Teachers and Students: Reflections on Learning in Near and Middle Eastern Cultures. Collected Studies in Honour of Sebastian Günther contains essays on the developments, ideals, and practices of teaching and learning in the Islamicate world, past and present. The authors address topics that reflect – and thus honour – Sebastian Günther’s academic achievements in this particular area. The volume offers fresh insights into key issues related to education and human development, including their shared characteristics as well as their influence on and interdependence with cultures of the Islamicate world, especially in the classical period of Islam (9th-15th century CE). The diverse spectrum of topics covered in the book, as well as the wide range of innovative interdisciplinary approaches and research tools employed, pay tribute to Sebastian Günther’s research focus on Islamic education and ethics, through which he has inspired many of his students, colleagues, and friends.

Emotions have increasingly attracted the attention of the sciences and academia. The topic is all the more timely since we have witnessed a global trend towards highly emotionalized discourses across societies and religions. Discourses are less guided by rational arguments and “facts”. Instead, narratives, sometimes manipulative, influence the thoughts and activi-ties of our societies. In this context, the authoritative texts of the monotheistic religions are experiencing a renaissance. Tanach, Bible and Qur’an do not only “emotionalize”, they also offer ancient concepts of emotions which affect the present. This book brings the interdependencies of antiquity and (post)modernity into an interdisci-plinary discussion. How should we understand feelings at all? This book explores the ap-proaches to emotions as portrayed and understood in various sources and disciplines. The contributors share their perspectives on methodological questions concerning research on the emotions. Scholars in religious studies and theology from different traditions—Jewish, Christian, Islamic—enter into dialogue with other disciplines, such as psychology, literary studies, sociology, cultural studies, philosophy, and historiography.

This volume in the Language Teacher Research Series (Thomas S.C. Farrell, series editor) shares the studies and reflections of teacher researchers working in Middle Eastern countries with students from a variety of cultural backgrounds. These teachers explore aspects of their own practice in university settings, secondary school classrooms, and professional language training institutes. Despite the varied settings, the authors all have a common desire to improve their practice by looking critically at their teaching approaches and their students attitudes toward learning. These studies unearth assumptions made in different teaching contexts, and shine a light on factors of perception and motivation. Each chapter examines a specific teaching and learning environment and analyzes avenues for improvement in that particular context. However, the overall goal of this volume and the series is to share teacher researchers findings so that colleagues can extract their own interpretations and plan action steps for improving student learning in other contexts throughout the Middle East and the world. --- Product Description.

The chapters in this volume outline and discuss examples of teacher educators in diverse global contexts who have provided successful self-initiated innovations for their teacher learners. The collection suggests that a way forward for second language teacher preparation programs is through 'reflective practice as innovation'.

COVID wrought havoc on the world’s economic systems. Higher education did not escape the ravages brought on by the pandemic as institutions of higher education around the world faced major upheavals in their educational delivery systems. Some institutions were prepared for the required transition to online learning. Most were not. Whether prepared or not, educators rose to the challenge. The innovativeness of educators met the challenges as digital learning replaced the face-to-face environment. In fact, some of the distance models proved so engaging that many students no longer desire a return to the face-to-face model. As with all transitions, some things were lost while others were gained. This book examines practice in the field as institutions struggled to face the worst global pandemic in the last century. The book is organized into four sections on 'Changing Education”, 'Education in the Pandemic”, 'Sustaining University Education”, and 'Embracing the Future in a Global World”. It presents various perspectives from educators around the world to illustrate the struggles and triumphs of those facing new challenges and implementing new ideas to empower the educational process. These discussions shed light on the impact of the pandemic and the future of higher education post-COVID. Higher education has been forever changed, and higher education as it once was may never return. While many questions arise, the achievements in meeting and overcoming the pandemic illustrate the creativity and innovativeness of educators around the world who inspired future generations of learners to reach new heights of accomplishment even in the face of the pandemic.

This book brings together the practice of reflective teaching and the knowledge of inclusive practices in the context of teacher education and continuing professional development. It is a call to leverage reflective teaching for inclusive practices. The first part of the book provides an overview of what constitutes reflective practice in the 21st century and how teachers can become reflective practitioners. It also discusses how teacher professional development can be enhanced for reflective teaching practice. The second part of the book deals with teachers' knowledge development in order to create inclusive teaching and learning environments. It highlights the need for a responsive teaching climate, intercultural competency, pedagogical change and professional literacy. A reflective inclusive teacher is likely to anticipate the multiple needs of diverse learners in pluralistic settings, thus ensuring student success. This book will enhance the efforts of teacher educators and teaching professionals in building a culture of reflective and inclusive teaching practice in the classroom.