VIU offers new Global Education Graduate Diploma program

Vancouver Island University is introducing a new program for certified teachers entitled Global Education Graduate Diploma (GEGD).

“Since the inception of VIU’s education programs, many students have expressed a keen desire to further their understanding and practice of global education in Canada and abroad,” said Education faculty member Nadine Cruickshanks. “This program will appeal to certified teachers who want to become leaders in global education.”

Program curriculum is designed to provide teachers with a broad field of study that explores the urgent need for global education in schools.

Through a critical study of world events and circumstances, teachers will learn to weave diverse perspectives into their practice and foster a sense of citizenship and recognition of the world’s diversity among their students. Participants will examine a culturally rich and interconnected world, including the significant interrelatedness of the natural world.

Students enrolled in the program will create and implement best practices for incorporating global education into the K-12 curriculum. The content includes the cultivation of three strands: local and global awareness; transformational understanding; and responsible, active citizenship.

The Global Education Graduate Diploma consists of six interrelated courses (five credits each) and will be delivered as a part-time, cohort-based model to practising educators. Face-to-face classes will meet Friday night, Saturday, and during one July session. The program begins with story, conversation, and community-building, and ends full circle with a unifying field study, reconsideration of prior understandings, and a strong foundation for moving forward in global education.

Teachers who complete the program will be one project away from a Masters degree.

The program start date is September 2012 pending sufficient enrolment.

For further information, please contact Kristine Chyplyk, Administrative Assistant to the Dean of Education, at Kristine.chyplyk@viu.ca or call 250-740-6221.