International Mindedness
According to the International Baccalaureate Organization's website:
International mindedness is a way of thinking about and engaging in the world. This mindset in education related to international mindedness encourages students to be globally aware, multilingual, mobile, push boundaries, and build on their personal knowledge and experiences.
International Literacy
Similar to international mindedness, international literacy involves personal experience, being a risk-taker, and being socially aware. What makes international literacy different is that it relies on the process of learning through engagement in another culture. Heyward points out that "it is through the experience of confronting oneself in a cross-cultural situation, that is, through becoming inter-culturally literate, that the individual learns what culture is: learns both something of his or her native culture, something of a second culture and something of the concept of culture in the abstract" (p. 15). International literacy is like a step beyond international mindedness because the person must really experience it in all its stages: understandings, competencies, attitudes, participation, language proficiencies, and identities. Because of this process of learning through experience in another culture, Hayward suggests that rather than using the word international, the word intercultural would be more accurate.
Global Competence
Above, we saw that international mindedness is a way of thinking about the world and that international literacy is an inter-cultural learning process of personal and global engagement. Within global competence, we can see traces of the above two key words. As explained by Jackson, a concise way to think about global competence is that it is a "concept that articulates the knowledge and skills students need in the 21st century." Globally competent students investigate the world and are curious about how it works. They understand that they have a perspective and, while it may differ from people in other parts of the world, they can understand and value these different perspectives. Students with global competence are good communicators and aim to take action and participate in making the world a better place.
In my opinion, international mindedness is inherent within global competence. Since international mindedness emphasizes local-global connections and global awareness, it is a natural part of being globally competent. International literacy can be an integral part of global competence, if the student is living overseas and immersed in another culture. However, a student can still be globally competent without that immersion if they are given opportunities to exchange with other cultures and understand differing perspectives. Global competence does not end with a high school diploma, nor does international mindedness or international literacy. These concepts are an integral part of who a person is, how they view the world, and how they interact in this global community.
What do these key words look like in action?
John Stanford International School (JSIS), a public elementary school in Seattle, Washington, is a good embodiment of these concepts. We first see international mindedness, international literacy, and global competence in its bilingual and multicultural set up. Spending fifty percent of students' class time learning subjects, like math and science, in Spanish or Japanese is more than language learning, it is seeing these subjects through the eyes of the language and culture of that language. With native speakers as their teachers, these students are as close to being immersed as they can without leaving the United States borders.
In addition to the global awareness and communication skills brought about through its bilingual program, JSIS has a truly global perspective embedded in all parts of its curriculum. From its weekly music classes that teach students "a variety of songs from cultures around the world, and integrate multicultural dances with physical education" (Vega & Terada, 2013), to "collaborating with peers in another city or region to investigate a common topic of interest" (Boix-Mansilla & Jackson, 2011), students are constantly challenged to be open-minded, use critical thinking skills and take action.
To help teachers better bring global competence to their classrooms, they are equipped with a rubric, which guides them through the process. The example, Vega and Terada gave in their article Research Supports Global Curriculum, is "a fourth-grade unit about festivals of light celebrated around the world, students learn about world religions and then choose one festival to research, write about, and present in a visual way, demonstrating the global competencies of investigating the world, recognising perspectives, and communicating idea" (Vega & Terada, 2013).
Guiding JSIS's young students in a better understanding of themselves and in developing competent communication skills, the school has implemented two programs that work with students on social and emotional intelligence. This aligns well with our three key concepts because if we expect our students to be globally competent and, not only navigate, but help positively affect the world at large, these young students must first begin with themselves and their own understandings, perspectives and feelings.
Throughout JSIS, students collaborate and learn, but teachers are given the same opportunities as well, which contributes to students' improved global competence. A teacher from JSIS described it well when saying, "teachers are always looking back at student data to se where we need to meet the needs of our students, because every year our students are changing and so the needs that we need to meet are changing, as well" (Vega & Terada, 2013). This idea of adaptability and working to meet students' needs shows the fluidity that exists at this school within the teaching philosophy and curriculum, which undoubtedly carries over to the students and their learning experience and personal perspectives.
References
Bois-Mansilla, V. & Jackson, A. (2011). Educating for Global Competence: Preparing our Youth to Engage the World. New York, NY: Asia Society. Retrieved from: http://asiasociety.org/files/book-globalcompetence.pdf
Heyward, M. (2002). From International to Intercultural: Redefining the International School for a Globalized World. Journal of Research in International Education, 1(1), 9-31. Retrieved from: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzLwFwwvm0oNU0EweTJ2eDhLakU/view
Jackson, A. (n.d.) Global Competence. Center for Global Education. Retrieved from: http://asiasociety.org/education/global-competence
Sriprakash, A., Singh, M. & Jing, Q. (2014). A Comparative Study of International Mindedness in Australia, China, and India. Retrieved from: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzLwFwwvm0oNRE5kM2x6MWlndkk/view
Vega, V. & Terad, Y. (2013). Research Supports Global Curriculum. Edutopia. Retrieved from: https://www.edutopia.org/stw-global-competence-research
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