Learning to think by studying global education

Australian students are members of an increasing interdependent, pluralistic global community that require acquisition of relevant knowledge, skills and values to enable them to participate and act in shaping their preferred future for a more peaceful, equitable, socially just and ecologically sustainable world. Global education demonstrates that content and practice are inextricably linked as 'how' we teach will have as much impact on students' outcomes as 'what' we teach and that choosing appropriate learning processes such as student-centred, inquiry based, experiential and critical learning processes (Global Perspectives, 2002, pp. 17-19) will influence students' attitudes and engagement with the world. Global education, in common with Geography, refers to ethically and politically controversial, contemporary global issues that involve conflicting opinions, such as human rights abuses, terrorism, environmental degradation and refugees. These issues require balanced study, critical appraisal, sensitive handling and the capacity to consider different points of view by seeing, thinking and looking from 'other' perspectives, an essential skill for intercultural understanding in this 'shrinking global village' confronted with racism, ethnocentrism and sexism.