Systems thinking is well suited to complement widespread linear thinking in schools. However, previous studies showed that computer modelling can act as a barrier. Therefore, this study focuses on qualitative systems thinking and thus excludes computers as potential barriers. We analyzed factors influencing the implementation of systems thinking in K-9 schools in Switzerland. In our design-based research teachers participated in a standardized training followed by several months of implementation in the classroom. The results showed that teachers' ex ante knowledge of systems thinking was poor; however, this is not a barrier to integrate systems thinking in schools. Easy-to-access supporting material and motivational factors such as self-efficacy and self-determination proved to be important; however, above all, the attribution of significance by teachers is the most promising leverage to foster the adoption of systems thinking in classrooms. Although this may seem trivial, it offers new ways to disseminate systems thinking in schools. The concepts of system dynamics are often overwhelming for novices. Further consideration is needed for how to introduce the concepts without turning people away.(LaVigne et al.

Ethnic precincts demonstrate how cultural diversity shapes public spaces. They are clusters of ethnic entrepreneurs who line the precinct streets selling food, goods or services in areas designated as ethnic precincts by local government officials who fund makeovers of public spaces to display ethnic iconography and symbolism to promote the area based on the 'ethnic' experience. Ethnic precincts are a key site of production and consumption of the ethnic economy, a commodification of place where the symbolic economy of space is constructed on representations of ethnicity and 'immigrantness'. To explore how ethnic diversity shapes public space we present findings of recent fieldwork in four Sydney precincts. We examine the complex relationship between immigrant entrepreneurs, local government and ethnic community representatives in shaping the emergence and development of ethnic precincts and demonstrate how perceptions of the authenticity of ethnic precincts vary according to whether customers are 'co-ethnic', 'co-cultural' or 'others'.

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This chapter presents the five-year national research and development project ‘Enabling outdoor-based teaching’ (EOT), focusing on the actual integration and practice of outdoor teaching in teacher education in Switzerland. Teachers’ own outdoor learning experiences are an essential condition for practicing outdoor teaching, as professional life history is a major factor influencing teachers’ decisions on whether and how to implement outdoor sequences in their teaching. There is a current trend for professional development in outdoor education, yet the majority of teachers, experienced and novice, use it rarely. Positive effects of outdoor learning on children’s skill development are widely confirmed by research.While the number of case studies that describe and analyze aspects of outdoor teaching increases, the importance of it for Swiss teacher education is still unknown. Documenting the practice of outdoor teaching and investigating the attitudes of pre-service teachers and teacher educators towards outdoor teaching provide a basis for deeper knowledge on its essence, methods and practice. Furthermore, results from the project can be transferred directly into the practice of participating universities and lead to recommendations on the holistic integration of outdoor learning and teaching in teacher education.