Embedded Files
Certainly, educators prepare their students for the future while providing experiences that match their interests and growing maturity. But how intentional are we as teachers and as districts to prepare students to recognize the global world that's already a part of their daily lives, that's waiting for them in their future careers, and that will require a flexible and adaptive skill set? And how adept are we in our own competencies? How effectively do we model the mindset, perspective, and actions at the heart of global citizenship?
It's not enough to have key words in a mission statement; educators need to provide intentional curricular frameworks and meaningful opportunities for students to explore, practice, and engage in the global community.
To that end, the following resources and tools are structured to assess both your personal practice and your school's level of global competence.
Each link provides extensive information and additional resources to investigate based on your school's needs. Each site will also provide suggestions for implementing meaningful changes to help students gain the skills and experience needed to affect their local and global communities.
The Asia Society's Global Competencies guide educators to frame instruction so that students gain the knowledge, skills, and practice to
- Educating for Global Competence: Preparing our Youth to Engage the World, Mansilla & Jackson
The Global Education Checklist, by Fred Czarra.
a foundational guide and questionnaire to use when considering the global focus of your curriculum.
Asia Society's Checklist For Teaching For Global Competence.
a helpful checklist when evaluating curriculum and lesson ideas that demonstrate the four global competencies identified above.
UNESCO's Global Education Coalition - March 2022 publication - Transforming Education Through Innovation, The Global Education Coalition Leading Through Action
an extensive guide that addresses UNESCO's educational goals: making universal connectivity a reality; empowering teachers and protect their status; and closing gender inequalities in education.
UNESCO's Futures of Education: A New Social Contract, Reimagining Our Futures Together, 2021
a global initiative to reimagine how knowledge and learning can shape the future of humanity and the planet.
a tool that assesses your students' global awareness in terms of cultural and geopolitical interconnectivity technology, cultural interactions, and involvement with global organizations.
A comprehensive guide for schools with both a rationale and lesson activities to develop students' global competence, citizenship, and 21st century skills.
A self-assessment tool to evaluate your organization's cultural competence.
Gapminder
How fact-based is your own worldview? Test yourself Here.
AFS Global Competence Readiness Index for Schools.
How prepared are you to develop your students' global competencies? Take the Survey Here.
One small cultural difference between my Czech School pictured above and my American school is that natural lighting and the inclusion of plants in the hallways were standard practices. Rarely did I turn on the classroom or hallway lights because doing so was both unnecessary and economical, which I came to recognize as a Czech value - being energy efficient. When I returned to my American classroom with very white florescent bulbs stretched across the ceiling, I found myself turning down the lights and following the same practices I had become accustomed to in the Czech Republic - using natural light and adding plants. Both also contribute to a calming educational environment. When I ask my students now if they prefer the classroom's natural or florescent lighting, rarely do they choose the latter.
Learning to appreciate different cultural values and perspectives - even as seemingly insignificant as lighting - allows us to not only learn from each other but to enrich if not improve our daily lives. Being energy efficient is also good environmental stewardship, an action that affects everyone, everywhere.
Another benefit of teaching students to be globally competent is the rich cultural experiences that accompany that process. When students are trained to recognize perspectives and to respect value differences, they're given the opportunity to view and to experience the world in fresh and exciting ways.
Understanding perspective comes in part from recognizing how others view a topic - or in this case - two paths in a Moravian forest. I see two roads diverging with neither one a great option for cars. Czechs might see two possibilities to experience nature. You could stay on the paved path, which tends to be straight and more secure - perhaps good for cross country skiing - or you could traverse the unpaved path, which provides any number of twists, turns, steep inclines or declines, and a more uncertain terrain - perhaps good for the adventurous biker or hiker. Both showcase the beautiful nature that the Czechs prize and aim to preserve for generations to come. That's in part because they value the environment as a health benefit. Czechs are very active people who can be found in nature year round - skiing and hiking and camping and biking and - a national favorite - mushroom hunting in the fall.
A globally minded classroom and school move well beyond flying global flags in a classroom, funding a dual-language program, or even offering a multi-cultural club, though those are all worthy aspects that expand students' global awareness if not proficiencies. Below, Primary Source details key elements and steps that educators and districts can take to ensure that the entire district system supports the development of students' global competence.
Global schools provide opportunities across the K-12 years to build the global competency, cultural responsiveness, and skills that citizens need to thrive and contribute in today’s interconnected world.
A detailed guide that identifies how a school supports a global focus through their curriculum, institutional practices, professional development, and school culture.
Primary Source
A very useful tool to begin developing your school's Global Focus which includes the following:
Conduct a self-and-community assessment
Develop a vision and goals
Build a leadership team
Anticipate and address professional development needs
Outline a realistic process
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse