Date of Degree

12-2013

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Program

Education

Advisor

Norman St. Clair

Advisor

Absael Antelo

Advisor

Renea Fike

Advisor

Jessica C. Kimmel

Abstract

This qualitative case study describes global studies education and curriculum, global citizenship, and the impact of a global studies education and curriculum on students after graduation. What life choices might be influenced by what the students learned through global studies? Did they choose their university studies based on globalized thinking? These are difficult questions to answer, because there are so many variables in the life of an adolescent when making choices after high school graduation. This study discovers the impact of a global studies education with an emphasis on global citizenship on graduates of a global studies high school through student voice and experience—backwards mapping. Graduates from the International School of the Americas, a global studies public high school, were the focus of this qualitative research. The research began with a questionnaire presenting two main research questions plus demographic questions that participants completed. From those participants who responded to the questionnaire, 12 graduates were chosen for in-depth interviews. All data were analyzed for common themes in regard to the global studies questions, related back to the research, and were grounded in theories of adolescent identity theory and adolescent worldview theory. To answer the study question of the impact of a global studies school on its students, four main themes were revealed by the participants: cultural understanding; better equipped for university or professional life; desire to travel or study abroad; and increased political awareness and activity local and globally.

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