Publication Date
Spring 5-1-2018
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (Master of Arts in TESOL)
First Advisor
Elka Todeva
Abstract
Education is a means of ensuring the survival of the human race. By passing on knowledge and awareness, humans attempt to craft adaptability of future generations. Adaptability allows humans to respond to unforeseen events that may challenge their survival.
Education is a process that works to achieve change and growth of the individual and the regeneration and transformation of society. The outcomes of interactions in educational systems are uncertain and emergent. Educational systems are open, adaptive, complex, dynamic and non-linear.
In the near past, reducing the complexity of natural and social phenomena has allowed the human race to simplify and understand many complex ideas in physical and social science. Oversimplification has begun to limit the full comprehension of the elements that are complexly related and interacting in the natural world. The limits imposed by reductionist mindsets are not allowing for adaptability of the human race to a newly emerging, complex, interconnected age that does not resemble any previous existence of humanity.
In order to escape the limits of reductionism, complex thought must be re-introduced in education. Educators must think complexly and appreciate and embrace complexity and uncertainty. They must engage in critical complexity by fostering new states of mind and by collectively creating frameworks for addressing challenges that will appear recursively.
Disciplines
Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education | Educational Administration and Supervision | Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research | Educational Leadership | Educational Psychology | Higher Education | International and Comparative Education | Teacher Education and Professional Development
Recommended Citation
Johnson, Elizabeth, "Critical Complexity: A Challenge to Engage for Educators" (2018). MA TESOL Collection. 732.
https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/ipp_collection/732
Included in
Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, Educational Administration and Supervision Commons, Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons, Educational Leadership Commons, Educational Psychology Commons, Higher Education Commons, International and Comparative Education Commons, Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons