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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it's probably already out of date!"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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
A Caution
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."
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