"Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives"

Ukpokodu, Omiunota

doi: 10.1108/ssrp-05-2022-081pmid: N/A

Landorf, Hilary; Wadley, Catherine

doi: 10.1108/ssrp-09-2021-0027pmid: N/A

The purpose of this article is to uncover the importance and relevance of John Dewey's philosophy for the key processes, purpose and practices of global learning.Design/methodology/approachThis study used a qualitative historical methodology to analyze John Dewey's education philosophy and its relevance to the theory, practice and purpose of global learning. The study accomplished this analysis through an in-depth examination of the Deweyan concepts of a quality educative experience and reflective thinking, and their applications to global learning in K-16 education.FindingsThrough a careful analysis of Dewey's definition, explanation and examples of a quality educative experience and reflective thinking, the authors find that Deweyan education philosophy offers a comprehensive conceptual framework that ties together the concepts and definitions of global learning and provide a solid foundation for its essential processes, practices and purpose.Practical implicationsImplications of this research include the awareness of Dewey's influence in teaching and learning for an increasingly interconnected world and the use of Deweyan philosophy as a basis for global learning innovations throughout the K-16 curriculum and co-curriculum.Originality/valueIn this article, the authors uncover the work of John Dewey's education philosophy and vision of learning to highlight its relevance to global learning. Through a careful analysis of Dewey's definition, explanations and examples of a quality educative experience and reflective thinking, the authors find that Deweyan education philosophy offers a comprehensive conceptual framework that ties together the concepts and definitions of global learning and provides a solid foundation for its essential processes, practices and purpose.

Cruz, Bárbara C.; Viera, Cristina M.

doi: 10.1108/ssrp-08-2020-0038pmid: N/A

In addition to imparting pedagogical content knowledge, teacher educators have the special responsibility to help future practitioners understand critical, contemporary social issues in our ever-globalized world. The purpose of this article is to describe one teacher education effort that heeds calls from learned societies and accreditation agencies to prepare preservice teachers for their inevitably global classrooms.Design/methodology/approachThe authors – both instructors of a semester-long, required course in a social studies teacher education program – reflect on their practice, outline guiding principles and provide pedagogical examples that encourage preservice teachers to consider complex topics found within global education, while simultaneously helping them reflect on their own positionality.FindingsMost preservice teachers embrace global perspectives in education if provided with opportunities to identify curricular relevance, acknowledge multiple viewpoints, practice continuous reflection, explore global awareness and citizenship, and understand the imperative of accepting responsibility to prepare global citizens.Practical implicationsThis manuscript shares successful classroom strategies and learning exercises that have resulted in preservice teacher growth. Teacher educators can and should “globalize” course curricula, equipping social studies teachers with the knowledge, aptitude and skills necessary to teach the next generation of global citizens.Originality/valueThe teacher education course described herein offers a practical approach for preparing a cadre of educators ready to teach in our globalized world.

Tocci, Charles; Ryan, Ann Marie; Ensminger, David C.; Rismiati, Catur; Moughania, Ahlam Bazzi

doi: 10.1108/ssrp-09-2020-0040pmid: N/A

The International Baccalaureate (IB) programme centers on developing students' international mindedness. Central to this effort is the programme's “Learner Profile,” which details ten attributes that teachers seek to cultivate through classroom instruction. This article reports on the ways that middle grades and high school social studies and English teachers in Chicago Public Schools' (CPS) IB programmes are attempting to implement the Learner Profile as part of their classroom practice to support students' international mindedness.Design/methodology/approachThe project was carried out as a two phase, sequential mixed-methods design. Phase I entailed a survey of IB teachers and programme coordinators across CPS to assess the incorporation of the Learner Profile into instruction. Phase II consisted of mixed-methods case studies of CPS IB programmes selected partially on Phase I data analysis.FindingsWe find that while teachers express high levels of familiarity with the Learner Profile attributes and confidence in incorporating them into practice, we find wide variation in the actual implementation. Taken as a whole, we find CPS programmes take divergent approaches to incorporating the Learner Profile based on differences in understanding of the attributes and its purposes as well as key organizational facets related to implementation.Originality/valueUltimately, we argue that the wide variation and lack of explicit incorporation of the Learner Profile into classrooms is related in large part to the broad, indistinct nature of “international mindedness” as a concept. The programme would benefit from creating more space for teacher and students to critique the concept, especially those working from non-Western traditions.

Johnson, Aaron Paul; Hamblin, Taylor

doi: 10.1108/ssrp-07-2020-0028pmid: N/A

US president Donald J. Trump has referred to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as the “Chinese” virus. Trump's choice of terms (i.e. naming) provides an illustrative entry point concerning the politics of naming and how analysis of language used within historical and political contexts can be used to engage students with global education principles.Design/methodology/approach This work aims to extend Hanvey's (1976) notion of perspective consciousness to include critical elements (e.g. Andreotti, 2014) that aim to uncover power structures that ultimately shape worldviews and manifest in communicative signs/signals (e.g. language). Utilizing Dewey's invocation of language as the “tool of tools,” the authors provide a series of three classroom-ready inquiries that serve to foster critical global citizenship education.Findings Three classroom-ready inquiries informed by the inquiry design model are presented along with resources needed to teach them.Originality/value Research has suggested the concept “global” is understood by much of the world as an instrument of US hegemony that commonly normalizes Western supremacy myths (see Andreotti, 2014; Myers, 2006). Running parallel with these concerns are research findings that suggest practitioner avoidance of global citizenship education (see Cogan and Grossman, 2009; Merryfield and Kasai, 2010; Zong, 2009). With these concerns in mind, this work provides teachers with accessible tools that promote critical notions of global citizenship education in the classroom.

Christoff, Andrea

doi: 10.1108/ssrp-09-2020-0046pmid: N/A

This case study illustrates how one social studies teacher used the International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Programme (MYP)' s framework and philosophy to teach for global citizenship. The research question that framed this study was: How is an IB MYP Individuals and Societies (I&S) teacher enacting their perceptions and understanding of global citizenship education? Findings illustrate that this teacher enacted a proactive pedagogy, using her own personal perceptions and what IB MYP offered her through their affective and cognitive frameworks to apply her conceptions of global citizenship education.Design/methodology/approachThe data for this single case study came from teacher semi-structured interviews (Rubin and Rubin, 2012), observations, field notes (Merriam and Tisdell, 2016) and teacher created documents. The goal for the teacher created documents was to provide detail, depth and evidence to support or contrast with what was found in the interviews and observations. Simultaneous, in vivo, and values coding were used to analyze the data and to get an overall picture of what the participant said, believed and practiced. Theories surrounding global citizenship education provided the lens for the study.FindingsThe findings are organized according to (1) the way this teacher's developed constructions of global citizenship and global citizenship education and IB led her to use the IB philosophy and framework to shape her beliefs and practices and (2) the way she embraced the tensions and possibilities inherent in her teaching for global citizenship in an IB MYP classroom to teach a proactive form of global citizenship education.Research limitations/implicationsThis research provides insight into the curriculum framework of IB MYP and the curriculum and instruction decisions of an I&S teacher. For the global citizenship education field, this study provides an example of how global citizenship can be incorporated into a social studies classroom.Practical implicationsFor social studies education, this study uncovered the possibilities present in the curriculum when a teacher is given the space to make their own instructional decisions. This study also gives guidance on how international curriculum frameworks can be utilized for global citizenship education. Finally, this study illustrates teachers must fully subscribe to IB and the MYP as a means of teaching for global citizenship for it to be beneficial.Originality/valueThis study has value because it highlights how a social studies teacher successfully uses an international curriculum framework to teach for global citizenship. Few studies have shown examples of teachers, especially IB MYP teachers, who are committed to teaching for global citizenship and use the tools they are given to center student choice and connect the content to their students' lives. Teachers and researchers will be able to view the pedagogical possibilities inherent in this teacher's global citizenship methods.

Torres, Heidi J.

doi: 10.1108/ssrp-09-2020-0042pmid: N/A

This article describes a study examining the influence of a curricular intervention on 25 third-graders' stereotypes and biases related to world cultures and the people who embody them.Design/methodology/approachThe qualitative study focused on privileging student voice through an inductive analytical approach. Triangulated data sources include focus group and paired interviews, recorded lessons, student and teacher curricular documents, as well as field notes.FindingsResults—primarily reported through the children's own thoughts and voices—describe students' initial ideas about world cultures and people prior to experiencing the curriculum, and afterward, documenting shifts in stereotypical beliefs and biased attitudes. Findings indicate many students made positive changes, altering incorrect assumptions about other cultures and people. In addition, some children became able to recognize stereotypes and biases, generalize what they learned to other situations beyond those addressed in the curriculum and identify their own bias.Originality/valueThis study provides insight into an understudied topic and population in social studies education. It presents evidence that young children are capable of successfully engaging with the complex topics of bias and stereotypes in meaningful ways, thus providing a rationale for addressing stereotypes and bias concerning world cultures in elementary classrooms.

Zong, Guichun

doi: 10.1108/ssrp-08-2021-0024pmid: N/A

There have been increasing calls for social studies educators to engage issues of sustainability. Proponents argue that the very survival of the planet depends on the degree to which teachers can move learners away from unsustainable beliefs and behaviors to those grounded in interdisciplinary approaches to solving community and global challenges. How to implement this vision of sustainability education? The purpose of the paper is to report the results of teacher-educators' curriculum and pedagogical approaches to implement the National Council for Social Studies (NCSS) C3 framework to engage and empower prospective and practicing teachers to teach for a sustainable future.Design/methodology/approachThe study is guided by the growing field of self-study in teacher education, a type of research undertaken by teacher-educators with the dual purpose of personal professional development and a deep understanding of teacher-education practices. Most data were derived from multiple, recursive conversations (both formal and informal) around curriculum decisions and pedagogical choices to integrate sustainability issues into teacher-education courses. Additional data sources include classroom lecture notes and PowerPoint presentations, course readings and resources.FindingsThe authors' three years of collaborative work has shown that an issues-centered, interdisciplinary approach to select and integrate global issues, the current event article analysis, young adult literature and discussion and deliberation of local sustainable development issues that are some of the most effective pedagogical tools to engage and empower teacher candidates in learning about issues that affect the sustainable development of global community. The NCSS C3 provides a powerful framework to scaffold the process of analyzing sustainable issues while also teaching social studies curriculum and standards and skills.Originality/valueScholars of global education have called for shifting from an anthropocentric philosophy to a bio-centric worldview emphasizing the embeddedness of humans within the environment. How can social studies teacher-educators implement this vision of global education What instructional resources strategies and learning activities can be effectively integrated into existing courses to help candidates develop competences and commitment to teaching for global sustainability The study examines the innovative approaches to addressing these critical topics in teacher education.

Shatara, Hanadi

doi: 10.1108/ssrp-06-2020-0027pmid: N/A

The purpose of this study is to present the development of justice-oriented worldviews among three New York City public school global history teachers and its manifestations in their curriculum and practice.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative study, part of a larger study, relied on interviews centering around participants' backgrounds, international experiences and global perspectives, along with observations of their teaching.FindingsThe findings show that participants' experiences, particularly with global issues such as climate change, capitalism, and global inequality influenced their worldviews to focus on justice. As a result, there were direct connections of their justice-oriented worldviews in their teaching of global history.Originality/valueThis study highlights the ways in which global history teachers' worldviews influence their teaching practice. Presenting justice-oriented teaching allows for veteran and future teachers to consider this type of instruction in their world history and global studies classroom. Additionally, this study provides insight into the intersections of world history and global education taking place within secondary classrooms that focus on justice rather than traditional world history content teaching.

Chernoff, Karen Fran

doi: 10.1108/ssrp-05-2021-0011pmid: N/A

International mindedness (IM) is a core element of International Baccalaureate (IB) programs. Implementation of IM varies with the type of international school and where the IB school is situated. This article seeks to understand the tensions that three teachers experienced while teaching the IB Diploma Program history curriculum.Design/methodology/approachFor this study, three IB teachers examined their experiences teaching the history curriculum. This article offers relevant research on the difficulties in implementing IM and the following tensions: (1) situating the IB curriculum; (2) with hegemonic privilege and (3) in high-stakes testing.FindingsIM can be integrated into the history curriculum to make the history curriculum relevant for the global community. While each interviewee enjoys teaching in the IB program and believes the IB history curriculum offers opportunity for IM, they also feel the history curriculum would benefit from modification. Each interviewee's points of view bring a relevancy and an authenticity for why tensions exist when teaching IB diploma history.Originality/valueThere is a gap of research in how and to what extent teachers implement IM into the IB high school history curriculum. Further, teachers' views regarding the IB history curriculum and whether the history curriculum facilitates one's teaching IM is largely anecdotal. Thus, this study is unique in its offering three interviews by IB high school history teachers on IM and the tensions they feel when teaching about and attempting to implement IM.