Global Issues and Challenges--What Should Students Study?

At the core of all contemporary international and global studies are two concepts, change and interdependence. Engineers quip, "If we can make it work, it's probably already out of date!" That expression also applies to the major, largely unresolved, problems, issues, and concerns that dominate both the popular media and scholarly journals today. About the time that someone claims to "have a handle" on any problem, a new manifestation of it occurs. Proposed resolutions or solutions are suddenly inadequate or, as is often the case, are found to contribute to a greater problem previously unknown or unacknowledged.

The metaphor of a spider's web applies remarkably well to today's global problems and challenges. Touch that web anywhere, even lightly, and it vibrates everywhere. Similarly, if one "touches" any global problem, one instantly realizes its connectiveness or interdependence with another. As University of Chicago psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi stated, "It is imperative to begin thinking about a truly integrative, global education that takes seriously the actual interconnections of causes and effects."

Further, it is not overstating the case to say that the concepts of change and interdependence are so central to all of the social and physical sciences that they clearly deserve serious and continuous attention throughout the scope and sequence of any academic program to prepare globally literate students. A serious investigation of global problems and challenges demands that one deal conceptually with both change and interdependence. Together, these two concepts provide a baseline for developing global literacy.

Virtually without exception, those whose thinking we examined in this compilation identified unprecedented change in all aspects of life as something all schools should address. The concept of interdependence or connectedness—"systems perspective" or "systems thinking"—also received near unanimous mention. Even in those cases where one or both of these concepts were not mentioned specifically, both were clearly subsumed under one or more of the other topics recommended for study.

What Should Students Study?

Although all of the answers concerning what students should study about global issues and challenges are not included here, we have tried to select the best thinking and writing on the subject. The categories we designated are neither exhaustive nor mutually exclusive. In fact, there is significant overlap among some categories. However, despite differences detected, there exists far greater consensus on what should be studied.

While no individual teacher and very few school systems have available to them the resources necessary for their students to investigate all of these issues to any reasonable depth, students should be given the opportunity—and time—to develop the academic skills and techniques necessary to efficiently and systematically explore other global issues and problems in the future.

Ten Key Categories

The ten categories we identified form a working list meant to be scrutinized, reacted to, and refined by those responsible for improved teaching and learning about the international dimension in K-12 schools. The ten categories are:

1. Conflict and Its Control: Violence/Terrorism/War -- Low-intensity to International. Included under this broad heading are several sub-clusters.

   The first cluster is sub-national conflicts, that is revolutions, civil strife, assassinations, and rebel or guerrilla activities (often today's "freedom fighters"). Recent lists also include genocide and ethnic cleansing as well as tribalism and secessionist movements, which may lead to violence.

   A second cluster centers on the proliferation of weapons -- conventional, chemical, biological, and nuclear -- and the arms race, which encompasses sales, sanctions, controls, and trafficking.

   A third cluster concerns terrorism -- state-sponsored terrorism, sanctuaries, social revolutionaries, national separatists, religious fundamentalists -- and cross-border conflicts based on irredentism or revanchism.

   Lastly, matters of national security, including the use of force by nations either unilaterally or in combination with other nations, is found on more recent lists.

   Of great concern is that arms control, conflict resolution on an international scale, control of conflict, and the formal peacekeeping activities by the United Nations -- with a few notable exceptions -- receive far less emphasis in the sources consulted. Schools need to address this crucial area. Given the frequency and intensity of conflict-related issues dominating today's world events, to neglect the study of the methods available to prevent or mediate conflict is a serious omission.

2. Economic Systems: International Trade/Aid/Investment. The more recent the source consulted, the greater the emphasis placed upon economic problems and issues.

   The first cluster identified includes understanding comparative economic systems, for example, state socialism and other centrally planned economies that differ from our own, typified by the former Soviet system. Also mentioned are the transitional and mixed economies typical of many developing nations today. Finally, virtually every source indicates that a working knowledge of our own free-market or free-enterprise model is a prerequisite for understanding economic systems different from our own.

   The second cluster relates to international trade, encompassing patterns, balance of trade and payments, free trade and zones, trade negotiations -- protectionism, quotas, sanctions, and embargoes -- as well as tariff and nontariff barriers. Currency exchange (rates, fluctuations) also received mention.

   A third cluster focuses on foreign aid, such as purposes, forms, amounts, and conditions as well as the role of donors and multilateral aid programs. Some of the sources placed major emphasis on the need for better understanding of foreign aid. Recent public opinion polls indicate widespread public ignorance regarding all aspects of foreign aid and extraordinary misconceptions concerning the percentage of the national budget devoted to our foreign aid programs.

   Direct foreign investment, including stress on the role of multinational corporations (MNCs), transnational enterprises (TNEs), and regional trading blocs (EU, NAFTA, GATT, etc.) were also cited as important topics.

   Lastly, a cluster of economic concerns focused on the specific needs of the developing world such as debt crisis and relief, preferential trade policies, and protecting infant industries. An understanding of the increasing economic disparities (the rich-poor gap) within and among many world nations also received mention.

3. Global Belief Systems: Ideologies/Religions/Philosophies. Publications from the Cold War period stressed the need for the study of comparative ideologies, that is, Soviet-style communism and its various off-shoots, particularly Chinese communism. Many of the sources consulted emphasize the need for students to study major world religions as a means of better understanding other cultures as well as improving students' understanding of followers of those religions residing in this country.

   Several sources recommend the study of other nations' or cultures' philosophies. However, in most cases it is unclear exactly what this means. It appears that these references are primarily directed at either political philosophies or ideologies, for example, socialism, communism, and fascism, or thought systems identified with a particular religion, for example, Confucianism, Hinduism, or Daoism. This apparently is seen as a means to better understand and to develop empathy for other cultures.

4. Human Rights and Social Justice/Human Needs and Quality of Life. The category of human rights and social justice includes a broad array of human concerns and topics related to the quality of life worldwide. The more recent the source consulted, the greater the emphasis placed on global human rights.

   The first cluster focuses on problems associated with human rights and social justice including gender and equity issues, the rights of children (child labor, street children, various abuses), equal access to justice, and rights' violations and abuses based on ethnic, racial, sexual, or political identities.

   A second cluster -- probably the one that has generated the most intense media attention and public concern -- focuses on problems concerning food and hunger (chronic malnutrition, famine). Included here are global food security, unequal access to food, food aid, the green revolution, and diseases related to inadequate diet.

   A third cluster focuses on broad concerns of heath, education, and welfare, for example, infectious diseases (particularly HIV and AIDS), inadequate sanitation, drug use (trade, prevention, prosecution), inadequate shelter or housing, illiteracy, low standards of living, and the lack of a social safety net.

5. Planet Management: Resources/Energy/Environment. Virtually every source consulted places major emphasis upon resource depletion -- including energy -- and environmental degradation or pollution as crucial areas for student study. The resource cluster includes renewable and nonrenewable resources, resource dependence, stockpiling critical resources, recycling, and the role of commodity power in international commerce. The more recent sources emphasize water -- its management, reuse, pollution, scarcity, and cost. A few sources cited space as an often overlooked resource.

   Topics relating to energy sources -- particularly petroleum and nuclear energy -- appear on almost every list for study. Production and consumption patterns, proven reserves, costs, the security or dependability of sources, and future oil shocks (OPEC) make up one group of concerns. A second group focuses on alternative energy sources (solar power or hydro power), the problems and potentials of nuclear energy, and the need for conservation.

   Studying the condition and care of the environment includes topics such as air, land, water, and seabed pollution; global warming and cooling; ozone depletion; toxic and nuclear wastes (disposal and international trade in); and acid rain. A second set of issues focuses on degradation of the land through erosion, deforestation, drought, or desertification, and reductions in generic, biotic, and species varieties. Some sources also mention carrying capacity and environmental instability as concepts students should understand.

   Perhaps no other topic mentioned reflects as high a degree of concern -- in a few cases bordering on alarmist -- as does the condition of the environment and its care. Schools planning studies of environmentally related topics would be wise to take extra precautions to assure that students are presented with the most balanced and scholarly data currently available.

6. Political Systems: International Structures/Institutions/Actors/Procedures. Many of the sources examined stressed the need for the study of political systems and ideologies (as with economic systems above) that differ from our own. Under the institutions cluster, the United Nations and its agencies dominate most lists, but the increasing role of regional organizations (NATO, SEATO, OAS, OAU, etc.) also are recommended for study. A second cluster of concerns focuses on the role of alliances, treaties, and negotiations (regarding arms, refugees, trade, and human rights violations). More recent sources mentioned political disintegration, irredentism, secessionism, devolution of nations, separatism, and the opposing trends of regional integration and increased democratization and autonomy.

   Non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and their increasing role and presence in international affairs, are also recommended for study. Finally, a cluster focuses on international law and the role of the World Court. Formal study of U.S. foreign policy is also recommended by some authors.

7. Population: Demographic Growth/Patterns/Movements/Trends. No single problem or concern is listed more frequently than population, particularly its control. Some authors feel that unless present growth rates are checked, particularly in parts of Africa, Asia, and Latin America, solutions to most other global problems will continue to elude us.

   Basic information on population growth (birthrates, death rates, fertility rates, replacement rates, migration, immigration, and emigration), and its changes, patterns, and trends make up one cluster. Another cluster focuses on issues that can be controversial, such as family planning and contraception practices, including state-sanctioned abortion or sterilization. It would appear wise that public schools dealing with these topics exercise extreme caution.

   A third cluster includes a variety of population-related issues, for example, guest workers, illegal aliens, aging, drift to the cities, political asylum, dependency ratios (percentage of a population under 15 or over 65 years old), and the rapidly increasing numbers of refugees and displaced persons worldwide.

8. Race and Ethnicity: Human Commonality and Diversity. Most of the sources consulted feel this topic should be studied by all students, but few provide details. In most cases, "reducing prejudice," "avoiding stereotypes," or "eliminating discrimination" are listed as the goal for such studies. Others stressed "celebrating diversity" or "enhancing students' self-image/concept" as the primary goal.

   Some scholars and others who included this topic on their lists stress specifics such as race and immigration quotas or preferences, exclusion laws based on race, problems of indigenous ethnic groups, ethnic/cultural roots, color consciousness, and, in more recent sources, ethnic or racially based genocide as well as the ongoing debate concerning Eurocentrism vs. multiculturalism. In any case, serious consideration of this topic would appear mandatory given our pluralistic society and world.

9. The Technocratic Revolution: Science/Technology/Communications. With the exception of communications—often coupled with transportation—this category of issues receives little attention in the earlier sources examined. However, virtually all of the more recent sources emphasize the role that science, technology, and communications play in the lives of all humans. Several individuals note correctly that the study of science and technology provides an ideal vehicle for social studies, math, and science teachers to develop cross-disciplinary lessons and units. Having students discuss both the pluses and minuses of the impact of science and technology on peoples' lives worldwide is suggested.

   The communication cluster includes innovations, networking, freedom of use, the information revolution (access to, balanced flow, and censorship) and increasing speed coupled with decreasing costs.

10. Sustainable Development: Political/Economic/Social. Included under this heading is what might be called the "neo" cluster: neocolonialism, neomercantilism and neoimperialism, all manifestations of broader dependency theory issues that include increasing foreign debt and economic imperialism.

    A second cluster of concerns centers on drift to the cities and explosive urban growth (megacities), often accompanied by increasing social and economic problems and growing city-countryside disparities that cause political instability, often leading to violence.

    A third cluster includes the role of commodity power and the attempts to form cartels among those developing nations that possess raw materials needed by the more industrialized nations. Also included is the nonaligned movement that, at times, influences voting at the United Nations.

    A final cluster centers on the internal regional disparities existing in many developing nations, the mistreatment of indigenous peoples in some, and autonomy movements in others.

The study of global problems is not an excuse to neglect the rules of sound scholarship. At times, emotion, personal opinion, and unproven assertions substitute for reasoned discussion when potentially volatile global problems are discussed in classrooms. This is wrong. Students must learn that their feelings and opinions about these things are understandable but do not substitute for the reasoned opinions of reputable authorities. Suspending the rules of critical thinking while allowing feelings to substitute for facts, emotion to pass for evidence, or concern to take the place of critical judgment, serves no legitimate academic purpose. Not to do so at times is difficult, particularly when human suffering related to many global problems is vividly portrayed by the media. However, these difficulties should never provide justification for avoiding the study of topics that may generate emotion and, at times, divisive controversy. Here is where the teacher has the opportunity to model a reasoned, evenhanded approach to potentially volatile topics.

Students also must learn that the published materials on global problems and concerns vary greatly in their accuracy and reliability. When one of the authors served as an educational consultant to President Carter's Commission on World Hunger, its co-chairman, the late Jean Mayer of Tufts University and a world authority on nutrition and related matters, cautioned the author as follows: "Probably one-third of the published materials on food and hunger are accurate, reflect the best current scholarship and should be believed. Another third are either badly dated or only partially correct and always should be used with caution. The other third are badly biased, inaccurate, and grossly misrepresent the problem. Avoid them at all costs!" Educators would do well to keep Mayer's advice in mind when dealing with most global problems. Frequently it fits.

A Final Thought

Writing in the 38th yearbook of the National Council for the Social Studies in 1968, Lee Anderson of Northwestern University asked: "What do individuals need to possess in the way of cognitive abilities, values, motivations, and information in order to function as observers, analysts, evaluators, and judges or critics of events, decisions, trends, or developments occurring in the international dimension of their social environment?" No one has more aptly stated what global education should be about, that is, providing students with the information and intellectual tools—coupled with the willingness to use them—that enable them to function as competent American citizens in a complex and rapidly changing international environment. In short, functional citizenship competency in a global context should be our goal.

Deciding which global issues, problems, and challenges are most important and deserve serious study in our schools is not something we will ever determine to everyone's satisfaction. We have attempted to organize a typology that may prove useful to educators faced with the task of providing instruction about global issues, problems, and challenges. Unfortunately, in many schools these topics are seldom studied, if at all. Time is spent instead "giving students the background" needed to engage these issues "later on." Unfortunately, "later on" never arrives. Thus, students are forced to form opinions and, ultimately, make decisions about important global concerns in an intellectual vacuum. These concerns are too important to allow our citizens to continue to remain intellectually unarmed.

We must equip students with the knowledge, intellectual skills, and attitudes they need to cope effectively with the global realities they must face as adults. Individuals working at state and local levels to establish standards that reflect what all students should "know and are able to do" would do well to pay attention to the kinds of student outcomes suggested by those who have written on the international dimension of education. Further, they should make certain that whatever students "know and are able to do" includes in-depth study of the real problems and challenges facing the human race. John Dewey stated that "School is not preparation for life, it is life." What better way to make school "life," not merely "preparation for life."