Education for Global Competencies: An EU-Canada Exchange Programme in Higher Education and Training

Overview & Synopsis

Globalization has emerged as a trend concept during the past decades. As a result of the globalization, the need for educating all citizens and providing them with information about other cultures and countries has increased. In this article, international student exchange in higher education will be discussed. Global Competencies in Early Childhood Education was a student mobility project aimed at preparing undergraduate early childhood education students to work with children and their families within a multicultural context all over the world. The project was part of a transnational EC/ Canada Cooperation Programme in Higher Education and Training. By participating in academic studies and fieldwork in early childhood settings, the students were expected to gain experience that would enable them to work with young children in multicultural settings as well as in different countries, to have a significant impact on the children they work with and their families.