CAMPUS NEWS
Clarence Joldersma
PROFESSOR HELPING SHAPE THE FUTURE OF EDUCATION In 2020, education professor Clarence Joldersma was invited to be part of a team of 70 researchers organized by the International Science and EvidenceBased Education Assessment, to contribute to a report on educational systems and reforms. This was part of a once-in-a-generation UNESCO report called “Futures of Education,” which came out in November 2021. In essence, it’s an international effort to rethink and revitalize education as a social institution. “UNESCO consults with people from around the world and is creating a vision for how education, organized institutions of education, meet the current challenges facing us globally,” said Joldersma. The project leaders wanted someone to contribute to the project who had an understanding of social, political, and conceptual contexts that shape educational neuroscience. They knew of Joldersma’s scholarly work and asked him to co-author a chapter. “A marker of success [for this project] is if the way we envision education in the report moves the needle even slightly from thinking narrowly about education for human capital development to a broader understanding of education for human flourishing.” 6
Calvin professors will guide high school students as they explore their interests and think about possible careers.
HELPING HIGH SCHOOLERS EXPLORE POSSIBLE CAREERS Career planning and college decisionmaking can be daunting tasks for incoming undergraduate students. Calvin University is introducing a new program to help students work through the many uncertainties they face heading out of high school and into college. “The idea of career exploration is to help our students explore the different interests they have so that when they come to college, they have a more realistic expectation of what their major and possible career outcomes are going to be,” explains Rosalba Ramírez, director of College Access Programs. Ramírez says that many students grapple with the pressure of either attending college or finding a job soon after high school. The Career Exploration
Program, which is partnering with the Career Center, is seeking to make this decision easier for high school students by providing invaluable experiences through its weeklong workshop. This summer, the program is open to local students who are able to either stay with their families for the week or experience overnight residential life without the pressure of being far away from home. The intention is to expand this program to include a broader audience in future years. The program’s expected start date is June 20, 2022, and the application deadline for day programs is April 15. For more information and to learn about registration, go to calvin.edu/go/sce.
