Preparing Globally Competent Pre-Service and In-Service Special Education Teachers

The COVID-19 pandemic taught us about the importance of paying attention to global connections; in some ways, we are still dealing with global supply chain challenges. Recent climate change-related weather extremes remind us of how interconnected and interdependent we find ourselves in the 21st Century. Classrooms in the United States continue to diversify due to immigration and an influx of refugees and asylum-seekers. Each of these factors points to the need to prepare globally competent P-12 students to meet the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. The first step is to ensure that pre-service and in-service teachers attain the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to develop intercultural and global competence. This seminar will explore the preparation of globally competent special educators using culturally responsive pedagogies, culturally sustaining pedagogies, study abroad programs, teacher exchange programs, digital connectivity, and more.

After this seminar, participants will be able to:

• Define global competency.
• Explain the need to prepare globally competent teachers.
• Describe examples of how university faculty prepare pre-service and in-service teachers.
• Summarize examples of how in-service teachers prepare P-12 students to become globally competent.
• Identify ways to integrate culturally responsive/sustaining inclusive practices based on their individualized context.
• Identify ways that they may begin/continue in their journey to become globally competent educators.