Bea Rodriguez-Fransen, Director at ASU Next Lab and Instructor at The Design School, is author of the new book Education and Decolonial Futures in the Philippines: Perspectives for Educators and Practitioners, a new publication from Palgrave Macmillan Cham publishing.
Says Rodriguez-Fransen: “Although the book focuses on Filipina educators' perspectives, the frameworks that I created as a result of synthesizing findings are relevant to all educators and practitioners in various sectors. This is also related to my TED Talk, Unlocking Indigenous knowledge: A new path for education, that went live in May 2024.”
About the book: A unique and provocative study that weaves personal and historical narratives, diverse theoretical frameworks, and futures thinking. Using critical bricolage methodology and the Indigenous method of pakikipagkuwentuhan (storytelling), Rodriguez-Fransen amplifies the voices of Filipina educators as they interrogate and re-conceptualize colonial mentality as a systemic rather than an individual problem, and bridges the gap between educational theory and practice by creating new teaching and research tools, for scholars and practitioners in various sectors around the world: the Decolonial Portals and Decolonial Design Futures frameworks. This book takes readers on a journey through time, highlighting the interconnectedness and fluidity of past, present, and future stories of our world; it encourages all of us to recognize colonial mentality as a global problem, and calls for transdisciplinary, cross-sector, and cross-country collaborations in order to decolonize education and our futures.
Reviews
“Bea Rodriguez-Fransen astutely documents and analyzes the roots and legacies of colonial mentality and offers oppositional strategies through narrative bricolage and decolonial design futures. Drawing from Indigenous onto-epistemologies and methodologies, she provides new conceptual tools and approaches to unshackle and liberate the mindsets, behaviors, and attitudes of racialized, postcolonial, and diasporic subjects. Education and Decolonial Futures in the Philippines is a must-read for all of us committed to reimagining and pursuing global justice and transformation.” (Roland Sintos Coloma, PhD, Professor, Teacher Education, Wayne State University)
“A powerful text - well worth reading, as it deconstructs and reconstructs the future. I truly enjoyed the interweaving of the personal with analytic.” (Sohail Inayatullah, PhD, UNESCO Chair in Futures Studies. IIUM. Professor, Tamkang University. Editor, the Journal of Futures Studies)
“A valuable resource for educators and colonised communities, Education and Decolonial Futures in the Philippines offers useful insights into decolonial practices. As it puts emphasis on the importance of storytelling and diverse perspectives, it encourages reflection on colonial mindsets and supports identity reclamation. This book offers useful methods to practice decolonial methods like narrative bricolage and other participatory methods to help create more inclusive and culturally relevant educational spaces. Overall, it is a solid contribution to promoting social justice and amplifying marginalised voices in education.”(Marie Aubrey Villaceran, Faculty and Convenor, Decolonial Studies Program, University of the Philippines)