Critical Hope is an Action

What if education were less about grading students and more about helping every young person discover and realize their potential? In this episode, we sit down with Mekin Maheshwari (02:00), who helped build Flipkart before stepping away in 2016 to co-found Udhyam Learning Foundation. Today, Udhyam works through India’s government schools to nurture agency and entrepreneurial mindsets among young people, reaching 4.7 million students across 15 Indian states in 2026. In this first episode of Season 6, we explore the foundations of Udhyam (04:25) and dive into a big question: What is the true purpose of education? At 14:00, Mekin challenges the idea of education as a grading and selection system, opening up a conversation about how we can put student growth, agency, and meaningful learning at the center. We then look at what Udhyam is working on and the thinking behind its approach (20:44). How do we know whether students are truly learning and growing to reach their potential in life after school? At 36:44, we unpack Udhyam’s evaluation and assessment processes and what students experience through these activities. At 48:00, we explore a mixed-method, quasi-experimental study through the lens of action research. Then, at 59:39, we zoom out to examine the wider education ecosystem—schools, teachers, principals, communities, and policy—to understand what’s working, what isn’t, and how stronger connections can support student growth. Finally, at 01:09:00, we wrap up with Mekin’s reflections and a heartfelt recognition of the Action Research team, Syeda Asia, Lakshay Talwar, Kunal Mishra, Shivangi Gupta, Prasann, and Samantha Traves whose collective action research efforts are supporting the larger Udhyam teams to bring their vision to life. Tune in for a thoughtful, energizing conversation about reimagining education and creating opportunities for every young person to thrive! Thank you Mekin for sharing your time and work with us. And thanks for tuning in to this episode of the Action Research Podcast, created by Joe Levitan, Shikha Diwakar, Cory Legassic, Vanessa Gold, and Adam Stieglitz. Produced by Shikha Diwakar. Subscribe to our podcast on most major podcast distribution platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts. How have you found yourself in the world of action research? Want to be interviewed or share one of your projects? Get in touch with us. Resources https://udhyam.org/ https://scertuk.blogspot.com/2025/04/kaushalam-program-study-findings.html https://www.mcgill.ca/channels/channels/news/joseph-levitan-dise-presents-kaushalam-program-study-results-scert-uttarakhand-364896 [Hindi only] https://scertuk.blogspot.com/2026/09/2026.html?m=1

Be sure to check out the grand finale of our Eco-Justice and Climate Action Mini Series! Throughout the last few months, we’ve explored everything from outdoor education in Canada, to a global storytelling initiative, to resilience building in coastal island communities, and more. Today, Joe and Blane explore the story behind “Crystallizing Territorial Visions and Claims: Critical Mapping with Amazonian Kichwa Communities in Climate Change. We are joined by authors Anke and Maritza, and co-investigator, Bequer Tuanama, from San Martin, Peru. The interview is bilingual, Spanish and English, with translations. The episode is full of meaningful reflections, candid anecdotes about the process, and a deeper look at their research project. Enjoy! The team begins by tracing how the partnership with Kichwa communities in San Martin, Peru came into being, and was built from existing relationships [3:13]. This leads into a discussion of critical mapping itself, and how a participatory research tool gradually became something more [5:57], providing a space for collective reflection, negotiation, and the reimagining of territorial claims in the face of state-led conservation efforts. The power dynamics involved and their negotiations are very insightful [10:32]. Afterwards, the team walks us through what the mapping process actually looked like, and the connection between mapping territory and climate action, using stories, timelines, and imagery of non-human beings which were included, beyond geographic boundaries [14:00]. The team then shares some of emergent practises from collaborating with a diverse group of collaborators on the project, including different layers of knowledge on map, as well as a vision for the territory in the future, along with practical challenges of the logistics of budgeting, transportation, bringing in elders and women, and providing an intercultural approach to the work [22:56]. The episode closes with learning and outcomes from the project, from the universities changing their approach to action research and impact, how mapping is an important tool of dialogue and collaboration across different sectors, bringing women’s voice to the forefront, and engaging different levels, particularly for communicating with the state [35:04]. Thank you Anke, Maritza, and Bequer for sharing your work with us in this episode. Thank you to our listeners for tuning in to this episode of the Action Research Podcast, created by Joe Levitan, Adam Stieglitz, Shikha Diwakar, Cory Legassic, and Vanessa Gold. Produced by Shikha Diwakar and Vanja Lugonjic. Subscribe to our podcast on most major podcast distribution platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts. How have you found yourself in the world of action research? Want to be interviewed or share one of your projects? Get in touch with us. Photo Credit: https://www.machu-picchu.org/location/ Resources: Exhibition Blog Post Maps Atlas of Critical Mapping in Latin America Biographies: Anke Kaulard holds a PhD in sociology and teaches in the Department of Social Sciences at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP) and currently at the University of Cologne. She is a former fellow of the trAndeS program (PUCP/FU Berlin) with a focus on inequalities and sustainable development in the Andean region, interested in political economy and ecology. She is a researcher in the action-research project: “Indigenous Visions for Climate Justice” (PUCP/University Diego Portales/TNC, funded by IDRC) and in the project: “Beyond Certification. From voluntary sustainability standards to sector transformation” (PUCP/University of Melbourne). Since 2003 she has been working in action-research, previously in development cooperation projects in the Andean region, Mozambique and Jordan. She works with producer associations and Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon to make visible their demands for climate, economic and social justice. Maritza Paredes is a Full Professor, and Researcher in the

Buckle up for a podcast episode—about podcasting. This time, co-host Blane Harvey switches roles, and is the interviewee alongside Jon Langdon and Sheena Cameron, authors of the The Storytelling Initiative: Community Podcasting at the Frontlines of Climate and Environmental Crises. Joe and Shikha take on co-hosting to unpack storytelling, community podcasting, and the wonderful connections to action research. The episode begins with the team tracing how the project grew out of a research grant to collaborate with Community Radio in Ghana and Student Social Justice Radio in St. Francis Xavier University. The team starts by explaining the deep emphasis on relationship building, then moves onto the what and how of community radio, storytelling, and action research. Joe asks how, in their view, stories are a form of action [15:04], opening into describing the framework for Stories to Change Systems. During the discussion, Jon calls for a broader view of how we view action [25:20]. We explore together how in their research, storytelling was action research, beyond knowledge mobilization, as the scaffolded design for initiatives involved for podcast episodes created meaningful action and learning opportunities. Departing from sanitised and linear conventions of academic work, Shikha asks the team about behind-the-scenes of the Storytelling Initiative. Sheena, Blane, and Jon share the messiness behind the process, from language and time zone barriers, to inequitable funding mechanisms, to the technical difficulties, and the vulnerability of asking people to share their stories [29:09]. Shikha prompts the group to reflect on how the teams were able to connect seven community groups across vastly different contexts, and the team describes a recurring David versus Goliath dynamic, and moments of trans-local solidarity that emerged when people saw their own struggle reflected in someone else's story [41:29]. Lastly, as a continuation of this work, Blane shares the importance of investigating Canadian universities’ approaches to ethics and funding to better support grassroot initiatives across the world, and Jon and Sheena reflect on their work in bringing podcasting into classrooms and research methodologies [48:26]. Thank you Sheena, Jon, and Blane for sharing your work with us in this episode. Thank you to our listeners for tuning in to this episode of the Action Research Podcast, created by Joe Levitan, Adam Stieglitz, Shikha Diwakar, Cory Legassic, and Vanessa Gold. Produced by Shikha Diwakar and Vanja Lugonjic. Subscribe to our podcast on most major podcast distribution platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts. How have you found yourself in the world of action research? Want to be interviewed or share one of your projects? Get in touch with us. Resources: Listen to the available episodes of The Storytelling Initiative here! The Storytelling Initiative: Community Podcasting at the Frontlines of Climate and Environmental Crises Stories to Change Systems Biographies: Jonathan Langdon is a Professor and the Canada Research Chair for Sustainability and Social Change Leadership at St Francis Xavier University, in Mi’kma’ki or Nova Scotia, Canada. For the past 20 years, he has been working with social movements in Ghana to document and deepen their learning in, through and to struggle. More recently, this work sparked a partnership network amongst social movements in Ghana, South Africa, Guatemala and Canada that focuses on how movements can learn from each other from one locale to another, or translocally. Langdon’s writing has been published in leading international and Canadian development, participatory action research and adult education journals. He is also the author of African Social Movement Learning (Brill, 2020), and editor of Indigenous Knowledges, Development and Education (Sense, 2009). Blane Harvey is an Associate Professor and William Dawson Scholar in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education at McGill Uni

Today we sat down with Cher Hill and Neva Winters, authors of the article “I Hate the Global Warming Factory! Caring for Tadpoles During the Climate Emergency.” This article is also co-written with Ching-Chiu Lin who could not join us for the recording. The three authors are all researchers at Simon Fraser University. As part of the Eco-Justice and Climate Action mini-series, we explored the role of elementary school students in British Columbia as eco-action heroes and leaders of learning and research. Dive into the insights, perspectives, and surprises that students get into in a pond during a lunchtime program. Learn what children can teach us about love, courage, and climate action. Joe and Blane introduce guests Cher and Neva to discuss the article that brought them together, leading into the origin story, sharing their collaboration with Elder Rick Bailey on the salmon crisis on Coast Salish territories [2:21]. The conversation then follows how an encounter with tadpoles amidst a heat wave and a shrinking pond led to the students springing action, forming an outdoor learning club, a community film festival, and a fundraiser [5:13]. From there, Cher and Neva reflect on teaching kinship with the more-than-human world, the pedagogy of "superpowers" of different species and tadpoles, social-emotional learning, and a shared orientation toward learning as an act of love, inspired by Elder Rick [14:41]. This opens into a candid discussion of the action research methodology: indeterminate PAR cycles, ethics and permissions challenges, and how community synergies continuously reshaped the project's direction [22:08]. The episode closes with future directions, including a new school pollinator garden, and a reminder of the magic that happens when students lead the learning and research [34:47]. Thank you Cher and Neva for sharing your work with us. Thank you to our listeners for tuning in to this episode of the Action Research Podcast, created by Adam Stieglitz, Joe Levitan, Shikha Diwakar, Cory Legassic, and Vanessa Gold. Produced by Shikha Diwakar and Vanja Lugonjic. Subscribe to our podcast on most major podcast distribution platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts. How have you found yourself in the world of action research? Want to be interviewed or share one of your projects? Get in touch with us. Biographies Cher Hill is an Assistant Professor and teacher educator in the Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University. She is deeply invested in researching educative experiences that contribute to more connected, thriving, and just communities. Cher is a passionate supporter of relational, participatory, outdoor, and community-based educative initiatives. Neva Whintors is a doctoral student at Simon Fraser University, and an elementary school teacher with over 20 years of experience, having taught kindergarten through Grade 7. Her areas of expertise include outdoor pedagogies, social emotional learning, and action research. Resources: Learn more here: https://www.sfu.ca/research/research-impact/performance-excellence/scholarly-impact-of-the-week/scholarly-impact-stories/2026/the-ripple-effect_sfu-educators-schoolchildren-inspire-care-for-the-environment/ Artists to Check Out: Ryan Hughs: https://www.instagram.com/ryansalishart/ Brandon Gabriel: https://www.instagram.com/brandongabrielart/

In this episode, we invite authors from the Centre for Sustainability Transitions, Stellenbosch university and collaborators from McGill university to discuss their article “Radical Incrementalism in Action Through Institutional Work: Case Studies of Embedded Research in South Africa”. As part of our special Eco-Justice and Climate Action series, the authors explore the complexities of navigating changemaking from within institutions. Listen in to discover secrets to radical change through slow and steady processes! In this episode, our co-hosts Joe and Blane introduce the team and the article at the center of today’s discussion. They begin by grounding listeners in the broader context of South Africa for those who may be less familiar with its history and contemporary dynamics [2:20], before moving into the deeper motivations and relationships behind their collaboration and the development of the concept of radical incrementalism [4:15]. What does this term mean, and how is it done? Our own curiosity increased as we continued our conversation.– What gave rise to this feeling that they needed another way to think about how to pursue change? Some critical scholars might challenge the idea that incrementalism can actually be radical, perhaps the idea represents an abandonment of the drastic and immediate “change we need” concept? So, we ask the authors to respond to this critique [5:15]. The episode then explores how radical incrementalism is actually done, and the messiness and complexity behind this way of working, including questions of embeddedness, role conflicts, ethical dilemmas, and the importance of political literacy [26:27]. Finally, the conversation closes with reflections on how these ideas are shaping daily practice, and what kinds of changes the guests have observed as a result [37:40]. Thank you Mark, Alboricah, Mlondi, Priscilla, Mapula, and Elaine for sharing your work with us in this episode. Thank you to our listeners for tuning in to this episode of the Action Research Podcast, created by Adam Stieglitz, Joe Levitan, Shikha Diwakar, Cory Legassic, and Vanessa Gold. Produced by Shikha Diwakar and Vanja Lugonjic. Subscribe to our podcast on most major podcast distribution platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts. How have you found yourself in the world of action research? Want to be interviewed or share one of your projects? Get in touch with us. Biographies: Mark Swilling is a Distinguished Professor and a former Co-Director of the Centre for Sustainability Transitions at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. He is an international expert in sustainable development, with over thirty years of experience in ‘societal transitions’ (with special reference to urban systems), initially focusing on democratisation and governance during the Apartheid era in South Africa. The primary research focus of his career can be defined as ‘societal transitions,’ more recently within the broader discipline of sustainability science and governance at the global level. His published research was coupled to major institution-building collaborations. This achievement was recognised in 2010 when he was awarded the Aspen Faculty Pioneer Award for success in introducing sustainability into leadership education. Dr. Elaine Huang is currently a Research Associate at the Faculty of Education, McGill University. Her research examines how the social sciences can contribute to just and sustainable futures by advancing ethical collaboration, institutional transformation, and collective learning. She is particularly interested in how researchers engage with the politics, evolving normativity, and uncertainties inherent in real-world change processes to serve the public good. Grounded in reflexive and relational approaches, her work reimagines knowledge production as a generative space for ethical engagement, systemic thinking, and transformative practice—both within and beyond academic institutions. Alboricah Rathupetsane is a