposeful pedagogies and powerful accounts of teaching as an act of joyful resistance, pushing back against the stereotypes and false narratives currently plaguing the profession.

This book is written for educators to provide a collection of accounts that offer hope and resilience to those working to make our schools better places in geographic locations that often experience lower pay and less support. The book also serves as a tool to help motivate and sustain beginning and veteran teachers alike; it provides a community of voices against the ever-present message that teaching is not a profession worth pursuing.

Internal Consultants: The Driving Force Behind Innovation and Success in Organizations spotlights a powerful yet often underrecognized force in modern business: the internal consultant. In an era of unprecedented change and disruption, internal consultants are emerging as key agents of transformation—driving innovation, generating value, and navigating complex challenges across industries. While external consultants have long dominated the spotlight, this volume reframes internal consultants as strategic leaders shaping the future of organizations from within.

Part of the Research in Management Consulting series, this book traces the evolution of internal consulting, offering a rich exploration of its origins, current practices, and growing impact. Chapters delve into the unique challenges internal consultants face, the distinct value they bring to their organizations, and the best practices that define effective internal consulting. From navigating internal politics to building trust and credibility, the insights shared here are both practical and research-driven.

Written by a diverse group of scholar-practitioners, this volume bridges theory and real-world application, making it an essential resource for academics, consultants, HR leaders, and executives alike. Whether you're building an internal consulting function or looking to elevate its strategic role, Internal Consultants offers the tools and perspectives needed to harness their full potential.

AI and Deep Learning Enabled Surveillance System Using Image Processing is an essential resource for anyone interested in the convergence of advanced technologies to enhance surveillance capabilities. This book explores in detail how artificial intelligence and deep learning can be applied to image processing, offering a transformative approach to modern surveillance systems. It covers foundational concepts of AI and deep learning, explaining how these technologies are reshaping the way we understand and utilize image data. The book emphasizes practical implementation, guiding readers through the integration of AI algorithms with image processing techniques to create sophisticated, real-time surveillance solutions.

Through in-depth discussions and real-world case studies, the book highlights the applications of AI in various surveillance contexts, such as public safety, traffic monitoring, and access control. Readers will learn about the latest advancements in neural networks, object detection, and anomaly detection, gaining insights into developing and deploying intelligent surveillance systems. Additionally, the book addresses critical ethical and privacy considerations, ensuring that readers are aware of the balance between enhanced security and individual privacy rights. This comprehensive guide is an invaluable tool for professionals and researchers aiming to harness the power of AI and deep learning in the field of surveillance.

Inspectors General: Duty, Authority, Integrity examines the firsthand experiences and insights of practitioners who work in an omnipresent yet little understood government watchdog institution, the Office of Inspector General (OIG). OIGs continuously monitor, and ensure accountability of public employees, contractors, and beneficiaries within their jurisdiction . Although OIGs were originally not found outside of military settings, since the mid-1970s, they are now an established part of most federal executive agencies in the United States, as well as of state and local governments; they are tasked with fighting waste, fraud, abuse and to improve the efficacy of Medicare, Medicaid among over a hundred other HHS programs. Yet most US Master of Public Administration programs, political science departments, and law schools do not teach about OIGs as an important mechanism of ethics, accountability and oversight. They are relatively understudied despite their ubiquitousness and impact.

This book presents chapters authored by leading academics and practitioners to provide a comprehensive and in-depth overview of the institution, and its history, design, challenges, and successes.

Inspectors General: Duty, Authority, Integrity is essential reading for those working in public administration or political science; legal scholars; government consultants; healthcare providers, and those who study public management, government accountability and oversight, democratic control of the executive branch, institutional design, and public agency performance. Faculty members would find it invaluable not only as a collection of academic research but also consider its use for master’s level and doctoral classes. Additionally, professionals in the world of federal, state, and local OIGs, compliance officers, as well as in positions of oversight generally. would have an interest in this book.

Achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal of Reduced Inequalities focuses on Sustainable Development Goal number ten (SDG#10), which aims to reduce inequality within and among countries by promoting social, economic and political inclusion for all, regardless of factors such as age, gender, disability, race, ethnicity, origin or religion. Recognizing that inequality can obstruct long-term development, SDG#10 aims to ensure equitable access to healthcare, opportunities, and overall well-being, fostering a more just and inclusive society. Examining family businesses from Mongolia, Spain, India, Australia, and Malaysia, each chapter presents a unique perspective from their respective country, analysing how SDG#10 translates into tackling inequalities. The case studies presented generate insights and key takeaways into how family businesses help to reduce inequalities in their respective countries.

The United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are 17 Goals pledged by 193 nations in 2015 which would help engender an improved, fairer, and more sustainable world – one in which ‘no one is left behind’. The SDGs are a call to action, to develop innovative solutions to the most complex, societal, and environmental global challenges.

In Family Businesses on a Mission, series editor Naomi Birdthistle brings together international case studies to illustrate how family businesses can attain the UN 2030 SDGs. Accessible to those working in the field beyond academia – such as family business practitioners, family business owners, government and policymakers, members of NGOs, business associations and philanthropic centres – this book series equally appeals to those with a general interest in entrepreneurship and business.

During the International Study Group meetings at the Literacy Research Association (LRA) Conference in December of 2019, we discovered that LRA scholars were engaged in innovative research, initiatives, and publications in very different contexts around the globe, especially in multilingual environments. The variety of studies offered promising cross-border insights with the potential to enhance international research and global collaboration efforts in education around the globe.

Literacy Pedagogies in Global Contexts provides a collection of research experiences around the globe that are rooted in indigenous, translingual and cross-cultural literacies. It includes chapters on indigenous literacies related to the diverse ways of knowing, communicating, and making meaning in rural Latin America and Africa that are rich, complex, and deeply contextual. Other chapters on translingual literacies describe how moving fluidly across languages to communicate, make meaning, and express identity can support learning in schools. Finally, there are chapters that highlight cross-cultural literacies that support a needed understanding to navigate, interpret, and communicate effectively across different cultural contexts.

One of the key strengths of this book lies in its diverse range of research methodologies, encompassing quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method approaches. Another significant contribution is its inclusion of perspectives from a wide array of geographical regions, including Kenya in Africa; Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador in Latin America; South Korea and China in Asia; as well as the southeastern United States.

Algebra in the Middle Grades addresses topics that are formalized in the first half of an Algebra 1 course, focusing on linear equations, their graphs and their applications to problem solving. The book is intended to be used by students in the middle school in preparation for the formal study of Algebra 1. In this, it is a truly Pre-Algebra program.

Algebra in the Middle Grades is an approach that brings Algebra to the students. It is written to have the essential elements of Algebra be understood on an inductive level so that when students later address the topic formally, there will be an informal background to create deep understanding.

The approach is extremely visual using both algebra tile-type diagrams along with graphs for equations and grids for ratio. In this way, the text gives students 3 aspects of a topic, the Numerical, the Geometric and the Algebraic. The text places the Numerical and Geometric first having understanding in these contexts leading to understanding in an Algebraic, symbolic context.

Critical qualitative research and social education are vital for the world of the 21st century. The onslaught of neoliberalism, corporatization, standardization, testing, and the continuing attack on public schools and educators necessitate critical approaches to teaching and learning along with critical qualitative research in social education. Ongoing issues with equity and social justice tied to race, ethnicity, class, orientation, age, and ability linking to schooling, education, teaching and learning must be addressed. The struggle between unbridled capitalism and democracy warrant these investigations in the 21st century, hopefully leading to advocacy and activism.

This book explores critical qualitative research in social education, focusing on power, privilege, and social justice. It covers various topics, including the role of relationships, collaborative autoethnography, critical historical thinking, and transforming social studies classrooms. The chapters address issues like special education, deficit thinking, literacy skills, and international education, offering diverse perspectives and methodologies to empower educators and students.

NEC3 and NEC4 Compared is a practical reference which covers on a clause-by-clause basis, the differences between the NEC3 and NEC4 Engineering and Construction Contracts (ECC). Using clear and simple language, the book will allow the reader to gain a rapid overview of all the updates to the ECC Contract forms. This revised edition includes coverage of January 2019, October 2020, and January 2023 amendments.

The book presents each clause of NEC3 ECC opposite the new wording of NEC4 ECC with all changes highlighted. Detailed explanatory notes are included which describe the significance of important changes. Users will be able to look up any clause in the NEC3 ECC and see at a glance, what, if anything, has changed. The book covers all updates to the NEC ECC but it will also be useful for those using other contracts in the NEC4 contract suite, so anybody wishing to understand the new provisions applied across the suite of NEC4 contracts will benefit from this book.

Written by an established NEC expert, and a member of the NEC4 drafting team, this companion to the NEC4 ECC will be a valuable resource for anyone who is familiar with the provisions of NEC3 ECC and is looking for an easy-to-use comparison of the changes between the two editions.

Post-Truth’s Assault on America’s Schools and Colleges presents a wide-ranging analysis of the psychological, historical, philosophical, and socio-political perspectives on how the post-truth age has become a serious peril to American life and polity in general, and to our schools and colleges in particular. Confirmation bias, religious and political fanaticism (e.g., White Christian nationalism), and disinformation and propaganda (especially in social media) are among the main currents in American culture that are examined in detail through the lenses of critical social theory, critical race theory, analytic philosophy, and qualitative research methods.

Particular attention is given to those states most in danger. Today’s P-12 schools and post-secondary education face serious attacks on various fronts: outrageous book bans; efforts to distort curricula (especially in English, history, and social studies); attempts to denigrate and undermine women, Black Americans, Jewish Americans, children, LGBTQ+ citizens amongst, others, while avowing authoritarian agendas that endanger freedom and democratic governance. Education, at every level, should play a major role in combating this existential assault on the substance - indeed, the soul - of America.

It is hoped that this book will provide hope for those who are fighting the assault on truth in school and society and will spur readers to engage in more concerned civic reflection - and action. It is critically relevant for everyone who is deeply interested in America’s political and educational systems. It will be particularly useful for teachers and administrators in P-12 schools; college faculty and staff; and undergraduate and graduate students in teacher education, higher education, and the social sciences.

In this second edition of the book Public Relations in Asia Pacific, Mary Devereux and Anne Peirson-Smith have updated content regarding theory and provide examples of growing professionalism and cultural accommodation in the practice and management of public relations in some of the world’s fastest expanding Asian economies. They offer a carefully drawn Public Relations road map, in both strategic and practical terms, for all manner of entities, for profit, and not-for-profit, on how to strategically establish and maintain effective relationships with numerous stakeholders for competitive advantage.

Public Relations in Asia Pacific develops and applies a core theoretical framework, providing the foundation for understanding the need for cultural adaptivity in managing strategic communication across the varied cultures of the Asia Pacific region. This updated volume also delivers a value-added and critical focus, on both the operations of public relations in the Global South, in addition to foregrounding the importance of this vital region as an economic driver in the wake of a new economic world order.

Public Relations in Asia Pacific is a ‘must read’ for those interested in pursuing public relations careers and those studying the profession, in addition to being an up to the minute, first-rate refresher for established professionals.

Social studies, perhaps more so than any other content area, also serves as the catalyst of change when we, the people, use our experiences to our own and others’ advancements. At its core, social studies has been both a concurrent limiting and freeing pursuit of knowledge, a pursuit that discourages and encourages us to learn from and about our experiences and associations, to learn of ourselves and others. In Social Studies Instruction, Learning, and Assessment in the Contemporary World: Leveraging the Past to Form a New Future, Epps and Harper reimagine social studies moving from the limitations it imposes and towards the freedom that it envisions for each one of us. In place of the previously adopted one-size-fits-all majority-controlled education in which most American learners were forced to comply, practices that are identifiable and relatable to all students are proposed. The book reflects that social studies teaching should be recursive and fluid, allowing for movement forward, backward, inward, and outward, thus creating opportunities for students to examine events, not just through the rote memorization of dominant facts and figures, but through critical inquiry and reflection.

Rather than a list of events and names to be memorized, the book adopts the idea that history is a ‘mode of thinking’ and the book is laid out as such. Topics are addressed and explored by theme and overarching ideas in each chapter to enable meaningful social studies learning, which occurs when students see the interconnectedness of multiple social studies concepts, ideas, and the interconnectedness of life.

Narrative Inquiries Into Being and Becoming Educators: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives provides stories and narratives of the struggle and strengths of the teachers within the educational landscape. Keeping the temporal perspective wide, the chapters are situated across history, from 1700 to the present and through a variety of perspectives or lenses. This approach aligns with the three dimensions of narrative inquiry: the personal and social (interaction); the past, present, and future (continuity); and place or situation. Each chapter takes a unique positioning across time and situation, illuminating the personal and social interactions while using narratives as data to inquire into “becoming” a teacher. Most importantly, this book unpacks diverse experiences of teachers from the past and present, and it is critically important to understanding the emergence of teachers’ identities or “stories to live by” expressed in narrative terms. Each of the featured authors evidenced this through serial interpretation, and broadening and burrowing to construct meaning.

Teacher education is inextricably linked to teachers’ lives, and narrative inquiry studies lives in motion. Therefore, each of these chapters employs narrative inquiry as the research method or a way of thinking to explore how educators’ unique teaching experience and perspective impacted the educational landscape. The book looks at the art and science of “becoming” a teacher, not just from the temporal perspective of pre-service education, but from a holistic view of becoming throughout the storied life of a teacher. The contributors to this book understand that narrative inquiry is a rich and complex method that allows them to explore the meanings that participants derived from their experiences, and to catch the voices that may have otherwise remained silent.

This book acts as a compass for navigating the seas of narrative inquiry approaches and makes important knowledge contributions to the local, national, and international research base on teaching and teacher education.

The UN estimates that there are approximately 476 million indigenous people around the world, and there are 1.8 million Native Americans in the USA. These individuals face recurring challenges with high rates of unemployment, poverty, unequal access to health care, low educational levels, and housing and food insecurity. They also face cultural dominance by one or more European countries, the confiscation of indigenous lands, environmental degradation, racism, higher suicide rates, shorter longevity rates, and countless indignities.

Another one of the biggest challenges facing Native Americans and indigenous people is that they often experience unfair discrimination in the employment process and exclusion from work organizations, which perpetuates their high rates of poverty. Despite these problems, there has been little or no research on Native American work issues in human resource management or related fields. The Dignity of Native Americans and Indigenous Peoples' Experiences at Work considers the factors that affect unfair discrimination, racism, and the exclusion of indigenous people in work organizations; highlights the benefits of including indigenous people in organizations; develops a better understanding of indigenous people’s work values, job choices, and reward preferences so organizations can attract and retain them; and offers directions for future research and practice on the plight of indigenous people in organizations.

Along with Native American and Indigenous Peoples' World of Work these volumes are unique in being the first titles on Native American or indigenous work issues, and many authors are indigenous people.

Beyond the Notes: Teaching and Learning Music at Historically Black Colleges and Universities examines teaching and learning music at America’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) through a quadripartite framework – the context (sociocultural influences and institutional missions); the constituents (demographic and characteristics traits of students, faculty, and surrounding communities); the construct (curricula design and instructional delivery); and the confluence (an explanation of why the context, constituents, and construct all must be considered simultaneously).
The book is divided into four sections based on the thematic perspectives from the C4 quadripartite framework. The first section provides historical information pertinent to why specific institutions were founded for African Americans. The second section examines the unique positioning of African Americans in the narratives of higher education and the implications of their omission from the historical literature for music education practices. The third section explores the music curricula and specific pedagogical approaches for teaching at HBCUs and considers various ways the music classroom can serve to deconstruct the systems of ideology that have historically marginalized, suppressed, and subjugated minoritized voices within the field of music. The fourth and final section posits the importance of simultaneously considering the aforementioned thematic perspectives in order to address institutional systems that perpetuate discrimination within music classrooms.
Beyond the Notes is valuable reading for students and Faculty at HBCUs, Higher Education administrators, and anyone with a passion for music education and a desire to understand the unique challenges and opportunities within HBCUs.

Practitioner research offers a distinctive platform for educators to develop and share their professional expertise. It is the only approach that fully recognises the vital role practitioners play in generating and applying new knowledge in education.

The BERA Guide to Practitioner Research is a companion guide for those who see themselves as practitioner researchers or those who are interested in becoming practitioner researchers within educational settings. Chapters highlights the considerations for understanding and engaging in practitioner research by drawing upon a range of case studies that exemplify the varied forms practitioner research can take, the influence it can have, and the subsequent questions it may raise for how we understand research and the role and relationship between teachers and higher education.

Grounded in concrete examples of the characteristics and possibilities of educational practitioner research, The BERA Guide to Practitioner Research usefully illustrates the characteristics, principles, strategies, and challenges by presenting a range of real-world examples of practitioner research projects and reveals the variety of practitioner researcher roles and projects, promoting the voices of practitioner researchers in their educational settings.

The Research-Informed Educator supports teachers in developing their professional identity and practice through engagement with research and evidence. It helps both new and experienced educators look beyond the pressures of recent policy demands about what teachers should know and do. The book aims to challenge and re-balance the recent “evidence-turn” in teacher training and development.

The chapters cover the career path of a teacher, introducing and developing key concepts and issues related to research and practice. Concepts such as the nature of evidence, the role of theory and experience, and the significance of professional identities and values are explored through practical engagement with issues teachers face in their work.

Each chapter is written by an experienced teacher now working in teacher education, drawing on shared knowledge of how teachers best engage with research. The book is designed to support practitioners in understanding how their relationship with evidence may change, as they gain experience and take on new professional roles.

This book contains an Open Access Chapter.

The UN estimates that there are approximately 476 million indigenous people around the world, and there are 1.8 million Native Americans in the USA. These individuals face recurring challenges with high rates of unemployment, poverty, unequal access to health care, low educational levels, and housing and food insecurity. They also face cultural dominance by one or more European countries, the confiscation of indigenous lands, environmental degradation, racism, higher suicide rates, shorter longevity rates, and countless indignities.

Another one of the biggest challenges facing Native Americans and indigenous people is that they often experience unfair discrimination in the employment process and exclusion from work organizations, which perpetuates their high rates of poverty. Despite these problems, there has been little or no research on Native American work issues in human resource management or related fields. Native American and Indigenous Peoples' World of Work aims to fill these research gaps. It considers the factors that affect unfair discrimination, racism, and the exclusion of indigenous people in work organizations; highlights the benefits of including indigenous people in organizations; develops a better understanding of indigenous people’s work values, job choices, and reward preferences so organizations can attract and retain them; and offers directions for future research and practice on the plight of indigenous people in organizations. Along with The Dignity of Native Americans and Indigenous Peoples' Experiences at Work these volumes are unique in being the first titles on Native American or indigenous work issues, and many authors are indigenous people.

Eastern thought has significant potential for holistic education, providing rich ideas and various practices. However, integrating holistic education with Eastern thought has not been seriously considered in education. This work attempts to build an Eastern view of holistic education.

Education for Awakening draws on diverse sources from Japanese philosophy (Zen Master Dōgen, D. T. Suzuki, Nishida Kitarō, and Izutsu Toshihiko), Hinduism (the Upaniṣads, the Bhagavad Gita, and Advaita Vedānta), Buddhism (the Buddha’s teachings, Mahāyāna philosophies, and especially Zen), and Taoism (Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu). It also discusses critical ideas from Confucianism, Tibetan Buddhism, and Sufism. Furthermore, it addresses Eastern sages such as Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore, Mahatma Gandhi, Sri Aurobindo, Ramana Maharshi, and Jiddu Krishnamurti. This work also tries to combine Western theories with the Eastern perspective.

The Eastern view of holistic education has theoretical and practical aspects. Part I (Chapters 1-6) examines theoretical issues such as Eastern ways of thinking, five dimensions of reality, communication and communion, ecological and Buddhist views on relational reality, Hindu philosophy of liberation and the path of self-inquiry, and Taoist and Buddhist views on nature, language, silence, unlearning, and development. Part II (Chapters 7-10) explores four essential ways relevant to holistic education—awareness (mindfulness), action, compassion, and art. Education for Awakening brings insights into the nature of the self, states of consciousness, enlightenment, nondualism, and the wholeness of being.

Assumptions: Complexity, Practice and Values delves into the empirical and theoretical aspects of assumptions in evaluation, offering methodologies to identify and categorize them, and exploring how they influence evaluations and each other. It provides practical guidance for evaluators to help stakeholders identify priorities and plan effective programs, while also presenting conceptual insights into the nature of assumptions and their impact on both programs and evaluations. The chapters push the boundaries of our understanding of assumptions in the field and propose a research agenda to deepen our knowledge and improve evaluation practices. 

Addressing assumptions is a cornerstone of evaluative thinking, crucial for uncovering the beliefs that guide stakeholders' decisions and actions. This book emphasizes how these assumptions shape the evaluation process, determining the questions asked and the answers sought. By examining these underlying beliefs, evaluators can conduct more meaningful evaluations that truly reflect the needs and realities of the programs they assess. 

This book also equips methodologists with the tools to design evaluations that yield actionable insights for decision-makers. Practitioners will learn to monitor their own and their stakeholders' assumptions to avoid biases and leverage deeper understanding in their work. Program funders and designers will gain the knowledge to implement more effective programs and avoid unintended consequences. Evaluation educators will find valuable content to enhance their teaching, and researchers will discover new directions for their studies. Ultimately, Assumptions aims to enrich evaluators' ability to reveal and prioritize the most consequential assumptions in their work. 

Daughters of (Re)Imagined Early Childhood Education: Reflective Narratives of Black Women Educators in Texas during Covid-19 delves into the transformative journeys of seven Black women early childhood educators in north Texas from 2020 to 2022. Amidst the challenges of a global pandemic and the socio-political upheaval brought by anti-critical race theory legislation, these educators reflect on how their intersecting identities shaped their unique pedagogical approaches.

This compelling book highlights the personal growth and pedagogical evolution of these educators, emphasizing the need to move beyond superficial niceties and color blindness in early learning spaces. By centering the lived experiences of Black women on the front lines of education during crises of health and racial injustice, this book offers invaluable insights for early childhood educators, teacher educators, and researchers engaged in critical qualitative and participatory action research.

Daughters of (Re)Imagined Early Childhood Education invites educational stakeholders to learn from these narratives, challenging them to question the status quo and envision a more equitable future for early childhood education. This collection is a vital addition to the literature, showcasing the resilience and innovation of Black women educators in a time of unprecedented change.

The Thread: Within the Deliberative Democracy Labyrinth brings together the pioneering work of Alexander N. Christakis, the recent contributions of Maria Kakoulaki, and collaborative projects spanning five decades. It showcases the critical need for inclusive democratic processes to tackle complex issues in human systems. Through these writings, readers will understand how our pluralistic cultures and interdependent networks extend beyond familiar horizons and times. The book reflects on historical moments, like the post-World War II era, when visionary leaders foresaw the challenges of industrial consumption, planetary limits, and the rise of unaccountable regimes. Dr. Christakis and his colleagues have drawn from various disciplines to synthesize a dialogic approach for sustainable democracy.

Democracy, akin to a delicate flower, thrives only through the goodwill of those who recognize our interconnectedness. This fragile bloom faces threats from argumentative debates, autocratic power brokers, and information overload. While goodwill is essential for democracy's survival, it is insufficient on its own. The 21st century demands innovative approaches to civic dialogue. In response, Dr. Christakis founded the Institute for 21st Century Agoras, developing the Structured Democratic Dialogue (Structured Dialogic Design) to restore and enhance democratic practices.

This volume is a treasure trove of landmark essays, case studies, scholarly reflections, and methodological insights. It serves as a metaphorical life raft for navigating an uncertain future. For those who believe that changing the world requires transforming our dialogue, The Thread: Within the Deliberative Democracy Labyrinth offers a gateway to our shared future.

Phenomenological-Hermeneutical Approach to Borderline Personality Disorder explores the subjective experience of individuals living with borderline personality disorder (BPD) through phenomenological and hermeneutic lenses. This volume bridges the gap between psychological theory and lived experience, offering a nuanced perspective on emotional instability, relational disturbances, and the profound existential challenges faced by individuals with BPD. By incorporating methods such as Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) and micro-phenomenology, the authors propose a comprehensive framework to uncover the complex inner dynamics of this condition.

Dr. Cristóbal Pacheco and Dr. Pablo Fossa approach BPD from multiple perspectives, examining the instability at the core of the condition, the temporal and spatial structures of emotional turbulence, and the centrality of empathy in grasping subjective realities. The text also explores hermeneutics as a means to interpret and reveal deeper layers of meaning, encouraging readers to understand BPD not merely as a diagnosis, but as a complex and multifaceted human experience.

This book is an essential resource for psychologists, clinicians, researchers, and students seeking a deeper understanding of BPD, as well as for those interested in phenomenological and hermeneutic approaches. It challenges conventional paradigms by centering the lived experiences of individuals and advocates for a more compassionate and holistic approach to psychological care.

Current and future societal developments are likely to affect various populations differently. Tectonic shifts, new or accelerated by Covid-19, have affected many populations in distinctively different ways that cannot be ignored given their collective impact on workforces and workplaces alike. Their story must be told.

The USA’s changing demographics also must be considered. Based on US Census data, by the year 2045, the nation is expected to become a minority majority country. In other words, all minorities when bundled together will then become a majority for the first time in US history. This in turn will have significant implications for large segments of society, including service providers who specialize and work closely with many of these different populations. Diversity will be manifested in a variety of ways. It is essential as a society to stop and consider what this means for delivering quality services to so many different populations, each one of which will likely present with its own unique set of circumstances, dynamics, and needs that must be examined and addressed.

One Size Doesn’t Fit All is unique in addressing this issue and doing so in such a way that maximizes the positive impact these special populations can have on the service delivery system and the country’s future economic well-being. It offers a service-delivery-driven, “best-practices” approach for working with diverse, special populations, with each chapter focusing on a different yet important population. One Size Doesn’t Fit All readily assists practitioners and policy makers with how they might best serve the emerging needs of many different populations with whom they likely interact, serve, direct, and/or fund.

Drawing on lessons learned regarding student experiences during Covid-19, there has been a wider call within Higher Education to be proactive about initiating developments that foster connections, build a learning community where students feel valued, and their voice heard. This collection of experiences from senior leaders and academics provides real world recommendations and toolkits to operationalise such belonging initiatives. These reflections tackle some of the challenges and tensions that may arise, from both a strategic and localised lens, such as the use of physical and digital space, how educators need to consider the diversity of learners, and initiatives on widening participation, access and participation and internationalisation.

Relevant and timely across all disciplines in Higher Education, Building Student Belonging in Higher Education will be of interest to academics and researchers seeking practical guidance and examples to inform their own practices, to students interested in understanding the concept of belonging and its implications for their educational experiences, to leaders and practitioners looking for effective strategies and tools to implement in their institutions and to stakeholders such as student unions and professional services involved in student support and wellbeing.

Leaders are not immune to the forces at work in our current age of volatility and disruption. Many describe a state of exhaustion so complete they wonder if recovery is possible. We all desire connection, rootedness, and spaces filled with imagination and wonder—yet the weight of our collective challenges can leave us in a constant state of “survival mode.” This book is an invitation for leaders who desire to live, work, and play authentically to reimagine their leadership practices with creativity, connection, and care. Drawing on philosophy, the humanities, the arts, and ecology, leaders will discover strategies through reflection and practical exercises to renew their inner sense of possibility and purpose. Leadership development practitioners will find the theoretical depth and real-world applicability of these chapters invaluable for their work.

ILA’s Building Leadership Bridges series captures the best contemporary thinking about leadership from a diverse range of scholars, practitioners and educators working around the globe.

In keeping with the mission of the ILA the book series builds connections between how people research, imagine and experience leadership across cultures.

There is a strong sense of existential crisis in US education. In a time that is discouraging, disturbing, and daunting, Curriculum as Lived: Currere, Mindfulness, and Nonviolent Companionship features an uplifting collection of educators’ writings, as they expand their interior space, diving into the individual and collective psyche to engage in shadow work for healing and revitalization. Heartfelt, profoundly moving, and inspirational, these educators’ journeys in curriculum as lived are embodied, emergent, and extraordinary in their crafted capacities for holding the tension between the dark and the light to open a crack for breathing in fresh new air.

Three forms of experiential studies and self-education are demonstrated in this collection: currere and autobiographical inquiry, mindfulness and mindful relationships, and nonviolent companionship. Grounding education in experiential understanding and integrative cultivation, beyond simplistic storytelling, these authors courageously make polyphonic lines of movement toward personal and social transformation, and their inner work and relational attunement are full of twists and turns. Working from within is the cornerstone for non-controlling relationality, in the spirit of contemplation, compassion, and companionship as well as of the struggles against psychic and social violence in various forms. Affirming the central role of interconnectedness, this book is a testimony to the integrative power of nonviolence.

Professors, graduate students, K-20 teachers, and curriculum and instruction leaders at various levels in the fields of curriculum studies, teacher education, nonviolence and peace education, and educational foundations will welcome this book. It also serves as a text for upper-level undergraduate courses in education and nonviolence studies. 

Green Technology and Sustainable Development are essential pillars for addressing the pressing environmental challenges and fostering holistic progress in developing nations. The developing countries are grappling with rapid urbanization, population growth, and resource constraints; adopting green technology practices becomes not only a necessity but also an opportunity to enhance economic stability, improve public health, and reduce their environmental footprint.

In developing economies, sustainable development stands as an overarching goal, encompassing economic growth, social equity, and environmental conservation. Achieving this equilibrium requires rethinking traditional approaches and integrating green technology solutions that can mitigate the adverse environmental effects often associated with rapid development. Green technology, characterized by innovation and efficiency, encompasses a wide array of practices and technologies designed to reduce resource consumption, minimize pollution, and promote a harmonious coexistence with nature.

Green Technologies and Sustainable Development: Coherent Strategies for Developing Countries is a meticulously curated volume that brings together the expertise and insights of multiple authors, each contributing a unique perspective on the pivotal role of green technologies in advancing sustainable development within the context of developing nations. This collaborative effort results in a comprehensive guide that addresses the multifaceted challenges faced by these countries and offers actionable solutions through green innovation.

Mentoring for Wellbeing Across the Professions and Disciplines offers invaluable insights into how mentorship can enhance wellbeing across various fields and professional settings. By focusing on the dual aims of personal support and professional learning, this book highlights the often-overlooked positive impact of mentoring on both mentors and mentees. The authors provide practical advice and theoretical perspectives on how developmental relationships foster mutual trust and benefit all parties involved, ultimately helping mentees flourish in their roles and develop essential skills. 

The book delves into the connection between mentorship and wellbeing and explores how mentoring can promote mental health, build resilience, and sustain emotional, psychological, and social wellbeing in different organizational settings. Through the collection of chapters from international authors, the book examines the theory and practice of mentorship, offering a comprehensive understanding of how mentoring can enhance wellbeing in K-12 schools, higher education, business, healthcare, pastoral care, and even aviation. The chapter authors present stories and perspectives that deepen our understanding of the multifaceted benefits of mentoring. 

By addressing various dimensions of wellbeing—physical, social, emotional, financial, intellectual, spiritual, environmental, cultural, and occupational—this volume provides a holistic view of the positive impact of mentoring. It discusses developmental relationships, program initiatives, and strategies that foster positive organizational cultures and personal growth. Mentoring for Wellbeing Across the Professions and Disciplines is a must-read for anyone interested in the transformative power of mentoring, offering practical applications and new avenues for future research and study. 

The present book examines a largely overlooked scientific discipline in Personality Psychology known as Psychography. The origins of Psychography can be traced back to the efforts of William Stern in 1911. As a scientific discipline, Psychography seeks to elucidate how individuals develop significant life patterns throughout their lives and make critical choices regarding their futures. It serves as a qualitative tool for interpreting the complexities of human lives and their transformations within the context of irreversible time.

Moreover, this book applies Psychography to concrete examples, particularly focusing on the life and works of the novelist Eduard von Keyserling. Through this analysis, we aim to unravel the experiences of German-Baltic individuals who have had to construct and continually reconstruct their lives in response to the challenges they faced throughout their lifetimes, including war and political turmoil.

AI Insights: Ethics Audit and Transformative Power for Entrepreneurs offers a critical and timely exploration of how artificial intelligence is reshaping the entrepreneurial landscape. In this insightful work, Hussein Dawood delves into the ethical complexities surrounding AI adoption, particularly in small and medium-sized enterprises. Drawing on real-world case studies and rigorous academic research, the book provides entrepreneurs with actionable strategies to navigate challenges such as algorithmic bias, data privacy, security, and the tension between AI autonomy and human accountability.

This book stands out by combining ethical audits with a transformative approach to innovation, empowering business leaders to harness AI responsibly. Entrepreneurs will find practical frameworks for ensuring AI integration aligns with both ethical standards and long-term business success. From ethical audits to practical implementation guides, AI Insights equips readers with the tools to foster sustainable growth while maintaining accountability and transparency in the age of AI.

Whether you are a seasoned entrepreneur or just starting your journey, this book offers the insights needed to leverage AI for transformative power while ensuring ethical integrity remains at the core of innovation. It’s not just a guide - it’s a roadmap for the future of entrepreneurship in the AI era.

NEC4: Practical Solutions, Second edition is a practical ‘how to’ guide that answers commonly-occurring issues faced by users of the NEC4 contracts. Drawing on extensive experience and feedback, this fully revised and updated edition will help the reader to avoid common project pitfalls and to implement good practice, ensuring the successful delivery of project outcomes.

The book is presented as a series of questions and answers, offering guidance on the practical application of the NEC4 contract forms. The chapters provide concise and practical solutions to over 270 common queries faced by practitioners during the design and implementation stages of a project, as well as addressing the risks associated with running a project. For ease of reference, the structure follows the same order as the Engineering and Construction Contract (ECC), enabling readers to use the book as a quick look-up tool to find answers to common queries and problems that occur in practice. This edition includes recent amendments and updates, as well as extended coverage of early warning provisions, Contractor’s proposals, compensation events and appropriate use of Z clauses.

Written by two well-known NEC consultants NEC4 Practical Solutions is essential reading for engineers, surveyors, architects, project managers, supervisors, consultants, contractors, subcontractors, and anyone else working with, or interested in working successfully with, the NEC4 suite of contracts.

Many students world over who decide to pursue a doctorate have a very specific career path in mind when they enter a doctoral program. Some of these know they want to work in the world of academia. After the author’s more than forty years in academia, this trend is changing with time in that many doctoral students now end up working in business and industry, for profit, non-profit agencies and government agencies. For prospective or current doctoral students reading this book, please remember that if you land your position in academia, you must then work diligently toward achieving tenure or building a successful career as a teaching professor. If you want to be successful in academia, you should do as much as you can to achieve the skills and abilities needed to be successful while you are enrolled in your doctoral program.

This book is organized in a “generally” chronological order, but when I felt the need, I have drawn from experiences with students throughout my career. The first lesson in the book is drawn directly from the experiences with my first doctoral student and for a very good reason. I think it will become evident when you read the first chapter. One thing that I sincerely hope is evident throughout the book is my unwavering belief in the value of effective mentoring. In my opinion, this is something that has been seriously damaged in our age of mass production and immediate gratification. You cannot become an effective mentor in a few sessions. It takes a lot of time and effort.

One of my dearest friends in the world is a colleague with whom I worked for many years. He has been retired now for several years, but he has continued to be one of my most cherished friends and mentors. A few years ago, my friend’s wife (who is also one of my dear friends) hand-stitched a beautiful picture of a cardinal sitting on a flowering tree limb and gave it to me for a Christmas present. The picture is beautiful, and I treasure it. It has a place of prominence on the wall in my office. However, the note that she gave me with the picture is even more treasured. She starts by saying, “I wanted to thank you for being my husband’s mentor.” As he is a true elder statesman in our program, I always considered him my mentor. The following words in her note helped to affirm the worthiness of the doctoral advising aspect of my efforts over these last 40 plus years: She said that we (I and her husband),“. . . help students to go out in the world as blessed human beings and spread knowledge to the next generation.”

Leading in the Midst of it All: Surviving and Thriving Through COVID-19 and Racial Reckonings centers educators of color—both P-12 and Higher Education—during national pandemics and political, civil, and racial unrest. This volume offers firsthand experiences of recognizing and addressing inequities and their impact on communities. It shares how educators of color led amidst competing pandemics while serving their schools, communities, and families. The authors provide practical insights for P-12 educators and Higher Educators on addressing disparities in remote instruction, hiring, retention, and development, while creating inclusive and engaging virtual and hybrid schooling experiences.

Leading in the Midst of it All highlights the necessity for human resource personnel, school leadership programs, superintendents, college presidents, provosts, and boards to value the lived experiences of educators of color and provide intentional support.

The book is divided into four sections. Section I focuses on the experiences of teachers of color, detailing the impacts of COVID-19 on marginalized communities. Section II centers on school leadership, particularly leaders of color, as they navigate their roles amidst social inequities. Section III engages the narratives of central office personnel of color, emphasizing the value of revolutionary voices to disrupt inequitable ideologies. Section IV provides details on policy, practice, and partnership transformation methods that empower sustainability for practitioners and researchers. The chapters in this book capture the daily challenges of leading amidst pandemics, fear, unrest, and uncertainty.

What We Call Middle School Mathematics addresses the content of the middle school mathematics program across the grade levels involved. This book strives to have middle school mathematics teachers understand how the mathematics at their individual grade fits into the overall middle school mathematics curriculum.

While doing this, What We Call Middle School Mathematics assists teachers with ideas in teaching topics. In doing this, the text addresses topics through the physical modeling that is often given little focus in a traditionally based text. For teachers, this book not only shows the mathematical content of the middle school but also using models for its teaching. For students, the book has them portray the modeling activities that will assist them in understanding.

In some cases, especially with fractions, the book also addresses the basic content from prior grades through ‘Setting the Stage’ sections at the beginning of certain chapters. The goal here is to help teachers understand and deal with the weaknesses in mathematics that many students bring with them to the middle school. The focus on this background is not a review since students, nor anyone else, is able to review what they truly do not understand. While it addresses the mathematics from former grades it does so in a teaching format.

As the reader moves through the chapters on each topic, the overall content for that topic in the middle school can be seen. For 8th-grade students, the text would make an excellent compendium of what has been learned in middle school mathematics while setting the stage for topics for re-investigating prior ideas of the topic when necessary.

Subjectivity and Development in Rural Contexts presents a compilation of chapters that explore different phenomena of ruralness. Through a collection of theoretical and empirical works, the book attempts to show the role of the social-cultural environment in the subjective experience and processes of human development.

Psychology has historically been an urban science. However, rural psychology has experienced significant growth in recent decades. Rurality has historically been observed and analyzed through the “lenses” of the urban, sub-dimensioning its own characteristics and its psychological richness. Following a cultural approach, it can be understood that subjectivity is the result of the internalization of cultural artifacts and that it depends on the contextual frameworks in which its development takes place. Therefore, it is possible to think that ruralness has the potential to generate processes of subjectivation that are specific and typical of its social and cultural context. On the other hand, there is a need to explore development processes in rural contexts to counterbalance the urbanization of psychology taught in universities and research centers.

This book brings together works from philosophy, anthropology, cultural psychology, cognitive psychology, social psychology, developmental psychology, and education. Each chapter examines the processes of subjectivation and development in rural areas. Likewise, the role of the social and cultural context in cognitive, affective, and identity development is explored.

Subjectivity and Development in Rural Contexts is an invaluable resource for educators, psychologists, teachers, researchers, undergraduate and graduate students, and anyone who wants to know more about subjectivity and psychological development in ruralness.

This book aims to challenge what we consider to be static and superficial understandings of servant leadership within PreK-12 school communities. We highlight myriad ways servant leadership is misused and misunderstood within educational settings and contend that this misuse has led to a lack of moral leadership grounded in individual and collective conceptualizations of spirituality. Further, there is scant literature addressing both diverse manifestations of and the dearth of spiritual leadership within schools. Recent critical leadership theories have emerged to help leaders reflect on implications related to race and racism, gender (e.g., homophobia), and religion (e.g., Islamophobia). While critical reflections are difficult, they are imperative as, for example, Black boys and girls in special education and remedial courses are over-represented relative to their overall presence in schools. Additionally, Black students, both girls and boys, are disproportionately disciplined when compared to other racial groups, especially white students.

With this book, we aim to definitively explore servant leadership toward an ontological understanding and operationalization of critical servant leadership; offering ideal school policy and practice to support it, providing examples of its manifestations within school communities, and articulating a vision for this theory’s future. While many theorists acknowledge the necessity of culturally relevant, responsive, and congruent practices, they often proffer specific, discrete strategies and ideas to help facilitate these kinds of leadership. We disagree with offering leaders specific leadership strategies but argue rather that what is missing from what is now popular and mainstream professional development for leaders is the reflexive component that requires leaders to examine their own dispositions, practices, and biases, which ultimately can function as impediments to student learning. Moreover, we argue that most professional development purporting to “train” leaders fails to incorporate critical servant leadership and address the role of spirituality in leading public and charter K-12 schools.

Public Administration, Civic Engagement, and Spanish-Speaking Communities builds on the first bilingual (Spanish–English) special session at the National Academy of Public Administration’s 2022 Social Equity Leadership Conference. Expanding on the themes of that groundbreaking conversation, this interdisciplinary volume addresses the urgent need to center multilingual voices in the pursuit of social equity in public administration. It examines the lived experiences and systemic challenges faced by Spanish-speaking communities in the United States—from language and cultural barriers to generational divides and unequal access to technology—while also highlighting innovative approaches to inclusive service delivery and democratic participation.

With 31 contributors representing diverse identities and disciplines, this volume models walking the social equity talk. Most chapters are coauthored by teams of scholars, students, and practitioners at different career levels, bringing forward the voices of Spanish-speaking communities alongside allies and social equity champions.

Designed for faculty, students, researchers, and practitioners alike, the book offers both breadth and depth: each chapter can be read on its own, yet together they create a comprehensive portrait of civic engagement, governance, and social equity in Spanish-speaking contexts.

Being and Appearance: The Aporia of Husserlian Phenomenology sets out to take phenomenology at its word, with a phenomenological examination of Husserlian phenomenology. More precisely, it's a question of determining what properly shows itself with the transcendent thing, and in what way.

This investigation reveals that absence is what properly shows itself with the being of what is given; this is not only with regard to the transcendent thing, but also with regard to consciousness itself as an object for itself. This investigation also reveals that it is illusion that is the specific mode of phenomenality of the transcendent thing, to which being is conferred only because it has the appearance of being real.

In the final analysis, it appears that Husserlian phenomenology is torn between two criteria of being: being as pure presence, given as an absolute, and being as the objectivity of the object, i.e. absence. The aporia of Husserlian phenomenology lies in the impossibility of deciding between these two criteria of being.

To date, there remains limited knowledge about the cognitive, motivational and psychological impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic on learners across all developmental levels. This book seeks to explore the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic on high school, undergraduate and graduate-level learners around the world.

This research has been conducted in multiple countries, across multiple continents, using multiple diverse populations, using several different research methodologies, along with an emphasis on both the challenges as well as the positive outcomes that have resulted from this unprecedented event, the COVID-19 global pandemic. The concluding chapter serves to synthesize this diverse research into the effects of the pandemic on high school, undergraduate and graduate learners. Specifically, this thematic conclusion elucidates the effects of the COVID-19 global pandemic on: learner socialization, mental health and well-being, self-regulated learning, autonomy and responsibility, the experiences of underrepresented and underserved learners, technology, and familial experiences.

Youth titled this book Personal Truths because they shared their personal journeys, what they think of themselves, what others think of them, and who they are when their masks are removed. Artists encourage us to recognize personal truths may differ from what society values and cultural conditioning. Intuitively, authors understand what it means to live their truth. They discovered what matters most to them and expressed how they feel when navigating these justice-oriented issues.

Putting their truths into words was difficult. Their lives, insights, and experiences were shaped by the way in which they live their lives, their truths. Artists encourage us to utilize their artmaking to make decisions based on love versus fear. They want each of us to live according to what we value and to look within and reflect how lived experiences shape who we become. Youth recognized their source of power came from within and deepened not only their sense of self, but internalizing self-worth begins from within.

Through their artmaking, authors honor their intuition, insights, thoughts, and feelings around a myriad of issues ranging from the need for culturally responsive teachers/leaders to police brutality to the need for children to be loved as their authentic selves as well as many more justice-oriented issues they deem significant to their development. Their artmaking provided space to deepen their understanding of how personal truths influence their decision making, values, beliefs, and actions. Their artmaking reinforces their beliefs and personal growth; in other words, these artists concluded the need to live their truths.

This powerful and moving artmaking taps into what youth deem significant. To be true to oneself suggests each of us be conscious of our values, beliefs, responses, and motives. As youth deepened their ways of knowing, they discovered how often society influenced their sense of self and how often society seemed insensitive and even contradicted their values and beliefs. For these artists, it was the first time they were provided space to explore how schools, communities, and society influence how they make sense of the world. Artmaking restored and strengthened that personal awareness.

This book is about the relation between the school, the family, and the community as agents of education considered as a large field that goes beyond schooling. The triadic dialogue taking place amidst boundaries is analyzed, mainly from the perspective of cultural psychology, in a complex way in reference to different epistemological, ideological methodological, and very practical issues. This volume situates this triadic dialogue amidst a field of tensions that take different forms. The tensions between systemic continuity and discontinuity across different ecological levels are central in this book. How diversity and difference are dealt with is at the core of such tensions.

This volume addresses a number of crucial issues. First, it brings to the field of home-school-community relationships a systematic theoretical scheme. Secondly, it gives us a comparative-cultural (India and Canada) glimpse into the histories of education as it has been used as a tool to conquer the minds of new—by force annexed—members of the society. Thirdly, it brings into the school-home-community relationships discourse basic dialogical principles. These relationships are not merely general themes of discourse but can take very concrete forms. Fourthly, the general model of Urie Bronfenbrenner, which has been used as a basis for looking at schools in society since the 1970s, is given careful analytic attention. Finally, we explore innovative pedagogical practices that are oriented towards the parents who may be brought into the school territory to join their children in joint construction efforts.

In this book, we share about the history of women of color in higher education, the pervasive marginalization of their presence and perspectives, and the need for liberatory relationships. We then highlight the duoethnographic research we conducted on three multigenerational relationships spanning 22 years of relationship of three women of color that resulted in the creation of the Transformational Mentorship of Women of Color in Higher Education model to give language to the unique and liberatory aspects of these relationships. This approach to studying mentorship is new in the field and offers deep insight into the transformative power of women of color relationships and a model counter narrative to current mentorship models and their inherent maintenance of White supremacy. Through approaching mentorship with critical pedagogies, these relationships have developed into spaces of transformative learning, liberation, and as sites as resistance to the systemic power and inequities at a predominantly White institution.

As the model is presented, we embed reflection questions to help readers prepare for the implementation of this research-based approach to improve student experiences. The final section of the book includes specific recommendations and tools for how to intentionally facilitate such partnerships using the model with considerations for program administrators, mentors, and mentees in higher education and beyond.

The workplace has remarkably changed in the aftermath of the 2019 pandemic. The transformation is profound and is still evolving. A wave of voluntary resignations unleashed in the wake of Covid-19 negatively affected the business landscape and triggered unprecedented labor shortages. This, in turn, played well into labor unions’ hands, leading in 2023 to historical gains for millions of workers across various industries. And while digital technology has enabled remote work for yet more employees than ever before, employers were hard pressed to offer their workers flexible work arrangements. Topping it all, the explosion of AI in the last two years promised to introduce an innovative revolution in our places of work and usher in a new era, albeit contentious, in the marketplace. With the new opportunities that opened up, a host of challenges surfaced, compelling company managers to consider new ways of tackling them.

The change in work behavior in the aftermath of the pandemic, coupled with a strong economy and tight labor market in some sectors, are likely to turn the workplace into a collision course between employee and employer. A reset in employer–employee relationships, perceptions, and employment arrangements is today a new must. Transformational leaders are presented with a unique opportunity to make the workplace a much healthier and happier one.

Workplace Transformations in a Post Pandemic Era: New Realities to Consider and Act Upon addresses issues that are hotly and publicly debated by practitioners in the field and by policy makers alike. Along with the challenges our places of work currently face, meaningful opportunities for change are also emerging that should not be wasted.

Multiraciality is not an identity to be fractured or abstracted by others, but rather integrated across multiple racial locations. Multiraciality is sophisticated and its weaving of complexity into forging new congruence posits new ways to understand identity. Multiraciality disrupts monoracial constructs and can be disorienting to others who are unable to have sufficient knowledge of self to be able to conceptualize that other persons occupy multiple racial locations across broader systems of culture and identity domains. Multiraciality is to be celebrated, explored, and made visible. Thus, this text is also reflected of different author identities and from the different academic disciplines of education, sociology, and counseling.

We are living in dynamic times. Large organisations must develop new technologies, businesses, and service models to stay alive while striving for execution excellence in their legacy operations. This is easier said than done. While large organisations have tremendous financial, material, and talent resources, they are also limited by regulations, policies, processes, hierarchy, incentive plans, and sheer size. As a result, it’s very difficult for them to truly and wholeheartedly explore new technologies, strategies, services and business models through their internal innovation teams alone. One important solution is Open Innovation: operating in an external ecosystem, through mutually beneficial engagements with entities carrying different assets and different limitations.

In the visually compelling Open Innovation Works: Successfully Leveraging your External Ecosystem for Impactful Change, best-selling authors Diana Joseph, Dan Toma, and Esther Gons explain the complexities and challenges of implementing effective Open Innovation strategies and how they can be surmounted.

This volume from the Adolescence and Education series explores how we conceptualize and approach equity-oriented positive youth development (PYD) today, both in theory and practice. PYD is a prosocial approach that leverages youth's assets to organize programs, services, and supports to maximize their development. It can occur in afterschool programs, community organizations, families, peer relationships, and school interventions. Recognizing PYD as both an approach and a set of outcomes, this volume systematically examines how youth-serving organizations infuse equity into their design and participation strategies, joining other research that enhances engagement with diverse communities.

Bringing together researchers and practitioners, this book explores contexts where youth have the agency to co-author their life narratives. The chapters illustrate how specific contexts and participation structures can foster youth voice, leadership, and expertise without sacrificing best practices in contemporary PYD scholarship. The six main studies highlight the tenets of high-quality youth programs and offer insights into designing for equity and access in meaningful youth participation. The authors critically examine the spaces and social structures that shape youth engagement, focusing on PYD for LGBTQ+ youth, military-involved youth, and Black youth in predominantly rural contexts.

The latter chapters analyze the essential role of youth workers in development and the importance of youth-adult relationships. This book emphasizes that youth engagement in PYD contexts should not be confined to a single model, offering a comprehensive look at how to support diverse youth populations effectively.

Personalizing Evaluation: A Humanist Approach to Valuing, 3^rd Edition proposes an inversion of Program and Person. Rather than portray a Program as a context to understand the person, we portray the individual's life and work as a context for understanding the significance of a Program. Personalizing Evaluation shows, with numerous examples from live data, how this is achieved.

This approach to “methodological individualism” also leads to a Humanist approach to evaluation following core Humanist principles of the right to self-determination, democratizing judgment, providing a basis for the justification of authority, and locating the autonomous individual within the moral embrace of the collective. Personalizing Evaluation, therefore, deals extensively with evaluation ethics and issues with validity. As is explored in a dedicated chapter, narrative emerged alongside European Humanism as the methodology of choice, and this underpins the case study approach of the book.

We have identified 10 timely topics that are important to the profession of student affairs. Each of these topics will be a chapter within the book and will include: (1) an academic/scholarly introduction to that topic (i.e., an abridged introduction/literature review that will provide the context for that topic/chapter), (2) perspectives on that topic from seasoned and new student affairs professionals, and (3) perspective from a HE/SA faculty member.

This book will be geared toward graduate students in HIED Programs and new(er) professionals in student affairs. This book will be used within HE/SA graduate programs, departments/divisions to use as a common read for their staff, and individuals reading it to further their understanding of higher education administration. The strength of this book is that it will scaffold the topic in the academic literature while providing several perspectives on the same topic/chapter.

STEM and the City (second edition) is a book that takes the topics of the first edition and brings them into a post-Covid educational world. Urban public schools are under attack, and the American culture wars are re-emerging and finding their way back into public school curriculum. The authors remain true to their original premise: that American public schools are the greatest vehicle for democracy we have, and because of that they are struggling to re-invent themselves in an America where some are trying to shut them down. Drs. Berube and McKinney discuss STEM schooling during Covid lockdown, the effects it has had on urban science and math students, and schooling post-Covid as schools opened back up to face students traumatized by the experience.
The culture wars rage on in classrooms, governors’ mansions, school board meetings, and content "experts" who dictate which books to ban from school library shelves. There is hope, however, and the authors use their experience in the classroom, both at the middle school and college level, to reassure teachers (especially STEM teachers) that the children of America still need you.

To date, there remains limited knowledge about the cognitive, motivational and psychological impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic on K-12 teachers in both private and public educational sectors around the world. This book seeks to explore the impact of this global pandemic on the educational stakeholders as well, including K-12 teachers and administrators.

To date, there are no conceptual models which depict the impact of this event on the learner from an educational psychological perspective. Finally, this book seeks to investigate how K-12 teachers and administrators can best meet the needs of their learners in a challenging set of circumstances such as a global pandemic, while maintaining educational excellence to ensure that all learners continue to learn and achieve to the best of their abilities.

Education professionals have consistently recognized the profound impact of mental health on students' learning and academic achievement. Numerous studies document how mental health influences PreK-16 outcomes, including graduation rates, academic performance, coursework completion, motivation, and emotional stability. These challenges are further complicated by the demands placed on the PreK-16 staff responsible for supporting student mental health. Often, these staff members themselves are at risk of experiencing high levels of stress and burnout due to the emotional and psychological toll of their roles.

Forging Interdisciplinary Collaborations explores a wide range of mental health issues affecting PreK-16 schools and highlights both successful and unsuccessful approaches taken by school districts, colleges, and universities to promote the emotional well-being of students and staff. Through a collection of chapters written by interdisciplinary professionals in education, the volume seeks to break down the silos within the field of education and foster collaboration on addressing student mental health through both preventative and responsive approaches. Each chapter offers practical recommendations for mental health practitioners, teachers, higher education faculty, parents, and students, providing concrete strategies to support mental health across all educational settings.

Escape the Cape, From Existing to Evolving: Amplifying Voices of Black and Brown Women in the Mental Health Profession examines the narratives of Black and Brown women all over the world who adherently take on the Superwoman Persona. The imaginative armor of a cape contributes to the normalcy of trying to “do it all” for others while neglecting the self. The book amplifies the voices of Black and Brown women in the mental health and academia professions who needed a healthy outlet to shed light on their experiences. 

This book stems from an asset-based approach where chapter authors highlight the ebbs and flows they experienced in the workplace due to having melanated skin and/or identifying as Black and Brown. So many Black and Brown women have suffered in silence because of exploitive workplace politics and practices and haven’t felt safe, valued, or heard; the “need” of Black and Brown women became greater than their humanity. Escape the Cape, From Existing to Evolving is a call to action. It contributes to elevating scholarly conversations for employers who are seeking strategies in promoting equity in the workplace.

In the era of a constantly changing tourism and hospitality landscape, Digital Transformation in Tourism and Hospitality: Sustainable Management Strategies for Long-Term Excellence serves as a comprehensive guide on how to lead, innovate, and sustain forward-thinking approaches within the industry. Catering to leaders, entrepreneurs, and academics, it distils ground-breaking ideas about the impact of digital innovations and how sustainability-centric practices are shaping the future of travel. Explore how emerging technologies—such as artificial intelligence, data analytics, and digital marketing—can be leveraged to create seamless, immersive guest experiences while addressing critical environmental and social challenges.

Digital Transformation in Tourism and Hospitality is a roadmap to future-proof leadership, filled with case studies, expert insights, and actionable frameworks. From implementing green technology to optimizing digital operations, each chapter provides a deeper understanding of how to achieve sustainable success in an industry where environmental and social responsibility are essential for differentiation and resilience. Whether you are a tourism professional, business strategist, or academic, this book equips you to drive responsible growth and achieve long-term excellence in a digitally driven world.

This book concerns any progressive discipline and human profession looking to transform its practice via the cultivation of thinking professionals, which are preferable to unthinking professionals who may be inattentive, unphilosophical, not inclined or not know how to think deeply and profoundly. Thus, they fail to give due consideration to an issue or the consequences before acting. Thinking professionals have a complete and accurate image (mastery) of their professional identity and reality, and they can reflect on, reason through, and justify any decision to act. They would have thinking acumen (i.e., able to make good judgements and shrewd decisions), which requires a rich repertoire of contemporary perspectives and lenses, ideally with a critical bend (exposing and challenging power).
Both The Thinking Professional and transformative practice are used as hooks and threads through the entire book and as anchors for each chapter. The 17-chapter collection is organized into (a) what thinking professionals could think about in the abstract as well as more concrete ideas including (b) how they could think about or view their practice differently and (c) how they could transform their practice and do things differently. Topics include paradigm shifts, the human condition, transdisciplinarity, the holomovement principle, philosophical well-being, perspective transformation, and transformative social change agency.
Readers will also engage with intellectual curiosity and skeptical thinking, tacit knowledge management, the critical science approach, and critical discourse analysis. Other topics include transformative leadership, postmodernism, after postmodernism, reflective human action leadership, and communities of practice. In some cases, the century-old home economics profession is used as a working case to bring ideas alive. This book showcases The Thinking Professional who has transformative practice as their end goal.

The Covid-19 pandemic triggered an unprecedented shift to remote work, made possible by a vast array of technologies. While the frequency of remote work has decreased post-pandemic, many workers and organizations are now embracing remote and hybrid work options. Technologies that proved beneficial during the pandemic continue to be used, and the explosion of AI across industries has left many wondering about the future of work and society.

Meaningful Work in a Post-Covid Age: The Impact of New Technologies presents examples of how technology can enhance efficiency and effectiveness in education, industry, and healthcare when used to support organizational stakeholders. However, it also cautions that we must consider the long-term impact of technology on human well-being. The widespread use of new technologies has resulted in lasting shifts in organizational and worker mindsets about what is considered normal, appropriate, and desirable in how and where work is performed. These changes have also impacted how meaningful work is experienced.

The book addresses the underlying concern about whether the pervasive use of technology will result in net benefits or losses to society. Technology that focuses primarily on efficiency at the expense of relational and creative needs can detract from the meaningfulness of life and work, leading to worker unrest and alienation, and potentially impacting the physical and mental health of the global population.

Meaningful Work in a Post-Covid Age presents models and tools to help leaders, decision-makers, and workers navigate their organizations and careers to find meaningful work amidst the accelerating growth of new technologies.

Science, Democracy, and the University is a significant contribution to the field of curriculum studies, linking to the work of philosophers such as Max Planck, Donna Haraway, Max Weber, and Jacques Derrida to make the case for rethinking the reason of the university. John A. Weaver outlines what a Diogenes, or real, university might look like and what values it might promote over that which the current university system peddles. He also uses Bernard Stiegler’s work to focus on how we can educate the young to become adults rather than consumers.

Touching on subjects such as ecology, algorithms and data, and ethology, Science, Democracy, and the University champions the need for self-reflexivity and to challenge methodocentrism in science. The book features fascinating insights into how we can foster a vibrant future for the young through our academic institutions.

Introducing the Liberal Arts: A Guidebook for English Learners offers students a broad introduction to the essential disciplines of a Liberal Arts education. Covering Humanities, Social Sciences, and Sciences, each of the 31 chapters—written by experienced professors—guides readers through subjects ranging from English Literature and Sociology to Biology and Physics. Each chapter provides context and explains the relevance of the subject to the overarching Liberal Arts curriculum, making this book an indispensable resource for those exploring or considering a Liberal Arts education.

Building Academic Vocabulary for Success

This book not only introduces readers to key academic subjects but also supports language learners by integrating high-frequency English words from the General Service List (GSL) and the Academic Word List (AWL). Each chapter highlights essential vocabulary in bold, helping learners focus on the most critical terms for both everyday and academic English. Accompanied by carefully curated vocabulary lists and glossaries, this approach ensures that students develop the language skills necessary for success in their academic journey.

Engaging, Flexible Teaching Tool

Designed for teachers and students alike, this book is a flexible resource that can be tailored to individual needs. Whether used as a supplemental text or a core part of the curriculum, the suggestions for group discussions, presentations, and writing exercises encourage active engagement with the material. By blending academic content with structured vocabulary development, this volume provides both an introduction to Liberal Arts disciplines and a pathway for improving English proficiency.

Making School with Children: Engaging Learners to Think Critically envisions a hopeful future where communities unite to support one another and create a better world. Inspired by Comber's (2016) reminder that young people should learn to work for justice from the outset of schooling, this book showcases a whole-school response. Readers will explore stories from K-6 classrooms, where students and teachers collaborated across grade levels to build critical literacy through civic-minded social action projects, driven by the children's inquiry questions, interests, and passions.

Making School with Children reflects Vasquez's (1994, 2014) belief that learners thrive when their education is relevant to their lives. By centering children's experiences, the book aims to foster what Routman (2023) describes as a "joyful culture of trusting relationships, respect, and celebration of learners' strengths." This approach not only enhances curriculum but also nurtures a dynamic relationship with the world, promoting change, progress, and the creation of new ideas.

The book is divided into two sections. The first section, comprising seven chapters, details the work done in each grade from kindergarten to sixth grade to negotiate civic-minded literacy learning that transcends mandated curricula. It concludes with lessons learned and their implications for other educational settings. The second section offers a collection of resources, including recommended children's books, teacher resources, teaching tips, and lesson plans, to support similar work in the readers' own settings.

Exploring Culturally Relevant Leadership Learning: Case Studies for Leadership Educators offers a comprehensive collection of case studies that delve into the eight critical aspects of the culturally relevant leadership learning model. These aspects include identity, capacity, efficacy, and the cultural dimensions of historical legacy of inclusion and exclusion, compositional diversity, psychological dimensions, behavioral dimensions, and organizational structure.

Through meticulously curated case studies set in both curricular and co-curricular spaces, this book provides readers with a rich tapestry of diverse contexts and environments. These case studies serve as invaluable tools for leadership educators, helping them develop a broader and more inclusive perspective on leadership learning. Whether used in classrooms, workshops, or personal study, these stories offer practical insights and real-world applications that can enhance the journeys of those seeking to understand and practice leadership in a culturally relevant way.

Centering culturally relevant leadership learning is not only crucial for educators striving to create inclusive learning spaces but also for students learning to lead in diverse contexts and with diverse people. As the field of leadership education evolves beyond traditional and canonical theories, this book encourages educators to explore various contexts and perspectives. With contributions from forty diverse educators, practitioners, and scholars in higher education, these case studies highlight the benefits of educational stories in supporting learners to gain insights from various situations, perspectives, and contexts.

Exploring Culturally Relevant Leadership Learning is a guide to fostering inclusive leadership practices and enriching the educational experiences of future leaders.

Educating the Phoenix focuses on the rebuild of an entire school system in the wake of absolute physical devastation and population diaspora from wildfire. When school started on November 8, 2018, the Paradise Unified School District (PUSD) boasted a thriving network of eleven campuses housing 3,401 students and 390 full-time employees. Four hours later, the Camp Fire had reduced three schools to ash, and all PUSD power, communications and maintenance infrastructures were wiped out. The food service warehouse and offices were gone. The transportation office was gone. Seventeen buses were damaged or converted to melted, sooty shells. The remaining eight campuses were in various states of ruin, from smoke damage only (one school and the District Office) to partially or mostly destroyed (seven schools). Nearly all of the students and seventy percent of PUSD employees also lost their homes. Meanwhile, some teachers, bus drivers, administrators, and other school personnel shepherded thousands of children to safety in a small, spontaneous Dunkirk of the Sierra Nevada foothills. Many of their colleagues stayed at the campuses, checking every cranny in every school to make sure no one was left behind. It may be the most dramatic story of in loco parentis ever recorded.

California law required that the PUSD shut down, perhaps permanently, but this is not what the students or their parents said they wanted. When PUSD leadership visited with families, the message was clear: These children had already lost nearly everything else that was stable in their lives, and dispersing them to unfamiliar schools would be another blow. They wanted to be together with their friends and their teachers. Hearing this feedback, Superintendent Michelle John O’Neal led the charge to keep the PUSD intact. She prevailed, and many kids came back, even if that meant their first “classroom” was an aisle in an empty hardware store in a nearby city. By the fifth anniversary of the Fire, PUSD had rebuilt a dynamic, fully functioning district with six beautiful campuses and an e-learning academy.

This book uses interviews with key personnel to tell the remarkable story of how the people of the PUSD made this happen.

The concepts of student motivation and student engagement have emerged from related but distinct fields of study. Contemporary scholars suggest that student engagement is shaped by various sociocultural, contextual, and personal factors (including motivation), and that it serves as a pathway to various positive student outcomes (e.g., academic achievement, well-being). Given its significance, there is growing global interest among researchers, policymakers, and practitioners (teachers, interventionists, parents) in understanding how engagement can be promoted in schools, at home, or in other settings. That said, much of the research on student engagement has been conducted in WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic) contexts, leaving us with limited knowledge about generalizability of extant student engagement models on students from non-WEIRD backgrounds.

To address this gap, we invited experts in various areas of student engagement to critically examine their theoretical and empirical works through a sociocultural lens and consider the implications for future research and practice. Contributors of this volume have offered novel models for understanding how sociocultural contexts and backgrounds (e.g., ethnicity, socioeconomic status, immigrant status, relationships) and socioculturally learned attributes (e.g., cultural beliefs, values, and practices) shape student engagement in different settings (e.g., online, classroom, out-of-school time programs). Additionally, they provided insights on practical and methodological issues that both researchers and practitioners should be mindful of. This volume highlights the need to critically consider both the cultural specificity and universality of student engagement processes and discusses ways to promote engagement across diverse sociocultural contexts and student populations.

The BOSS for 21st Century Organizations is a must-read for seasoned managers and executives, newly appointed leaders, and anyone contemplating a supervisory role. This comprehensive guide is designed to equip leaders with the tools and insights necessary to excel in their positions and foster a Human Intelligent (HI) Workplace.

Drawing on nearly four decades of experience in leadership development, the author has conducted numerous workshops and provided executive coaching to countless managers and executives. With firsthand experience as a manager, the author has observed effective and ineffective behaviors, offering invaluable insights into what truly works in leadership.

This book features two essential questionnaires that serve as powerful tools for self-assessment and organizational evaluation.

• Human Intelligent (HI) Workplace Questionnaire: Evaluate your workplace from both an individual and 360-degree perspective to understand what it takes to create an environment that thrives on human intelligence
• Leadership Behavior Effectiveness (LBE) Questionnaire: Assess your leadership effectiveness and identify areas for improvement to become a more impactful leader.
  

Whether you are an experienced leader looking to refine your skills, a new manager stepping into a challenging role, or someone considering a supervisory position, The BOSS for 21st Century Organizations offers the guidance and tools you need to succeed. Embrace the journey to becoming a better boss and create a workplace where human intelligence and effective leadership drive success.

Although the Micro/Small and Medium Enterprises (M/SMEs) in India (as also in other countries) make significant contributions to the economy (with about 30% share in GDP, 50% share in exports, and more than 60% share in employment), their developmental needs are addressed primarily through the facilitation of the external environment. In order to take advantage of the external facilitation, M/SMEs have to develop their internal capabilities, which are hardly attended to. Training is widely recognized as a major tool for developing the internal capabilities of M/SMEs. However, there were hardly any studies on the training-related issues of Indian M/SMEs. It is in this context that the present study was undertaken for identifying the perceived training needs and the training-related preferences of M/SMEs. The study covered a wide range of issues related to training in M/SMEs, such as the perceived training needs, the preferred training contents, methods, timings, duration, and training providers, as well as the actual training provided, for various levels (owners/directors, managers, and employees) in the organization. The findings of the study and the recommendations made on their basis will be useful for researchers, trainers/consultants, and practitioners/entrepreneurs, as well as policy-makers.

“As a man of color, our image and reputation is everything. I have always kept my personal life and my private life separately. However, when I transitioned into higher education, I saw men who walked like me, talked like me, but also lived their truth in secret like me. It wasn't until I attended a higher education conference where I met this amazing Black man and he told me these words. No matter what you do in this life to thy own self always be true. You have one life, so live it and live it unapologetically. From that moment on, I begin to live my truth. One thing that I have learned is that people will not always respect your choices of how you live your life, however they will respect how you carry yourself when you live the life that you live in a positive light. So today, I am living my life mentoring, coaching, and inspiring the next generation of same gender-living males, because you only have one life to live and you can have it all. Success, love, truth, respect, but most importantly a life free from shame and guilt of denying who you are.” –Desmond Dunklin

“One experience that helped shape my identity as a Black, same-gender-loving male was during the height of the pandemic and quarantining. At that time, everyone was stuck inside, while also seeking community outside of our own minds. I was able to find community and curate a space on the audio app, “Clubhouse”. I came together with a group of talented Black Queer men to create the group, “Black Gay Men Chat”! On the app, we were able to educate and highlight the lived experiences of Black SGL men across the world. I tapped into my creativity and my voice in so many ways, by producing multiple projects such as: a talent show through the “Black & Gay” group, a seductive improv audio show, “The Art of Seduction”, a shoot your shot show “The Black Gay Bachelor”, a book club called “Reading Rainbow”, and facilitating/moderating multiple conversations across the platform (crystal meth in the Black Queer community, Black Gay Fatherhood, Dating Red Flags, etc). This experience shaped my identity because I was able to share/facilitate a space with individuals that were able to challenge me and validate my lived experiences, while bringing new perspectives to the conversations. Our group currently has 7,000+ members and showed me the power and influence that we have as Black Queer people when we come together. I recognize that at times society will not accept us fully which was evident in heterosexual spaces on the app where the expectation was for us to show-up "Black first", but we are full people, and we deserve to share and take up all the space we desire, while standing in all that we are. This experience was empowering, inspiring, and made me feel seen holistically.” –Sean Rice, Jr.

“As a Black gay male, this project holds personal significance for me, providing a rare space to openly communicate, share, and embrace Black, gay, male experiences within higher education. Each section unfolds as an individual narrative, emphasizing the importance of every unique story.” –Antione D. Tomlin, PhD

Reframing Developmental Psychology: Perspectives from the Global South critically examines the dominant frameworks in Developmental Psychology, challenging the discipline’s reliance on mainstream theories, universalist assumptions, and culturally narrow research samples. By addressing issues such as WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic) psychology and developmentalism, the book calls for a more inclusive and culturally grounded approach to understanding human development. Contributors to this volume carefully question the assumptions that underlie conventional developmental discourse and advocate acknowledging historical contexts, cultural specificity, and diverse epistemologies, while retaining the larger objective of universal scientific study. Universalism should not imply uniformity.  

Emphasizing perspectives from the Global South - understood as both a geographical and conceptual space - this book highlights the importance of integrating indigenous knowledge systems, alternative methodologies, and collaborative scholarship in the advancement of a culturally informed study of human developmental processes. It critiques the over-reliance on positivist, standardized research methods that fail to capture the complexities of meaning-making and cultural variation. Instead, it calls for a redefinition of what constitutes valid knowledge, advocating for interdisciplinary approaches that bridge psychology, anthropology, sociology, literature and philosophy. By dismantling colonial legacies and reconsidering the ethical, epistemological, and methodological foundations of the field, the book fosters a vision of Developmental Psychology that is equitable, pluralistic, and responsive to the diverse realities of human experience.