In recent years, new expectations have been placed on universities, demanding academic contributions towards solving large-scale, interdisciplinary challenges. This is in conflict with existing insights from university governance research, which emphasises that scientific communities focus on reproducing disciplinary practices that are unsuitable…

Considering the fast-changing times and mounting challenges, higher education institutions (HEIs) became recognized as important change agents in the society but at the same time became more threatened. To that end, recently Magna Charta Universitatum, a declaration stating that intellectual and moral autonomy is the hallmark of any university and…

This paper examines critical aspects of the birth of the new generation of Myanmar's emerging elite groups and their roles in the society based on in-depth qualitative research conducted in two universities in Yangon. It particularly pays close attention to the critical roles of the two universities -- as political, social and knowledge…

As a best practice, community-engaged courses should benefit students, community, and faculty through centering the needs and goals of each entity. Ensuring reciprocity and centering sustainable authentic relationships requires great care, intention, time, and a clear strategy to execute. We describe how our intercollegiate and co-instructed…

In assessing the current and future role of universities in the nation-states in which they are chartered and funded, it is useful to ask, When are universities societal leaders as societal and constructive change agents, and when are they followers, reinforcing the existing political order? As discussed in the book, "Neo-Nationalism and…

Scholars writing on agency argue that normally, individuals who experience social structures as comfortable will tend to want to reproduce them while those who experience these structures as oppressive will want to change them. This is a bleak outlook because it suggests that those in positions of power and influence are less likely to seek to…

A key goal of global education in language teaching is to "have students 'think globally and act locally'"(Cates, 2013, p. 278) -- an idea in line with the concept of glocality. Virtual exchange -- i.e. connecting learners with different lingua-cultural backgrounds over extended periods of time via digital communication technologies (The…

Student teachers in South Africa need to realise that although their classrooms are multilingual and multicultural, English remains the dominant language. Preparing student teachers for diverse classrooms require a pedagogical approach that will enable them to be agents of social change. This view supports transformative ideals in teacher…

The purpose of the present work is to rethink, in the university context, the concept of genius, related to the high intellectual abilities associated with intelligence; also, to connect the idea of entrepreneurial competences, such as leadership or social commitment. The hypothesis is that a university genius is defined by his high creative…

In this article, the authors discuss how to explore the agency of ordinary citizens using local institutions to combat Jim Crow segregation laws during Freedom Summer. Primary sources from Miami (OH) University website about Freedom Summer and Susan Goldman Rubin's trade book ground the inquiry. Through the series of activities discussed, middle…

Myanmar has emerged from a military dictatorship and taken important steps toward greater democratization. The new ruling party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), and its de facto head, State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, are proponents of educational reform, and are slowly refurbishing dilapidated campuses, supporting new education…

Since South Africa's transition to democracy, numerous policies have been enacted to address gender oppression. Taking its cue from the country's constitution, these policies and acts, such as the Higher Education Act (1997), aim, in particular, to promote social justice by addressing gender imbalances in society. Likewise, the vision of Sol…

In 1965, the Jesuit-run Central American University (UCA) was launched in El Salvador as the wealthy family's educational alternative to the increasingly leftist National University. But within a decade, the UCA would shift its focus to the inequalities and injustice experienced by the country's popular majorities and to its own role as society's…

Literature in leadership studies is devoid of knowledge about the unique ways that Latina/Chicana educators engage as leaders, activists, and agents for change. Women's studies, ethnic studies, and Chicana feminist studies alert us to the complex role that social context and the intersectionality of gender, ethnicity/race, and class play in the…

The Protestant Reformation swept across Central Europe in the early-sixteenth century, leaving cities divided into Evangelical and Catholic camps as some instituted reforms and others remained loyal to the Roman Church. In offering a new explanation of the Reformation, we develop a theory that identifies ideologically mobilized students as bridge…