Teachers Building “Planetary Villages”: Considering International Mindedness in Majority-Muslim Contexts

Abstract

Abstract:In an increasingly complex and globally uncertain time, the challenge of preparing students for such a world is a pivotal argument in the navigation of a third space in education with the goal to bridge both transactional and meaningful outcomes for students. Are we approaching global education as a competitive edge that holds value in a neoliberal environment? Are we seeking global interconnectedness as a way to bridge differences and assuage global tensions? And what do we see represented in non-Western, non-white, and non-Judeo-Christian schools in terms of how globalism and international mindedness are present in those contexts? In the U.S., a deeper understanding of how Muslim students experience education is well documented (Ghaffar-Kucher, 2016, Niyozov & Pluim, 2009). But how do Muslim educators understand their role and responsibility in terms of teaching their students what it means to be present in a global world? Using a phenomenological approach, this paper takes a critical approach in representing the voices of teachers from 15 majority-Muslim countries who participated in a global teacher exchange program. Participating in a series of interviews, focus groups, conversations, and surveys, teachers from majority-Muslim countries addressed issues of commitment to both national and international approaches to the understanding of culture, raised light on the hegemony of what is considered global, explored how to foster common ground with their students, and finally presented gaps from their perspective in teacher education on pedagogy and curriculum.