This Special Issue “Ecocentric education” contains articles focused on ecological values in environmental education (EE) and education for sustainable development (ESD). Ecocentric education is based on a critical theory, originating from Erich Fromm [1], Herbert Marcuse [2], and Paulo Freire [3], and on ecological pedagogy (ecopedagogy), developed by Richard Kahn [4]. These critical theorists served as catalysts in the transformation of education towards the recognition of the “domination” of capitalist, corporate, and/or political power in shaping societies, challenging the broadly shared assumptions and practices [5]. Fromm [1] and his peers believed that education makes learners internalize alienation from humanity and nature, a process which is inherent in the industrial capitalist society. This process increases uncritical adherence to dominant values such as consumerism, downplaying the negative side effects of technocratically defined “progress”. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci10090217 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenkopnina/
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Vast empirical evidence underscores that exporting firms are more productive than non-exporters. As governments accordingly pursue export-promoting policies we are interested in the firmness of these conclusions with respect to African small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and the influence of the destination of export trade. Using a micro-panel dataset from five African countries we confirm the self-selection. We apply propensity scores to match exporters and use a difference-in-difference methodology to test if African SMEs experience productivity gains because of export participation. Results indicate that African firms significantly learn-by-exporting. Manufacturers obtain significant performance improvements due to internationalization although this effect is moderated by export destination. Firms that export outside Africa become more capital intensive and at the same time hire more workers. In contrast we find evidence that exporters within the African region significantly downsize in capital intensity. Results regarding skill-bias of internationally active firms are mixed, where exporters within the region expand in size and hire more relatively unskilled workers.
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