Ethics and International Curriculum Work

The widely cited though highly contested idea that the world is flat (Friedman 2004) carries with it acall for education to provide a leveling effect across continents and cultures Students in Skokie or inSkopje as the theory goes are expected to experience a school curriculum that shares certain commonelements goals and purposes. Such a globalized view is not however without its complications. Thisbook addresses some of the issues that arise when the transmigration of educational ideas occurs with aparticular eye toward the ethical dilemmas that curriculum workers face in international contexts.The authors who have contributed to this volume explore through case examples and critical reflectionwhat happens when ideas that are drawn from one set of cultural norms and experiences is introduced intoother cultural contexts. In many cases these are the stories of donors and hosts of structuredinequities of power and influence of disparities in material resources and as expressed in one of thecases the dynamics of the colonizer and the colonized. A recurrent theme concerns the challengesfaced by educators working internationally to reconcile their own ethical predispositions toward equityand cultural responsiveness with certain tacit assumptions about the appropriateness or value of curriculum practices brought from the developedworld for teachers and students in the developing world. How these dilemmas are navigated forms the content of this collection of reports from thefield written by those who engage in this complex and important work.While the content of this volume is situated at the intersection between the field of curriculum studies and comparative education it is fundamentally abook about curriculum. Most of the authors come from various disciplinary backgrounds with specializations in curriculum development in contentareas such as social studies geography or mathematics. As outsiders looking in on the field of international education and with thoughtfulreflections grounded in practice the authors provide a new set of insights into the challenges of international curriculum work. Finally since many ofthe questions raised by the work included here are ethical in nature the book begins and ends with analyses that link the practical realities presented inthe cases with contemporary philosophical thought. This then can be seen as the primary contribution of the book to the educational literature as itoffers a careful and well-articulated synthesis of theory and practice in the field of international curriculum work. This publication would make animportant contribution to courses in curriculum theory and practice comparative and international education and international development outside ofthe field of education.