International Mindedness, Intercultural Literacy, & Global Compentence

Cross-Cultural Terminology

International Mindedness

The concept of international mindedness is one that not too many outside of the International Baccalaureate world would have heard of until very recently when the number of research articles began to grow.  Even the IB, while having a position paper on international mindedness, has not done, in the opinion of many, a very good job defining what international mindedness really is in a succinct way.  Quite often students and teachers are left trying to figure out for themselves what teaching & learning for international mindedness looks like.  Parents, for the most part seem completely lost.  

In the 2013 IB Conference of the Americas, Bhavnani (2013) broke down international mindedness as:

• the ability to be better prepared for the 21st century global challenges;
• understanding ourselves to connect with others;
• awareness that the world is much larger than the community in which we live;
• respect and understanding for other perspectives, cultures and language;
• the ability to see oneself as a responsible member of the community and a global citizen.

While this, to many of us in the educational field seems reasonable understandable it is still not more clear to parents and students.  Nor does it shed any light on how to teach for international mindedness.  The IB, which has a foothold on the term international mindedness, believes that it is through inquiry using the global context as a lens to develop the IB learner profile attributes that students will develop into internationally minded, global citizens.  So, in a sense, it is meant to be more organic than most people would like, particular parents who grapple with the teaching & learning styles of the 21st century classroom.

Intercultural Literacy

Heyward (2002) defines intercultural literacy as "the competencies, understandings, attitudes, language proficiencies, participation and identities necessary for effective cross-cultural engagement."  The issues with intercultural literacy by definition is that there is an innate need for intercultural interactions.  For this reason, many students who have been educated in international schools display many of the characteristics, while those who have been educated in more monocultural schools do not.  While this may be true for the majority, it is not true for all.  With that caution should be taken to ensure that generalizations are not made.  However, it does shed light on the need for greater planning in curriculum so that everyone has the opportunity to experience other cultures, hence developing their intercultural literacy.

Global Competence

In a recent NEA policy brief calling for an increased focus on global competence, global competence was defined as "the acquisition of in-depth knowledge and understanding of international issues, an appreciation of and ability to learn and work with people from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds, proficiency in a foreign language, and skills to function."  The current issue stands with not so much the desire, but the ability to implement the necessary strategies to meet this ever increasing educational goal.  In a recent article on Getting Smart's website, it was articulated that while 80% of teachers agreed with the need for an increase in student learning about other countries and cultures, only 30% said that they were actually doing it.  The reason cited for almost 6 out of 10 of those teachers was a lack of resources and/or administrative support.

References:

Bhavnani, Jaya. (2013, July 18-21).  Enhancing International Mindedness.  Retrieved November 24, 2017 from http://www.ibo.org/contentassets/dd8041e9f17042ea87db944c136129d1/jaya-bhavnani-enhancing-international-mindedness.pdf

Getting Smart. (2016, February 23). What do Globally Competent Student Look Like? Retrieved November 24, 2017 from http://www.gettingsmart.com/2016/02/what-do-globally-competent-students-look-like/

Heyward, Mark. (2002). From international to intercultural – Redefining the international school for a globalized world.  Retrieved November 21, 2017 from https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzLwFwwvm0oNU0EweTJ2eDhLakU/view

NEA Policy Brief. (n.d.). Global Competence Is a 21st Century Imperative.  Retrieved November 24, 2017 from http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/HE/PB28A_Global_Competence11.pdf