Beyond the Classroom Walls

This captivating book based on Cranston’s ethnographic field work in India, Rwanda and Nepal interweaves narration with critical social commentary about teaching and learning in challenging contexts. In particular, the discussions surrounding the multifaceted dimensions of globalization’s impact on schooling provides the necessary conditions to explore cultural discontinuities and to create intercultural awareness in contemporary pedagogy. -- Karen Ragoonaden, Professor of Teaching, Okanagan School of Education, University of British Columbia
Beyond the Classroom Walls is an ambitious and illuminating investigation into the lives of teachers who work in abject poverty in the brickfields of India, in the aftermath of genocide in Rwanda, and in a refugee camp in Nepal. Framed by Cranston’s work as a researcher in three different international settings, his engaging narratives are interspersed with historical, geo-political and social cultural considerations, illustrating the optimistic persistence of these teachers in overwhelmingly difficult conditions. Beyond the Classroom Walls provides insights into the ways in which these teachers’ seemingly small acts in our complex geo-political context, are immensely important in the lives of their students, centering the profession’s collective commitment to — and enactment of — the fundamental right to education. -- Melanie Janzen, Associate Professor of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning, Faculty of Education, University of Manitoba
Cranston’s rich, ethnographic narrative approach in Beyond the Classroom Walls offers both a deeply personal and also well-researched perspective of some of the most relevant and challenging social issues impacting educational outcomes around the world today. It is an ideal companion for international and multicultural studies in all educational contexts. -- Cheryl Bowen, Interim Chair and Acting Director of Teacher Education- Department of Education, Santa Clara University