Higher Education for Good: Teaching and Learning Futures is an open book that offers ways of thinking, conceptualising and creating possibilities for (re)making higher education, focusing on futures that foreground inclusion, equity, social justice, care and sustainability.
The book is a cohesive collection, enacting the editorial principles of diversity, care, and community. The collection written by academics and professionals from across 17 countries and many disciplines offers a variety of answers to the question: how can we build a better future for Higher Education?
It addresses the need to set new values for universities and examines those “wicked” problems which need multiple solutions and resolutions. The collection provides new ways of thinking about Higher Education across a range of contexts, and how to concretise initiatives to deal with local, national and global challenges. The contributors to the book have provided insights about resilience tactics and collective actions across different levels of higher education using an array of styles and formats including essays, poetry and speculative fiction.
With its interdisciplinary appeal, this book presents itself as a provocative and inspiring resource for the whole Higher Education community. Higher Education for Good courageously offers critique, hope, and purpose for the practice and the trajectory of Higher Education. The book has been developed with a transparent and inclusive approach, and aligns with the ambitions of the Knowledge Equity Network where equal opportunity, inclusion and diversity are guiding principles of the Network.
Professor Chrissi Nerantzi is a senior lead in the Knowledge Equity Network, and co-authored one of the chapters together with Paula Corti: Calm in the Storm. This chapter reflects on the role of universities in the complex and diverse context offered by society at large. Professor Nerantzi said:
“The collection is such a rich and diverse companion on our journey towards higher education for good. Immersing ourselves into the contributions is enlightening and opens exciting possibilities and opportunities for all of us.”
Published by Open Book Publishers (a scholar-led, non-profit open access press that does not charge authors to publish) that supports the movement to make high-quality research available to every reader. Open Book Publishers’ vision also aligns closely with the principles and recommendations of the Declaration on Knowledge Equity to increase access to knowledge – together with our colleagues across the world, we are building communities and infrastructure to create a future in which knowledge is shared openly.
A blog on the book written by editors Professor Laura Czerniewicz and Dr Catherine Cronin on how the book was curated can be found here: https://czernie.weebly.com/blog/higher-education-for-good-curating-a-cohesive-book.