Without a doubt, the last two years of the pandemic have been challenging for people from all walks of life. It further highlighted the many inequities that exist across the globe, but, in some ways, brought people together as they faced a standard threat.
Teachers around the world have, with great agility, flipped between remote and face-to-face learning. They need collectively mourned the lack of social interaction for their students and missed the supreme satisfaction of the ‘normal’ daily interactions that being in a classroom brings.
As students across Southeast Asia transition back to face-to-face learning, teachers too face a transitional time as they endeavor to prepare their students for the future.
In this era, a teacher's role is no longer limited to the teaching and knowledge of academic outcomes. Great teachers form partnerships with their students to holistically develop self-efficacy, foster curiosity, and find out according to their interests and talents. Teachers and students work together to adapt to new world trends and alleviate global issues.
Successful teachers, who wish to be role models and partners to their students, must develop the competencies of educational, professional, personal, and social skills to meet the needs of their students in a rapidly changing global environment. To support students in their quest to move and be responsible global citizens, teachers must be adept at teaching the skills of leadership, higher order thinking, ICT, collaboration, communication, and problem-solving.
In 2018, for the primary time, the PISA (Programmed for International Student Assessment) test cycle included a worldwide competence assessment. The insertion of this assessment speaks to the importance of preparing our students to not only navigate our increasingly complex and connected world, but to thrive, and find success and joy within it.
The OECD’s model of worldwide competence mirrors the PISA assessment and is surrounded by the corresponding values attitudes, knowledge, and beliefs needed to grow and develop as a globally competent individual. Developing these capabilities is as important to us as teachers as they're to our students. For a way to model and inspire our students without being in possession of those qualities ourselves?
Indonesia is an example of a pluralistic nation consisting of individuals from different ethnic groups, traditions, customs, cultures, and native languages. This diversity is reflected within the classroom, with students from varied backgrounds learning and growing together.
Teachers as advocates of worldwide competence must build a culture of open-mindedness and mutual respect to develop the positive values and attitudes that will support their students in their interactions with people from diverse backgrounds. Additionally, teachers must lead students to know and be sensitive to developing global situations and issues, allowing students to know the positive and negative implications of these issues on their local communities.
Teachers who are globally competent guide their students to develop a worldwide mindset that is open to new thoughts and ideas. A mindset that will develop cross-cultural networks, adapt to plural and heterogeneous society, accept differences, and celebrate diversity. Teachers with a worldwide perspective will collaborate with other parties to advance education in innovative and creative ways while still upholding values in local communities and other countries.
Some of the efforts that can be made to improve global competency that have an impact on students are:
Teachers and students together create a classroom atmosphere that celebrates diversification
Teachers develop student learning experiences that allow interaction with multiple cultures
encourage students to attach, communicate and learn from students in other countries using ICT
Facilitate regular intercultural communication between students
Encourage students to find out other languages and about other cultures
As you'll see, communication may be a pivotal skill in the development of global competencies. Indeed, effective communication is vital to success in many spheres of life and the basis of developing strong and healthy relationships.
The ability to communicate allows us to connect well with others, to learn, share, to GH, and cry. Sometimes communication is straightforward, and sometimes it is often a challenge. Additional barriers caused by language or cultural differences can sometimes make the task of communicating effectively seem insurmountable.
However, communication is often a medium and source of intercultural knowledge exchange, enriching the advantages of diversity and pluralism and creating opportunities for work and collaboration between nations.
How does one increase your intercultural capability? How can you communicate cross-culturally? Where can we find opportunities, as teachers, to share ideas, collaborate, and innovate within the global space?
Are you ready? How Student's competencies for a changing world
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