Island Encounters: Reimagining Education, Knowledge, and Community From the Edge

This chapter explores the distinctive insights that emerge from insular contexts, arguing that these should not be viewed as peripheral outliers but as critical grounds for reimagining education. Drawing on Island Studies, it foregrounds key concepts such as islandness and archipelagic thinking to reveal how insular geographies foster relational, place-responsive, and ecologically grounded pedagogies. Through an interdisciplinary lens, the chapter examines how islands—shaped by boundedness, vulnerability, and cultural resilience—challenge dominant educational paradigms and advance alternative visions of knowledge, community, care, and sustainability. Ultimately, it positions insular territories as generative sites for rethinking global educational futures.