Nurturing Minds for Tomorrow Navigating the Challenges for Attaining Sustainable Development Goals

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Bharati Baveja

PART A:  BIOLOGICAL IMPERATIVES AND THE SOCIO-CULTURAL CONTEXT OF LEARNING

1.         A kind beginning: unfolding human nature through the lens of childhood prosociality

Rekha Bhaskar

2.         Everyday Cultural Experiences of Munda Tribe Children and their Participation in Formal Education

Tanushikha Arya

3.         A cross-cultural comparison between South Africa and India: Perspectives on inquiry-based school science learning

Umesh Ramnarain and Garima Bansal

4.         Learning ecology of urban middle-class children

Ravneet Kaur

PART B: RECEPTIVITY TO ALTERNATIVE EPISTEMOLOGIES

5.         Reclaiming Wholeness in Education - Epistemic, Ethical, and Embodied Knowing

An Indian Knowledge System Based Alternative to Western Educational Frameworks

Anand Krishnaswamy

6.         Indian Knowledge Systems in Science Classroom: Teachers’ Understanding and Way Forward

Mamta Singhal

7.         Finding Freedom from FOSS: Insights from Urban Elementary Teachers on an Ambitious Science Teaching Professional Learning Community Experience

Katherine Richardson Bruna, Stephanie Schneider, Lyric Bartholomay 

8.         From conceptual to performative blending: an enactive cognition framework

to systematically bridge the gap between curricula and scientific practice

Mashood KK, Joseph Salve, Pranshi Upadhyay, Priyadharshni Elangaivendan, Sanjay Chandrasekharan

PART C: PEDAGOGY AS A BRIDGE FROM CURRICULUM TO LIVED REALITY

9.         Making Learning Meaningful: A Socio-cultural Approach to Teaching Social Science

Rishabh Mishra

10.       Beyond Decontextualized Learning: Psychological Tools Theory Lens to Middle School Science Education

Jyoti Raina

11.       Inclusive Pedagogies for a Sustainable Tomorrow: Teachers’ Perspectives and Practices of Scaffolding

Ashu Kapoor

12.       Contextualizing Pedagogy: Leveraging Storytelling for Understanding of Basic Astronomy

Shruti Chopra and Abhishreya Sasan

PART D: EQUITY AND TECHNOLOGY

13.       Reimagining Learner-Centered Education for Sustainability in India:

A Perspective Grounded in Epistemic (In)Justice

Manasa N Mahesh

14.       Culturally Responsive Assessment for Foundational Learning in India: From Principles to Practice and SDG 4.1.1 Reporting

Pooja Nagpal

15.       Empowering Marginalized Voices: AI Literacy as a Tool for Emancipation in K-12 Borderland Spaces

Liu Wenpang, Goh Ying Soon, Suyan Zhang, Yiming Chen, Xiaosheng Zhou and Gao Manman

16.       Bridging the Digital Divide: Sociocultural Perspectives on STEM Education in India’s Borderland Schools

Rekha Koul and Rachel Sheffield

Biography

Bharati Baveja is a distinguished scholar in the fields of cognitive psychology and pedagogy, with a career spanning nearly four decades of research and institutional leadership. She formerly served as Dean and Head of the Faculty of Education and Director of the Women’s Studies and Development Centre at the University of Delhi, one of India's premier institutions. Initially trained in Life Sciences (Zoology), she brings a unique interdisciplinary lens to education. Her work synthesises cognitive psychology with socio-cultural and biological perspectives, offering a profound understanding of how biological foundations and cultural contexts intersect in the learning and development processes. An awardee of the British Technical Cooperation Scholarship (1983–1984), her academic outlook is shaped by both Eastern pedagogical traditions and global psychological frameworks.

Garima Bansal is an inspiring educationist, researcher and visionary leader in science education, curriculum design and teacher professional development. With a doctoral grounding from the University of Delhi, she has nurtured educators across universities, schools and national institutions. Formerly Head of Professional Learning at Australian Council for Educational Research (India), she led transformative teacher learning initiatives and research collaborations. A recipient of prestigious international scholarships and fellowships across the USA, UK, Ireland and South Africa, she is a published author and global scholar who blends inquiry-based pedagogy with compassionate leadership—igniting classrooms with evidence-informed practice and hope.
 

“Nurturing Minds for Tomorrow, edited by Professor Bharati Baveja and Dr. Garima Bansal, addresses the challenges inherent in organising education to meet the demands of today’s complex, uncertain and challenging environment. Focusing on transforming pedagogical culture in vogue, the contributions included in this volume promote the notion of ‘learning community’. Building on the insights from past research and theorisation, the volume ventures to a careful analysis of ground realities of marginalization and epistemic justice in the Indian and other contexts. The volume convincingly advances the case for a pedagogy based on social constructivism and critically explores the potential of the Indian Knowledge System as an alternative paradigm which can augment adaptive competence. Another attractive feature of the volume is that it showcases a variety of pedagogical interventions planned and implemented in various parts of the globe. Taken together, the chapters strongly suggest that education must evolve to meet the global challenges, especially those related to sustainable developmental goals. The volume is a must-read for scholars as well as policy makers concerned with education, human development and social change. It’s a welcome addition to the emerging tradition of culturally informed analysis of social and educational issues.”

Girishwar Misra
Former Vice Chancellor, Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya Wardha