A Curriculum That Is Intercultural

Global education has existed as a field of study for many years, but often as a strand within social studies or an emphasis in international schools. Explorations of global cultures and the development of intercultural understanding are increasingly essential as perspectives that weave across the curriculum. One important resource for building bridges across cultures is global children’s literature. Literature provides an opportunity for children to go beyond a tourist perspective of gaining surface-level information about another culture. This chapter contextualizes the classroom inquiries shared in this book through a discussion of global literature and intercultural understanding and an introduction to the curriculum framework around which we organize our work in classrooms. Once educators access global books, the tension remains of how to engage children and adolescents thoughtfully with this literature. Global books often focus on ways of living that seem far removed from children’s immediate experiences and contain unfamiliar stylistic features, names, and terms.