The Cosmopolitan Teacher: Global Education and Social Reconstructionism Revisited
Abstract
Cosmopolitanism, as a philosophical precursor to global citizenship, has enjoyed an academic revival as an approach to understanding the world around us and is being promoted by many as a critical force in citizenship curriculum development (Hull et al., 2010; Camicia and Zhu, 2011; Seiler, 2011; Starkey, 2012). The literature is rich with philosophical visions of cosmopolitanism and its global citizenship education potential in the classroom, however empirical research and evidence of its application in the classroom is limited (Nussbaum, 1996; Appiah, 2006; Hansen, 2011). The result is a global education curriculum that is at a crossroads in terms of the purpose it serves in citizenship education and social studies. Nationalism as the historical goal behind citizenship education now must compete with an emerging cosmopolitan discourse that elicits a reminder of Counts (1936) Dare the Schools Build a New Social Order and the social reconstruction movement. With the increasing influence of globalization, including the diverse demographics of the U.S. population, social reconstructionism needs to be “understood in a new way, as the ever changing, always contingent outcome of a continuing contest among social groups and ideas for the power to define public culture, thus the nation itself” (Bender, 1986 p. 126). How do social studies teachers interpret global education and its outcomes for their students? By examining cosmopolitanism’s relationship to current global education initiatives through a social reconstructionist lens, a clearer picture emerges of the activist social studies teacher in the citizenship education debate.
Presentation Description
As global education becomes a stronger discourse in social studies education, the question is raised about its influence in citizenship education. By examining cosmopolitanism's philosophical relationship to global education, it is important to view this emerging curriculum through a social reconstructionist lens. The role of the teacher is explored as the gatekeeper in delivering a cosmopolitan-infused global education curriculum and how they guide citizenship education in their classrooms.
Keywords
Cosmopolitanism, Global education, Social reconstructionism, Curriculum, Social studies, Citizenship education
Location
Magnolia Room B
Publication Type and Release Option
Presentation (Open Access)
Recommended Citation
Pisani, Shane, "The Cosmopolitan Teacher: Global Education and Social Reconstructionism Revisited" (2014). Curriculum Studies Summer Collaborative. 29.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cssc/2014/2014/29
The Cosmopolitan Teacher: Global Education and Social Reconstructionism Revisited
Magnolia Room B
Cosmopolitanism, as a philosophical precursor to global citizenship, has enjoyed an academic revival as an approach to understanding the world around us and is being promoted by many as a critical force in citizenship curriculum development (Hull et al., 2010; Camicia and Zhu, 2011; Seiler, 2011; Starkey, 2012). The literature is rich with philosophical visions of cosmopolitanism and its global citizenship education potential in the classroom, however empirical research and evidence of its application in the classroom is limited (Nussbaum, 1996; Appiah, 2006; Hansen, 2011). The result is a global education curriculum that is at a crossroads in terms of the purpose it serves in citizenship education and social studies. Nationalism as the historical goal behind citizenship education now must compete with an emerging cosmopolitan discourse that elicits a reminder of Counts (1936) Dare the Schools Build a New Social Order and the social reconstruction movement. With the increasing influence of globalization, including the diverse demographics of the U.S. population, social reconstructionism needs to be “understood in a new way, as the ever changing, always contingent outcome of a continuing contest among social groups and ideas for the power to define public culture, thus the nation itself” (Bender, 1986 p. 126). How do social studies teachers interpret global education and its outcomes for their students? By examining cosmopolitanism’s relationship to current global education initiatives through a social reconstructionist lens, a clearer picture emerges of the activist social studies teacher in the citizenship education debate.
