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Stories of Hope: Reimagining Education - cover image

Copyright

Sandra Abegglen; Tom Burns; Rajan Madhok; Richard F. Heller; Fabian Neuhaus; John Sandars; Sandra Sinfield; Upasana Gitanjali Singh. Copyright of individual chapters are maintained by the chapter author(s).

Published On

2025-07-02

ISBN

Paperback978-1-80511-571-7
Hardback978-1-80511-572-4
PDF978-1-80511-573-1
HTML978-1-80511-575-5
EPUB978-1-80511-574-8

Language

  • English

Print Length

659 pages (liv+ 605)

Dimensions

Paperback156 x 46 x 234 mm(6.14" x 1.81" x 9.21")
Hardback156 x 49 x 234 mm(6.14" x 1.93" x 9.21")

Weight

Paperback1231g (43.42oz)
Hardback1421g (50.12oz)

Media

Illustrations41
Tables8

THEMA

  • JNM
  • JNF
  • JNT
  • JNA
  • JKS

BISAC

  • EDU015000
  • EDU034000
  • EDU040000
  • EDU051000
  • EDU032000
  • EDU046000

Keywords

  • Higher Education Reform
  • Student Engagement
  • Innovative Teaching
  • Educational Leadership
  • Learning Transformation
  • Radical Hope in Education

Stories of Hope

Reimagining Education

Higher education is in crisis. Students are disengaged, lecturers are burned out, and universities seem more preoccupied with rankings and revenue than with knowledge and wellbeing. But rather than dwell on the problems, this book focuses on solutions—on hope.

Bringing together a diverse range of educators and practitioners, this collection showcases real-world innovations that challenge the status quo and offer glimpses of a more humane and inspiring educational future. From rethinking systems and curriculum design to fostering imaginative collaboration and exploring the role of technology, the book highlights practical, hopeful interventions that are already making a difference.

This is not a manifesto of complaints but an invitation to reimagine education. The contributors offer fresh perspectives from around the world, illustrating how small but meaningful changes can transform learning spaces, empower educators, and inspire students. For academics, teachers, administrators, and anyone invested in the future of education, this book serves as both a source of inspiration and a call to action. It is an evolving ecosystem of ideas—grounded in practice, rich with possibility, and rooted in radical hope. Now is the time to create the change we wish to see.

Additional Resources

Contents

Foreword

(pp. 1–2)
  • Mary O’Kane
  • Fabian Neuhaus
  • Sandra Abegglen
  • Tom Burns
  • Upasana Gitanjali Singh
  • Richard F. Heller
  • Rajan Madhok
  • John Sandars
  • Sandra Sinfield
  • Aashima Dabas
  • Chandini Chugh
  • Shivaani Chugh
  • Anurag Mishra
  • Earle Abrahamson
  • Nina Namaste
  • Michelle Eady
  • Corinne Green
  • Mayi Arcellana-Panlilio
  • Lisa Hatfield
  • Upasana Gitanjali Singh
  • Oliver Burney
  • Mark Kershaw
  • Sean Starbuck
  • Jennifer Hillman
  • Stephanie Newton
  • Elizabeth Shakespeare
  • Tom Burns
  • Sandra Sinfield
  • Sandra Abegglen
  • David Overend
  • Laura Bissell
  • Adam Bromley
  • Geyan Surendran
  • James Connorton
  • Lian X. Liu
  • Paul A. Townsend
  • Michael Heinrich
  • Shelini Surendran
  • Ingeborg van Knippenberg
  • Zack Moir
  • Aidan Harvey
  • Elizabeth Shakespeare
  • Agnese Di Domenico
  • Beth Karp
  • John Cowan
  • Simone Maier
  • Sandra Sinfield
  • Sandra Abegglen
  • Tom Burns
  • Nikita Asnani
  • Jean Mutton
  • Inca Hide-Wright
  • Bo Kelestyn
  • Jess Humphreys
  • Debbie Holley
  • Tracy Campbell
  • Catherine Bates
  • Colin Webb
  • Lucy Yeboa
  • Sandra Abegglen
  • Tom Burns
  • Sandra Sinfield
  • John Sandars
  • Hilda Mulrooney
  • Richard F. Heller
  • Richard F. Heller
  • Sandra Abegglen
  • Fabian Neuhaus
  • John Sandars
  • Tom Burns
  • Rajan Madhok
  • Sandra Sinfield
  • Upasana Gitanjali Singh

Contributors

Sandra Abegglen

(editor)
Researcher in the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape at University of Calgary

Sandra Abegglen, PhD, is a Researcher in the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape at the University of Calgary, where she explores online education and learning and teaching in the design studio. Sandra has extensive experience both as a social researcher and lecturer/programme leader. She is the project lead for TALON, the Teaching and Learning Online Network, and Playful Hybrid Higher Education. Sandra has published widely on emancipatory learning and teaching practice, creative and playful pedagogy, and remote education. She has been awarded for her work with the Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence (CATE) 2022 by Advance HE, and the Team Teaching Award 2020 by the University of Calgary. Find her personal website at: https://sandra-abegglen.com/

Tom Burns

(editor)

Tom Burns (1959–2024) was an Associate Teaching Professor in the Centre for Teaching Enhancement at London Metropolitan University, developing innovations with a special focus on praxes that ignite student curiosity, and develop power and voice. Always interested in theatre and the arts, and their role in teaching and learning, Tom developed theatre and film in unusual places, set up adventure playgrounds, events and festivals for his local community, and fed arts-based practice into his learning, teaching and assessments. Tom was a University Teaching Fellow and has received a Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence (CATE) 2022 by Advance HE. He co-authored Teaching, Learning and Study Skills: A Guide for Tutors and Essential Study Skills: The Complete Guide to Success at University (5th Edition, 2022), https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/essential-study-skills/book278189.

Richard F. Heller

(editor)
Emeritus Professor of Medicine at University of Newcastle Australia

Richard Heller, Emeritus Professor of Medicine, University of Newcastle, Australia and of Public Health, University of Manchester, UK, has a medical degree and doctorate from the University of London, United Kingdom. He was Professor of Clinical Epidemiology and Community Medicine at the University of Newcastle, Australia and Professor of Public Health at the University of Manchester, United Kingdom. Richard was also the founder and coordinator of the People’s Open Access Education Initiative (Peoples-uni, https://www.peoples-uni.org/), which aimed to provide Public Health capacity building in developing countries at low cost, through e-learning using open-access resources on the Internet and leading to an MPH degree. He is author of The Distributed University for Sustainable Higher Education (2022, https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-16-6506-6).

Rajan Madhok

(editor)

Rajan Madhok is a public health doctor who worked in senior medical management positions in the NHS. Alongside his service work he took a major interest in capacity building throughout his career. He is retired and lives in North Wales, and is keen to share his own learning with others. Rajan was Chair of the Trustees of Peoples-uni—https://www.peoples-uni.org/—holds honorary academic appointments at the University of Salford, UK, and Indian Institute of Public Health, Shillong, India, is a non-executive director of Llais (https://www.llaiswales.org/dr-rajan-madhok) and a governor on the Council of Coleg Cambria. He is the author of RaMa Reflections (https://www.ramareflections.com/).

Fabian Neuhaus

(editor)
Associate Professor at University of Calgary

Fabian Neuhaus, PhD, is an Associate Professor at the University of Calgary in the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape. His research in the urban environment focuses on the topics of habitus, type, and ornament. He has worked in Switzerland, Germany, Canada, and the UK. He is passionate about the scholarship of learning and teaching, and design pedagogy. He is the Principal Investigator for the Richard Parker Initiative and its associated projects, including NextCalgary (https://nextcalgary.ca/).

John Sandars

(editor)

After training in hospital medicine, John Sandars entered the world of general practice. John was also a GP trainer, GP tutor, Macmillan GP Facilitator in Palliative Medicine, and part-time lecturer in general practice at the University of Manchester. He developed his academic career in medical education as Associate Professor in the Leeds Institute of Medical Education, University of Leeds and was appointed Professor in Medical Education at the University of Sheffield before moving to Edge Hill University in 2016 as Professor of Medical Education. John is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Educators and Higher Education Academy. He has received major funding for national and international projects and has over 200 peer-reviewed publications and was a Visiting Professor at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. He is an Associate Editor for Medical Teacher and a member of the editorial board for the International Journal of Medical Education. Find out more about John via: https://www.edgehill.ac.uk/person/professor-john-sandars/staff/

Sandra Sinfield

(editor)
Associate Teaching Professor in Education and Learning Development in the Centre for Teaching Enhancement at London Metropolitan University

Sandra Sinfield is an Associate Teaching Professor in Education and Learning Development in the Centre for Teaching Enhancement at London Metropolitan University and a co-founder of the Association for Learning Development in Higher Education. Sandra is a University Teaching Fellow and has received a Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence (CATE) 2022 by Advance HE. She has co-authored Teaching, Learning and Study Skills: A Guide for Tutors and Essential Study Skills: The Complete Guide to Success at University (5th Edition, 2022), https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/essential-study-skills/book278189. Sandra is interested in creativity as a liberatory and holistic practice in Higher Education; she has developed theatre and film in unusual places—and inhabited SecondLife as a learning space.

Upasana Gitanjali Singh

(editor)
Academic Leader and Associate Professor in Information Systems and Technology at University of KwaZulu-Natal

Upasana Gitanjali Singh, PhD, is the Academic Leader and Associate Professor in Information Systems and Technology at UKZN and holds academic appointments in Australia and Malaysia. She is an NRF C2-rated researcher in Educational Technology, achieving this distinction on her first application. With over fifteen years of teaching experience, she specialises in IT and has a strong passion for digital teaching and learning. Her prolific research includes four edited books and over sixty scholarly outputs, with numerous international keynote addresses. She founded and chairs the digiTAL2K conference, promoting global collaboration in digital education innovation. Prof. Singh has received several awards and led UKZN’s global engagements through MoUs with institutions across three continents.