Publication Date

Spring 2016

Advisor(s) - Committee Chair

Janet Applin (Director), Pitt Derryberry, Kristin Wilson, and Kimberlee Everson

Degree Program

Educational Leadership Doctoral Program

Degree Type

Doctor of Education

Abstract

Scholars and leaders agree institutions of higher education must prepare students to live, work and thrive in a global community. Nevertheless, there remains much discourse and debate surrounding what it actually means to be a global citizen, and what are the appropriate learning opportunities that will best serve to achieve this goal. This quantitative study examined whether or not participation in global citizenship education opportunities predicts how a student identifies him- or herself in relation to all humanity as measured using the Identification with All Humanity (IWAH) scale (McFarland et al., 2012). Four research questions were examined 1) does participation in Connections coursework predict how a student identifies him- or herself in relation to all humanity?, 2) does participation in study abroad opportunities predict how a student identifies him- or herself in relation to all humanity?, 3) does frequent interaction with individuals of a different culture other than that of the student’s own predict how a student identifies him- or herself in relation to all humanity?, and 4) does participation in Connections coursework, participation in study abroad, and frequent interaction with individuals of a different culture have a synergistic effect on how a student identifies him- or herself in relation to all humanity?

This study assumed that global citizenship education is predicated on the ability of individuals to identify with [acknowledge the significance of] others outside of their own communities. Moreover, this study assumed that global citizenship education has three primary, albeit broad, goals being; 1) to aid students in acknowledging that their understanding of the world is considerably narrow by no fault of their own; 2) to develop students’ capacities for acknowledging the significance of our inter-connectedness as humans; and 3) to transform how students see themselves in relation to the world around them.

The findings of this study supported participation in both formal and informal experiential learning opportunities as being significant predictors of how an individual identified him- or herself in relation to others. Findings also supported the idea that global citizenship does not indicate dissolution of citizenship to a particular nation-state but is rather an extension thereof.

Disciplines

Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education | Educational Leadership | Higher Education | Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education

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