“International mindedness” is a
term that appears in the mission
statements of a growing number of
international schools worldwide, yet we, as educators have found it difficult
to define what this is or how to go about fostering it in children of today. This
explores teachers’ understandings of international mindedness and the
development of international mindedness through our primary school.
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| Knotting together |
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| Actor Shares |
One definition that I’ve found useful is that of a growing sense of the ‘other’ : a journey from ‘self’ to ‘other’. If we can help our children and students to develop a strong sense not only of themselves and their own identity, which is crucial, but alongside that, a deep sense and awareness of other peoples, cultures, countries and customs, then we offer them a great chance to be truly 21st century global citizens.
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| Exploring Henri Matisse |
Can we really say that a
six-year-old in primary school is internationally minded? Possibly, but given
what we know about how the human brain develops it seems unlikely. What we can
do though is to set in place cumulative experiences and opportunities that over
time – in this case many years – build on each other and help move our children along that pathway to
a greater sense of the ‘other’. International-mindedness is certainly a ‘frame
of mind’ and as such needs time to develop.
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| International Language Centre |
Back to our six-year-old then:
what might international-mindedness look like in him or her? It may be knowing
that the children in his or her classroom have different home countries or home
states, and being able to work with each other and being able to respect one
another’s independence and individuality.
For older students, international
learning outcomes might include knowing about the ways in which the lives of
people in the countries, states, or professions they have studied affect each
other, or being able to identify ways in which people work together for mutual
benefit.
