Rethinking the Social Studies Curriculum in the Context of Globalization: Education for Global Citizenship in the U.S.

Abstract

Scholarship on globalization suggests that new forms of democratic citizenship and politics are emerging, yet the U.S. educational system remains resistant to global perspectives in the curriculum and continues to favors national identity and patriotism over learning about the world. A national approach to citizenship, which is the norm in U.S. social studies classrooms, is unable to explain the complexity of global issues and their impact on students' lives. The argument is made that a new orientation to social studies education is necessary in order to understand and address the effects of globalization. Two exemplary programs that teach about the world illustrate some of the problems and issues with global perspectives specific to the U.S. educational context. These cases indicate that, significant aspects of globalization are overlooked in the social studies curriculum.