INTERNATIONALISM in
EDUCATION
1. What does it mean? 2. Why do we need it? 3. What kind of curriculum supports it?4. What kind of teaching fosters it?5. How can we recognize it in our school?
Gautam Sen – November 2005
A CHANGE OF NAME?
In our context, it may be better to refer to
INTERNATIONAL MINDEDNESSrather than
INTERNATIONALISM
NOT A CHANGE OF NAME
But for the sake of brevity, I shall continue to use
Internationalism and
internationalistto refer to international mindedness
INTERNATIONALISM in education does NOT NECESSARILY concern differences that are interNATIONal (although it might).
INTERNATIONALISM in education does NOT NECESSARILY exist only in international schools (although it might).
WHAT DOES IT NOT MEAN?
In education, INTERNATIONALISM refers to (depending on the context):
A set of PRINCIPLES A set of VALUES A set of ATTITUDES A set of ABILITIES A set of PRACTICES
that underlie or facilitate the bridging of cultural and other social differences
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
Human culture and knowledge exhibit DIVERSITY that is valuable both
intrinsically for its own sake, as well as
instrumentally as a resource for the survival and flourishing of humanity.
Internationalist PRINCIPLES include the acknowledgment
that…
Human individuals and groups share common characteristics that are concealed by the outer “clothing” of cultural diversity.
This principle constitutes a basis for… exploring human universals treating others as we ourselves would
wish to be treated treating all human beings as equal in
worth, dignity and potential.
Internationalist PRINCIPLES include the acknowledgment
that…
HUMAN EQUALITY – the recognition that ALL human beings are EQUALLY entitled to DIGNITY, FREEDOM and JUSTICE, even when their beliefs, actions and behaviours are not.
COMPASSION for those in a more difficult situation than our own, as a motive for mitigating their suffering.
RESPECT for people who are DIFFERENT from us (belong to an identifiably different social or cultural group).
Internationalist VALUES include…
Friendly and respectful curiosity about other human beings who are DIFFERENT from ourselves
Empathy for people in other situations Commitment to social justice, non-
violence and peace Willingness to collaborate with others.
Internationalist ATTITUDES include…
Seeking patterns, links and relationships across different perspectives.
Exploring critically but sympathetically ideas that we do not share
Comparing and contrasting across human differences, and seeking human universals
Respecting and treating with dignity people who may be different from us in culture, beliefs and behaviour.
Building understanding across cultural differences.
Internationalist ABILITIES include…
Internationalist PRACTICES include:
Communication and dialogue with others who are different
Collaborating across human differences towards common goals
Resolving conflicts and building reconciliation and peace
Serving the community (adding to its long term social capital), whether local or global.
WHY DO WE NEED IT?
WE ALREADY LIVE IN A WORLD THAT…
Exhibits increasingly more complex and rapidly changing interdependence
between nature and human societies, and
between nations, institutions and communities.
Demands greater skills of collaboration, resolving conflicts and building peaceful and just societies.
Has more urgent need for intercultural understanding as well as for cultural self-confidence.
WHY DO WE NEED IT?
WE ALREADY LIVE IN A WORLD THAT…
Therefore we AND our students need an education that prepares us for the challenges of:
Change (and its rapidity) Complexity (number and diversity of
changing factors, and the interplay between them)
Recognizing universals underlying human diversity.
Resolving conflict through collaboration and building peace.
WHY DO WE NEED IT?
INTERNATIONALISM in education is relevant to national schools too, because …
ALL of us – teachers and students - should strive to be internationalist in terms of values, attitudes, abilities and practices.
WHY DO WE NEED IT?
AN INTERNATIONALIST CURRICULUM NEEDS CAREFUL DESIGN
Because its attributes do not emerge spontaneously
Designing a curriculum is similar to creating a work of art or a musical composition. (Eisner, Elliot W. (2002) 'What can education learn from the arts about the practice of education?', the encyclopedia of informal education, www.infed.org/biblio/eisner_arts_and_the_practice_or_education.htm . Accessed November 4 2005)
WHAT KIND OF CURRICULUM SUPPORTS
INTERNATIONALISM?
A curriculum that supports internationalism as defined so far will:
Be based on PRINCIPLES Foster VALUES Inculcate ATTITUDES Develop ABILITIES Encourage PRACTICES
identified earlier.
WHAT KIND OF CURRICULUM SUPPORTS
INTERNATIONALISM?
An internationalist curriculum should provide a BALANCE between
local and global knowledge different ways of knowing, judging and
understanding (scientific, mathematical, interpretative, ethical and aesthetic)
Feeling, knowing, doing and being Action reflectionevaluationfurther
action
WHAT KIND OF CURRICULUM SUPPORTS
INTERNATIONALISM?
WHAT KIND OF CURRICULUM SUPPORTS
INTERNATIONALISM?
Such a curriculum Stimulates curiosity about the
world Provides opportunities for
developing cultural self-confidence Builds awareness and respect for
human dignity and diversity Encourages the exploration of
human universals
WHAT KIND OF CURRICULUM SUPPORTS
INTERNATIONALISM? Stimulates
curiosity about the world
1. By organizing the curriculum around stimulating questions or themes about real-world issues and problems.
2. By encouraging the pursuit of student’s own inquiry.
3. In science, social sciences and mathematics
WHAT KIND OF CURRICULUM SUPPORTS
INTERNATIONALISM? Provides
opportunities for developing cultural self-confidence
1. By a study of the student’s own language and literature.
2. By a study of the student’s own history and society
3. By using the student’s own cultural knowledge
4. By studying the above in a global context.
WHAT KIND OF CURRICULUM SUPPORTS
INTERNATIONALISM? Builds awareness
and respect for human dignity and diversity
For instance: By studying different
ways in which humans have expressed themselves in different situations.
By exploring ways in which humans have accepted or transcended the limitations imposed by their own history, geography, biology or culture.
WHAT KIND OF CURRICULUM SUPPORTS
INTERNATIONALISM?
Encourages the exploration of human universals
1. All disciplines afford opportunities for exploring the unity underlying human diversity.
2. An internationalist curriculum is built around a few of these opportunities.
WHAT KIND OF TEACHING FOSTERS INTERNATIONALISM?
KNOWLEDGE is not only
Propositional (justified, true belief)
Analytic (“conceptual molecules”)
Discursive
BUT ALSO* Constructed for
human purposes Embodied in artifacts Embodied in
performance
TEACHING THAT RECOGNIZES THAT
*Cf. Allen, Barry Knowledge and Civilization (Westview, Colorado, 2004)
TEACHING that draws from the real world to organize LEARNING around
Significant themes and issues A balanced selection of local and
global knowledge
WHAT KIND OF TEACHING FOSTERS INTERNATIONALISM?
With regard to knowledge
TEACHING that helps students to Choose appropriate concepts, metaphors and
theories to BUILD understanding APPLY and TEST understanding on a real
problem CORRECT and IMPROVE ON current
understanding through reflective evaluation of the results of testing
FLEXIBLY apply RELEVANT knowledge and skills to make sense of new situations.
WHAT KIND OF TEACHING FOSTERS INTERNATIONALISM?
With regard to concepts and understanding
Teaching that creates a range of activities
allowing learners scope for individual as well as collaborative inquiry
that allows some scope for inquiry that is trans-disciplinary, to enable students to experience concurrency of learning and the different perspectives of each discipline.
WHAT KIND OF TEACHING FOSTERS INTERNATIONALISM?
Teaching that provides time for reflection on the learning process
To evaluate one’s learning To discuss one’s learning with
other learners To collaborate in build learning
communities within the school
WHAT KIND OF TEACHING FOSTERS INTERNATIONALISM?
A school-wide program of reflection about the nature of learning
Community Service activities throughout the school
Trans-disciplinary inquiry projects
WHAT KIND OF TEACHING FOSTERS INTERNATIONALISM?
Passion Inquiry Insight Open-mindedness Judgement Creativity Integrity International
mindedness
WHAT KIND OF TEACHING FOSTERS INTERNATIONALISM?
Adapted from Sörman and Laurinolli, Dresden, October 2003
Friendly curiosity about foreigners: (“Memleketin neresi?”)
Hospitality towards others seems to be an important value.
The speed with which the people react to disasters both within and outside the country.
Atatürk’s address to the mothers of Allied troops killed in the Gallipoli campaign.
The film “Gelibolu” (2004).
How do we recognize internationalism in our culture?
What we are already doing: Large elements of internationalism in
Turkish, English program. IB School-based syllabus in Social
Studies program. CAS, MUN, Science and Art projects
afford opportunities for collaboration with other schools, in Turkey and abroad.
How do we recognize internationalism in our school?
How do we recognize internationalism in our school?
What more we can do: From tokenism to authenticity in
community service programs. Academic exhibitions and portfolios
demonstrating internationalist abilities and practices
Academic performances in assemblies and elsewhere to celebrate internationalism
Internationalism in the school is like salt in the food:
- It should be the seasoning, not the dish itself.
- It is distinguished more by its absence than by its presence.
There are many ways of being internationalist.
Our academic program does not lack the salt of internationalism…
But we want to add a little more of it… And more evenly throughout the school.
How do we recognize internationalism in our school?