In the first session, we will explore how we define our personal culture and identity as educators and how these profoundly shape how we work. Then we will think about our students’ culture and identity and how these affect how they would like to learn and communicate with us. We will ask how we can separate cultural descriptors from national labels and how international communities talk about cultural differences meaningfully without resorting to national stereotypes.

In the second session, we will break down the concepts of ‘global citizenship’ and ‘international mindedness’, which have become ubiquitous and clichéd in international schools. We will ask how educators support students in moving beyond basic norms of respect and tolerance to actively learn from other cultural points of view. We will also explore how teachers can address cultural value conflict in classrooms and help students hold what they believe in balance with very different points of view.