PEDAGOGY FOR GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES IN EDUCATION - STUDIES OF TEACHERS THINKING AND PRACTICE

As Americans come to understand the effects of globalization, there is increasing concern that schools today are not adequately preparing st udents for our interdependent world. Although much has been written ab out the need to infuse global perspectives in education so that studen ts will understand and benefit from the increasing interconnectedness of the world's cultures, economies, and political relationships, few s cholars have studied the actual practice of social studies teachers as they teach global perspectives or tried to understand the contexts of their instructional decisions. In this article multiple perspectives on current classroom practice in global education are examined, includ ing those of master teachers considered the best global educators in t heir school districts, practicing teachers who have recently completed their first formal instruction in global education, and preservice te achers who are beginning to teach globally-oriented social studies as part of their certification programs. Some commonalities of theories a nd practice across the three groups include teaching students about th eir own cultures and diverse cultures through multiple perspectives, c onnecting global knowledge and skills to their students' lives, and ma king connections across historical time periods and would regions. The re are also considerable differences across the three groups of teache rs as the master teachers focus much more on global and local inequiti es, interdisciplinary approaches, higher level thinking, and crosscult ural experiential learning.