Global Competence
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”.
Synthesising 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”.
·
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”.
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.”
References
Boix Mansilla, V. & Jackson, A.
(2011). Educating for global competence: Preparing our youth to engage the
world. New York: Asia Society. Retrieved from https://asiasociety.org/files/book-globalcompetence.pdf.
Krishnamurti, J.
(2001). Krishnamurti on education. KFI. doi: http://jiddu-krishnamurti.net/en/krishnamurti-on-education/1974-00-00-jiddu-krishnamurti-krishnamurti-on-education-talks-to-students-chapter-1
Raudys, J. (2020, April
17). 7 Experiential Learning Activities to Engage Students. Retrieved from https://www.prodigygame.com/blog/experiential-learning-activities/
Reimers, F. (2009). Leading for Global
Competency. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/sept09/vol67/num01/Leading-for-Global-Competency.aspx
Schaps, E. (2003). Creating a School
Community. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar03/vol60/num06/Creating-a-School-Community.aspx
V. I. F. I. (n.d.). Teacher Guide, K-12
Global Competence Grade-Level Indicators. Retrieved from https://s3.amazonaws.com/com.appolearning.files/production/uploads/uploaded_file/818f97c9-21e2-4de3-82fa-30b2e63aecc6/K-12GlobalCompetenceGrade-LevelIndicators.pdf
What Is Global Competence? (2010).
Retrieved from https://www.worldsavvy.org/our-approach/global-competence/.
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