Abstract: GCE in an international school context: Student research on Global CItizenship

Experiencing GCE in an international school context: Student research on Global CItizenship

For the first time since the birth of the IB, year 13 students did not take their exams and did not return to school as younger students did due to the covid-19 crisis. At the beginning of May and throughout the Foundation, several teachers and administrators set up enhancement programmes to ensure that the final months of these students' secondary schooling were meaningful. The Ecolint and GCE research project was undertaken by a small group of students working with the Director of Education.The focus of the project was to study the Ecolint student experience in relation to global citizenship education. Over a two month period, these students honed their skills in university-level social science research by learning to

● Design a social science research project
● Undertake a literature review
● Take into consideration research ethics
● Gather and analyze data

Both the research and writing process as well as initial findings were thought-provoking. Similar to the Research Institute work at ISL, it is clear that students are capable of collaborative research and writing at an advanced academic level and of engaging in original, rigorously conducted research. The conclusions of the study are equally valuable to school leaders. Evidence from the study indicates that perhaps the key factor in the development of a global mindset is multilingualism. Furthermore, opportunities to develop those characteristics commonly associated with global mindedness occur most often outside of the written curriculum.