Through the use of the Program for International Student Assessment's (PISA) Global Competence results, the Economic Intelligence Unit's (EIU) Democracy Index ratings, and centralization-decentralization spectrum rubrics, this dissertation shows the association between level of democracy and education system, and the association of these variables…

In an increasingly interconnected world, global competence in teacher education is paramount. This qualitative study delved into the perspectives of teacher education students, exploring their insights and experiences regarding integrating global competence into educational practice. Through in-depth interviews and thematic analysis, several key…

The purpose of this study was to understand the current reality of multilingual learner supports in schools in Greater Minnesota and align that current reality with the Minnesota Learning English for Academic Proficiency and Success (LEAPS) Act in order to make recommendations at the local level and advocate at a greater scale. This was an…

In recent decades, the number of international students in China has significantly increased. This swift growth of international students has raised concerns about the capacity of Chinese universities to meet international students' academic expectations. Since the quality of higher education is frequently measured by student learning experiences,…

The purpose of this study was to understand music teachers' experiences with an online professional development course focused on international-mindedness (IM). This course introduced the concept of IM by exposing "xiaowai" (out-of-school) music teachers in China to international music teaching methods. The results, which were based on…

This literature review explores the impact of music on tonal language learning, with a focus on Mandarin Chinese. Utilising searches across major databases such as ERIC (EBSCO), ProQuest Central, Google Scholar, and Web of Science from 2005 to 2024, we selected relevant peer-reviewed English-language articles examining music's role in aiding tone…

By implementing carefully selected children's literature into the current reading curriculum, teachers can help students develop into civic-minded citizens who are willing and able to take meaningful action. Much has been written about the need to link learning and culture in our literacy classrooms (Banks, 1995; Gay, 2010; Ladson-Billings, 1995,…

In 2020, first year teachers entered a school system that continued to emphasize policies, measures, and curriculum that support racism and social injustice. But first year teachers also entered at a time when there was renewed interest in openly pushing issues of race, oppression and violence into the forefront. I write about the lived…

Students' sense of school belonging is associated with healthier psychological functioning and improved academic outcomes. Currently, most research on school belonging has been conducted in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, resulting in school belonging practices and interventions largely biased towards Western school…

The growing requirement for present-day English language learners to use English as a lingua franca in the globalized twenty-first century has necessitated the cultivation of not only communicative competence but also intercultural communicative competence (ICC). English language textbooks can fulfill this requirement. However, to see whether an…

A lack of cultural intelligence (CQ) creates a lack of trust in global virtual teams (GVTs). Study findings examine how leaders demonstrate CQ, trust in GVTs, and provide strategies for organizations. This qualitative single-case study explores how leaders of US-based GVTs in the financial industry demonstrate CQ and trust and strategies to…

This qualitative study focused on the synergistic experience of a group of Deaf and hearing participants during a 2-week international study-abroad program to investigate the impact of immersing hearing American Sign Language (ASL) undergraduate majors with culturally Deaf faculty and doctoral students. 20 participants included undergraduate…

This content analysis explored children's fictional storybooks and informational science books to determine their differences in high-quality text features that support oral language (OL) development. We also explored the opportunities for OL development in curricular books compared to trade books. Using systematic coding procedures, we evaluated…

We explore how the growth mindset relates to intercultural and global citizenship competencies in three Southeast Asian countries (Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand). Using data from the global competencies self-report survey and cognitive assessment of PISA 2018, we hypothesized that intercultural attitudes (i.e., openness, respect, global…

There is a growing body of research arguing that, alongside education in climate science literacy, our education systems need a deeper, broader, and more interdisciplinary education in climate literacy. Specifically, the push is to reframe climate literacy from a narrow competence taught in science classes to a broad socioscientific and cultural…