B.07. Educators as Agents of Change: Enacting Transformative Education in Practice

Transformative Education (TE) offers a critical lens for rethinking education in the context of postdigital societies confronted with accelerated change and an enduring permacrisis. It aims to support the development of those knowledge, attitudes and skills that enable learners to align their decisions and practices with socio-ecological sustainability and global justice. In the context of SDG 4.7, TE can be understood as an umbrella that weaves together the diverse “educations for” – sustainability, human rights, gender equality, peace, cultural diversity and global citizenship – and calls for coordinated efforts capable of advancing systemic transformation.

Although this vision is anchored in the SDGs, it has not yet been realised at scale, even if promising examples exist. This panel therefore asks: How can TE be enacted so that learners are enabled to become citizens who actively promote a sustainable transformation of society? This panel builds on the Villa Vigoni colloquium on TE and foregrounds the pivotal role of educators as agents of change, exploring how they can be supported in recognising and enacting this role. It invites scholars as well as representatives of educational institutions – such as school leaders, teachers, educators and students – to contribute theoretical perspectives, empirical research findings and practice-based case studies to an informed exchange on how to implement transformative education in formal, non-formal and informal educational contexts. To accommodate different kinds of expertise and contribution styles, the panel format is deliberately open. We welcome paper presentations as well as more interactive formats such as ignite talks, fishbowl discussions, workshops.