In this paper – The Future of Education is Glocal: How to transform classrooms into learning communities. – I explore how we can reimagine education to resonate with our interconnected global world while remaining rooted in local cultures and contexts. I introduce two guiding concepts, glocalization and the pluriverse, as foundations for transforming classrooms into vibrant learning communities.
Rather than promoting one-size-fits-all solutions, glocal education prepares students to navigate complexity by embracing multiple ways of knowing, encouraging intercultural collaboration, and fostering participatory learning. Glocalization offers a lens to approach global challenges like climate change and inequality through local specificity, while the pluriverse challenges dominant universalist perspectives, honoring diverse worldviews, especially those informed by Indigenous and relational ontologies.
By integrating these concepts, I am experimenting with educational practices that connect students with a broad range of social actors, particularly through partnerships in the Global South. These approaches cultivate not just cultural competence but empathy, global awareness, and a commitment to more just and sustainable futures. The paper shares concrete examples of how these ideas are brought to life in practice.
Link to the paper: