What is global education?

Global Education is not a subject, but a dimension that runs through the curriculum, an extra filter to help
children make sense of all the information and opinion the world is throwing at them. It combines
methodology - active and experiential discussion based activities, a caring, co-operative and open outlook on
the classroom experience, and core concerns- finding out about all the cultures of the UK and of other
countries and groups, about the causes of poverty and inequality (here as well as in other countries) and
about the environment.

Global Education is a way of approaching everything we teach and how we teach it. It broadens horizons and
encourages exploration of all subjects from a global perspective. It contributes to the whole curriculum and
enhances our understanding of the world.

Global Education stimulates curiosity, motivates learning, and thus contributes to the raising of standards

Global Education studies different cultures and countries and the issues that face them, and develops an
understanding of the impact our actions have on them

Global Education reflects the global nature of our society and responds to the diverse backgrounds and
experiences of the children in the classroom. It recognises the entitlement of those children to receive an
education which reflects this diversity

Global Education recognises the importance of expanding the horizons of children who live in less diverse
communities

Global Education develops skills and attitudes which enable people to take responsibility for their own lives
and the world we live in and become active global citizens

Global Education looks at the ways in which every-day life and experience affect and are affected by the wider
world
Global education is as much about the relationships within a classroom as it is about relationships between
countries.
Global education
The term used internationally to designate the academic field concerned with teaching and learning about
global issues, events and perspectives.

Clarifying 'global' terminology

Global education
The term used internationally to designate the academic field concerned with teaching and learning about
global issues, events and perspectives. NB. During the 70s-80s this field was known as world studies in the
UK.

Development education
Originated with the work of NGOs that were concerned about issues of development and North-south
relationships. Focus of concern has widened to embrace other global issues but development remains the
core concept.

Global dimension
Refers to the curriculum taken as a whole and the ethos of a school; those subject elements and cross-
curricular concerns that focus on global inter-dependence, issues and events.

Global perspective
What we want students to achieve as a result of having a global dimension in the curriculum; in the plural
refers to the fact that there are different cultural and political perspectives on global matters.

International dimension
Literally 'between countries' - as in international relationships; also refers to the study of a particular
concern, e.g. education, as it manifests in different countries. NB. International refers to the 'parts' and 'global'
to the whole.

Global citizenship
That part of the Citizenship curriculum which refers to global issues, events and perspectives; also being or
feeling a citizen of the global community (as well as cultural or national communities).

Globalisation
The innumerable interconnections - economic, cultural, technological, political - which bind the local and
national into the global community; the consequence of neo-liberal economic policies which see everything,
including education, as a commodity to be sold in the global market place.

A conceptual sequence
In disentangling some of these key concepts the operational sequence for global education would be:

· the primary concern is to promote a global dimension in the curriculum

· in order that students can take a global perspective on issues and trends
· citizenship and ESD are two 'new' areas where this is highly relevant
· a global dimension should also be present in different subject areas
· it can be developed in appropriate ways for different age phases

How would you prepare yourself to become a global teacher?

A globally aware teacher is well-informed on different cultures, world events, and history. It is a good idea to
keep up with current events by reading well-regarded newspapers. Listen to the radio and watch TV
programming that is informative about a range of topics. Make use of online resources to learn interesting
facts and stories that convey teachable moments about living in an interconnected world. Teachers can use
social media to introduce their students to new languages and even reach out to students in other countries.
How To Become A Global Teacher?
Meg Hayes answered
Becoming a global teacher is all about adapting the way that you teach and the educator that you are both
inside and outside the classroom. There are many ways that you can do this but they do not simply happen
overnight. The three steps listed below and the many others will involve you thinking long and hard about
certain aspects of teachings. You may even have to re-invent the way you view your role as a teacher.

 Think about your definition of English

The first step towards being a global teacher is to think about how you define English. More traditionally,
the definition of English has been: The mother tongue of countries such as the United Kingdom and United
States where English is the primary language or a school subject or topic. It is these basic definitions that have
provide a base upon which English is taught around the world. However, the global education definition of
English is different.

According to global education, English is defined as a subject that provides learning about the world, its
countries, its people and problems, and an international language that allows people all around the world to
communicate.

 Think about your classroom's environment

Another great step to take is to make your classroom more global friendly. If the walls are just plain bare
concrete then consider decorating them with global posters and maps of the world. International calendars
also help to continue their education about the world. The world is a colorful place, so make sure the inside of
your classroom reflects this.

 Make global content part of your teaching.

Teaching your pupils about the world will not just happen overnight, and they certainly aren't going to do it
themselves. You must plan and prepare to integrate global content into your classroom curriculum. Three key
areas that are important to cover are: World themes (multicultural topics), world regions (geographic
literacy) and world problems (global issues).

1. What are the factors that makes a global teacher?

I think a global teacher is someone who incorporates the global dimension into his/her school-based
activities as an integral part of his/her teaching practice. Furthermore, in my view, a global teacher is aware
of the fact that we live in an increasingly globalized and interconnected, interdependent world and thus
he/she makes a great effort to get his/her students come to this realization. A global teacher strives to create
such a learning environment where students can get first-hand experience in collaborating with their
international peers, and where they can express their perspective and views on different issues. In such a
multicultural context students can learn not only to tolerate but to appreciate cultural differences and by
getting a wider perspective on things they can develop an attitude which can lead them to recognize that they
themselves can become the ambassadors of peace, tolerance, human values and human dignity, they
themselves can become the agents of change.

A global teacher also knows that global education, intercultural education, human rights education and global
citizenship education are all intertwined terms, and none of which can/should be dealt with in isolation.

2. What are the knowledge ,skills and values that a global teacher should posses?

A global teacher should be sensitive to and knowledgeable in the fields of sustainable development, the topic
of interdependence, cultural identity and diversity, human rights, discrimination, racism, prejudice, equality
and social justice, peace, conflict resolution. It goes without saying that he/she should possess information
about the current state of the world. This means adequate geographic, economic, political, social, and
environmental knowledge. A global teacher should also know how to get his/her students involved in
international telecollaborative projects. In order to meet that end, one must have proper IT skills, foreign
language skills and of course proper attitude, an open mindset and adequate sensitivity. Also, a global teacher
is value-oriented; he /she should exercises self-mastery and the cultivation of virtues. Knowledge about the
project-based method is also a must for someone who takes his/her classes on an intercultural adventure.

3. What are your experiences that contribute a lot in your way of teaching?

First of all, I come from a multicultural background. My mother is from Panama, actually she has just recently
got the Hungarian citizenship. My sister was born in America so she has a dual citizenship. She is American
and Hungarian. My father and I were born in Hungary. My parents lived in the States for almost a decade
before I was born so at home I often heard of many stories that shaped the way of my thinking and perception
of the world. Besides these factors, I can also mention that since my dad was a internationally acknowledged
medical ethics lecturer at the University of Pecs, we often had foreign guests at our place. I think all these
things led me to become interested in intercultural issues. As an English teacher I soon realized the potential
of the Internet in language education and I knew that I had to harness it for the benefit of my students. So I
got my classes and school involved in different international projects. Many of them were EU-related ones,
such as the Comenius school-partnership project, or the projects which I ran under the auspices of the
European Schoolnet, e.g. Spring Day for Europe, FuturEnergia, MyEurope. I have also taken part in a UNESCO
project, such as the Mura-Drava cross-border network for intercultural learning project in 2005-2006. In
2009 I established a YouthNet Foundation, which since its foundation has given many students opportunities
to participate in international projects (see www.diakhalo.org). At last but not least, I must add that since
2005 I have been actively involved with my students in AEC-NET projects. My personal experiences, that
is, my trips to foreign countries, the friendships I have built with foreign colleagues throughout the years
of collaborating together, my working experiences e.g. my one-year work at the European Schoolnet office in
Brussels, and my involvement in the work of such organizations like the British Council in Hungary and the
Regional Language Office, AEC-NET, European Schoolnet, all these things have contributed to my present
cosmopolitan outlook on the world.