The recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai raise four questions for an educator. First, how did the education of these perpetrators shape such hatred that they could take the lives of hundreds of unarmed civilians? Second, how were the individuals who enabled these perpetrators’ actions educated, and why would they turn a blind eye or enable these terrorists to plan their attacks? Third, in what ways do the teachings of history and geography foster limited and intolerant views between India and Pakistan? As the responses of ordinary citizens in both of these countries demonstrate, biased national views constrain the options for leaders to pursue negotiated avenues of cooperation and perhaps increase the risk of military conflict between these nations. Lastly, to what extent has the education of citizens worldwide prepared us to understand the sources of these attacks, their potential consequences, the likelihood of growing global instability, and the appropriate courses of action for the international community?

Schools and universities around the world are not adequately preparing ordinary citizens to understand the nature of global challenges, such as terrorism, climate change, human-environmental interactions, world trade, demographic change, and global conflict. Because of the growing interdependence of nations, resulting from trade, increased frequency of communications, and migratory flows, the ability to understand these modern global challenges is critical. The failure to develop this skill of global citizenship will contribute to growing conflict and undermine the economic competitiveness of nations in which the global competency deficits are most acute.

Political violence is prevalent around the world. Much of this violence stems from people’s inability to tolerate those with different views and interests or to work out their differences in peaceful ways. Most of these conflicts have a global dimension, and the international community’s reluctance to stage appropriate and effective interventions enables the continuation of these conflicts. In a recent study of the major episodes of political violence from 1946 to 2007, the Center for Systemic Peace documented that during the last decade, 98 conflicts took the lives of 3,565,000 people around the world. Two-thirds of those conflicts persisted longer than a year. The number of people affected by conflict is a multiple several times higher than the number of people who have lost their lives in them.

The need for global competency will only increase as global challenges expand. A recent report of future scenarios prepared by the National Intelligence Council forecasts significant global challenges over the next fifteen years, including a transformation of the international system built after World War II, an unprecedented transfer of wealth from the West to the East, massive pressure on natural resources resulting from ongoing economic growth, and increased potential for global conflict, particularly in the greater Middle East.

The Tri-Dimensional Nature of Global Competency

Global competency comprises the knowledge and skills that help people understand the flat world in which they live, the skills to integrate across disciplinary domains to comprehend global affairs and events, and the intellect to create possibilities to address them. Global competency also includes fostering an attitude that makes it possible to interact peacefully, respectfully, and productively with fellow human beings from diverse geographies.

This involves three interdependent dimensions. First, there needs to be a positive disposition towards cultural differences and a framework of global values with which to engage these differences. This requires a sense of identity and self-esteem but also empathy towards others with different identities. A globally competent person will view cultural differences as opportunities for constructive, respectful, and peaceful transactions among people. This ethical dimension of global competency also includes a commitment to basic equality and the rights of all persons, as well as the disposition to uphold those rights. The second dimension of global competency is the ability to speak, understand, and think in languages foreign to the dominant language of one’s native country. Foreign language skills are analogous to stereoscopic vision for the global mind. The third dimension of global competency involves deep knowledge and understanding of world history, geography, the global dimensions of topics such as health, climate, economics, and the process of globalization itself (the disciplinary and interdisciplinary dimension), and a capacity to think critically and creatively about the complexity of current global challenges.

The New Aspiration of Global Competency for All

In the past, families, schools, and universities sometimes helped a select group of students acquire the foreign language skills, an interest in global affairs, and deep knowledge of global topics. Now, globalization has made these skills necessary for the majority of the world’s population, rather than for just a few students. Therefore, global competency should now be a purpose of mass education, not just elite education.

In the United States, for example, political elites agree on the importance of publicly funding university programs that enhance the development of foreign languages skills and foreign area studies. Since the end of World War II, these programs have served the perceived needs of national security and, more recently, provided a competitive advantage in business. A recent evaluation of those programs entitled International Education and Foreign Languages: Keys to Securing America’s Future, undertaken by the National Academy of Sciences at the request of the US Congress, concludes that they must be re-designed to serve a broader segment of the college population.

The demand for international competencies has extended to other occupations beyond the “area studies specialist,” broadening to encompass the basic competencies necessary for citizenship and work in the 21st century. This has created two new challenges for education: first, incorporating opportunities to develop these competencies in the graduate curricula of various fields of studies (i.e. professional studies of education, social work, public health, business, or law) and second, expanding opportunities to develop the foundations of international competence in elementary education and in the undergraduate curriculum.

The general need for global competency is increasingly recognized by students and by parents. A survey of voters by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, an education advocacy coalition in the United States, found that two in five voters consider global awareness a very important skill, while only six percent of them think schools do an adequate job developing it. In the United States, support is also growing for learning second languages. According to a survey conducted by the American Council on Education in 2000, 85 percent of the public thought that knowing a second language is important, compared with 65 percent in 1965. Furthermore, 77 percent of those surveyed agreed that foreign language instruction should be mandatory in high school. In 2002, 93 percent of those surveyed said that they believed knowledge about international issues would be important to the careers of their children. Additionally, in a youth survey conducted in 2004, 76 percent of students said they would like to know more about the world.