ERIC Number: ED595987
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2018
Pages: 207
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 978-0-4387-3124-0
ISSN: EISSN-
EISSN: N/A
The Human Image of Global Learning: The Ethics and Aesthetics of an Educational Idea
Keitges, Mark Joji
ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The concept of "global learning" has become a pervasive buzzword in higher education in the United States. While the term is well-known, its meanings are multiple. In some instances, global learning refers to a modernization of liberal education initiatives, while in others it refers to the implementation of global experiences abroad. In developing my account of cosmopolitan moral education for adults, I construct a framework for thinking about global learning that emphasizes the process of adult re-learning. Using the ethical and aesthetic thought of Immanuel Kant as a resource, I put forward an account of global learning focused on the development of autonomy, self-identity, and vocation, within the context of re-learning processes adults undergo, and aided by moral and aesthetic examples. Kantian adult moral education is an underutilized aspect of Kant's philosophy, a philosophical understanding critical to articulating global learning in its fullest capacity. This philosophical examination is aided by an empirical examination of the 2014-2015 Global Perspectives Collaborative Pilot at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Through interviews and in-classroom observations, I collected data on the first semester of the social studies methods course in the Global Perspectives cohort. I utilized the data collection and analysis technique of Public Reflective Equilibrium to bring empirical data into conversation with philosophical analysis. In doing so, the empirical data challenged and strengthened my philosophical account. I argue that it is the form of the example that is critical to aiding the process of re-learning. In particular, I use Kantian aesthetics to argue that non-narrative examples enable the learner to lay his/her understandings alongside those provided in the example and thus deepen their ability for reflective judgment and further their own re-learning. Evidence from the empirical data is presented in the form of poems in order to provide one concrete representation of the form of the example for which I argue philosophically. In concluding this study, I suggest that my account of global learning be used by faculty, programs, and institutions seeking to "globalize" the curriculum. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
Descriptors: Ethics, Global Approach, Aesthetics, Guidelines, Educational Philosophy, Program Descriptions, Pilot Projects, Adult Learning, Self Concept, Personal Autonomy, General Education, Social Studies, Methods Courses, Learning Processes, Decision Making, Global Education, Curriculum Design
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Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: Adult Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Illinois (Urbana)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A