Ready, Set, Global!An Assessment of Globalization in High
School Curricula
Allison MeeksDecember 1, 2009
Research Question
Are high schools providing a global education to their students and is it affected by outside factors?
Thesis
Global education is necessary in high school education; however the number of elements can be affected by geographic and socioeconomic factors.
Literature Review• What is Global education?
• Hard to define• Bales (2004) and Tye (1993), (2003)
• Common understanding that all are connected• Waltzer and Heilman (2005)
• Why the need for Global Education?• Economic Security
• Bell-Rose and Desai (2006)• Parker (2008)• The Committee on Prospering in the Global
Economy (2005)• National Security
• Parker (2008) • Burak (2003)• Tye (2003)
Literature Review
• Examples of Global Education• Tye and Tye (1993)• Ady (1999)• Fujikane (2003)
• U.S. Policy and Global Education• Not required but encouraged• International Education Week (2008)
Theory• Consensus Theories (Daun 2002)
• Society is held together by shared values• Allocation of the most talented people to highest
positions• Neglects outside social factors
• Not everyone starts on equal footing
• Conflict Theory• Education is directly affected by socioeconomic factors
(Daun 2002)• Bordieu (1986)
• Economic capital, social capital, cultural capital• Resistance Theory (Giroux 2001)
• Globalization and Education• Interdisciplinary• Use of technology has made education more
accessible
Methodology
TYPE URBAN SUBURBAN
FRINGE
PUBLIC Public urban
Public Suburban
Public Fringe
PRIVATE Religious Urban
Religious Suburban
Religious Fringe
Private Urban
Private Suburban
Private Fringe
•Chicago area high schools•Course description books were collected from website•Coded for:
•Technology• Word, Microsoft, Excel, Desktop Publishing, etc.
•Multi and Cross Cultural Concepts • Literature, Forms of Government, Economics, etc.
•Non-western Languages
Methodology
Strengths• Need to know what is
available in order to change anything.
• Current and relevant topic
Weaknesses• Only in Chicago• Limited availability
• Does not measure how effective global education is.
Findings
TYPE URBAN
SUBURBAN
FRINGE TOTAL
PRIVATE 3 3 4 10
RELIGIOUS 2 3 2 4
INDEPENDENT 2 1 1 7
TOTAL 7 7 7 21
Breakdown of Schools by Location and Type
SAMPLE
FindingsFigure 1: Elements of Global Education on a Per School Basis: Public v. Private
FindingsFigure 2: Elements of Global Education on a Per School Basis and Percent Low Income of Public Schools
FindingsSIZE
PrivateSIZE MULTICULTURA
LTECHNOLOGY
< 1000 STUDENTS
20.0 28.0
> 1000 STUDENTS
29.5 36.3
PublicSIZE MULTICULTRUA
LTECHNOLOGY
< 1000 STUDENTS
27 47
1000< BUT > 2000
37 79.5
> 2000 STUDENTS
41 95.75
DiscussionPublic Schools in this assessment did the best
job of providing global education opportunities.
• Differences in Funding• Location• Languages
• Differences in Size
• Difference in writing style
• Changes take time
Questions?
Thank you