Wanted: Global Citizens

During the last century, basic formal education has become an ideal the world over. According to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, higher proportions of people than ever before are completing primary, secondary, or postsecondary education (Cohen, Bloom, & Malin, 2007). Schools across the world—whether in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, or Oceania—tend to share some basic features: They are designed to prepare children and youth to become engaged citizens, ethical human beings, and productive workers who will contribute to the societies in which they live.

But for the most part, schools today are out of sync with the realities of a global world. Psychologist Howard Gardner (2004) points out the new tension between the glacial pace of institutional change in schools and the forces of globalization. Because of globalization—the ongoing process of intensifying economic, social, and cultural exchanges across the planet—young people the world over need more innovative thinking skills, cultural awareness, higher-order cognitive skills, and sophisticated communication and collaboration skills than ever before.

New Faces Everywhere