Classics and Modern Foreign Languages: their part in educating pupils in a world of increasing globalisation from a PGCE student perspective

Abstract

The authors take as their starting point the importance of equipping pupils to take their place in a world of increasing globalisation. They argue that definitions of globalisation that focus on its economic dimensions are in danger of ignoring the dimension of cultural heritages and that an appreciation of this broader understanding of globalisation is essential in educating pupils in schools at the beginning of the twenty‐first century. To test the degree to which their own perceptions were shared by practitioners, the authors investigated the extent to which a sample of trainee teachers at King's College, London were sensitive to and defined and operationalised the concept of globalisation in their classroom practice. This article presents findings from their pilot study and concludes by showing the need for further work in the area.