Global Competence - Needs and Methods
Global Competence
Global competence, by its very
name, would indicate that it is to do with living in the world with a certain
degree of competence. It can be defined in multiple ways. Two of them stand out
for me and these are:
· WhatIs Global Competence? “…the skills, values, and behaviors that prepare young people to thrive in
a more diverse, interconnected world”. Reimers defines it as “Global competencies are
also the attitudinal and ethical dispositions that make it possible to interact
peacefully, respectfully, and productively with fellow human beings from
diverse geographies”.
Synthesizing the definitions,
building global competence would require, as a base, building in oneself a set
of behaviours, values and skills that facilitate living and working
harmoniously Globally. Hence the need for parents and schools to set a clear foundation
for the same. Some of these are open mindedness, empathy and critical thinking.
· First of
all, schools would need to have a diverse culture of individuals in its space.
These are students, teachers, leaders and support staff. This diversity is not
just of countries but also religions and cultures. When I joined my first IB
school coming from national curriculum, I was accepted even though I was from
national curriculum. This was because the school director wanted the culture of
the school that I was coming from. The IB school I joined had individuals from
43 different countries, making it a melting pot of many cultures.
·
Schools need to have a culture of continuous
dialogue on the meaning of education, and not settle for the easiest definition
that we get. Krishnamurti said, in one of his dialogues with
students, “Education is not only learning from books, memorizing
some facts, but also learning how to look, how to listen to what the books are
saying, whether they are saying something true or false”. One can take a number
of definitions of education coming from various cultures, from both east and
west, and use them as a starting point for dialogues. One needs to ask, ‘What
is the world view of different parts of the world?’
·
Schaps , “School wide community-building activities link
students, parents, and teachers; help foster new school traditions; and promote
helpfulness, inclusiveness, and responsibility”. Schools are
totally focused on students as learners. I think that is a mistake. Schools need
to consider themselves as a ‘community of learners’ for everyone, children and
adults. The expectation for teachers to be solvers of all problems is very
unrealistic and leads to loss of motivation. Schools need to be as much
considerate to adult needs as to the children. One of the ways is to have a
differentiated teacher education program, as teachers are growing too and need
the same safety net that students need.
·
A Dutch colleague of mine said, ‘In my
country we are told that all that we are learning in the teacher education
program is like a back pack of tools. We need our own intelligence and common
sense to use what is needed in the classroom’. Schools need similar attitude of
continuously educating teachers and also balance common strategies with
autonomy. Reimers (2009, para 27) “An organized,
bottom-up, teacher-led movement can advance global education in ways that
advocates have been unable to do so far”.
· Boix& Jackson “Indeed, establishing a school
wide culture of global competence involves more than teaching for global
competence: it entails creating an environment where students are acculturated
into globally competent ways of thinking and acting, ways that become habits of
mind and heart”.
·
Reimers “The purpose of schooling is to prepare students for life in
the real world in their communities and societies, both in the present—while
students are in school—and in the future—after they leave school behind”.
However, Reimers, “The
challenge is not simply figuring out which specific activities contribute to
fostering aspects of global competency, but also finding out how to integrate
those activities into the regular work of schools and how to align them with
existing curriculum, assessment, and opportunities for teacher professional
development”.
·
The classroom is the crucible in which the
behaviours, values and skills for the global competency can be built. The
classroom sessions need to create experiences that bring students together to
be with each other in harmony. This would require, as per Boix & Jackson, “…teachers to (a) Identify engaging topics
of local and global significance. (b) Focus on global competence outcomes. (c)
Design performances of global competence. And (d) Employ ongoing global
competence–centered assessments”.
· In
creating classroom experiences, teachers can also use V.I.F.I “grade-level frameworks for integrating global awareness into classroom
practices”.
In
conclusion, I think Global Competency is about building a human being that
relates well to himself or herself and to others in ways that are productive
for everyone. It can be initiated at school level but its fruition would be a
lifelong process embedded in oneself.
Summed up
well “Building global competence is a journey, not an endpoint. It is an evolving, ongoingprocess that we engage in throughout our lives — not a checklist or adestination.”
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