This book argues that integrating artistic contributions – with an emphasis on culture and language – can make Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects more accessible, and therefore promote creativity and innovation in teaching and learning at all levels of education. It provides tools and strategies for managing interdisciplinary learning and teaching based on successful collaborations between researchers, practitioners and artists in the fields of the Arts and STEM subjects. Based on contributions by educators, scientists, scholars, linguists and artists from around the globe, the book highlights how we can demonstrate teamwork and collaboration for innovation and creativity in STEAM subjects in the classroom and beyond.
The book reflects the core of human rights education, using local languages and local knowledge through art as a tool for teaching human rights at school, and bringing to light questions on diversity, ecology, climate change, environmental issues, health and the future of human beings, as well as power relations between non-dominant (minorities) and dominant (the majority) groups in society.
Dr. Zehlia Babaci-Wilhite is a Researcher at the Graduate School of Education and President of the Humanities and Social Science Association at the University of California-Berkeley, as well as an Adjunct Professor at the University of San Francisco and at Saint Mary’s College of California, USA. She is also a lecturer at San Jose State University. Dr. Babaci-Wilhite is affiliated with the Norwegian Center for Human Rights, and supervises students at the Department of Educational Research at the University of Oslo, Norway, where she obtained her Master’s and PhD in Comparative and International Education. She has taught courses and workshops in the USA, Norway, Japan, India, France, Tanzania, South Africa and Nigeria on issues related to language and culture, development and human rights. Her current research interests include Language and Science Literacy as a Human Right in Education, Development Aid, African Higher Education and Technology. Through her recent research projects, she has developed an interest in the pedagogy of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), putting the “A” in STEM and transforming it into STEAM. She is the author of many published articles in prominent academic journals, of several book chapters, and of two books: one on Local Languages as a Human Right in Education and the other on Language, Development Aid and Human Rights: Curriculum Policies in Africa and Asia. Dr. Babaci-Wilhite has also edited two volumes: Giving Space to African Voices and Human Rights in Language and STEM Education. She is fluent in French, English, Norwegian, Japanese and Berber, with knowledge of Arabic, Portuguese, German, Spanish, Swahili and Igbo.
