Responding to Stacie Smith and David Fairman

Chapter 2 - The Integration of Conflict Resolution into the High School Curriculum: The Example of Workable Peace (pp. 40-56)

Responding to Peggy McIntosh

Chapter 1 - Gender Perpectives on Educating for Global Citizenship (pp. 22-39)

Responding to Nel Noddings (Introduction and Chapter 3)

Introduction - Global Citizenship: Promises and Problems (pp. 1-21)
Chapter 3 - Place-Based Education to Preserve the Earth and Its People (pp. 57-68)

Educating Citizens for Global Awareness

Noddings, N (Ed.) (2005). Educating Citizens for Global Awareness. New York: Teachers College Press. pp 1-68.

Introduction pp. 1-21
Global Citizenship: Promises and Problems

Noddings (2005) introduction provokes interest into the many facets of global citizenship and interdependence, including: economics/social justice, environmental concern, and diversity and peace. As evident in her opening paragraph, Noddings (2005) speaks toward interdependence by stating: “many of us are now concerned about the welfare of all human and nonhuman life, preservation of the Earth as home to that life, and the growing conflict between the appreciation of diversity and the longing for unity" (p. 1). Thus, as global citizenship reform strives to address some of these developments in an era of globalization, Noddings (2005) provides critical interpretation as to why present definitions and understandings of global citizenship demand careful consideration.

What is Global Citizenship?
As outlined by Noddings (2005), concrete representations of a global citizen or a “global way of life” (p. 2) are not pragmatic, as “global mindedness” can involve a complex interplay of factors related to global concern, the global economy, the local/global, and human compassion/justice.

According to Noddings (2005), a global citizen is...
-“one who can work and live effectively anywhere in the world, and a global way of life would both describe and support the functioning of global citizens" (p. 3).
-“if global citizens appreciate cultural diversity, they speak of ways of life" (p. 3).
-“must see war as contrary to all of the concerns we have identified—to worldwide economic and social justice, to the health of our physical world, to the preservation of well-loved places, to the balance of diversity and unity, and to the well-being of all of earth’s inhabitants" (p. 4).

Economic and Social Justice
Global citizenship is associated with the eradication of poverty and commitment to economic justice (Noddings, 2005). The global ethic involves conscious deliberation and action toward impoverished conditions such as child exploitation/injustice, environmental destruction, disease/epidemics, infant mortality, etc (Noddings, 2005). Noddings (2005) refers to this as “caring for” and highlights how our caring for actions influence present and future concern and conditions (e.g. how might donating to Canadian Feed the Children influence the lives and outcomes of these children?). This is also directly related to the examination of our own sustenance and economic contribution (Noddings, 2005). For example, do I make a conscious effort to use resources that fall within sustainable limits? As Noddings (2005) suggest, we need to work collectively and develop an “ecological view of caring" (p. 8).

Protecting the Earth
"Protecting the Earth is one of the most important tasks facing global citizens" (p. 9).
Noddings (2005) details how elements of greed, monoculture, and ill-informed choices have contributed to environmental destruction. Therefore, a global citizen “must be concerned about the Earth’s air, water, and climate" (p. 11) and seek to preserve ecological diversity through pursuit of knowledge, global interdependence, and earthly mindedness.

Social and Cultural Diversity
As Noddings (2005) states:
Diversity, as we refer to it today, usually involves racial, ethnic, and religious differences, and when we use the word, we point to a desirable mix of people representing these differences. Diversity is used as a reason for engaging in forms of affirmative action, and those who oppose such action are often thought of as unenlightened or even bigoted (p. 13).

Diversity (pluralism - diversity of views), then, is an essential part of global citizenship (Noddings, 2005). Much suffering and turmoil has and continues to result from the intolerance of difference (e.g. ethnic, racial, and religious) and diversity (e.g. Holocaust) (Noddings, 2005).

Educating for Peace
Global citizenship and peace form a reciprocal relationship, whereby peace education (e.g. issues of war, violence, oppression, etc) can provoke moral reasoning and questioning, and further seeks to provide space for global solidarity (Noddings, 2005).

Chapter 1 (pp. 22-39)
Gender Perspective on Education for Global Citizenship
Peggy McIntosh

In this chapter, McIntosh (2005) presents global citizenship from a modern psychological perspective expressed through the mind (cognitive), heart (affect), body (physical) and soul (spiritual). The following are summaries of what each “capacity” entails:

Mind capacities: observation with self & world, ability to compare & contrast, ability to see diversity, ability to understand that reality and language come in versions, knowledge/understanding of power relations, and balance of self realities and realities perceived outside of the self (McIntosh, 2005, p. 23).

Heart capacities: self-respect of emotions, empathy, ability to experience conflicting feelings without a loss of integrity, ability to experience affective worlds plurally, ability to acknowledge competition, ability to understand how the politics of locale affect the power/position of the self and others, and the ability to display a heartfelt sense of culture in the hearts of ourselves and others (McIntosh, 2005, p. 23).

Body and Soul capacities: acknowledging our role as a body in the world, embodiment, connection with bodies in the local and global, balance with dependence and interdependence in the physical world, knowledge of mortality, soul seeks engagement with the destructive and non-destructive (McIntosh, 2005, p. 24).

Gendering Citizenship
McIntosh (2005) proposes that capacities for the heart are more expressed in women, evident through processes of childbearing/caretaking, nurturing /compassion of others, and fundamental care for humankind. Thus, McIntosh (2005) believes that the affective force dominated by women is representative of human survival and has a powerful influence on global citizenship. Drawing from Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, McIntosh (2005) reasons that human needs such as “water, food, clothing, and shelter, and meaningful connection with other human beings are basic needs without whose fulfillment we die" (p. 26).

In another argument, McIntosh (2005) suggests how the capacities of the heart (e.g. compassion and concern) face societal stigmatization when expressed by males. However, McIntosh (2005) contends how “males, especially young males, may have strong competencies in the caring, the relationality, and the plural seeing that I think are essential for global citizenship" (p. 26). Thus, McIntosh (2005) believes that both genders comprise capacities (as listed above), and that gender role stereotypes, marginalization of culture, and power imbalances seek to interfere with the potential for heart capacities—with specific reference to the male gender. McIntosh (2005) also presents her political stance on the disgrace of the Bush administration, stating how “George W. Bush has no capacity for, nor understanding of, global citizenship; that is, of belonging within an entity larger than the nation itself" (p. 28).

The Global Teacher & Challenges
McIntosh (2005) provides personal account of two high-school teachers who were progressive in democratic schooling and global mindedness. Both examples elucidate how the teachers acknowledged diversity (e.g. religion, learning, etc), and further engaged and challenged students with multiple perspectives on worldly issues. The challenges with delivering a global curriculum to students is related to how teachers have altering conceptions and pedagogical understandings to global citizenship, ambiguity over curricular place, availability of resources/materials, and training/support (McIntosh, 2005).

Interactive Phases/Mind Frames and Global Citizenship (McIntosh, 2005, pp. 32-33)

Phase I – womanless and all white, ignores half of the world’s population
Phase II – womanless and all white, with “exceptional others”
Phase III – all women and men of colour are seen as a problem, victim, or Other (includes: racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, etc).
Phase IV – everyone is a knower, acknowledges student voices and experiences
Phase V – world of knowledge is reconstructed/reframed to include us all

McIntosh’s Sources of Hope (in light of the former Bush administration) -

• School and society has become more culturally diverse in population.
• Progressive Post-Secondary Education (e.g. women’s studies discipline, diversity of religions, multi-linguistic offerings, etc). As evident at the University of Ottawa!
• Four United Nations Women’s conferences (1975, 1980, 1985, 1995).

Discussion Questions:

• How might you respond to McIntosh’s (2005) argument on the gendered capacities of global citizenship (e.g. compassion, concern, etc)?
• What is your response to McIntosh's (2005) frame of mind categorizations (e.g. the Phases) with respect to global education?
  

Educating Citizens for Global Awareness (Continued)

Chapter 2 pp. 40-56

The Integration of Conflict Resolution into the High School Curriculum: The Example of Workable Peace

Stacie Nicole Smith & David Fairman

Smith & Fairman (2005) explain that effective Conflict Resolution Education (CRE) needs to be prominent in both elementary and secondary schools so that students are capable of obtaining ‘workable peace’ in order to become global citizens. As outlined by Smith & Fairman (2005) teaching conflict resolution to students as an extracurricular or as an elective course will not be as effective as if it were implemented into the academic curriculum. Students need to see the relevance and importance of the program in order for it to be effective.

What is Workable Peace?

Smith and Fairman (2005) present Workable Peace as model whereby its aim is to have students “learn about conflict, how they learn it, and the difference this can make” and to do so through social and historical facts and themes within the curriculum” (Smith & Fairman, 2005, p.44). The Workable Peace curriculum goals: “teach general concepts and skills of conflict analysis and management in the context of historical and current events selected for relevance to high school social studies and history curricula” (Smith & Fairman, 2005, p.44).

The Workable Peace curriculum has three main components:

o Conceptual Framework (see sidebar for table)
o Historical Role Play: Students become the historical character taking on the ideas and beliefs of the given character, it “provides a safe setting that allows students to experiment, reflect and give and receive feedback” (Smith & Fairman, 2005, p.46).

o Civic Learning: Projects that can be related directly to the students’ lives. “Connections between themes and lessons from history to conflicts occurring in the world today and in students’ lives” (Smith & Fairman, 2005, p.46).

The Workable Peace curriculum allows students to experience conflict analysis, perspective-taking, and to acquire listening and communication skills as well as negotiation skills. A major challenge noted by the authors Smith and Fairman (2005) with respect to implementation of the workable peace curriculum would be of course resources and finances, but as well to provide teachers with in-service and professional development opportunities so that they are prepared to teach the new concepts and skills to their students. Another option would be to incorporate the idea into pre-service teacher education programs.

“Workable Peace not only helps students gain a deeper understanding of a particular conflict, but also helps foster a range of civic and social aptitudes, including creative thinking, problem solving, and moral reasoning” (Smith & Fairman, 2005, p.52).

“We need to work at many levels to promote workable, peaceful solutions to the many conflicts that we face in a world where global citizens will be called upon to solve global problems. Integrating conflict resolution skills into the curriculum is one key strategy for advancing that goal” (Smith & Fairman, p. 55).

Discussion Questions:

• Can you envision the workable peace curriculum in your classroom, school or working environment? And is this an effective global education strategy?
• Are students better global citizens after having experienced this workable peace curriculum? How is this measured?
• Smith & Fairman (2005) cite how a conflict resolution education program studied by Johnson & Johnson (2004) (The Resolving Conflict Creatively Program) resulted in higher academic achievement and retention. Before implementing such a program, how might classrooms need to be structured to allow for teaching students to resolve conflict and engage in peacemaking?

Chapter 3 pp.57-68
Place-Based Education to Preserve the Earth and Its People

Nel Noddings

Noddings (2005) outlines Place-Based Education as being appreciative of the places in which we have grown up, and what place means to people and their lives in other parts of the world. Noddings (2005) presents four major aspects of the human connection to place: political/psychological, environmental, connecting the local/global, and human flourishing and place.

Political/Psychological:

Noddings (2005), states that psychological attachment to place affects political attitudes. Attachment to place can affect political attitudes, by being aware and understanding of this could lead to more sensitive political decisions. As Noddings (2005) states: “Expulsion from a homeplace is a major cause of the hatred that so often occurs between ethnic groups” (Noddings, 2005, p.59). When designing place-based education, it is important to be “sensitive to the horrors that people inflict on others in tearing them from their roots and removing all traces of their prior existence” (Noddings, 2005, p.59).

Environmental:

Noddings (2005) encourages care for ones’ natural surroundings so that it may contribute to a commitment to care for the whole Earth. Noddings (2005) proposes that keeping in mind whose place will be affected by certain actions or decisions is always important to consider. Sustainability is important in environmental studies, but Noddings (2005) believes it is also important to note that sustainability differs across places (What makes agriculture sustainable or one city or town sustainable over others?) Preservations of the wilderness is also an important factor for students to be learning about, but Noddings (2005) explains that the wilderness occupying space in our own backyards is also significant.

Connecting the Local/Global:

Noddings (2005) encourages educational strategies to use love of place to develop knowledge and skills useful in the larger world. Students need to be aware and care about their own local places, and learn that commitment to the environment is work, not just talking about issues but actually doing something about those issues. Noddings (2005) wants students to be encouraged to study their locality appreciatively and then share and write about their findings, in hopes that they will become more receptive to other peoples stories and their places (p. 63). Therefore, the local must be preserved “at the center of education from a global perspective” (Noddings, 2005 in O’Sullivan & Vetter, 2007, p. 17) to encourage global mindedness and interconnectedness.

Human Flourishing and Place:

Noddings (2005) stresses the importance of place on human flourishing and its importance in schools. Natural history needs to be emphasised in the curriculum so that an appreciation of one’s own space and place are developed. Place and the importance of local space, need to be valued as an aspect that can be integrated into the curriculum (p. 67).

“Global citizenship demands an understanding and sympathy for people’s attachment to place” (Noddings, 2005, p. 65).

“The problems are complex and require complex solutions, but solutions are unlikely to be found unless our young people become global citizens in the truest sense. They have to care about their homeplaces and those of others, and they have to care enough to engage in serious study of both natural and political problems” (Noddings, 2005, p. 66).

Discussion Questions:

• Does understanding and having an appreciation of your own local space make you a better or more effective global citizen?
• How might a sense of lost identity within a local space inhibit or promote global understandings?
• A prevailing theme throughout the chapters suggests that educators remain at the forefront of delivering a global agenda to students. Should the reliance be solely placed on educators? And how might additional parties or organizations play a fundamental role in aspiring global citizenship?
  

References

Dower, N. (2008). Are we all global citizens or are only some of us global citizens? The relevance of this question to education. In Abdi, A. A., & Shultz, L., Educating for human rights and global citizenship (pp. 39-53). New York: State University of New York Press.

Gough, N. (2003). Thinking globally in environmental education: Implications for internationalizing curriculum inquiry. In W. F. Pinar (Ed.), International handbook of curriculum research (pp. 53-71). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Gough, N. (2002). Thinking/acting locally/globally: Western science and environmental education in a global knowledge economy. International Journal of Science Education, 24 (11), (pp. 1217-1237).

O’Sullivan, M., & Vetter, D. (2007). Teacher-initiated, student-centered global education in a K to 8 school. Journal of Teaching and Learning, 4, 13-27.

Noddings, N (Ed.) (2005). Educating citizens for global awareness. New York: Teachers College Press.

Westheimer, J. (2005). Democratic dogma: There is no one-size-fits all approach to schooling for democracy. Our schools our selves. September.