Enlightenment, Creativity and Education: polities, politics, performances presents some outcomes of the 24th Conference of the Comparative Education Society in Europe (CESE), held in Uppsala, in summer 2010. Bringing together studies related to knowledge and educational policies, the volume deals with the role of knowledge, globalisation and new trends what have an effect of identities and policies. Changes in societies have changed the rhetoric concerning the position and function of education. What – in comparative perspective – are the historical forces and sociological and economic structures which are infl uencing our ideas and assumptions about identity and wisdom and the future of polities and economies? So the conference asked: what are the contemporary and emergent nature of polities, and the politics of the future – and who says so? This publication is structured along three themes for the purpose of giving illustrations to some of the questions asked. The themes are I. Comparative Education – The role of Knowledge and Educational Research, II. Globalisation and New Trends, III. New Knowledge – Identities – Policies. Lennart Wikander is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Education at Uppsala University. His fi eld is Higher Education including its relations to the labour market. Educational policies in a comparative perspective have also been a major part of his lecturing and research. He is President of NOCIES (Nordic Comparative and International Education Society). He is also member of the CESE Executive Committee. Christina Gustafsson is Professor of Education at Uppsala University and Director of Research in Educational Science at the University of Gävle. She started as a classroom researcher, and spent some years working on evaluation as a research practice. For the past fi fteen years, she has been oriented towards higher education research, especially research related to teacher training and newly qualifi ed teachers. Ulla Riis is Professor of Education at Uppsala University and Director of the programme Studies in Higher Education (SHE) at the Department of Education. She also has publications in Science Education and Computer Education in school as curriculum issues. Her latest report deals with the outcomes of a reform of the promotion system for Swedish university professors.

A revolutionary reappraisal of how to educate our children and young people by Ken Robinson, the New York Times bestselling author of The Element and Finding Your Element. Ken Robinson is one of the world’s most influential voices in education, and his 2006 TED Talk on the subject is the most viewed in the organization’s history. Now, the internationally recognized leader on creativity and human potential focuses on one of the most critical issues of our time: how to transform the nation’s troubled educational system. At a time when standardized testing businesses are raking in huge profits, when many schools are struggling, and students and educators everywhere are suffering under the strain, Robinson points the way forward. He argues for an end to our outmoded industrial educational system and proposes a highly personalized, organic approach that draws on today’s unprecedented technological and professional resources to engage all students, develop their love of learning, and enable them to face the real challenges of the twenty-first century. Filled with anecdotes, observations and recommendations from professionals on the front line of transformative education, case histories, and groundbreaking research—and written with Robinson’s trademark wit and engaging style—Creative Schools will inspire teachers, parents, and policy makers alike to rethink the real nature and purpose of education.

National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education was established in 1998 "to make recommendations to the Secretaries of State on the creative and cultural development of young people through formal and informal eduction: to take stock of current provision and to make proposals for principles, policies and practice" (-- p. 4). This is its report.

"It is often said that education and training are the keys to the future. They are, but a key can be turned in two directions. Turn it one way andyou lock resources away, even from those they belong to. Turn it the otherway and you release resources and give people back to themselves. To realizeour true creative potential—in our organizations, in our schools and in our communities—we need to think differently about ourselves and to actdifferently towards each other. We must learn to be creative." —Ken Robinson PRAISE FOR OUT OF OUR MINDS "Ken Robinson writes brilliantly about the different ways in which creativity is undervalued and ignored . . . especially in our educational systems." —John Cleese "Out of Our Minds explains why being creative in today'sworld is a vital necessity. This book is not to be missed." —Ken Blanchard, co-author of The One-minute Manager and The Secret "If ever there was a time when creativity was necessary for the survival andgrowth of any organization, it is now. This book, more than any other I know, providesimportant insights on how leaders can evoke and sustain those creative juices." —Warren Bennis, Distinguished Professor of Business, University of Southern California; Thomas S. Murphy Distinguished Rresearch Fellow, Harvard Business School; Best-selling Author, Geeks and Geezers "All corporate leaders should read this book." —Richard Scase, Author and Business Forecaster "This really is a remarkable book. It does for human resources what Rachel Carson's Silent Spring did for the environment." —Wally Olins, Founder, Wolff-olins "Books about creativity are not always creative. Ken Robinson's is a welcome exception" —Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, c.s. and d.j. Davidson Professor of Psychology, Claremont Graduate University; Director, Quality of Life Research Center; Best-selling Author, Flow "The best analysis I've seen of the disjunction between the kinds of intelligence that we have traditionally honored in schools and the kinds ofcreativity that we need today in our organizations and our society." —Howard Gardner, a. hobbs professor in cognition and education, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Best-selling Author, Frames of Mind

In Evolutionary Enlightenment, Andrew Cohen redefines spiritual awakening for our contemporary world—a world characterized by exponential change and an ever-expanding appreciation for the processes of evolution. Cohen’s message is simple, yet profound: Life is evolution, and enlightenment is about waking up to this fundamentally creative impulse as your own deepest, most authentic self. Through five tenets for living an enlightened life, Cohen will empower you to wholeheartedly participate in the process of change as your own spiritual practice. Evolutionary Enlightenment not only makes deep sense of life today; it will show you how to play an active role in shaping the world of tomorrow.

The groundbreaking international bestseller that will help you fulfil your true potential. The Element is the point at which natural talent meets personal passion. In this hugely influential book, world-renowned creativity expert Ken Robinson considers the child bored in class, the disillusioned employee and those of us who feel frustrated but can't quite explain why - and shows how we all need to reach our Element. Through the stories of people like Vidal Sassoon, Arianna Huffington and Matt Groening, who have recognized their unique talents and made a successful living doing what they love, Robinson explains how every one of us can find ourselves in our Element, and achieve everything we're capable of. With a wry sense of humour, Ken Robinson shows the urgent need to enhance creativity and innovation by thinking differently about ourselves. Above all, he inspires us to reconnect with our true self - it could just change everything. 'The Element offers life-altering insights about the discovery of your true best self' Stephen R. Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People 'A book that lightens and lifts the minds and hearts of all who read it' Susan Jeffers, author of Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2018 ONE OF THE ECONOMIST'S BOOKS OF THE YEAR "My new favorite book of all time." --Bill Gates If you think the world is coming to an end, think again: people are living longer, healthier, freer, and happier lives, and while our problems are formidable, the solutions lie in the Enlightenment ideal of using reason and science. By the author of the new book, Rationality. Is the world really falling apart? Is the ideal of progress obsolete? In this elegant assessment of the human condition in the third millennium, cognitive scientist and public intellectual Steven Pinker urges us to step back from the gory headlines and prophecies of doom, which play to our psychological biases. Instead, follow the data: In seventy-five jaw-dropping graphs, Pinker shows that life, health, prosperity, safety, peace, knowledge, and happiness are on the rise, not just in the West, but worldwide. This progress is not the result of some cosmic force. It is a gift of the Enlightenment: the conviction that reason and science can enhance human flourishing. Far from being a naïve hope, the Enlightenment, we now know, has worked. But more than ever, it needs a vigorous defense. The Enlightenment project swims against currents of human nature--tribalism, authoritarianism, demonization, magical thinking--which demagogues are all too willing to exploit. Many commentators, committed to political, religious, or romantic ideologies, fight a rearguard action against it. The result is a corrosive fatalism and a willingness to wreck the precious institutions of liberal democracy and global cooperation. With intellectual depth and literary flair, Enlightenment Now makes the case for reason, science, and humanism: the ideals we need to confront our problems and continue our progress.