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This paper reports the findings of a meta-synthesis of studies which investigated the ways in which teachers described their pedagogical practices in three different contexts: the Maldives, Australia and Nepal. Each of the studies was focused on making teachers' classroom practices visible in an effort to establish a shared language and understanding of practices relevant to context. We were interested in what teachers say about their teaching practice and the ideas they hold that underpin these acts of teaching. Our analysis, across our respective studies, revealed insights to the questions: how teachers name their practices; how teachers articulate their understanding of these practices; and, how teachers identify priorities for their practice. Insights drawn from our meta-synthesis explore the implications of naming practices and the importance of considering teacher voice in determining visions of effective teaching. What teachers believe and do needs to be taken into account if professional development and reform initiatives are to be enacted in ways that are relevant and sustainable. The findings have implications for improving the quality of education and approaches to teachers' professional development.

The ongoing reform of the Nepali education system is guided by the commitment of Nepal's Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology to improve educational outcomes through alignment with international educational policy. The reform goals require Nepali teachers to change their classroom practices to become child-friendly, flexible, and responsive to students' needs. Evaluation reports describe Nepali teachers' response as limited but do not explain the reasons why, do not contain the voices of Nepali teachers, and do not indicate whether Nepali teachers' beliefs align with the reform goals. This article reports the findings of a mixed-methods research project conducted with Nepali teachers. It shows the close alignment between Nepali teachers' beliefs and the reform goals and then examines the factors that Nepali teachers report have limited their response to change. These factors center around endemic issues of instability and inequity within the Nepali context. The article also outlines teachers' recommendations for stability and equitable strategies.

In June 2020, an Australian Curriculum (AC) review was announced, particularly regarding content crowding in primary years, flexibility and deep understanding of core concepts. The language of the announcement highlighted again the 'competing-priorities' discourse that suggests a disjuncture between focusing on fundamental knowledge and skills of literacy and numeracy and providing opportunities to develop broader conceptual understandings and skills inherent in the pedagogies of education for global citizenship (EGC) and education for sustainable development (ESD). By contrast, the School Strike 4 Climate rallies exemplified students' integration of knowledge, skills, values and attitudes from a variety of disciplines and broader learning experiences embedded within the AC with the cross-curriculum priorities, particularly sustainability, and the general capabilities. This article claims that the School Strike 4 Climate rallies highlight the interconnection between EGC and ESD and the AC. It will argue that the inquiry-based, pedagogical approaches of EGC and ESD are powerful integrators offering teachers the opportunity to take cross-disciplinary approaches to planning, connecting multiple learning areas from the AC with real-world projects and issues. It is suggested that, far from crowding the curriculum, such integration frees up space and offers opportunities for the deep conceptual understanding the curriculum review seeks.

Since the country's democratization in 1950, the Nepali education system has undergone 12 reform cycles. These reforms have been influenced by international policies emerging from the Millennium Development Goals and the subsequent Sustainable Development Goals. They have instigated an increasing shift toward Westernized pedagogical practices, particularly learner-centred education. Within the substantial research on the Westernization of the Nepali education system and learner-centred education, there is often a lack of the voice of teachers. The research often positions teachers as passive or resistant implementors of top-down reform rather than proactive, interpretative agents of change. A doctoral study reviewing Nepali primary school teachers' implementation of the "School Sector Reform Plan (2009 - 2016)" found a disjuncture between the teachers' support for the philosophy of learner-centred education inherent in the "Plan" and their implementation of these practices in their classroom. This paper conveys the voices of teachers as they describe the factors that they perceived influenced their philosophical support for change. Far from being passive or resistant implementors of policy reforms, their discussions highlight careful consideration of their context and the needs of their students.

Educated and skilled women are active change agents. This paper focuses on informal hospitality education as a tool for social change and empowerment for severely marginalized Nepalese women. Studied over 18 months, a small group of women cooking for a boutique local and international tourist market in Kathmandu participated in cookery skills training. The Australian educator/researchers focused on the educational experience to uptake and retention of cookery skills and technical language. As a result of the educational intervention, changes in personal attributes and perceptions of inherent sociocultural gender roles/caste emerged. Participation in the cookery skills training program contributed partially as a catalyst that improved confidence, communication skills and exposed to the women pathways toward self-sustainability, emancipation and empowerment within an often-hostile working environment for women from severely disadvantaged backgrounds in Nepal.

Nations, institutions and researchers worldwide are increasingly demanding their governments set out a systemic change to humanise the present order of the world. In Bhutan, introducing a Gross National Happiness (GNH) philosophy in the 1970s and applying GNH indicators in the early 2000s was a deliberate attempt to embed Bhutanese values into national governance structures. For Bhutan, GNH provides a focus to ensure developed policies stemming from international agendas are humane. The nationwide happiness index, constructed every five years, measures people's happiness level through nine domains consisting of 33 indicators by a GNH survey of all Bhutanese citizens. The latest survey indicates that citizens perceive education as making the lowest contribution to the GNH index. This study examines the perception of key policy actors gathered through interview and outlines three key challenges for policy architects implementing happiness-focused governance policies with implications for education. The paper concludes with observations on educational implications for Bhutan and other countries seeking to replicate a national focus on happiness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the country's democratization in 1950, the Nepali education system has undergone 12 reform cycles. These reforms have been influenced by international policies emerging from the Millennium Development Goals and the subsequent Sustainable Development Goals. They have instigated an increasing shift toward Westernized pedagogical practices, particularly learner-centred education. Within the substantial research on the Westernization of the Nepali education system and learner-centred education, there is often a lack of the voice of teachers. The research often positions teachers as passive or resistant implementors of top-down reform rather than proactive, interpretative agents of change. A doctoral study reviewing Nepali primary school teachers' implementation of the School Sector Reform Plan (2009 - 2016) found a disjuncture between the teachers' support for the philosophy of learner-centred education inherent in the Plan and their implementation of these practices in their classroom. This paper conveys the voices of teachers as they describe the factors that they perceived influenced their philosophical support for change. Far from being passive or resistant implementors of policy reforms, their discussions highlight careful consideration of their context and the needs of their students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]