Transforming Today's Students into Tomorrow's Global Citizens: Challenges for U.S. Educators

Global citizenship represents an area of growing interest at U.S. colleges and universities. In spite of this interest, there remains a need to define global citizenship and provide a framework for integrating this concept in the undergraduate curriculum. We revisit studies on citizenship in the national context to consider whether they provide a framework when applied to the global level. We then discuss ways in which the concept of global citizenship can be integrated in undergraduate education with a focus on classroom techniques, experiential learning, service learning, study abroad, and technology. These tools help students "make the connection" between their lives and their role as global citizens. The paper ends by proposing core competencies that can be used in assessing student learning.