Chapter 7: A Glimpse into the Making of Global Minds: The International School Experience at the United Nations International School

There is an ever-growing body of literature with contributions from a range of disciplines that document different ways in which schools seek to foster global-mindedness in students. Different studies offer a variety of related terminologies around the idea of global-mindedness. Most recently, global-mindedness has been described as being internationally-minded and having cosmopolitan perspectives, global awareness, or global vision (Gunesch, 2004; Torres, 2002; Wylie, 2008). Scholars who approach the topic from a psychological perspective have focused on the uniqueness of the internationally transient individual student, whom they refer to as third culture kids (Langford, 1998; Pollock & Van Reken, 2003). A decade ago American schools rushed to institute programs of multicultural education in an attempt to instill diversity, sensitivity, and international awareness and equip students with the knowledge, skills, and open-mindedness that would enable them to understand and work well with others in an increasingly diverse world (Banks & McGee Banks, 2003; Nieto, 1999). Regardless of the preferred term, studies typically define this way of knowing and being in the world as a set of attitudes including tolerance of others or cultural awareness, or as skill sets including second language competency or exposure to other ways of being, often through travel. However, in this study, the concept of global-mindedness emerges as a consciousness, not only a way of thinking and understanding “key patterns and dilemmas” in the world, but a “mindful way of being in the world” (Mansilla & Gardner, 2007). What is important is that both perspectives and skills come together in a way that allows individuals to act in the world in meaningful ways. Yet, graduates do not consistently identify the school’s organization or curriculum as the only, or even primary, influence on their sense of being globally-minded in this way.