What is Global Competence?

The idea of global competence articulates the knowledge and skills students need in the 21st century.

Globally competent students have the knowledge and skills to:

Investigate the World

Globally competent students are aware, curious, and interested in learning about the world and how it works.

Recognize Perspectives

Globally competent students recognize that they have a particular perspective, and that others may or may not share it.

Communicate Ideas

Globally competent students can effectively communicate, verbally and non-verbally, with diverse audiences.

Take Action

Globally competent students have the skills and knowledge to not just learn about the world, but also to make a difference in the world.

The Four Domains of Global Competence

The Four Domains of Global Competence [image and description]

Learn More About Teaching for Global Competence

Students sitting around a table

Teaching for Global Competence

Learn about online global competence courses and certificate programs offered by the Center for Global Education in collaboration with Arizona State University designed for educators in schools and in out-of-school time.
Global competence graphic.
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Global Competence Outcomes and Rubrics

Download globally focused performance outcomes and rubrics in a variety of grades and all academic subjects, plus a free copy of the book here.
Two students look at a globe

Educating for Global Competence

Read the book that introduced the definition of global competence, Educating for Global Competence: Preparing Our Youth to Engage the World.

Read More About Global Competence

Globe in a lightbulb. (photocanal25/istockphoto)

Why We Need Competency-Based Education

An alternative to standardized tests—and why it makes sense for the global innovation age.
Gary Locke with Chinese language learners from secondary schools throughout the city that are a part of Asia Society's International Studies School's Network or the Confucius Classrooms Network, on Dec. 17, 2012. (Anthony Jackson)

Gary Locke's Advice to Students

For a good job in 21st Century, learn Chinese, U.S. Ambassador to China says.
Students study at Sharpstown International School in Houston, TX, one of the hallmark schools in the Asia Society International Studies Schools Network.

Learning 'Language of Globalism'

A Houston school goes from being on a "death march" to "exemplary."
Students explore nature together (dcdebs/iStockPhoto)
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Teaching and Learning 21st Century Skills

How students learn 21st century skills and the pedagogy needed for new learning styles.
Angry Birds mooncakes based on the worldwide hit game by Finnish entertainment media company Rovio are displayed during a preview at a restaurant in Singapore on July 3, 2012. (Roslan Rahman/AFP/GettyImages)

Evolution of a Classic: Ice Cream Mooncakes [Video]

The ice cream mooncake has turned tradition on its head. Does it still carry symoblic meaning for the mid-autumn festival? Like so many objects before it, the mooncake is writing its own biography.
An Afghan youth shouts at an anti-U.S. protest in Kabul on Sept. 16, 2012, when students poured into the streets of Kabul to protest a film mocking Islam that has also sparked deadly riots in the Middle East and North Africa. (Massoud Hossaini/AFP/GettyImages)

What Americans Don't Know About the World

The non-profit organization World Savvy released new research on what American graduates know about the world. It reveals a troubling gap between important world events and trends, and what a rising generation does not know.
San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro gives the keynote address on stage during day one of the Democratic National Convention at Time Warner Cable Arena on September 4, 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Here's a Message Obama and Romney Should Both Approve

Regardless of the outcome in the upcoming presidential election, education must be viewed as the single greatest equalizer and antidote for many of the ills we face as a nation, writes Brandon Wiley.
Pedestrians crossing the street in the Central Business District of Hong Kong in October 2008. (Mike Clarke/AFP/Getty Images)

Grads: Get 'Globally Competent,' Get a Job

Whether you are 8, 18 or 28, it's clear: global competence can open up new job opportunities for you.
Exploring the globe
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Common Core: Getting There Globally

The new Common Core State Standards view global awareness as an essential feature of college and career readiness. Learn how to teach it.

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