Abstract This dissertation focuses on global education (GE) and on its implementation in lower level basic education in Finland. The aim of my research was to investigate the present position of GE in basic education schools; identify the practices and problem areas in the implementation of GE; find practical solutions to facilitate the implementation; and consequently, to contribute to subsequent decision making regarding successful integration of GE in national basic education in Finland. The research may best be described as a pragmatic, qualitative dominant mixed research study that also had at the beginning features of action research. GE has served as my theoretical foundation and social learning theory has been used for studying teaching and learning from GE perspective. The main research methods were content analysis of the National Core Curriculum for Basic Education (2004) and the GE 2010 programme and research questionnaires that were sent to basic education principals, teachers, and pupils to collect data from the field. A study on textbook research has also been conducted and representatives of the two main textbook publishers in Finland were interviewed for the research. The main findings of the research suggest that GE is not systematically implemented in basic education schools in Finland even though many of the areas of GE are considered important. The main problems in implementation were seen to be the lack of conceptual clarity and the fact that GE was perceived as an additional burden for the schools rather than as an integral part of all school activities. As GE was not an explicit part of the official curriculum, it was not considered mandatory and the schools were not sufficiently resourced for teaching it. All in all, the findings focus on discussing the operational culture of schools and the role of diverse transactions in realising the aims of GE. The role of educational policy documents and the relationship between national and local curricula is found to be complex on many levels. Efficient policy implementation needs attention. This dissertation also gives suggestions on how to improve the current situation. These include clarifying the GE concept, including GE explicitly in the curriculum, defining the short-term objectives and assessment policies, training teachers and principals, resourcing the schools and teachers appropriately to teach GE. / Tiivistelmä Tämän väitöskirjatutkimuksen aiheena on globaalikasvatus ja sen täytäntöönpano suomalaisen perusopetuksen alakouluissa. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli kartuttaa tietoa globaalikasvatuksen teoreettisesta perustasta ja nykyisistä käytännöistä erityisesti Suomen kontekstissa. Tutkimuksen tehtävänä oli selvittää perusopetuksen globaalikasvatuksen tila, tunnistaa ongelmakohdat globaalikasvatuksen täytäntöönpanossa, löytää käytännön ratkaisuja täytäntöönpanon helpottamiseksi sekä täten myötävaikuttaa päätöksentekoon, jolla globaalikasvatus saadaan onnistuneesti yhdistettyä kansalliseen perusopetukseen Suomessa. Tutkimusta voi parhaiten kuvailla pragmaattisena, pääasiallisesti kvalitatiivisena ”mixed research” -tutkimuksena, jossa alussa oli myös toimintatutkimuksen piirteitä. Globaalikasvatus muodostaa työni teoreettisen perustan ja sosiaalisen oppimisen teoriaa on käytetty tutkittaessa opettamista ja oppimista globaalikasvatuksen näkökulmasta. Pääasiallisina tutkimusmetodeina on käytetty sisällönanalyysia, jolla on analysoitu Perusopetuksen opetussuunnitelman perusteita 2004 ja Kansainvälisyyskasvatus 2010 -ohjelmaa sekä tutkimuskyselyitä, joilla kerättiin tietoa perusopetusta antavien koulujen rehtoreilta, opettajilta ja oppilailta. Lisäksi tutkimusta varten on haastateltu kahden suurimman oppikirjavalmistajan edustajia sekä analysoitu tutkimuksia, joita on tehty Suomen perusopetuksen oppikirjoista. Tutkimuksen päätulokset osoittavat, että globaalikasvatusta ei ole systemaattisesti huomioitu Suomen perusopetusta antavissa kouluissa, vaikka monia globaalikasvatukseen kuuluvia aihealueita pidetäänkin perusopetukselle tärkeinä. Suurimmiksi ongelmiksi kentällä nähdään käsitteen tuntemattomuus ja epämääräisyys sekä se, että globaalikasvatusta ei liitetä kiinteästi kaikkeen koulun toimintaan. Sen sijaan se nähdään ylimääräisenä satunnaisena lisänä, jolla ei ole keskeistä roolia kouluissa. Koska globaalikasvatus ei eksplisiittisesti ole osa virallista opetussuunnitelmaa, sitä ei pidetty ensisijaisen velvoittavana eikä globaalikasvatuksen toteuttamiseen katsottu olevan riittävästi resursseja. Kaiken kaikkiaan tuloksissa pohditaan kouluyhteisön toimintakulttuuria ja moninaisten vuorovaikutusten roolia globaalikasvatuksen tavoitteiden saavuttamisessa. Tärkeäksi muodostuu myös koulutuspoliittisten asiakirjojen asema sekä valtakunnallisen ja koulukohtaisesti toteutetun opetussuunnitelman suhde globaalikasvatuksen toteuttamisessa. Tässä väitöskirjassa esitetään tilanteeseen parannusehdotuksia. Ehdotuksiin sisältyy käsitteen avaaminen, kiinteän yhteyden rakentaminen opetussuunnitelman ja käytännön välille, globaalikasvatuskompetenssien ja niihin liittyvien arviointiperiaatteiden määritteleminen, opettajankoulutuksen ja koulun johtajien koulutuksen kehittäminen sekä koulujen ja opettajien varustaminen globaalikasvatusta varten.

This study expanded on current research on study abroad and global learning, using the Global Perspective Inventory (GPI), and conducted at Florida International University (FIU) in Miami, FL. The GPI assesses the holistic development of a global perspective in higher education within three domains and their respective FIU-determined equivalents: cognitive (global awareness), intrapersonal (global perspective), and interpersonal (global engagement). The main purpose of this study was to assess FIU’s undergraduate students’ perceptions of study abroad on their level of achievement of global awareness, global perspective, and global engagement. The secondary purpose was to determine how the students described their study abroad experience and achievement of global learning. The research design for this study consisted of parallel mixed methods. The quantitative component was an ex post facto with hypothesis design, using a pretest/posttest nonequivalent group methodology. FIU undergraduates (N=147) who studied abroad for one semester or more completed the GPI pre- and post-tests. Descriptive statistics and paired t-tests were conducted to compare the means. The interviews included 10 students, and were analyzed through Structural coding, Saldaña’s In Vivo coding, and Value coding. Quantitative analyses indicated positive changes in the students’ global awareness and global perspective. These analyses also showed that the FIU students achieved higher post-test means on all the domains of the GPI compared to other studies. Qualitative analyses showed that the students’ experiences incorporated all three global learning outcomes, most notably global awareness and perspective.

The aim of this study is to compare Sweden and Finland with regards to the education systems in each country. The comparison is made based on three factors that can explain the different outcomes in the Swedish and Finnish schools. The three factors are: the education system, the curricula in upper secondary school, and the teacher's professional status. Inherent from these factors, the following three questions will be answered: 1. What are the similarities and differences between the Swedish and Finnish education systems? 2. What are the similarities and differences between the Swedish and Finnish school curricula in upper secondary school? 3. Is there any difference between the teacher's professional status in Swedish and Finnish schools? In the analysis, applies the theories: Freidson's three logicians and the pedagogical reform movement Global Education Reform Movement, GERM. Research and analysis are based on articles from Swedish and Finnish researchers, debate articles and teacher magazines. By applying a comparative analysis approach, the factors were used to compare the similarities and differences between both countries. The main difference between Sweden and Finland is that they have two different educational systems. The Finnish education system has achieved a success because of their own structured system. They do not follow the Global Education Reform Movement that the Swedish education system does. Another difference between Sweden and Finland is about the teacher's professional status. The professional position for the Swedish teachers has failed. The explanation why is that the bureaucracy but more importantly the market has taken over the role of teacher and affected their professional status. Finland, instead, has a high professionalism when it comes to the teacher’s professional status. An example of similarity between Sweden and Finland is that the school curricula in upper secondary school have the same values and the purpose of the education. In conclusion, Finland has a better approach in their educational system that differentiates itself from GERM.

The following three articles in this dissertation challenge the current rationale of internationalization and makes the case for anew approach to internationalization within U.S. higher education. My first article delves deep into the rationale of internationalization in U.S. higher education over the years by way of U.S. study abroad. This analysis identifies and evaluates the multiple cause-and –effect relationships in a historical context in order to understand the origins that led to the expansion of internationalization efforts within U.S. higher education. My second article explores Mansilla and Gardner’s global consciousness framework as a viable solution to the issues that are currently plaguing internationalization efforts in U.S. higher education. I contend that the global consciousness framework provides an alternative approach to internationalization that is rooted in mindfulness rather than competiveness. Finally, my third article evaluates the impact of this proposed solution by examining how Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine students within the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine view their roles and careers in society after engaging with the global consciousness framework. Overall, these articles take a critical lens to our approach in preparing students for the global era.

International House at the University of Alberta (I-House) is a living-learning campus residence that aims to build a strong community from an intentionally diverse population of international and Canadian students. With global education programming that focuses on leadership through community building, I-House creates opportunities for new leaders to emerge in a culturally complex environment that is thought to foster global leadership development. Eighteen I-House alumni and residents who were recognized for their leadership contributions were interviewed in-depth to determine whether and how their experiences at I-House contributed to developing their global leadership capacities and to offer insight into best practice leadership behaviors for an intensive multicultural environment. It was found that the global education culture at I-House created a nurturing environment where diverse perspectives were actively valued; I-House leaders perpetuated mechanisms of active inclusion and support, and global leadership practices that were developed in I-House continued into leaders‘ personal and professional lives.

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This diploma thesis focuses on dealing with controversial issues in primary schools. The main aim of this work is to find out why it is appropriate to integrate these issues into teaching, whether it is even possible for primary school pupils to deal with them and how these topics can be taught and integrated. The theoretical part begins by defining the term controversial issue, then it is devoted to developmental presupposition of primary school children for dealing with controversial issues, then how these issues relate to Citizenship and Global Education, and which methods can be used for dealing with controversial issues. By using questionnaire and interviews it was explored whether teachers are integrating these issues into their teaching, why and which way they do that. keywords: controversial issues / problems, global issues, current issue, cross-curricular themes, primary education, Citizenship Education, Global Education, Philosophy for children

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