Global Education as a Worldwide Movement

Mr. Tye shares the results of his own survey of global education curricula and offers U.S. educators some ideas for connecting themselves and their students with the world. IN THE 1990s, the global education movement in the United States took on a number of ethnocentric characteristics. Largely because of attacks from the political Right, global educators worked hard to avoid issues that were controversial. In addition, they often strove for what was euphemistically called "balance." That is, "teach about other peoples and countries, but do it 'patriotically.'" It also became clear at this time that, while many American educators advocated including the study of global issues in the curriculum, most did not particularly think to seek interaction with educators from around the world who also were concerned with the teaching of global issues. For these reasons, I set out to discover what was being done around the world to include global education in the curriculum. I drafted a questionnaire, had it translated into French and Spanish, and sent it to people in 100 countries who were knowledgeable about global education. Responses were received from 52 countries. These data have been reported in other places.1 In the remainder of this article, I will present highlights from this study along with updates on what is happening in the countries most involved in the global education movement. The definition of global education given to respondents was the one from the 1991 ASCD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) Yearbook, Global Education: From Thought to Action: Global education involves learning about those problems and issues which cut across national boundaries and about the interconnectedness of systems -- cultural, ecological, economic, political, and technological. Global education also involves learning to understand and appreciate our neighbors who have different cultural backgrounds from ours; to see the world through the eyes and minds of others; and to realize that other peoples of the world need and want much the same things.2 The major finding from my study was that throughout the world, schooling is still seen as a major force in the building of national loyalties. This is true despite the inexorable movement toward regional and international cooperation and the growing interconnectedness of the global systems mentioned in the definition above. The numbers and kinds of global issues identified as being emphasized in the schools' curricula varied across countries. Those most often mentioned were ecology/environment, development/sustainability, intercultural/multicultural relations, peace, technology, human rights, democracy/civic education, international organizations, population, health (including AIDS), racism and gender discrimination, and global citizenship. An Update from Selected Countries In my study, responses from 14 nations suggested that global education is a significant factor in schooling. What follows here is an update on what is happening now in six of those countries, as well as a report from the People's Republic of China, not included in the original survey. Australia. Global education in Australia is supported by the national government and by many nongovernmental organizations (NGOs -- Catholic Relief, Oxfam, UNICEF, Communities Abroad, etc.) that develop instructional materials for teachers. Emphasis is on ecology; social justice; human rights; and economic, technological, and political interdependence. The Australian Agency for International Development funds global education resource and training centers in five of the eight states and territories. In addition, many state education departments are considering significant rewrites of the curriculum to reflect the necessity of educating young people for life in a global society. In South Australia, for example, the newly adopted curriculum identifies five "Essential Learnings" that provide the connecting threads for the whole curriculum: Futures, Identity, Interdependence, Thinking, and Communication. …