Educating Men-and-Women-for-Others: Jesuit and International Educational Identity Formation in Conversation

Abstract

In a globalising world that often appears overrun by corporate and consumerist values, international education can be tempted to follow suit and support elitist transnational learning. Such an outcome may emerge intentionally or through an unreflective embrace of an unjust status quo. It follows that students and alumni of international education institutions may have little concern for more broadly communitarian values such as social justice, solidarity, and active care for those on the margins of local and global societies. However, for those craving alternatives that counteract segmented interests, this article demonstrates one such alternative. It maps how ‘men-and-women-for-others,’ a concept with worldwide traction in Jesuit education, can both inform and learn from international education concepts and practices. Further, this article employs the case of two remarkable Jesuit nativity schools to ground that dialogical process of meaning making, as men-and-women-for-others interacts with the International Education Studies literature in a mutually enhancing manner. The results will be of interest to those committed to fostering social justice, solidarity-based action, and a glocal ethic of care amongst the students and alumni of both Jesuit and international educational institutions.