Globalizing Minds

Globalization has a profound effect on the mission and goals of education worldwide. One of itsmost visible manifestations is the worldwide endorsement of the idea of education for globalcitizenship which has been enthusiastically supported by national governments politiciansand policy-makers across different nations. Increasingly the educational institutions feel underpressure to respond to globalization forces by preparing students to engage competitively andsuccessfully with this new realm lest their nations be left in the dust. What is the role ofinternational schools in implementing the idea of education for global citizenship? How dothese schools create a culturally unbiased global curriculum when the adopted models havebeen developed by Western societies and at the very least are replete with (Western) culturalvalues traditions and biases?This collection of essays attempts to grapple with these complex issues while highlighting that culture and politics closely intertwinewith schooling and curriculum as parents administrators teachers and students of different backgrounds and interests negotiatedefinitions of self and each other to construct knowledge in particular contexts. The goal is to examine the complexity of factors thatdrive the global demand for education for global citizenship and de-construct the contested nature of global citizenship byexamining how the phenomenon is understood interpreted and modified in different cultural settings. The authors provide not only athick description of their cases but also a critical assessment of various attempts to initiate and implement educational reforms aimed atthe development of globally-minded citizens in various national settings.