Teacher Education in Global & International Education.

Overview & Synopsis

Global and international education must be a high priority of higher education and teacher education if students are to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are necessary for decision-making and effective participation in a world characterized by interconnectedness, cultural pluralism, and increasing competition for resources. Yet, according to American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) estimation, only about 5 percent of the nation's K-12 teachers have had any academic preparation in global or international studies. One conceptualization of global education frequently adopted by teacher education programs is from Robert Hanvey's "An Attainable Global Perspective" (1976). Hanvey delineated the following goals for global education: perspective consciousness, state-of-the-planet awareness, cross-cultural awareness, knowledge of global dynamics, and awareness of human choices. Implementation of global and international education in colleges of teacher education requires: responsive and informed administration; inclusion in the curriculum of global issues, systems, and history, local-global linkages, and interrelatedness of the world's people; planned experiences in the United States and other countries to develop international competence; expertise in interdisciplinary approaches; expertise in assessing and improving courses; improved faculty development and evaluation policies; a continual review system; institutional commitment to include global and international education; and development of linkages with other educational institutions around the world. An afterword provides an indication of AACTE's role in support of the need for global dimensions in teacher education. (LL)