Educator–Student Dialogues in Education and Society

Offering a bold and refreshing reimagination of education through the eyes of its important stakeholders: educators and students, this volume brings together conversations about education and society across a wide range of contexts, sectors, and traditions.

Written collaboratively by contributors from schools and faculties of education around the globe, including Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Japan, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, this essential book brings foundational theories by scholars such as John Dewey and Roland Meighan into dialogue with the lived experience of a modern-age learner. Each chapter explores themes of equity, agency, and lifelong learning, and how education shapes the future, thereby inviting readers to rethink what education could and should be. Through vignettes, marginalia, reflective commentary, dialogic framing, co-authored reflections, and other forms of student-facing and student-informed writing, this volume places educator and student voices into sustained conversation across diverse educational settings. All chapters also include teaching tools, reflective prompts, and guiding questions intended to support critical engagement and professional dialogue among readers. These conversations culminate in the final chapter in the form of a Student Manifesto, developed through focus group dialogue with students and recent graduates, offering a collective reflection on what education is, what it is failing to do, and what it might yet become.

This volume is an ideal companion for scholars, researchers and academics in the fields of higher education, lifelong learning, classroom practice and curriculum design. Therefore, curriculum developers, teacher educators and policymakers may also benefit substantially from this volume.