Global Learning and the Making of Citizen Diplomats

Rebecca Hovey, SIT/World Learning
Adam Weinberg, SIT/World Learning

Abstract

This chapter addresses the need for study abroad programs that prepare students for moral responsibility and democratic civic engagement in an increasingly globalized world. We examine how notions of citizenship, democratic education, and civic engagement can be expanded to a global knowledge community beyond the borders of home campuses and countries. This entails recognition of a global ecology of learning based on reciprocity, recognition of civic identities, and responsibility for one’s actions and representations abroad. We explore the literature on global citizenship associated with study abroad and global civil society in order to understand how the norms, affiliations and markers of citizenship are being redefined. We conclude with a proposal that responsible, high road study abroad entails preparing students as global citizen diplomats, representing their own culture while developing the intercultural awareness to comprehend, respect, and represent the perspectives of another culture.