An Action Research Study on Globally Competent Teaching in Online Spaces

Abstract

Research shows that teachers understand why global competence is important but do not necessarily know how to implement global teaching. One way to address this problem of practice is integrating global competence with teacher education. Education abroad is an effective method to internationalize teaching, but travel is suspended due to the global pandemic. At the same time, the pandemic also highlights how global cooperation and global competence are vital in mitigating the effects of the virus. The purpose of this action research study was to investigate the impact of infusing global learning in an online education methods course. Data sources included products of learning and reflections from 24 master's students. Findings include five themes (multilingual communication, current event awareness, content-aligned integration, utilizing students' identities, and practicing local-global inquiry) that describe the prerequisites, barriers, challenges, and successes as teachers develop global competence and implement globally competent teaching in their K-12 classrooms.