Build Global Competence in Students in Schools!

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:

· What Is Global Competence? (n.d, para 1) defines it as “…the skills, values, and behaviors that prepare young people to thrive in a more diverse, interconnected world”.

· Reimers (2009, para 3) 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.

What a school can do

· 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 (2001, para 2) 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 (2003, para 13), “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 (2011, pp. 78) “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”.

How we can bring it in the classroom

· Reimers (2009, para 1) “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 (2009, para 7), “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 (2011, pp.53), “…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 (n.d., pp.3) “grade-level frameworks for integrating global awareness into classroom practices”.

Conclusion

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 by What is global competence? (2020), “Building global competence is a journey, not an endpoint. It is an evolving, ongoing process that we engage in throughout our lives — not a checklist or a destination.”