From Local to Global: Making the Leap in Teacher Education

As the world becomes increasingly globalized, teachers must prepare a diverse group of students with new skills and mindsets necessary to engage in this global environment. This requires changes in teacher education, including expansion of instructional lenses from the local to the global. This case study examined how one teacher educator attempted to incorporate global competency into her course on culturally responsive teaching. Using surveys, document analysis, observations, and interviews with both the instructor and her students, the researchers found that some global competencies were developed. Ultimately, however, many areas of global competence were not addressed, due to the course’s focus on personal dispositions over practices and on local issues over global ones. We recommend that teacher education programs include a separate course on global competency, as well as more training for teacher educators on how best to develop globally competent pedagogy in pre- and in-service teachers.