On the basis of a qualitative study with immigrant women in Windsor, Ontario, this article looks at women's responses to the challenges they face in the Canadian workplace, together with the value they place on working outside the home. The women reflected on their job searches, employment conditions, and work experiences as mediated by the norms and traditions of their home countries. Because of the struggle to obtain a job and the delicacy of retaining a job in a precarious economic climate, the women did not fight the discrimination they encountered in the workplace.

Purpose The purpose of this papers is to highlight the applicability of integrated simulation models for national development planning to different issues and contexts. Specifically, the authors describe one such model, the Millennium Institute’s T21 model, which is used to support planning in various countries, and explore in detail the case of Swaziland to demonstrate the model’s usefulness at different levels in the planning process. Design/methodology/approach Integrated sustainable development planning models using the system dynamics (SD) modeling method have been designed to help overcome these obstacles and support decision-makers in the assessment of alternative policies. Such models are laboratory replicas of the critical mechanisms driving development in a country while being grounded in the historical data available. They can be used to perform simulation-based policy experiments that are otherwise impossible in the real world. Findings The proposed approach has facilitated the reporting on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), as well as on the cross-sector long-term ex ante evaluation of the country’s “Economic Recovery Strategy” and a proposed “Fiscal Adjustment” policy. These assessments provided essential information for improving the quality of the decisions made. Such information cannot be obtained by the application of purely economic models or sectoral tools, that are not including the fundamental feedback structures that shape development in the long run and determine its sustainability. Research limitations/implications The new generation of global long-term Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) covers a far broader range of issues and indicators than the MDGs. The T21-Swaziland model only offers a limited subset of such issues, and future research will focus on achievements and challenges in expanding its scope to encompass the SDGs. Practical implications The T21 model has become one of the fundamental planning instruments of the country, and it has been used to evaluate national planning documents and other suggested strategies with respect to whether they are sufficient for reaching the long-term goals. Such information is then used as a basis for revision of development plans and adoption or rejection of suggested policy packages. Originality/value The MDGs (and their expanded follow-up, the SDGs) have been important step toward better governance, as they quantify key indicators of development and thereby allow for an evaluation of the degree to which these quantified aspirations are actually achieved. In addition to such hind-sight evaluations, ex ante evaluations are equally important for improvement of the quality of the decisions made. The authors propose and test a tool to support such type of evaluation, supporting integrated planning and model-based governance.

Established in 2009, The Jean Augustine Chair in Education in the New Urban Environment presented the learning community opportunity to define new urbanism through debates, conversations and other learning encounters. As the inaugural chair, Dlamini began conversations with faculty, students and community in order to unpack the meaning of the new urban environment and its associated characteristics and encounters. This article follows ongoing conversations between, Dlamini and three graduate students from her urban education class, which tackled these and many other questions throughout the course. Following the seminar, we find ourselves continually questioning what is meant by new and if this term is only foregrounded by the understanding of what is old? This article takes these questions of newness to Education. Throughout the paper, we consider the new ways of understanding pedagogy in urban environments; meanings found in geographical spaces; the understanding of Shakespeare coupled with the newness of Hip Hop; and finally, questions of local and community based pedagogy. Fondé en 2009, la Jean Augustine Chaire d’Éducation dans le nouvel environnement urbain a présenté à la communauté éducative, l’opportunité de définir le nouvel urbanisme, à travers des débats, des conversations et d’autres formes de rencontres éducatives. En tant que première présidente, Dlamini a entamé des discussions avec des professeurs, des étudiants et la communauté afin d’étendre la signification de ce nouvel environnement urbain, des caractéristiques et rencontres qui y sont associés. Cet article suit les récentes conversations entre Dlamini et trois étudiants diplômés de sa classe d’éducation en urbanisme, qui a abordé ces questions et bien d’autres encore tout au long du cours. Suite au séminaire, nous nous interrogeons continuellement sur ce qu’on entend par nouveau et si ce terme est seulement placé au premier plan par notre compréhension de ce qui est ancien? Cet article s’attaque donc à ces questions de nouveauté en Éducation. À travers ce document, nous considérons les nouvelles manières de appréhender la pédagogie en milieux urbains; les significations trouvées dans les espaces géographiques; le sens de Shakespeare lié à la nouveauté du Hip Hop; et finalement, les questions de pédagogie basée sur la localité et la communauté.

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This paper stems from the panel of past Presidents of the Comparative and International Education Society (CIESC) that was part of the 2017 conference of the CIESC. The theme of the panel was “Looking Back, Visioning Forward: The Promise of Comparative and International Education” and the panelists were asked to present their perspectives based on their experiences as past Presidents of the Society. Their reflections were gathered to create this combined piece, in order to capture their insights on the past, present and future of comparative and international education.