Year of Award

2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Degree Name

International Educational Leadership

Department or School/College

Phyllis J. Washington College of Education

Committee Chair

William McCaw

Commitee Members

Erica Allen, Beverly Chin, John Matt, Roch Turner

Keywords

compassion, contemplative practices, global competencies, global learning, globalization, internationalization

Abstract

Institutions of higher education are operating in an increasingly globalized world and, as a result, the responsibility of developing graduates who are competent global citizens, capable of embracing diversity as well as complex global challenges, has become one of higher education’s major priorities. A review of the literature outlined common traits described as critical for effective global citizenship development and explored approaches aimed at developing these skills and behaviors with undergraduate students. Common to the qualities of effective global citizenship is a recognition of shared common humanity and the capacity of compassion for others. The literature also revealed a prominent concern that dominant approaches of higher education institutions towards developing global citizens are focused predominantly on economic success, which is inadequate for addressing increasingly complex global realities. The goal of this study was to determine whether an explicit compassion training intervention may be an effective foundational step in the institutionalization efforts of effective global citizenship development. A quantitative quasi-experimental design was used to examine the effects of a compassion training intervention on the development of global competencies and compassion. The study examined both the relationship between compassion and global competencies and the differences in scores from pretest to posttest for the treatment group completing the compassion training and the control group. The findings of this study indicated a strong positive correlation between compassion and global perspective and showed promise for the use of intentional compassion cultivation as a foundation for the development of global competencies. These results are relevant at the leadership level for higher education administrators attempting to implement institutional missions that embrace internationalization efforts and global citizenship development as well as at the classroom level for teachers implementing global learning practices.

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© Copyright 2024 Colleen E. Kane