OPENING PLENARY Thursday 4th OCTOBER
Veronica Boix-Mansilla
What matters most to teach in an increasingly interdependent world? The world for which we are preparing students today is fundamentally different from the one we experienced growing up. Today’s societies are marked by new global economic, cultural, technological and environmental trends that are part of a rapid and uneven wave of globalization. In this context, thoughtful educators ask: What matters most to teach in an increasingly interdependent world? What skills and disposition should students develop to address the global issues defining their times? In this session, we will examine the nature of global consciousness (and related notions of international mindedness, global competence, and global engagement) as a promising
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aim of education in the 21st century. We shall define global consciousness as the sensitivity to and understanding of issues of global and local significance and an inclination to view oneself as an engaged actor in the global sphere. Through analysis of a student’s work, we will discern what global consciousness and engagement look like, and how it might be assessed and nurtured by multiple stakeholders in our educational communities. We will do so by drawing on an example from the newly developed World Studies Extended Essay, in which students are invited to examine a topic on personal, local and global significance through rigorous self-directed interdisciplinary research. Boix Mansilla, V. & Gardner H. (2006). From Teaching Globalization to Teaching for global consciousness. In Globalization and Learning, Marcelo Suarez-Orozco Ed. Jossey Bass.