Global Ed Sees a Significant Increase in Cultural Intelligence
Ivanhoe Grammar School’s Global Education curriculum is delivered to Year 7, 8 and 9 students as a compulsory, purpose-built subject, established in 2023. It is founded on the principles of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the key findings from PISA 2018, which examines ‘what students know in reading, mathematics and science, and what they can do with what they know.’
The curriculum was designed for impact. It uses Inquiry Based Learning activities alongside a whole-school approach, with the intention for global education outcomes to form the foundation of student character development at our School.
Fiona Devlin, our Deputy Principal/Head of Plenty Campus and Character Education Lead at Ivanhoe Grammar School, in conjunction with Associate Professor Muralee Das from University of Maine, have assessed the impact of our Global Education curriculum through formal research. The results have been outstanding with a key finding of a 216% increase in cultural intelligence in our students, following their Global Education journey.
Cultural Intelligence (CQ) is defined as the ability to ‘function effectively in culturally diverse settings.’ It is a critical component of global competence and increases cultural understanding. Cultural Intelligence develops leadership skills, enhances the ability to work well in diverse teams and engage with global communities. Cultural Intelligence is a crucial attribute of global citizenship, given the interconnected world we live in.
Fiona and Muralee are currently in Doha, Qatar sharing the findings of their research at the International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement. The research contributes to the conference sub-theme of Sustainability in Education looking at global collaboration and localised solutions.
The findings highlight the value of explicitly introducing content as a stand-alone subject related to global mindedness and attitudes toward diversity; offering actionable insights into effectively designing and delivering targeted and measurable global competency curriculum.
“We are so excited about the results and to share them with the international education community. The results are incredibly affirming. We are living in a time where there is no question around the impact in developing global education curriculum for fostering character in young people, our future leaders and global citizens. The critical nature of this work is ever-present.” Fiona Devlin, Deputy Principal/Head of Plenty Campus.
