Super Dimensions in Globalisation and Education

Book excerpt: This volume is the first major production of the globalisation research strand of the Centre for Educational Research at Western Sydney University. This book makes a significant contribution to the theory of and research in globalisation and education, and tackles the topics of superdiversity and supercomplexity. The book’s thesis is that the effects of globalisation on education can only be understood if the specific yet complex conditions of globalisation in education are investigated. The book takes an international approach to understanding globalisation and does not restrict itself to just one methodological or theoretical plane of investigation. Education is one of these frontline domains in which the effects of superdiversity cannot be dismissed, minimized or denied. The continuously increasing complexity of learning environments is raising critical issues at every level, from description over analysis to theoretical generalization, and this book is a first and fruitful attempt at charting these waters. This pioneering book will remain a key text for many years to come. Jan Bloomaert Professor of Language, Culture and Globalization and Director of the Babylon Center Tilburg University, the Netherlands. This provocative collection works from two premises: that today there is superdiversity in our globalised world and related is a supercomplexity of theoretical and methodological approaches. The collection proffers multifarious challenges for educational theory, research and practice in working with, through and across these two premises. As such, Super Dimensions in Globalisation and Education is essential reading for all educational researchers, whatever their interests or location. Professor Bob Lingard The University of Queensland, Australia. This is a highly imaginative book that stops ‘flat earth’ and convergence arguments dead in their tracks. Its genius is to bring super-complexity and super-diversity into a conversation with each other and with education, and in doing so shed light on the numerous and unexpected ways in which global processes are shaping education in revealing and compelling ways. Any scholar concerned with globalisation and education will find Super Dimensions in Globalisation and Education a’ must have’ on their reading list. Professor Susan Robertson Director of the Centre for Globalisation, Education and Social Futures University of Bristol, UK. This is an absorbing and compelling collection. It takes readers on a kaleidoscopic journey through various intricate expressions of the nexus between globalisation and education. And it offers multiple ways that such expressions can be thought and rethought. In transcending conventional categorisations it invites educators to do so too. Professor Jane Kenway, Australian Professorial Fellow – Australian Research Council, Education Faculty, Monash University, Australia.