A “global” curriculum means broadening one’s perspective beyond ways in which one teaches and exploring alternative perspectives about “what” to teach and “how” to teach. A “global” curriculum shares a symbiotic relationship with a cosmopolitan society. While it holds within a common philosophy among nations and includes children from diverse cultural backgrounds, it must also include all children regardless of their learning abilities.
Becoming global citizens
Global citizenship embraces personal respect for everyone, regardless of where they live and unites individuals to create a healthy environment for all. In education, it can form a framework for learning, showing students that they can bring about positive change. Looking at life through a global lens helps empower and nurture global citizens. Teachers play an active role in helping students understand their own actions and the impact on the community.
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With the media and the Internet shrinking the world, children need to be better prepared for the issues that their generation is facing. The need to be able to ask why things happen and what the contributing factors might be. This will help build well-informed, curious and open minds and inspire children to become part of the solution.
Global curricula and learning difficulties
Children with learning difficulties struggle with working memory, comprehending the larger picture, applying learnings from one setting to another and expressing themselves adequately and appropriately, particularly on paper. Thus, it becomes essential to adapt the global curriculum to facilitate its successful implementation. This is how it can be achieved:
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Understanding the needs of learners first, then finding the appropriate resources to support those needs.
Providing learners with enough experience to understand a place — city, state or continent outside of the one they live in. This study can include the natural diversity, ecosystem and lifestyle of the people residing there.
Explicit instructions to teach higher order thinking skills such as inferential reasoning, problem solving and establishing cause-and-effect relationships. This will help children with learning difficulties develop the requisite skills for enquiry-based learning.
Teaching them to think about their actions, how they live their lives, and the impact it has on the world.
Identifying a global phenomenon or system (e.g. sustainability, urbanisation, migration) that connects or affects different regions of the world.
Discussing a common issue, custom, or idea on which people in different parts of the world have different views, then investigating and explaining the reasons behind those differences.
Understanding their home country in global terms and identifying how particular characteristics of the home country are practised differently globally. This would develop an understanding of how certain biases arise about certain regions.
Using powerful, relevant media forms like music and videos.
Moving beyond the physical classroom. Field experiences teach more than books can.
Communicating with authentic audiences in the community.
Using project-based learning to generate solutions that address “real-time” local issues.
We should strive to empower our students to become global citizens if we want to make our planet more sustainable. The qualities that form global citizenship — empathy, curiosity, inspiration and most importantly, mutual respect — should be actively promoted in the classroom with learners of varying abilities. Thus, by promoting greater understanding of cultural and social challenges, teachers can empower and educate the global citizens for the coming generations.
The writer is Head of Junior School, The Aditya Birla Integrated School.