INTERNATIONAL - MINDEDNESS OR COSMOPLITANISM?
We all live in a multicultural society which encompasses many different beliefs and great variance in attitudes towards them. As a consequence of this, a school classroom can contain an eclectic mix of nationalities within it. This can present many challenges because the pupils won’t necessarily all speak the same language, both literally and metaphorically.
I feel it is essential, therefore, that schools promote International-mindedness (IM), which, simply put, delivers the message that, if we are all going to get along, we need to accept that we are all different and be able to tolerate, if not embrace, that difference.
International travel, whether in virtual or real time, has made the world a more accessible place. As a consequence people are able to experience and immerse themselves in other cultures. This immersion in another culture is one of the concepts presented in Gunesch’s paper on Cosmopolitanism - the idea that, as Sarup and Ree put it: we move “beyond the nation state” to create the notion of being “a citizen of the world”. If this were the sole definition of Cosmopolitanism then, although it is a somewhat utopian ideal, I believe this aspect could be incorporated within the IM concept to be promoted in schools. As Gunesch points out, the concept of Cosmopolitanism is actually more complex.
Gunesch talks about Cosmopolitan Matrices which he attempts to define. Within this he deals with Cosmopolitan competency and attitudes and variance within them. I believe that you can have a cosmopolitan outlook on life in terms of your understanding and awareness of it, but, at the same time, be incompetent in your ability to engage with it. An example of this might be someone who communicates in chat rooms with people from all over the world so can become, through the interconnectedness of the Web, totally immersed in other people’s cultural beliefs in a virtual way, but could be socially inept at actually engaging with these people were he/she to meet them face to face. In this way they could demonstrate different levels of Cosmopolitan competency.
I think, therefore, that schools need to be aware that there will be a mixed range of Cosmopolitan competency within their classrooms, but, to try to incorporate every aspect associated with Cosmopolitanism into the curriculum, would, in my opinion, be impractical in terms of the time it would take to explain it. I also feel that, promoting the idea that we should become united as citizens of the world has the potential to undermine tradition and individuality.
The UK education system has attempted to address this concept of being a “citizen of the world” by the inclusion of Citizenship classes within schools. These become compulsory from Key Stage 3 in the 2016 National Curriculum.
The UK education system has attempted to address this concept of being a “citizen of the world” by the inclusion of Citizenship classes within schools. These become compulsory from Key Stage 3 in the 2016 National Curriculum.
I feel that the term ‘Citizenship’ is a better one to use in schools rather than either ‘International -Mindedness’ or ‘Cosmopolitanism' because it can incorporate elements of both. I don't feel that the distinctions between IM and Cosmopolitanism are clear cut. This is illustrated by Rob William's when he talks about his international vision for mankind "transcending the boundaries of nationalism". His definition is actually more closely aligned with what Gunesch describes as Cosmopolitanism.
Schools, especially International schools, often deal with a very transient population. Pupils may have been moved around from one county or country to another due to their parents’ work or for other reasons. These pupils, rather than feeling they are “citizens of the world”, might, in fact, feel insecure because they have no sense of national identity. To counteract this feeling of isolation,”Citizenship” promoted in the school could give pupils a sense of belonging to the community of the school and this, I believe, could be of benefit.
If the challenges presented by our ever changing, multicultural world are not addressed in schools then it can lead to prejudiced attitudes developing and problems of bullying, pupil isolation and mental and physical abuse could manifest themselves as a result. This is I feel as much for the protection of the pupil as it is for the teacher, who can become the target of such abuse, or accusations of it.
Schools, especially International schools, often deal with a very transient population. Pupils may have been moved around from one county or country to another due to their parents’ work or for other reasons. These pupils, rather than feeling they are “citizens of the world”, might, in fact, feel insecure because they have no sense of national identity. To counteract this feeling of isolation,”Citizenship” promoted in the school could give pupils a sense of belonging to the community of the school and this, I believe, could be of benefit.
If the challenges presented by our ever changing, multicultural world are not addressed in schools then it can lead to prejudiced attitudes developing and problems of bullying, pupil isolation and mental and physical abuse could manifest themselves as a result. This is I feel as much for the protection of the pupil as it is for the teacher, who can become the target of such abuse, or accusations of it.
I found an article about how schools might tackle these concepts, not as a separate entity, but in a more integrated way within their subject classes. I’ve included the link in case anyone is interested to read it.
https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2013/aug/19/teaching-citizenship-primary-school-how-
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
GOV.UK (2016), National Curriculum (online). Available at: https://www.gov.uk/national-curriculum/key-stage-3-and-4
Gunesch, K. (2007) International Education's Internationalism: Inspirations from Cosmopolitanism. In: Hayden, M, Levy, J. and Thompson, J. (eds.) The SAGE Handbook of Research in International Education, pp.90-100 [online]. London: SAGE Publications. Available at: http://lib.myilibrary.com/Open.aspx?id=419250 (accessed 115th October 2016)
Haywood, T. (2007) A Simple Typology of International-Mindedness and Its Implications for Education. In: Hayden, M, Levy, J. and Thompson, J. (eds.) The SAGE Handbook of Research in International Education, pp.79-89 [online]. London: SAGE Publications. Available at: http://lib.myilibrary.com/Open.aspx?id=419250 (accessed 15th October 2016)
Williams, R. (undated) Distinctive features of international education [video online].
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