Daisaku Ikeda's Educational Ideas for Empowering Disadvantaged Youth in India: Policy, Research, and Public Action

• In Event: 70.016 - Daisaku Ikeda and Relationality in Educational Philosophy, Policy, and Practice: Critical and Postfoundational Approaches

Abstract

This paper has two objectives. First it examines Ikeda’s (1991-2014) notion of education for global citizenship as an important contribution to the ever dynamic and ongoing philosophical research on cosmopolitan education (Hansen, 2011). Ikeda’s philosophy of education for global citizenship is grounded on the idea of human revolution, a process of self-transformation rooted in the reality of the interconnectedness of all life. For Ikeda, self-transformation is the basis of social change, and taking responsibility for the world becomes the driving force for self-transformation. Education is what integrates these two moments creatively. The second presenter: 1) brings Ikeda into dialogue with recent scholarship on cosmopolitan education; 2) explicates the deep compatibility between Ikeda’s ideas and the themes and approaches shaping current philosophical/educational discussions on cosmopolitan education; and 3) suggests ways in which Ikeda’s ideas can make a contribution to those discussions.
Second, this paper considers this theoretical framework in the context of educating disadvantaged youth in India. One of the Education for All (EFA) initiative goals is to “ensure that the learning needs of all young people and adults are met through equitable access to appropriate learning and life-skills programs” (Worldbank.org). Towards this, the role of education in empowering youth has become a key concern for international agencies like the Commonwealth Secretariat (secretariat.thecommonwealth.org), and is endorsed by several regional, national governments and agencies, including in India. The third panelist presents the impacts of recent policy, programs, and public action for youth empowerment in India, in the context of Ikedean (2010a, 2010b) perspectives. The success stories emphasize the critical role of political will and social action, resulting from inner human revolution, in uplifting the status of youth. In particular, consideration is given to tackling significant barriers in providing access to education, including physical access, gender and caste.
This presentation advocates the need for an analysis of the status of youth and raises issues significant to their empowerment. Drawing on the authors’ previous work (Obelleiro, 2012; Sharma 2008, 2012), this presentation concludes with a reflection of the unprecedented context for empowerment set within two 20th century movements – the Gandhian movement in India and the Soka education movement in Japan. Taking a comparative and post-foundational approach, the authors argue these social and educational revolutions offer a cosmopolitan framework for thinking about equity, equality, social justice, and empowerment in the endeavor to provide education for all in the 21st century.

Authors

• Namrata Sharma, SUNY - College at Oswego

• Gonzalo Obelleiro, Teachers College, Columbia University