Global Perspectives: Curriculum

Candidates should show evidence of research into any five global areas of study. The reasons for this ‘open choice’ are:

  • Candidates studying this programme around the world are in many different contexts where the different issues will have greater or lesser degrees of impact on their environment. Teachers and candidates should select issues to study based on their own areas of interest. Choice and localisation of the syllabus to the local context encourages engagement with learning.
  • Several of the areas of study are interconnected to such an extent that teachers and candidates may find themselves getting drawn into studying one as a result of studying another.
  • The syllabus aims to develop active global citizens. The intention is to give as much scope and encouragement as possible for candidates to discuss and agree with their teachers their own paths of enquiry into the complex world they are living in.

Within this syllabus an area of study is essentially a global theme, or issue which can be viewed from a wide range of perspectives. In researching an area of study, candidates are required to consider a range of perspectives and the connections between them.

The following curriculum matrix identifies a number of areas of study that may be considered as ‘containing’ global issues and may be used as headlines under which to structure Portfolio and Project work. The questions in the matrix provided are not intended to be a list of questions that the candidates work through, but rather as examples of the sort of questions that may stimulate enquiry into particular issues and form part of the ongoing discussion.

The curriculum content is to be constructed largely by teachers and candidates themselves. They may wish to develop their own questions for investigation from the given areas of study. They may prefer to start from a more immediate, personal or group concern rather than the broad area of study, and see how the concern subsequently leads into other global issues and areas of study. The actual starting points, therefore, could be newspaper articles, TV programmes or films, for example, or guest speakers or NGO websites.

An area of study, such as Biodiversity and Ecosystem Loss, should not be undertaken only as a piece of empirical research e.g. into deforestation. The collection of relevant facts and information is clearly important, but what is also important is addressing the issues within the area of study. What makes deforestation a matter of global import is not only the fact that about 20 per cent of tropical and sub-tropical forests have disappeared since the 1960s but also the effect of this loss on human (and animal and plant) life, both locally and globally. In general, human relations, with the planet and/or with each other, are at the centre of all global issues.

Possible Questions/Issues for Investigation
Areas of Study Global/International Perspectives Local/National Perspectives Family/Personal Perspectives
Belief Systems Why do people have different belief systems? What are some of the different belief systems held in different countries? How do belief systems affect a country’s political system and culture? What are the different belief systems in my country and in my community? How do these belief systems affect the nature of the local community? Is respect shown for other peoples’ beliefs? What differing beliefs do my friends and family have? How do these beliefs affect their behaviour and how other people view them? Have my own beliefs changed over time?
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Loss Why are plant species threatened? How can existing material/mineral resources be maintained? How would we judge whether the loss of a number of plant or animal species constituted a disaster? Are humans themselves becoming more, or less, diverse? How can habitats (plant and animal) be maintained? What projects/initiatives are there in my country for maintaining resources and/or finding alternative sources? How do I and my family and friends use existing material/ mineral resources? Do I do anything to threaten plant species? What steps can I/ we take to reduce ecosystem loss?
Climate Change What causes climate change? What are the effects of climate change? Is the present climate change a natural phenomenon or human induced? How do different countries approach climate change? How does my country approach climate change? What facilities or laws exist to help reduce the impact? What measures are taken in the local community? Are my family and friends really aware of the issues? Do I, my family, my friends do anything that might contribute to climate change? Are there further steps we could take?
Conflict and Peace Why do wars and conflicts begin? Are wars an inevitable part of being human? Where is there conflict in the world today? What is the role of the UN in times of conflict? Which groups seem to be in conflict within my own country or community? Is it their interests or ideas that are conflicting? What political/ethical systems enable people to live with their differences? What causes conflicts between me and my family or peers? How are these conflicts best resolved? How can this help me to understand conflict on a wider scale?
Disease and Health How do infant mortality rates and expected life spans compare in different countries? What are the reasons for this? What are the major health problems facing the world today? Is access to good health care a right? How good are my local health care and sports facilities? Are they equally available to everyone? Which people in my locality have the greatest health care needs? How well does my community cater for people with disabilities? What can I do to keep myself healthy? Do I have a responsibility to keep myself healthy, and if so, why? Where should I go if I have a health worry or need advice about staying healthy?
Education for All What is education for? What is the relationship between a country’s wealth and its rates of literacy? What effect does illiteracy have on a person and on a country? Does everyone have the right to an education? What types of education are available in my area? Who uses them? How is education funded? What are the educational options available for people with learning difficulties or physical disabilities? How much do I value my own education? What do I most want to learn as I grow older? If I could change the education system, what changes would I make to the curriculum?
Employment Why is employment important? Which countries have highest/lowest employment levels? Why do employment levels differ? What causes unemployment? What are the employment levels in my country and local community? How do they compare with other countries? What is done to help the unemployed? How are my extended family and friends’ parents employed? How does this affect my/their lifestyle and choices? What is important to me about the kind of job I have?
Family and Demographic Change Why do some countries have a high proportion of children, or of elderly people? What difficulties can this cause? What is a ‘family’? What responsibilities do family members have to one another? How/why has the family changed? What sorts of families live in my local area? What proportion of households are single people? Has this changed in recent decades? What support is there in my area for families in need? How is this funded? What responsibilities do my parents have to me? What responsibilities do I have to them? What sort of parent do I want to become, if at all? How would I choose to be cared for when I am elderly?
Fuel and Energy What are the world’s mineral resources used for? Which countries provide the most/ least? Which countries use the most/least? Who controls the prices? What kinds of fuels are the most environmentally friendly? Who are the biggest fuelusers in my locality? Where do local fuel supplies come from? Is my community taking action to reduce fuel consumption? Does my community use solar power, wind power, hydro-electric power? Which fuels/resources do I regularly use at home and at school/college? How can I, and my family and friends contribute to reducing fuel consumption?
Humans and Other Species How well do humans share the planet with other species? Are certain species more important than others? Should humans be permitted to ‘use’ other species to make human life easier/ better? What are the laws in my country relating to humans and other species? Do people in my country show respect to animals and other creatures? What are the attitudes of my friends and family to animals and other creatures? Do my friends/family have strong beliefs about keeping pets, being vegetarian, experiments on animals?
Law and Criminality Why do people make laws? Do we need laws? What causes some people to break laws? Who decide which laws should be in force? What are the problems caused by different law systems in different countries? What are the crime rates in my country/community? What are the major crimes? What schemes are there to protect people from crime? How effective is the national/ local police force? Do I or my family or my friends break any laws? Do I feel safe in my local community? Has crime affected me or my family and friends? Can I do anything to help prevent crime?
Technology and the Economic Divide Which are the most/least technological nations? Why do nations have differing levels of technology? Which are the wealthiest/poorest nations? What are the effects of differing levels of technology and economic status? How does my country stand in comparison with others with regard to levels of technology and economic status? How does this affect the level of development and living standards of my region? What technology do I have access to at home/school? How does the level of technology and economic status of my family affect me, my family and friends?
Trade and Aid How do countries trade with one another? Who makes the rules? Why are some countries with plenty of natural resources poorer than some other countries? Do richer countries have a responsibility to help poorer countries? What does my country import and export? Which countries do we trade with the most? Why are some goods imported even though we produce similar goods at home? What should I consider when I make decisions about whose products to buy? What effect does this have on the lives of others around the world? Are there some companies I should specially support, or boycott?
Tradition, Culture and Language Why do people value tradition? Why do people divide into nations? Why do some people move from one country to another? How does this affect their lives? If we have ‘European citizens’, should we aim eventually for all people to be ‘World citizens’? What traditions give my country a sense of national identity? How many different ethnic backgrounds live in my community? What can we learn from each other? Should I be proud of my country? Do I have duties to my country? What cultural traditions have I inherited? How important is tradition to me? How important is it for me to learn a foreign language?
Urbanisation Why are more houses being built in many countries in the world? Should there be restrictions on house building? What different types of houses are there in the world? What are the rules in different countries for building houses? What provision is there in my country for homeless people? What kind of homes are there in my community? Does the housing meet people’s needs? What happens to people in my area if they are homeless? What kind of homes do I and my family and friends live in? What is important to me about my home? How would I feel about new houses being built near my home?
Water Why do people need clean water? Why do some countries have an inadequate supply of clean water? Who owns a river that passes through several countries? What causes droughts/ floods? Is my community at risk from flood or drought? What emergency measures are in place for coping with droughts or floods in my community or country? Who uses the most water? How does my water use affect that of others? Do I need to make an effort to save water? How could I do this? Who pays for clean water?

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