International global citizenship practica programs abound in universities and high schools across North America; indeed, they are a growing trend. However, there has been little research into their long-term impact, particularly of high school practica. This dissertation explores the influence of a high school global citizenship practicum through the perspectives, perceptions, and lives of its participants eight years later, and subsequently examines implications for personal vocation, global education practice and global citizenship practica.
The research questions are embedded in cares arising from my years teaching high school Social Studies and are inspired by the global citizenship practicum in question, one which I initiated and co-facilitated. They are informed by conceptions of global citizenship and a philosophy of experiential learning. The research project itself is framed as a case study; its approach is qualitative and interpretist in nature. The research findings derive largely from interviews and written communication with 11 of 14 former practicum participants, including the practicum’s co-facilitator. They are supplemented with memories and perspectives of the author-researcher and enlightened by scholarly literature.
Findings show that high school global citizenship practica, ones that include a home-stay experience, can be effective and transformative in cultivating enduring traits commensurate with global citizenship. However, these practica face potential and critical impediments and challenges in accomplishing those ends. Teacher-facilitators play important, perhaps indispensable roles in helping address these challenges and in creating learning environments that foster global perspectives and critical awareness.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:MANITOBA/oai:mspace.lib.umanitoba.ca:1993/16911 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Kornelsen, Lloyd |
| Contributors | Wiens, John (Education), Schnitzer, Debbie (Education) McCluskey, Ken (Education) Byrne, Sean (Peace and Conflict Studies) Russell, Tom (Queen's University) |
| Publisher | Canadian Council of Teachers of English Language Arts |
| Source Sets | University of Manitoba Canada |
| Detected Language | English |
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