Curriculum in International Contexts: A Complicated Conversation

Ashwani Kumar; Susan Brigham; Mohamed Kharbach; Adrian Downey; Amélie Lemieux; Debra Wells-Hopey; Mehrdad Shahidi; Anthony Card

doi:10.14288/tci.v18i2.196880

Authors

Ashwani Kumar Mount Saint Vincent University, Canada
Susan Brigham Faculty of Education at Mount Saint Vincent University, Canada
Mohamed Kharbach Mount Saint Vincent University, Canada
Adrian Downey Mount Saint Vincent University, Canada
Amélie Lemieux Faculty of Education, Université de Montréal, Canada
Debra Wells-Hopey Mount Saint Vincent University, Canada
Mehrdad Shahidi Islamic Azad University, Tehran Central Branch, Iran
Anthony Card Mount Saint Vincent University, Canada

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14288/tci.v18i2.196880

Keywords:

Colonialism, Neoliberalism, Ideological control, Dialogical meditative inquiry, Internationalization of Curriculum Studies

Abstract

The study of the curriculum in diverse geo-cultural, political, and economic settings reveals the insidious impacts of colonial, ideological, and neoliberal influences on contemporary curriculum development internationally. The purpose of this paper is to expand and deepen our understanding of the forces that shape and influence curriculum in the world today and to consider methods we can use to challenge them. The paper invites and initiates a complicated and disruptive conversation around the internationalization of curriculum studies by inviting seven scholars from post-human, Indigenous, black feminist, critical discursive, and foundational perspectives to respond to a new scholarly text, Curriculum in International Contexts: Understanding Colonial, Ideological, and Neoliberal Influences (Kumar, 2019), focused on understanding the forces that shape curriculum in international contexts. This diverse group of curriculum and education scholars share their reflections on this book and then engage with the author of the book by posing critical questions. The outcome is a rich exploration of the ways in which we can deepen our understanding of and collectively respond to the colonial, ideological, and neoliberal influences on curriculum development.

Author Biographies

Ashwani Kumar, Mount Saint Vincent University, Canada

Ashwani Kumar is an Associate Professor of Education at Mount Saint Vincent University. His teaching and research focus upon meditative inquiry, which is a self-reflective and aesthetic approach to teaching, learning, researching, creating, and living. He has conceptualized several key curricular and pedagogical concepts, namely, curriculum as meditative inquiry, teaching as meditative inquiry, and music as meditative inquiry. He has also developed a contemplative research methodology called dialogical meditative inquiry to conduct subjective and inter-subjective qualitative research. He plays the harmonium and sings and composes Indian classical music. His current project focuses on researching the theory and practice of Indian classical music and their implications for the field of education. He is the author of two scholarly books: Curriculum As Meditative Inquiry (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013) and Curriculum in International Contexts: Understanding Colonial, Ideological, and Neoliberal Influences (Palgrave Macmillan, 2019). He is also the editor of Engaging with Meditative Inquiry in Teaching, Learning, and Research: Realizing Transformative Potentials in Diverse Contexts (Routledge, 2022). He has served as the President of Arts Researchers and Teachers Society, Canada.

Susan Brigham, Faculty of Education at Mount Saint Vincent University, Canada

Susan M. Brigham, PHD is Full Professor in the Faculty of Education at Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU). Her research interests include adult and higher education, immigration, diversity, and gender. Susan has conducted research and presented her work in North America, the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, and Europe. She is currently conducting research with refugee youth who experience interrupted schooling, African Nova Scotian Elders’ role in schooling, and marginalized post-secondary students in Canada. Her most recent co-edited book is Adult Education and Learning in Canada: Critical Legacies (2021, Thompson Publishing).

Mohamed Kharbach, Mount Saint Vincent University, Canada

Mohamed Kharbach is a PhD candidate in Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU) in Halifax, Canada. His immediate areas of research include critical pedagogy, emerging literacies, critical discourse analysis, curriculum studies, and identity studies. I am a junior affiliate with the Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, Security, and Society. I am also affiliated with the International Society for Research on Identity (ISRI) and the Canadian Society for the Study of Education (CSSE).

Adrian Downey, Mount Saint Vincent University, Canada

Adrian M. Downey is an assistant professor at Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU). He has undergraduate degrees from Bishop's University in education and music, as well as a Master of Arts in Education from MSVU and a PhD in Educational Studies from The University of New Brunswick.

Amélie Lemieux, Faculty of Education, Université de Montréal, Canada

Amélie Lemieux is an assistant professor of French literature education at University of Montreal's Faculty of Education. She has received a number of governmental grants to investigate adolescents' processes in reading and study engagement with multimodal narrative universes. Her work has been published and co-published in such journals as Literacy, Professional Development in Education, Éducation & Didactique, Discourse, and Language Arts. Her latest book, De/constructing Literacies: Considerations for Engagement, has been published at Peter Lang, New York.

Debra Wells-Hopey, Mount Saint Vincent University, Canada

Debra Wells-Hopey is a PhD (Candidate) at Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU) in the Inter-University Doctoral Program in Educational Studies. She has an undergraduate in both Philosophy (University of King’s College) and Public Relations (MSVU) as well as a Master of Arts in Education (MSVU). Her research area includes tracing the history of ideas stemming from the Enlightenment to current Postmodern schools of thought, particularly concerning the tensions between structure and the self.

Mehrdad Shahidi, Islamic Azad University, Tehran Central Branch, Iran

Mehrdad Shahidi has recently completed his PhD program in the field of Psychological Aspects of Education from Nova Scotia Inter-University Doctoral Program that is operated by three universities (MSVU, Acadia University, and St. Francis Xavier University). He is an assistant professor at Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch. He has several separate and joined academic publications. His areas of research revolve around Psycho-Educational Assessment, Psychological Predictors of Students’ Academic Achievement, Self-Regulated Learning, Loneliness and Depression in International Students, and Implementing Positive Psychology in Educational Settings.

Anthony Card, Mount Saint Vincent University, Canada

Antony Card, Ed.D, is the Dean of the Faculty of Education at Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Prior to that, he was Dean of the School of Human Kinetics and Recreation, Memorial University of Newfoundland, and Associate Vice-President (Research) for the Grenfell Campus of Memorial University. His research interests are in physical education, health education and the promotion of health in school communities. His funded research projects have engaged schools in physical activity initiatives and focused on engaging policymakers, practitioners and researchers in jointly setting priorities for youth health in schools across Canada.

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Curriculum in International Contexts

A Complicated Conversation