The social unrest during the summer of 2020 in the United States has produced a renewed sense of urgency and agency for the interrogation of curriculum in K-12 education and the development of culturally sustaining practices. This urgency has encouraged more teacher preparation programs to be intentional in developing culturally sustaining…

The possession of a foreign accent constitutes one of the challenges international teaching assistants have to deal with in their encounters in U.S. classrooms. This challenge often impacts their perceived competence and effectiveness in the classroom. Consequently, undergraduate students usually have existing stereotypes about international…

Purpose: This paper aims to discuss current issues and provide suggestions for solutions. Today's classrooms across schools in the USA are increasingly diverse. This diversity encompasses students from a myriad of cultural and linguistic and backgrounds' academic performance levels. Teacher training programs and schools are making efforts to…

This article examines intercultural learning as a lifelong process. The data on which the article is based consist of 10 biographical interviews in which Finnish teachers were asked to talk about their lives from the perspective of intercultural learning. The analysis of the interviews showed that other people were involved in many of the…

As countries become increasingly interdependent, student populations in the United States are becoming more culturally diverse. These students' transnational perspectives present significant challenges to teachers, but a disconnect exists between the skills teachers need and those provided to them by colleges of education. As teacher preparation…

"Teachable Moments" are teaching aids about global perspectives in education. Number 1 explores disparity between what people say and what they think and do. Number 2 requires students to compare objects/concepts to illustrate that some see only differences, others see only similarities, and some see both. Number 3 examines growing…

This National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) board of directors substantive issue session initiated the process of developing a position statement for the educational observance of the Quincentenary of Columbus' landing in the Americas. The meeting consisted of proposal statements by panelists and advocated the development of a united…

Reports an individual's observations during a trip to China. Argues that the U.S. government and students must learn to understand and appreciate China because of its large population, market potential, and position among major world powers. Discusses personal impressions, the protesters at Tiananmen Square and elsewhere, and reactions to…

This article shows how a child abuse metaphor can be used to illustrate the range of cultural wounding that can result from oppression, devaluing, or stigmatizing minority group members. Students of social work can better appreciate feelings and behaviors of those oppressed when made aware of parallels between physical or psychological abuse and…

Activities that make middle school students more aware of and sensitive to the different cultural backgrounds of various races and disabled populations (particularly the deaf and hearing impaired) include student reflection on self-perception; an International Day presenting materials from various populations; and role playing and perspective…

The teachers of second languages and the teachers of social studies share a weighty responsibility to help students move toward global understanding and multicultural awareness. Possible areas of cooperation between the two disciplines, as well as constraints, are discussed. (RM)

This unit is designed to help students better understand the concept of nationalism and the powerful influence it has on group sentiments today. Nationalism can be a positive or negative force, providing avenues for either inclusion or exclusion of peoples. The unit focuses on the basic concepts of nationalism and identity by drawing upon historic…

This book addresses the following questions from a number of perspectives: (1) what is global education? (2) what does "globally aware" mean? (3) what does it mean to teach with a global perspective? and (4) what must teacher educators do to prepare themselves and their students for an increasingly more complicated world order? After a…

Strategies for devising primary grade academic learning activities that promote cultural diversity are provided. Based on the responsive multicultural basic skills (RMBS) approach, the strategies emphasize skill development, incorporate content from a diversity of cultural groups into all parts of the curriculum, and provide each child with…

A rationale for helping primary grade children learn about and value their own and other cultures while acquiring basic academic skills is provided. The handbook is based on the responsive multicultural basic skills approach (RMBS), which states that the school curriculum should reflect society's multicultural nature. The RMBS approach emphasizes…