Infusion of International Perspectives into Undergraduate Teacher Education Programs.

Overview & Synopsis

Addressing the need for greater global awareness, public school educators have begun the infusion of global education concepts, such as interdependence, culture, community, and change into the curriculum. Global issues and problems, unique and universal human values, the world economy, and international organizations are stressed in the content of a typical global education program. This paper summarizes two universities' deliberate movements toward developing international understanding in future teachers. An overview is presented of the efforts at Iowa State University to provide students with an education that engenders understanding and appreciation of global cultural, social, economic, and political differences. Specific aspects of infusion of an international perspective into the undergraduate teacher education program are discussed. In a discussion on the infusion of global awareness into the teacher education program at Wittenberg University (Ohio), descriptions are given of two courses: "International and Comparative Issues in Education" and "Multicultural Education: Toward a Cultural Pluralistic Perspective." It is suggested that teacher educators should encourage the adoption of state requirements for certification that include international/global education and extend the score of international education beyond cultural concepts to include political aspects also. (JD)