Following IVECA’s intermediate teacher professional development (TPD) courses, the Advanced TPD sessions continued with teachers from Incheon, South Korea, who pursued to build global leader teacher competencies. Guided by Dr. Eunhee Jung, Founder of IVECA, teachers had the opportunity to dig deeper and put into practice IVECA’s systematic theoretical framework to develop intercultural competence of global citizens, from setting up objectives through designing activities and evaluations. Invited teacher speakers from the US and Korea who have run IVECA for several years presented their dynamic experiences and integration process of IVECA in their school activities–one of the teachers introduced how her school adopted IVECA as the official school subject over the years and got the text book approved by their Office of Education.
Guest lecturers shared their knowledge and insights on diverse aspects of Global Citizenship Education (GCED) and how it affects the world. Mr. Ramu Damodaran, who served as the first Director of the United Nations Academic Impact, elucidated the meaning of global citizenship and how individuals can transform the world through local problem-solving. Dr. William Gaudelli, Dean of the College of Education at Lehigh University, underscored the importance of the socio-emotional domain in GCED and how it can be integrated into school education. Answering the question of what competencies next generations should have, Dr. Ekkehard Ernst, Chief of the Macroeconomic Policies and Jobs Unit at the International Labour Organization, provided rigorous data analyses illustrating the future job market and human work styles while also stressing socio-emotional competency of global citizens.
Teachers who continued to the advanced level course expressed great interest in integrating international exchange programs at their school. Some who had organized their own programs were searching for new strategies to make them more effective. Throughout the sessions, teachers were guided to collaborate with one another and share perspectives on what Global Citizenship Education means to them. Teachers noted, “It inspired me to integrate SDGs [Sustainable Development Goals] into my English classes again.” and, “Before attending this program, I barely knew about international/intercultural exchanges. This program gave me insight on international/intercultural exchanges.”
Equipping teachers with profound knowledge on the curriculum design framework of intercultural exchanges, the training course enabled the participants to select and plan collaborative learning activities on SDG-related issues that are prevalent in Korea. Teacher groups worked together to create curriculum surrounding their country’s challenges. The holistic application of intercultural competency objectives taught teachers how to promote local and global collaboration while fostering empathy and responsibility in their students as global citizens. These aspects are essential to GCED.
The professional development courses provided great insight for teachers on international exchanges. Teachers delightfully reflected, “We learned a lot from this course. Thanks to you, I could have a very meaningful and productive summer vacation.” and, “I can't thank you enough for all the things you’ve done for us. Despite the limited time and time differences, you've given us amazing opportunities to learn about global citizenship as well as the IVECA program. I will apply for an IVECA program next year and hope I can see you again then…. It was wonderful working with you. Thanks.”
