Nurturing Minds for Tomorrow: Navigating the Challenges for Attaining Sustainable Development Goals

This book throws light on the cultural situatedness of education, the understanding of which enables the attainment of sustainable development goals for education. It is aimed at sharpening the core decision-making skills of teachers, leaders, curriculum designers, policymakers and teacher educators by placing a strong emphasis on theories, concepts and sociocultural perspectives on education and sustainable development goals (SDGs).

This volume empowers readers to be equipped for a collective future that might be volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous, owing to the numerous challenges posed by technological advancements, natural calamities and warfare. These external influences often seep into classrooms through the lived experiences of teachers, students, leaders and the cultural norms of educational institutions. The book uses concrete examples of thinking and practice across the spectrum of education and training sectors, both formal and informal, in handling emerging challenges.

Written in an engaging conversational style, this book makes complex topics accessible to prospective teachers as well as seasoned school leaders. It will be useful to academics, researchers, postgraduates and students of education, anthropology, psychology and training. It will also be of interest to policy developers and government agencies who are engaged with the drafting of policies on SDGs.

Bharati Baveja is a distinguished scholar in the fields of cognitive psychology and pedagogy, with a career spanning nearly four decades of research and institutional leadership. She formerly served as Dean and Head of the Faculty of Education and Director of the Women’s Studies and Development Centre at the University of Delhi. Initially trained in the life sciences (zoology), she brings a unique interdisciplinary lens to education. Her work synthesises cognitive
psychology with socio-cultural and biological perspectives, offering a profound understanding of how biological foundations and cultural contexts intersect in the learning and development processes. An awardee of the British Technical Cooperation Scholarship (1983–1984), her academic outlook is shaped by both Eastern pedagogical traditions and global psychological frameworks.

Garima Bansal is an inspiring educationist, researcher and visionary leader in science education, curriculum design and teacher professional development. With a doctoral grounding from the University of Delhi, she has nurtured educators across universities, schools and national institutions. Formerly Head of Professional Learning at the Australian Council for Educational Research (India), she led transformative teacher learning initiatives and research collaborations. A recipient of prestigious international scholarships and fellowships across the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa, she is a published author and global scholar who blends inquirybased pedagogy with compassionate leadership – igniting classrooms with evidence-informed practice and hope.