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?

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

What does it mean?

INTERNATIONALISM in

EDUCATION

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?

INTERNATIONALISM in

EDUCATION

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?

What kind of curriculum supports internationalism?

INTERNATIONALISM in

EDUCATION

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.


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


INTERNATIONALISM?


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


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


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.


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.


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?

INTERNATIONALISM in

EDUCATION

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


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.


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.


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


A school-wide program of reflection about the nature of learning

Community Service activities throughout the school

Trans-disciplinary inquiry projects


Passion Inquiry Insight Open-mindedness Judgement Creativity Integrity International

mindedness


Adapted from Sörman and Laurinolli, Dresden, October 2003

How do we recognize it in our school?

INTERNATIONALISM in

EDUCATION

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?


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.


INTERNATIONAL MINDEDNESS IS “CAUGHT, NOT TAUGHT” (Jerry Lovett, personal communication 8.11.05)…

BY BUILDING AN ETHOS THAT ENCOURAGES CERTAIN HABITS OF THE MIND AND THE HEART.


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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?