Choo, Suzanne S.

In an age of hyper-globalization, global literacies education plays a fundamental role in cultivating critical-ethical dispositions where critical thinking is integrated with ethical ways of seeing, feeling, and relating to diverse others in the world. In the first part of the chapter, the author makes a case for strengthening critical-ethical engagements in global literacies learning as opposed to a decontextualized, instrumental approach to critical thinking observed in many global education frameworks. In the second part, the author distills key pedagogical principles and practices of critical-ethical engagements in literacies learning. Based on three influential philosophers, the author uses their concepts to distill key pedagogical principles. Broadly, these pedagogies encompass Aristotelian phronesis, Confucian remonstrance, and Levinasian interruption. The chapter provides examples of how these may be practiced in global literacies education and discusses how they contribute to the development of cosmopolitan dispositions crucial to supporting hospitable and just societies.

Since the late 20th century, Literature education has entered an ethical turn in response to hyper globalization, the intensification of digital technology, the dangers of post-truth and rising instances of intolerance worldwide. Consequently, influential scholars have rekindled the age-old connection between Literature and ethics. After discussing this turn to ethics and highlighting the pedagogical cosmopolitanization of ethical criticism, this article uncovers the ways in which cosmopolitan ethics grounds recent conceptualizations of ethical criticism and its various strands—relational, analytical, and historical. This paper examines these strands drawing from both “Eastern” and “Western” philosophical traditions. It then offers responses to criticisms of cosmopolitan ethical criticism, namely, arguments concerning moral reductiveness and moral determinism. It demonstrates how these arguments paradoxically reinforce subjectivity to the exclusion of intersubjective accountability and further justify cosmopolitan ethical criticism as tied to its teleological and plurivocal purposes respectively. Cosmopolitan ethical criticism provides the critical tools needed to counter parochial meta-narratives which are essential for human flourishing via societies characterized by hospitality, empathy and inclusivity.

This chapter surveys three models of global education in teacher education paying attention to their philosophical underpinnings as informed by Human Capital Theory, Human Capabilities Approach, and Cosmopolitan Ethical Approach. The first part of the chapter examines the teleological end underlying the popularity of global competencies frameworks such as that propagated by OECD as grounded on Human Capital Theory. The second and third parts of the chapter focus on alternative and complementary paradigms informed by the Human Capabilities Approach and Cosmopolitan Ethical Approach. The chapter explores how they both center on a vision of human well-being and flourishing using examples from UNESCO’s humanistic approach to global education. The chapter then demonstrates how human capabilities and cosmopolitan ethics can translate into reframing global education in relation to the dispositional, pedagogical, and intercultural aspects of teacher education.

A dominant phenomenon that has emerged, as the world headed into the third decade of the 21st century, is the rise of xenophobia alongside increasing instances of ultranationalism and fascism. The effects of war, immigration and a global pandemic have created distrust and intolerance towards other groups with different values and belief systems. The opportunity exists now to examine how living together in a world where difference, regard for the other, and the responsibilities for renewal become important foundations for curriculum. In this chapter, we begin by conceptualizing cosmopolitan critical literacy and its fundamental role in education. We then provide examples of its use as a pedagogical intervention to disrupt xenophobia (with a particular emphasis on Islamophobia) and to foster more inclusive and hospitable mindsets.

English education has played a key role in the modernization and globalization of Singapore. Following the institution of the Bilingual policy in the year following the nation’s independence in 1965, the English Language attained a privileged status among other languages taught in Singapore schools. To this day, it is viewed as a vital catalyst to securing Singapore’s continued economic growth and to maintaining its image as a cosmopolitan hub conducive to foreign businesses and investments. In this chapter, we chart developments in English education in Singapore from the country’s independence in 1965 to the present. We focus on key changes to English Language syllabuses across Singapore’s history which we contextualize alongside four major phases of education in Singapore: Survival-driven education (1950s to 1960s), Efficiency-driven education (1970s to 1980s), Ability-driven education (1990s to 2000s), and Student-centric, Values-driven education (2010 to the present). The chapter concludes with observations about future developments of English education in Singapore.