8. Learning to navigate change

Susan Hanisch is an education researcher at the Research Group for Biology Education, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany, focusing on the role of evolutionary and behavioral science in Education for Sustainable Development and for the metacognitive development of student competencies. She develops and researches novel teaching approaches to help learners gain a deeper and more helpful understanding of themselves and fellow humans.

Patricia Greenfield is Distinguished Professor of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, US. She earned her PhD from the interdisciplinary Department of Social Relations at Harvard. Her dissertation focused on a cross-cultural study of culture and cognitive development in Senegal. Collaborating with international researchers, she has published cross-cultural and intergenerational studies on learning, socialization, and human development in Maya communities, Mexico; among Bedouin, Northern Arab, and Ethiopian immigrant populations in Israel; and within dominant majority groups in Burma/Myanmar, Romania, Japan, China, and Turkey. In the United States, she and her collaborators have conducted research on these topics among European Americans, Asian Americans, and immigrant groups from Mexico, Central America, and Korea.

Barnabas Simatende is Lecturer at St. Joseph’s Theological Institute, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Barnabas Simatende holds a PhD in Psychology and is a dedicated and passionate educator, researcher, and leader with expertise in psychological and theological education, and community development. With 15 years of experience in academic institutions and faith-based organizations, Barnabas has developed a strong commitment to empowering marginalized communities. Through his work, Barnabas strives to foster inclusive and transformative learning environments, inspiring positive change and growth in individuals and communities.

Adi Prasetijo is an adjunct lecturer in the Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Diponegoro University, Indonesia. He is also a member of KKI Warsi, an NGO working for Sumatra Indigenous communities. He received a doctorate in anthropology from the University of Science Malaysia (2014). In 2019, he was a visiting research fellow at Minpaku (National Museum of Ethnology, Japan) in Osaka. He is also a member of the International Societies of Hunting and Gathering (ISHGR).

Cika Aprilia is a graduate in Social Anthropology from Diponegoro University, Indonesia, and is currently pursuing her postgraduate studies at the University of Indonesia. She has experience as an instructional facilitator in high schools and serves as the Head of Program Officer at Indonesia Resilience, a research institute dedicated to empowering marginalized communities. Additionally, Cika is actively involved in developing alternative education programs for street children, emphasizing inclusivity and empowerment.

Noa Lavi is a social anthropologist working on childhood, education and adult-child relations among Indigenous and marginalized societies. Her other research interests include the anthropology of aid and development, human-animal relations, storytelling, social emotional learning, and perceptions of child rearing. Noa holds a PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of Haifa (2019). She is also a Forest School Leader and has worked in Outdoor Education for many years. She is currently an adjunct Lecturer in the Department of Counseling and Human Development, Faculty of Education, University of Haifa.

Seetha Kakkoth completed her PhD in Anthropology at the University of Calicut, Kerala, India, followed by postdoctoral research at London School of Economics, UK. She currently works at Kannur University. Since the 1990s, she has been working with Cholanaickan and Aranadan, historically classified as hunter gatherers living in the Nilambur Forests of Kerala, South India. She recently published Lost Lullabies of South India: Tale of Vanishing Indigenous People of Nilambur Valley. Her research interests include hunter-gatherers, tribal aging, and hunter gatherer education.

Vinod Chellan is currently pursuing his PhD in Economics at Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT), Kerala, India. He holds an MPhil in Applied Economics from the Department of Applied Economics, CUSAT. He was awarded the National Fellowship for Scheduled Tribes from the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, New Delhi in 2020. He actively engages with issues related to the hunter-gatherer communities in Kerala. He has presented his works at the International Workshop on ‘Contemporary hunter-gatherers and education in a changing world: towards sustainable futures’ at Arctic University, Tromsø, Norway (2023), and at the Cultural Evolution Society conference at Durham University (2024). His research interests include hunter-gatherer livelihood and hunter gatherer education.

Athul Sarala Nanu is an Indigenous independent research scholar, f ilmmaker, and designer. His research focuses on the politics of representation, decolonizing education, and the impact of design on marginalized communities. Through his work, he aims to challenge dominant narratives, empower Indigenous voices, and contribute to social change. His experiences as a filmmaker and designer have informed his understanding of the power of visual culture and the potential of design as a tool for social transformation.

Carrie Rothstein-Fisch is a Professor of Educational Psychology at California State University, Northridge, US (PhD, UCLA) and is the co-coordinator of the Master of Arts in Early Childhood Educational Psychology. She teaches courses on Issues and Theories in Early Childhood Education and Research Principles in addition to supervising MA and EdD students. She has researched and written on topics ranging from toddler play through adult learning and is a core researcher on the Bridging Cultures Project.

Elise Trumbull is an applied linguist (Ed.D., Boston University, US), who specializes in understanding relationships among language, culture, and schooling. Collaborating with colleagues from multiple disciplines, she has investigated how cultural theory and research can help teachers of Mexican immigrant students in the US teach in a more inclusive and effective way. She has also investigated how educational assessments can be improved to be culturally relevant with students from many ethnolinguistic backgrounds, including American Indian and Alaska Native students, Haitian immigrants, Micronesian students in US-affiliated entities, and immigrant Latino students in California.

Blanca Guerrero-Meyer is Associate Professor of Psychology, Fresno Pacific University, US, where she teaches cultural psychology and other subjects related to intercultural studies. She graduated from Harvard Graduate School of Education, with a doctorate in Human Development and Psychology. Her research has focused primarily on Latinx immigrant families in the US. She has also worked with the migrant population in the US and early bilingual language and literacy acquisition in Spanish-speaking families. Presently she is doing research on Hispanic Serving Institutions and first-generation college students.

Dustin Eirdosh is a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Comparative and Cultural Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Germany. He is a co-founder of the OpenEvo educational innovation lab, studying the role of concepts of human behavior as an interdisciplinary theme across K-12 curricula. By understanding human origins, and the complex causes of human behaviors, students can be empowered with metacognitive competencies for advancing a more sustainable and equitable society.