Journal of Moral Education

ISSN: 0305-7240 (Print) 1465-3877 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cjme20

Educating global citizens in colleges and

universities: challenges and opportunities

Nicholas A. Bowman

To cite this article: Nicholas A. Bowman (2010) Educating global citizens in colleges and
universities: challenges and opportunities, Journal of Moral Education, 39:4, 517-518, DOI:
10.1080/03057240.2010.521405

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03057240.2010.521405

Published online: 29 Oct 2010.

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 Book reviews 517

Educating global citizens in colleges and universities: challenges and

opportunities
Peter N. Stearns, 2009
New York, Routledge
$45.95 (pbk), 240 pp.
ISBN 978-0415990240

In Educating global citizens in colleges and universities, Peter Stearns explores global
education in American institutions. While some might think that global education
simply refers to study abroad programs, this book offers a comprehensive treatment
of relevant educational issues, including those involving international students, insti-
tutional collaborations, assessment, institutional infrastructure and the prevailing
political context. Although moral or ethical issues are generally not made explicit in
this book, Stearns clearly feels that global education has the potential to bolster the
ethical reasoning and behaviour of college students and he further suggests that the
need to prepare global citizens may itself be a moral or ethical imperative.
Chapter 1 outlines the need for global education by describing major societal
issues, such as the United States position in the world, perceptions of the United
States in other countries and many Americans lack of knowledge about foreign
languages and cultures. Chapter 2 discusses two goals related to global education: (1)
providing some benefits of American higher education to other countries (while care-
fully avoiding an air of superiority or parochialism); and (2) providing global knowl-
edge and skills to American students. Stearns paints a somewhat bleak picture of the
current state of affairs in Chapter 3, arguing that American students as a whole (in
both K12 and college) are largely lacking in second-language skills, basic geograph-
ical knowledge and intercultural awareness.
The remainder of the book discusses higher education programs and initiatives
designed to promote global education, along with the challenges that these initiatives
face. Chapter 4 explores aspects of a globalised curriculum, which may include
world history and modern language courses, required coursework with a global
component, integrating global issues across the curriculum (as some schools have
done with writing) and offering majors and certificate programs. Study abroad is
discussed in Chapter 5. Stearns notes that in recent years the number of students
engaged in study abroad has grown substantially and the types of programs have
become diversified (e.g. with brief, two-week experiences in addition to traditional
semester-long programs). However, these programs still face numerous funding,
administrative and assessment-related challenges. Chapter 6 examines international
students who study in the United States. Relevant topics include difficulties and
perceived hostility for students entering the United States (e.g. with more stringent
immigration policies since 9/11), integrating international students into campus life
and even reasons that colleges and universities might want to seek out international
students in the first place.
Several types of American programs outside of the United States are discussed in
Chapter 7, such as branch campuses in other countries, collaborative degrees offered
518 Book reviews

by multiple institutions and entirely new institutions. Chapter 8 considers the pros
and cons of coordinating all global offerings and initiatives at an institution through
a single centralised office. Assessment issues are highlighted in Chapter 9. The
discussion focuses largely on assessing progress on institutional goals, activities and
commitments, whereas gauging student learning and development outcomes is
described as desirable, but not necessary. In my opinion, this emphasis is typical of
global higher education assessment, in which the intended student outcomes are
often not measured adequately or at all. The final two chapters expand upon and
summarise key points by providing four areas or issues that cut across numerous
topics (Chapter 10) and by discussing the importance of prioritising global issues
and experiences, including those that lie outside of immediate domestic interests
(Chapter 11).
Throughout the book, Stearns offers a rich historical context for current American
perspectives and educational practices. Moreover, he provides a multitude of real-
world examples that not only highlight successful programs, but also delineate the
challenges that many institutions face in establishing and maintaining global educa-
tion programs. This book is written in a fairly conversational toneor at least conver-
sational for an academic. This approach works quite well for the most part, as the
reader feels as if s/he is sitting down with someone who has a wealth of knowledge
about global higher education. At the same time, the Notes and Further reading
sections at the end of the book provide numerous resources for those interested in
exploring certain topics in greater detail.
Overall, Educating global citizens in colleges and universities provides both an excellent
overview of global education at college and universities and a convincing argument
for why this form of education is important. This book should be quite valuable for
college administrators and practitioners who wish to improve their global education
efforts. Moreover, it may also be useful as a central text for higher education courses
that explore international issues.

Nicholas A. Bowman, Center for Social Concerns, University of Notre Dame, 156
Geddes Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556-4633, USA. Email: nbowman@nd.edu

2010, Nicholas A. Bowman

DOI: 10.1080/03057240.2010.521405