Issues ...
Students, parents, businesses and political leaders agree that international knowledge and skills are all-important if the United States is to remain a leader in the knowledge economy of the 21st Century.

But how do we turn this vision of an internationally literate generation into reality? This webpage focuses on several key school reform issues and specifically where international education can be incorporated as a part of America's ongoing agenda to improve our education system. In most cases, this site will examine innovative community-based programs and how they can inform--and in some cases improve-- state and national policy.

OVERVIEW
What is international education? Why does it matter?
What are the goals? What can I do?

REFORM ISSUES
Follow the links below for informative articles (first published in Phi Delta Kappan, November 2004).
Introduction
Preparing our Students for Work and Citizenship in the Global Age
From Community Innovation to National Policy
How Americans Think About International Education and Why it Matters
Preparing Urban Youth to Succeed
Improving Capacity in Foreign Languages
Teaching the World: A New Teacher Preparation Requirement
Raising a World-Wise Child and the Power of Media
Harnessing Information Technology

DID YOU KNOW?
Students want to know more about the world.

Nine out of ten students want to know more about the rest of the world; they believe it will be important to their futures. [1]

The world will demand it of them… One in six U.S. jobs is tied to international trade. [2]

Prior to September 11, the Intelligence Community was not prepared to handle the challenge it faced in translating the volumes of foreign language counterterrorism intelligence it collected. Agencies within the Intelligence Community experienced a readiness level of only 30% in the most critical terrorism-related languages used by terrorists. [3]

A Roper Poll determined that nearly half - 48 percent of Americans have at least weekly dealings with someone whose first language is not English, and the majority were 18- to 34-year-olds. [4]

Chinese will top English as the most-used language on the Internet by 2007, according to forecasts by the World Intellectual Property Organization. [5]

Our trade with Asia has surpassed that with Europe in 1979; today, trade with Asia is double our trade with Europe. Projections by the U.S. Trade Representative indicate that trade with Asia will exceed $1 trillion before 2010. The majority of future growth for industries of all sizes is in overseas markets. [6]

…we must demand it of our education system.

Teachers cannot teach what they do not know. Most teachers are not being trained in world affairs, history and cultures. For example, of the top 50 U.S. colleges and universities that train teachers, only a handful require any coursework in non-Western history for their students preparing to teach history. [7]

While one million students in the U.S. study French, a language spoken by 70 million people, fewer than 50,000 students study Chinese, a language spoken by more than one billion people. [8]

25% of college-bound high school students could not name the ocean that separates the United States from Asia. [9]

Only 17% of American students polled could find Afghanistan on a map despite a recent U.S.-led war there. Nearly twice as many as knew the remote location of the television program Survivor. [10]

Only 13% could identify Iraq on a map of Asia and the Middle East [11]

ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Introduction | GO
The following articles were first published in the November 2004 issue of Phi Delta Kappan. The guest editors, Sharon Kagan and Vivien Stewart, advocate not only to promote international education in our schools but to rethink the intent of education in the 21st century.

Preparing Our Students for Work and Citizenship in the Global Age | GO
James B. Hunt, Jr., former governor of North Carolina (1977-1985, 1993-2001) and John Engler, former governor of Michigan (1993-2001)

International Education: From Community Innovation to National Policy | GO
Ted Sanders, President, Education Commission of the States, and Vivien Stewart, Vice President, Asia Society

How Americans Think About International Education and Why It Matters | GO
Susan Bales, President, Frameworks Institute

Preparing Urban Youth to Succeed in the Interconnected World of the 21st Century | GO
Tony Jackson, Director, Gates International Studies Secondary School Network, Asia Society

Improving Students' Capacity in Foreign Languages | GO
Myriam Met, Acting Director, National Foreign Language Center, University of Maryland

Teaching the World: A New Teacher Preparation Requirement | GO
James A. Kelly, Founding President, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards

Raising A World-Wise Child and the Power of Media: The Impact of Television on Children's Inter-Cultural Knowledge | GO
Ellen Wartella, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost, University of California Riverside and Gary Knell, President and CEO, Sesame Workshop

Harnessing Information Technology for International Education | GO
Linda Roberts, former Director, Office of Education Technology, US Department of Education

Portraits of Pioneering Schools | GO
Learn more about the winners of The Goldman Sachs Foundation Prizes for Excellence in International Education. Do you know of a school that exemplifies excellence in international education? The annual prize competition is announced in mid-spring.

Resource Guide | GO

All articles reprinted with permission. For reprint inquiries, please contact Phi Delta Kappan.

Supporting Teachers through Preparation and Professional Development
Teachers cannot teach what they do not know. Most practicing teachers today did not have the opportunities or were not required to learn about other world regions. Even today, the majority of colleges of education and state teacher certification practices do not require coursework on other regions of the world. Federal and state directives are often confusing and state assessment programs contain little if any international content.

Opportunities must be provided for teachers to learn about the history, geography, and economies of different world regions and about international relations. Pre-service preparation, professional development, and direct exposure to other cultures through travel, study, and exchange are crucial if teachers are to prepare their students adequately for life in an increasingly complicated and connected world.

Some reform is already underway: foundations are providing grants for teachers to study and travel abroad, teacher preparation courses are establishing sister programs in other countries, and NCATE and NBPTS standards are beginning to show the need for teacher education in international content. Despite these reform measures, extensive change is still needed. Further progress will require governors, business leaders, and legislators to be involved and push for changing standards while the President and Congress need to provide funding for international curricular materials and teacher professional development programs.

See recommendations by a national committe.
See also these reports providing information on how leaders design seminars to both increase teachers’ content knowledge and help them foster a sustained presence for Asia.

Expanding Foreign Language Study in American Schools
The newest data on foreign language learning in schools shows that approximately one-fourth of America's elementary schools offer foreign languages. Foreign language study needs to be made available to students not only in elementary school, but in all grades, K-16, for many compelling reasons, including:

• An increase in Americans conducting business overseas. Only one-fourth of the world's population has some degree of competence in English, requiring knowledge of other languages by American citizens.
• To promote peace around the world and maintain US national security, cultural and linguistic competence is required.
• Evidence is accumulating to show cognitive and academic benefits from learning new languages, especially for those who learn from an early age. For example, young language learners score higher on standardized tests than their peers who have not studied a language.
• A recent influx of immigrants has resulted in daily contact with cultural and linguistic diversity in cities and towns across America every day.

Opportunities abound for increased foreign language instruction but some factors should be considered when beginning a new program. These include: sufficient time for language learning, proper levels of intensity to engage learners, extensive interaction to hear (or read) new language, and continuity from year to year.

Several articles and links focus on creating early-learning programs and promoting the development of pipeline programs throughout the K-16 system. MORE.

NOTES

1 Fred L. Hayward and Laura M. Siaya, Public Experience, Attitudes, and Knowledge: A Report on Two National Surveys about International Education, (Washington, DC: American Council on Education, 2001), 2. [See full report.] and

Asia in the Schools: Preparing Young Americans for Today's Interconnected World, (New York: Asia Society, 2001), 18. [See full report.]

2 For these and the latest international trade statistics, visit the U.S. Trade Representative's website at http://ustr.gov

3 9/11 Report: Joint Congressional Inquiry: Report of the Joint Inquiry into the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001, (House Permanent Select Committee on Intellegence and Select Senate Committee on Intelligence, 2003) Systemic Finding 6, xvi. [See full report.]

4 "Campaign urges America to learn foreign languages," Washington Times, 8 December 2004.

5 "Chinese to be the Most-Used Language on the Web by 2007" Financial Times, 7 December 2001. [Full article]

6 For these and the latest international trade statistics, visit the U.S. Trade Representative's website at http://ustr.gov

7 Asia in the Schools, 29.

8 Asia Society unpublished research.

9 Asia in the Schools, 20.

10 National Geographic — Roper 2002 Global Geographic Literacy Survey, (Washington, DC: National Geographic Education Foundation, 2002), 3 - 4. [See full report.]

11 Ibid, 3.

Who we are | Contact

725 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10021
212.327.9227

Search powered by Google