Journal of International Social Studies, Vol. 3, No. 1, 2013, 1-3. Journal of International Social Studies, Vol. 3, No. 1, 2013, 1-3. From the Editor Globalization and international social studies classroom practice I thought in this editorial for the Journal of International Social Studies I would share some of my observations from a conference I attended in Karlstad in Sweden and some of the research focuses I learned about from my Scandanavian fellows. The papers from the conference (Globalization and School Subjects – Challenges for Civics, History, Geography and Religious Education) have only recently been published in the electronic Nordic journal Nordidactica and I include the link here in case you are interested in some of them. This edition of the journal is in English but you can chase previous copies of their journal and use the web translator to convert them into English: http://www.kau.se/nordidactica/samtliga-nummer/nordidactica-20131. Skills for acting as global citizens and skills needed in a global world were obviously to the fore as themes of interest and the contexts for the use of these skills reflected current key global concerns - environmental issues, rebuilding societies after wars and conflict, intercultural skills and a concern with youth political engagement. It was obvious that a key issue for social educators at this conference was the educational response to the massacre in Norway in July 2011 when Anders Behring Breivik killed 77 people. He delivered an internet compendium, shortly before the attacks, the official title of which was 2083 A European Declaration of Independence, also known as Breivik's Manifesto. This manifesto included right wing extremist literature from internet sources including anti-multicultural, anti feminist and anti Islamic discourses. von BrÖmssen’s (2013) article in the journal is very helpful in understanding the sources of Breivik’s thinking. She calls him an Internet shopper of radical perspectives, radicalised via the Internet, and argues that schools must take a stronger stand in assisting young people to sift the messages now freely available to them. Von BrÖmssen points out that the Internet is often portrayed as free, democratic, equal access and enabling multiple educational providers to enter the educational market but Breivik’s education from the Internet demonstrates a different perspective - one of extremist, narrow thinking reducing democratic skills. My own article in the same journal (Reynolds and Vinterek, 2013) also partly picks up this theme of globalization, the Internet and the classroom pointing to the need for strong issues based teaching to be evident in our classrooms to provide the tools for our young people to weight arguments and to make ‘fair’ decisions. Christenson (2013) argues for the need for students of civic education to develop competencies of working across disciplines and to be self-reflective-as-citizen as the key tools for analyzing societal problems and to act democratically on them. How do social studies teachers help build a ‘fair’ society and how do we assist our students to weigh up multiple and often contradictory claims about events occurring around us? This is obviously a global concern and we can learn by listening to other global educators’ ideas about this. This issue provides many examples. Christenson, T. (2013) Interdisciplinarity and self-reflection in civic education. Available from: http://kau.diva- portal.org/smash/get/diva2:623616/FULLTEXT02.pdf Reynolds, R & Vinterek, M. (2013). Globalization and classroom practice: insights on learning about the world in Swedish and Australian schools. Available from: http://kau.diva- portal.org/smash/get/diva2:627559/FULLTEXT01.pdf Von BrÖmssen, K. (2013). 2083 – A European Declaration of Independence – An analysis of discourse from the extreme. Available from: http://kau.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:623531/FULLTEXT02.pdf Corresponding author email: Ruth.Reynolds@newcastle.edu.au ©2012/2013 International Assembly Journal of International Social Studies Website: http://www.iajiss.org ISSN: 2327-3585 Page 1 http://www.kau.se/nordidactica/samtliga-nummer/nordidactica-20131 http://kau.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:623616/FULLTEXT02.pdf http://kau.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:623616/FULLTEXT02.pdf http://kau.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:627559/FULLTEXT01.pdf http://kau.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:627559/FULLTEXT01.pdf http://kau.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:623531/FULLTEXT02.pdf Journal of International Social Studies, Vol. 3, No. 1, 2013, 1-3. This edition of the Journal of International Social Studies once again provides some exciting reading for social studies teachers and researchers. Fully refereed blind reviewed articles Once again I received some very interesting articles from many areas of the globe and thanks to our very capable reviewers I was able to bring some very competent research to your attention. Kenneth Carano’s study (Global Educators’ Personal Attribution of a Global Perspective) of why and how people develop global perspectives provided much food for thought. It developed a schema for examining what global education and ‘globality’ itself actually was – a very fraught area of concern for us global educators. He then interviewed educators who maintained that they had a global perspective to try to establish how they perceived they developed this. His findings, that some aspects of global education were better enhanced by certain experiences than others, helps clarify the quandary we experience when trying to work out how best to teach for global education. Global education is complex and needs to be addressed in its complexity. Tim Cashman’s article (Lessons Learned from Two Neighbors: How Educators Teach of United States Policies) reminds us that educators in different parts of the world use different forms of pedagogy and emphasize different aspects of history, geography, economics and politics than ourselves. Examining ourselves through others’ eyes is very instructional and creates great themes for discussion in our social studies classrooms. As Cashman used examples from educators in Canada and Mexico this was quite literally an examination of border pedagogy and curriculum and hopefully a guide to ways in which to meet across these borders in our social studies classrooms. The final article in this issue is by Suh, Yurita, Lin and Metzger (Collective Memories of the Second World War in History Textbooks from China, Japan and South Korea) and clarifies in some detail issues that have contributed to a lack of a single cohesive memory of the Second World War from this area of Asia. This is a longer article which I accepted after recommendation from reviewers on the basis of the importance of the study and the necessity for the detail provided. There has been an upsurge of interest in research in school textbooks in recent years with the emphasis being on how school curriculum, and textbooks that represent this curriculum, influence national stories and national aspirations. History as a school discipline has been singled out for special attention in texts such as Foster, & Crawford (2006), which has been quite influential in highlighting the influence such textbooks have on national identity and international linkages and our current worldviews. This study of three largely contested history traditions allows us a fascinating perspective on the ways in which context influences historical perspective and national pride and augments arguments for the importance of the role of the historian and historical thinking in social studies classrooms. This is quite an important article because it carefully portrays the examples that help establish the practices and the influences that come to bear on school textbooks and subsequent cohesive national narratives of historical events. Foster, S. & Crawford, K. (2006). What Shall We Tell the Children? International Perspectives on School History Textbooks. Greenwich, CT: Information Age. Corresponding author email: Ruth.Reynolds@newcastle.edu.au ©2012/2013 International Assembly Journal of International Social Studies Website: http://www.iajiss.org ISSN: 2327-3585 Page 2 Journal of International Social Studies, Vol. 3, No. 1, 2013, 1-3. Media Review Dr Carolyn O’Mahony once again introduces us to some interesting books. Martusewicz, Edmundson, and Lupinacci’s, EcoJustice Education Toward Diverse, Democratic, and Sustainable Communities, Jared Diamond’s, The World Until Yesterday: What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies?, and Carl Hobert’s Raising Global IQ: Preparing Our Students for a Shrinking Planet are reviewed. All appear to offer great hope for us to teach our student for a sustainable future and I certainly will be promoting them here in my teacher education programs. I am particularly enamoured with the examples of ways we can learn from traditional societies. It certainly appears to me that it is our 21st century lifestyle that is ruining our grandchildren’s sustainable future and some acknowledgement of how earlier generations managed their lifestyle may help us to manage our own. Social Justice perspectives Dr Gloria Alter reveals two communities that are not highly evident in the general community in the U.S.A. Firstly by supporting J.B. Mayo, Jr. to write about the Hmong community in St Paul in Minnesota we learn of this vibrant and thriving culture and their history, and some of their challenges as they immigrate to the U.S.A., primarily coming from Laos. Then as part of this Hmong community, we learn of a group of LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) members of our community and the issues they face as they live their lives in American cities within their traditional community. It is an inspiring story of tenacity and perseverance as these primarily young LGBTQ people work with family and community to enable their multiple personal identities to emerge. As Mayo points out, for us as social studies teachers, the need for teaching about multiple diverse perspectives and having an inclusive classroom, is crucial if we are to help them, and others like them, build their lives as useful and well accepted members of society. International perspectives Dr Anatoli Rappaport presents us with an historical overview of study abroad programs and some of the various ways in which these programs have been viewed over time. He points out that for many social studies teachers short term international visiting programs made a huge impact on their personal and professional lives. However he also notes that substantial research has not been undertaken into long term impact and change to either curriculum or pedagogy. Most research is descriptive and anecdotal. To develop global citizens the learning processes of these experiences and their sustainability need to be researched much more seriously. About the Editor Associate Professor Ruth Reynolds is the leader of the Global Education Research and Teaching group at the University of Newcastle, Australia and currently teaches courses in teacher education in Social Studies (called Studies of Society and Environment until very recently in Australia and now is called Humanities and Social Sciences), Civics and Citizenship and Environmental Sustainability. Her research interests include curriculum history, geographic place knowledge, teaching global education in preservice courses, environmental education and teaching using historical fiction. Check her profile on: http://www.newcastle.edu.au/staff/research-profile/Ruth_Reynolds/Publications.html Corresponding author email: Ruth.Reynolds@newcastle.edu.au ©2012/2013 International Assembly Journal of International Social Studies Website: http://www.iajiss.org ISSN: 2327-3585 Page 3 Reynolds, R & Vinterek, M. (2013). Globalization and classroom practice: insights on learning about the world in Swedish and Australian schools. Available from: http://kau.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:627559/FULLTEXT01.pdf