A common question posed to environmental scientists by nonscientists, particularly policymakers, is the following: In a world that is globally warmer, what will the new climate be like in specific geographical regions? This question has been and continues to be addressed by computer modeling, a technique that is out of reach for vast majority of…

The fact that our world increasingly faces serious problems including poverty, wars, environmental destruction, climate change, pandemics, gender inequality, hunger, oppression and so on raises the question of the role of foreign language teaching profession in struggling to find solutions to those global issues. This understanding relates to an…

In democratic societies schools have an obligation to address complex societal issues such as ethnic/religious tensions and social conflicts. The article reports an exploratory study of how theatre plays were used in upper-secondary schools to generate pedagogically relevant platforms for addressing the current Middle East conflicts and their…

This article examines middle schoolers' perspectives on their lives in middle school. Fifteen middle school students from three middle schools in the Southeast region of the United States participated in a basic qualitative study using focus groups at their schools where they were asked the central question, "If you could change one thing at…

Typically embodied in classroom-based projects, service learning aims to link community service with the school curriculum to enhance both character development and academic skills. Service learning can also go beyond these goals to prepare students to become engaged citizens, by expanding their understanding of social problems and the role of…

Study after study documents the skills the American workforce needs to stay competitive in a global marketplace, yet increasingly employers are compelled to look overseas for those skills. The authors advocate for a different manner of thinking, focused on engaging students in work that is relevant to the world they see, encouraging them to take…

As evidence of the growing ecological crisis mounts, it is imperative that sociologists speak to this social problem and incorporate a sociological perspective on environmental issues into the curriculum. Central to understanding how social issues relate to environmental problems is an examination of the ties between consumption and its ecological…

Examines two viewpoints that secondary students can adopt when studying world people and issues. First is the insider perspective of the individual who lives and experiences a situation as a participant, and whose interpretations are subjective and practical. Second is the outsider perspective of the observer whose outlook is objective and…

Describes an exercise designed to help students experience the inequities of land and wealth distribution and to raise serious questions about solutions to those inequities. (FL)

"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 simulation game is designed to give the student direct experience in conflict and cooperation. This exercise, a two-person instead of a group game, combines the primary elements of simulations--role-playing with a senario and a game format in which strategies have clear outcomes for the players. (SM)

Data and activities examining the current world food crisis are provided. (DE)

Background information and a role playing activity which examines the conflict over control of the oceans are provided. (DE)

"Teachable Moments" are teaching aids about global perspectives in education. Number 1 describes an activity that lets students feel what it is like to be a refugee. Number 2 involves discussion of why people are hungry, rich, or poor. Number 3 helps students learn to deal with experts' opinions on global problems. Number 4 uses…

A simulation designed to examine American responsibility with respect to global hunger is provided. Students play American leaders who must choose between conflicting national and international priorities. (Author/DE)