The Neohumanist educational paradigm is one of the lesser known but most unique in the world today. The present volume is intended as a comprehensive volume on Neohumanist education that reveals the context of this educational paradigm within the context of the kaleidoscopic dimensions of Neohumanism. It aims to serve as a resource for those who desire to study Neohumanist education in depth by providing information concerning the conceptual and existential background of the philosophy of Shrii Shrii Anandamurti. By exploring unique features of its vision of cardinal values, psychology, epistemology, culture, social justice, aesthetics and mystical love, the roles of the Neohumanist educator is revealed. Unique to most pedagogical paradigms are explorations of the nature of spiritual practice or meditation as well an introduction to the spiritual cosmology of the author. Finally various aspects of Neohumanism and education are explained in a series of discourses.

Deploying a distinctive disaggregative approach to the study of 'religion', this volume shows that spiritual movements with extensive counterfactual beliefs have been much more creative than one might expect. Specifically, Wayne Hudson explores the creativity of six spiritual movements: the Bahá'ís, a Persian movement; Soka Gakkai, a Japanese movement; Ananda Marga and the Brahma Kumaris, two reformed Hindu movements; and two controversial American churches, The Church Universal and Triumphant and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Most of these movements have counterintuitive features that have led Western scholars making Enlightenment assumptions to dismiss them as irrational and/or inconsequential. However, this book reveals that these movements have responded to modernity in ways that are creative and practical, resulting in a wide range of social, educational and cultural initiatives. Building on research surrounding the ways in which spiritual movements engage in cultural productions, this book takes the international research in a new direction by exploring the utopian intentionality such cultural productions reveal.

This unique collection of essays by well known scholars from around the world examines the role of edutopias in the utopian tradition, examining its sources and sites as a means for understanding the aims and purposes of education, for realizing its societal value, and for criticizing its present economic, technological and organizational modes.

This book addresses a critical gap in the effective implementation of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) in post-apartheid South Africa. This book responds to a critical problem whereby a critical mass of historically disadvantaged persons continues to face exclusion by entrenched systems of professional education and training. Focusing on case studies from higher education and build environment studies, it defines the rationale and fundamental principles of an innovative model for the evaluation of RPL which can be adapted and applied across disciplines and professions while promoting high quality standards. RPL is considered as a transformative strategy to oppose the injustices of pedagogic exclusion and upskill a historically disadvantaged population. The book makes a strong case for an alternate system based on the potentiality of transformed legislation and frameworks in post-apartheid South Africa. The book will be of interest to researchers in alternative pedagogies, scholars engaged with epistemologies of the South and alternative knowledge systems, legislative bodies, policy makers and facilitators of professional education.

Becoming One With the World: A Guide to Neohumanist Education responds to an urgent need to reconceptualize the fundamentals of education in light of the many social, ecological, and political challenges facing humanity today. It answers the call for a new educational paradigm, one based on a far richer, more insightful understanding of human possibility, one that decenters human “exceptionalism” in favor of a new ecological consciousness, one that promotes harmony and cooperation between humans and non-human others, and one that cultivates wisdom. Neohumanist education strives for a harmonious balance between spiritual development and critical engagement with the world, in the belief that an awakened conscience translates into transcending differences and creating a sense of unity with all beings. The book is designed to enhance the spiritual and pedagogical knowledge and skill of teachers, parents, and school leaders who are seeking more holistic approaches to educating young people. Both richly theoretical and eminently practical, the book applies the primary commitments of Neohumanist education—cultivating love and kinship with humans and non-human others, freeing the mind from dogma and limitations, fostering a balanced approach between inquiry into the outer, objective world(s) and the inner, subjective world(s), and awakening the desire for social and environmental justice—to the full spectrum of traditional subject matter. It draws upon a wide range of new research and scholarship to illustrate an educational model capable of maximizing human potential and inspiring young people to create a future that is just, joyful, and sustainable. ENDORSEMENTS: "What a wonderful book! Packed into its pages are decades of experience as a meditator, yogi, parent, educator, and Neohumanist. This latter is the crux of this text, designed to lay out in clear accessible language the fundamentals of this rich and inspiring philosophy and to touch on ways it can find its way into the daily flow of the classroom and school. A philosophy worth its salt is one that actually makes a difference in the day to day lives of people. In Kathleen Kesson and her comprehensive book, we find just this: practical, pragmatic insights into a philosophy both new and ancient! It is a gift to educators and anyone committed to wholesome futures for children, society and of course, the planet." — Marcus Bussey, University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia "Becoming One With the World is an extraordinary book. While its primary aims are explaining the philosophy of Neohumanism and detailing a Neohumanistic approach to education, it is simultaneously a comprehensive summary and synthesis of scholarly literature in the field of holistic education. Unifying knowledge and methods from many curricula areas, including spirituality, ecology, aesthetics, literacy, cultural diversity and ethics, it offers a clear orientation to a way of educating young people that seems key to human surviving and thriving." — Aostre Johnson, Saint Michael’s College in Vermont

Leading researchers and practitioners explore the frontiers of education from an integral perspective.