Global Perspectives Handbook. [Draft.] (original) (raw)

What Global Education Should Focus on

International Journal of Social Sciences & Educational Studies, 2017

As globalization raises new threats, so does the need to be globally skilled. The ability of teachers to be globally capable will allow them to participate in and explore solutions to issues in society. In the 21st century people are faced with more complicated events than they used to be and their global ability to interpret these things in confidence is more important than it used to be. Teachers have the key role to encourage people to deal with global issues as they are at the center of learning. Teachers are at the heart of every educational system. In order to help people to be aware of global issues, their professional development holds a very significant place. If teachers are not educated at a sufficient quality level, they are not expected to find solutions to global problems. This paper defines global education from different perspectives and stresses the elements global education should focus on.

Teachers' knowledge, awareness, and pedagogy of global education in secondary schools

For the last fifty years, social studies teachers have been prepared to teach from a global perspective, but since September 11, 2001 have faced a difficult challenge teaching from a global perspective. This study examines ninety secondary school teachers' global knowledge and their disposition toward teaching from a global perspective. One of the central goals of global education is developing and promoting global perspectives. Even after the transformation of the world economy and the establishment of global political institutions and systems, the end of the Cold War, and the September 11 event, the development, promotion and teaching of global perspectives in American public schools continue to pose a challenge to social studies teachers (Kirkwood, 2001; Merryfield, 2001). Since the attacks on September 11, we now know how interconnected and interdependent the world has truly become. Yet our public schools are not taking adequate and appropriate steps to teach and prepare students to understand the nature and complexity of global issues and problems (Merryfield, 2001). What global knowledge do secondary social studies teachers have? There were two underlying assumptions behind the study. First, secondary social studies teachers play a critical role in shaping, guiding, and preparing students to be critical and reflective thinkers. Second, the study of global knowledge, attitudes, and pedagogy offers some practical lessons in how secondary level teachers can gauge the level of global knowledge, instructional methods, and disposition toward global mindedness. The current global realities require social studies teachers to have (a) content knowledge, (b) pedagogical content knowledge, and (c) knowledge of students characteristics and differences (Shulman, 1978). Furthermore, the global realities require social studies teachers to use a variety of instructional strategies such as (a) open-ended discussion, (b) reflective journals entry, (c) roleplaying, (d) visual discovery, (e) global skills builders, (f) global reading for writing and understanding, (g) problem-solving/decision-making skills, (h) conflict resolution skills, (i) experiential/cooperative learning activity, and (j) simulations to help students identify the causes, reasons and factors that gave rise to global problems and conflicts. Within this context, social studies teachers should develop the necessary knowledge and understanding of issues, problems, and solutions as well as pedagogical knowledge.

Developing a Global Perspective for Educators

Education Review, 2013

Globally, we continue to face critical environmental, social and economic challenges such as poverty, climate change, infectious diseases, depletion of natural resources, and violations of human rights. To address some of these challenges, in 2005, UNESCO launched The United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD). In taking up this initiative, the Canadian Ministers of Education Council astutely warned educators that, “a whole generation will need to be engaged to think and act in a way that enables responsible choices....” The ten authors assembled for this peer reviewed special issue of Education Review take up this critical challenge in their research and teaching practices in an effort to mobilize knowledge focused on global citizenship education and sustainable development. The concepts underpinning much of the research presented in this collection on Developing Global Perspectives for Educators (DPGE) invite readers to reconsider the global implications of our civic responsibilities as teachers in Canada and/or elsewhere in the world.

Global Education and Students’ Acquisition of Global Perspectives in Social Studies

2016

No country can live just on its own. Its survival depends on its valuable and productive dealings with other people and nations. Thus, global studies is deemed necessary to equip its citizens with necessary skills and knowledge to become global citizens of the world. In this context, the study aimed to determine how promotion of global education in Social Studies impacted students’ acquisition of global perspectives in the public secondary schools. Three hundred fifty-four students were chosen as respondents using simple random sampling technique. Results of the study showed that promotion of global education significantly relates to students’ acquisition of global perspectives. The teachers amply integrated global education in their lessons and that their students possessed global perspectives. Global education was an inherent and an important component of the Social Studies curriculum. Discussion of world problems, issues, and concerns enabled students to develop virtues of em...

Engaging Students with Global Challenges across the Curriculum

2015

Colleges and universities are seeking more effective ways to help students prepare for lives of global citizenship and impact. The most pressing problems facing the world— related to energy and the environment, food and water, public health, peace and security—are global in nature, and will require global solutions. At the same time, students increasingly recognize that their lives and careers will play out on a global stage, necessitating cross-cultural competencies and other skills for global engagement and understanding.

Enhancing the Global Classroom for Contemporary Globalism

Globalization of the 21 st century has changed economic and other realities far beyond the expectations of most individuals; the worldwide financial meltdown of 2008 serves as a particularly pervasive example. Experts in business, education, finance, government, and other fields are still working to revise various systems and infrastructures that will operate in a robust manner within the new realities of today. This paper focuses on the educational aspect of that massive effort by briefly comparing two countries with very different cultural, economic, and geopolitical situations: Turkey and the USA. These two nations can serve as model examples for other countries with similar backgrounds from which a general analysis can be derived for future discussion on educational issues. The paper commences with an introduction to the realities of contemporary globalism that underscore the very purpose for this paper, and the body then outlines in some detail the current systems in the two countries. There is also discussion about the need for culturally responsive teaching (CRT) in the "global classroom" that exists today. The conclusion synthesizes the earlier discussions and provides suggestions to create a paradigm shift in thinking required for most educational structures. The author forwards that many papers on education do not sufficiently cover the practical application of and reasons for educational reforms today. Therefore, it is believed this effort shall assist in rectifying the situation.

Global Learning and the Engaging Questions of Globalization

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective, 2010

While universities can act as important mediators amidst the highly disruptive and contentious change processes of globalization, very f~w institutions are intentionally fulfilling such a mission. Moreover, there are significant ethnocentric and ideological barriers to overcome before intercultural understanding and cooperation may occur. Nonetheless, universities in the global age are increasingly called upon to help prepare students to better perceive, understand, interpret, translate, and negotiate complex interdependent global contexts. This article examines the significance of several common reactions to the challenges of globalization for teaching and learning in higher education. It also outlines primary areas of focus for global educators who wish to help students and scholars connect local and global issues, develop an ability to effectively and appropriately communicate and interact across cultures, and foster a commitment to social justice and sustainable communities throughout the world. Such efforts require bringing together, across disciplines and communities, diverse perspectives to engage in a process of building shared understanding. Conceptualizing and Contextualizing Global Learning Global learning is an educational process aimed at developing greater understanding and appreciation of the complex interdependence necessary for sustaining natural diversity and a healthy human ecology. It requires the ability to work both effectively and appropriately across cultures (Deardoff, 2004). Global learning prepares students to think critically about their values and actions, about issues of identity, and their assumptions regarding others. It strives to help