Cambridge Global Perspectives: Readiness for Unpredictable Future
The world is changing by the day. Rapid development in the age of Industry 4.0 and Artificial Intelligence (AI) gives rise to a series of opportunities and also a host of challenges resulting from increased competition among individuals and organizations. In this context, students – and future citizens – need to be equipped with necessary transferable skills such as critical thinking, research or collaboration skills to proactively and flexibly adapt to the challenges as well as the constant fluctuations of the times.
Global Perspectives – a subject of the Cambridge International Program – is based on academic research and real world contexts, and aims at helping students develop essential skills to succeed at school, university and future careers. In particular, the course fosters teamwork via projects and scientific research. Students will have the opportunity to interact and work in groups with their peers from all over the world to develop their ability to think critically about a wide range of global issues.
At Vinschool, the subject has been tailored to the needs of the students. Mr. David Richards – Coordinator of Cambridge Global Perspectives at Vinschool Education System – emphasizes the need to teach students content knowledge along with research skills: “In addition to acquiring valuable knowledge, I think it is vital for Vinsers is to familiarize themselves with various global issues they will encounter in their daily lives, such as sustainability and the rise of artificial intelligence.”
Global Perspectives
When students begin to explore concepts such as poverty or environmental pollution, they will realize that these issues are global and not unique to any specific country. In-depth research will allow them to see that poverty is not accidental but a result of many different factors, and similar trends can be recognized all over the world.
Insight and Tolerance
The Cambridge course of Global Perspectives contributes to blurring boundaries and helping students understand more deeply about individuality, and consequently become more tolerant and open to these differences. This foundational insight will allow them to integrate more easily into various higher education settings, where they will meet many peers hailing from different backgrounds.
Adept Analytical Skills
The subject also equips students with research, evaluation, information processing and analysis, and problem-solving skills. These are essential skills for many other subjects in the Cambridge curriculum. Good habits of raising questions – in a more global context and one specific to the subject – are highly applicable to other academic subjects and activities, such as conducting research and essay writing, especially in the current globalized and integrated world.
Such ethical issues as research ethics and scientific and professional integrity in academia are also part of the Global Perspectives curriculum. Students are taught about unethical practices including plagiarism and falsification of data in research so as not to be caught off guard in future undergraduate or graduate settings, where academic integrity is rigorously regulated and strictly enforced.
The Global Perspective syllabus has successfully been implemented at Vinschool, as most of the students have achieved A*-B grades in IGCSE exams. Mr. David believes that the program has been beneficial to the students: “At both Checkpoint and IGCSE stages, Vinschool students have managed to compose high-quality essays, which really impresses me. I’ve witnessed firsthand excellent skills in research analysis and synthesis of information and data before conclusions are drawn. As a result, Global Perspectives serves as a great foundation for students to transition to A Level and then to university.”
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References:
[1] Global Perspectives: Developing Future-Ready Citizens. The Cambridge International Blog. https://blog.cambridgeinternational.org/global-perspectives-developing-future-ready-citizens/
[2] Global Perspectives: Helping Blur Boundaries. The Cambridge International Blog. https://blog.cambridgeinternational.org/global-perspectives-helping-blur-boundaries/
