Explore the World with a Global Education Curriculum

Abstract

Recognizing and celebrating the diversity that exists in our communities has become a central goal of land-grant institutions and cooperative extension programs. This is coupled with the expectation that youth be equipped for a global workforce where they appreciate different world cultures, be able to evaluate global issues and challenges and understand the inter-connectedness of global systems. Given these points, a Global Education Curriculum developed by the WVU Extension Global Education & Engagement Team is presented as a tool to instill a deeper understanding of and appreciation for cultures, people and global issues by youth and the adults who support them.

Understanding Global Citizenship: Extension Employees’ Perceptions, Attitudes, and Opinions

“…There is little ambiguity regarding the goal of global cultural competency when one examines recommendations from agencies such as the USDA, the US Department of Education, and others. Tritz et al (2012) discuss the USDA's National Institute for Food & Agriculture or NIFA's statement regarding the "importance of international research partnerships to address issues of food safety, sustainability, resource management, biotechnology and crop and livestock disease prevention" (Tritz, et al, 2012, p. 1) as an indication of the requirement for a globally competent workforce. NIFA has addressed this need by implementing The Global Thinking Academy, which is an online resource which unifies perspectives from multiple disciplines and focuses on critical thinking skills as applied to globalization efforts (Stedman, 2016).…”

“…Ingram (1999) (Schillings & Fox, 2011) it is essential to focus on curricula and programming that can be delivered to the broadest audience, and not simply on experiences which are accessible to only a few students. There are a variety of approaches, including lessons such as skill-a-thons, and project books like WeConnect, immersive experiences such as global villages, as well as cultural exchanges which bring youth from other countries to the U.S. to live and interact with American young people (Radhakrishna & Ingram, 2005;Seal et al, 2017;Skuza & Russo, 2014;Tritz, et al, 2012). All of these are options for delivering global citizenship programming to youth who are not able to travel out of their local area.…”