| By Mary Ruby |
Global perspective. These words are increasingly uttered by educators and employers who understand that this combination of mindset and acquired skill is a critical element for interacting, working, and succeeding in the 21st-century world.
As a senior content developer at Gale, my goal is to bring people information not only to meet their needs but to spark curiosity and encourage further investigation and learning. In recent years, the challenge has expanded to building international coverage, appealing to a global audience, and aligning content with topics studied at the collegiate level.
This latter ambition is tied to trends in education, from the nearly 40% increase in International Baccalaureate schools over the past five years1 to the growth of global studies degree programs, ranging from associate to doctoral levels. Common links among these curricula are an interdisciplinary approach, a focus on global issues, and the cultivation of cross-cultural awareness. For instance, at the University of California, Berkeley, a learning goal of its Global Studies program is “apply[ing] an interdisciplinary approach to the study of contemporary global issues,” while the College of William & Mary notes that students will explore “the ways in which global forces are realized in and through local contexts, and the interconnections between global regions.”