Education toward cosmopolitanism as a pathway to reducing polarisation
Abstract
Polarisation poses significant challenges to societal cohesion and democracy. This article explores how education, guided by cosmopolitan principles, can address these divides by fostering empathy, promoting intercultural dialogue, and challenging exclusionary narratives. This article advances the concept of rooted cosmopolitanism by demonstrating how local cultural attachments can complement global ethical principles by balancing particularistic and universalistic values. Through examples of case studies conducted in Canada, Israel, and India, this article highlights the adaptability of cosmopolitan education in diverse sociopolitical contexts and illustrates how education can bridge divides, promote mutual respect, and foster unity in diversity. The practical strategies include integrating global and local perspectives into curricula, promoting experiential learning to engage with diversity, and equipping educators with cultural competence and anti-bias tools. While resistance to change and resource constraints persist, the findings underscore education’s transformative potential to reduce polarisation and cultivate inclusive, equitable communities. This calls for sustained efforts to embed rooted cosmopolitan principles into education, by providing a framework for bridging divides and preparing students to navigate an interconnected world.
“Do you hear me?”: Understanding the interplay of listening and perceived partner responsiveness
Harry T. Reis and Guy Itzchakov
Listening
Communicating for workplace connection: A longitudinal study of the outcomes of listening training on teachers' autonomy, psychological safety, and relational climate
Guy Itzchakov, Netta Weinstein, Eli Vinokur, Avinoam Yomtovian
Listening
Training teachers to listen may enable them to experience increasingly attentive and open peer relationships at work. In the present research, we examined the outcomes of a year-long listening training on school teachers' listening abilities and its downstream consequences on their relational climate, autonomy, and psychological safety. Teachers in two elementary schools engaged in a similar listening training program throughout the entire school year. The measures included indicators of a supportive relational climate that are known to be important to teacher well-being, namely, autonomy, psychological safety, and relational energy. Results of growth curve modeling showed linear increases in all three outcomes, such that more listening training corresponded to a more positive relational climate. Specifically, the teachers reported increasingly higher quality listening from their group member teachers, felt more autonomy satisfied, psychologically safe, and relationally energetic. Furthermore, latent growth curve modeling indicated that the teachers' listening perception was positively and significantly associated with all three outcomes. We concluded that listening training is associated with teachers perceiving higher quality listening from their peers and, therefore, feeling more autonomy-satisfied, psychologically safe, and relationally energetic and discussing theoretical and practical implications.
Keep reading