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Global Education

Information and resources relating to global education, global competence, and global citizenship.

The California Department of Education (CDE) provides leadership, technical assistance, and guidance for teachers, administrators, families, state and local educational agencies, professional organizations, and collaborating partners to support high-quality, equitable education programs in global citizenship and global competence for all students, pre-kindergarten to grade twelve.

Guidance

Integrating Global Education Across Content Areas: Key Resources

World Languages
The CDE World Languages web page provides access to world languages programs, content knowledge, and pedagogy for California educators, including global education and distance learning resources.

English Language Development
The CDE helps to support English Language Development programs in California. The overarching goal is to improve the English language skills of English learner students and to provide information about services available to support this goal. For a more detailed overview of California’s English learner programs, visit the English Learner - CalEdFacts web page.

Multilingual Education
Multilingual programs in California are based on research that demonstrates the program model’s effectiveness at leading students toward linguistic fluency and academic achievement in more than one language. The CDE’s mission is to equip students with the necessary skills to better appreciate and more fully engage with the diverse mixture of cultures, heritages, and languages found in California and the world, while also preparing them to succeed in the global economy.

Common Core State Standards English Language Arts Resources
Access multiple resources including the California Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects.

Additional Standards, Frameworks, and Content Area Resources of Interest to Global Educators

California Content Standards
Global education is relevant and embedded in California guidance documents across all content areas. Search and access all current content standards adopted by the California State Board of Education from this web page.

California Standards Mobile Application

This application contains the 12 California content standards. Educators can employ the application to quickly search and sort relevant standards across disciplines to aid in instructional planning and assessment. Find complete information about the mobile application on the CA Standards Mobile Application web page.

Policies and Initiatives Related to Global Education

California Education for a Global Economy Initiative
In November 2016, California voters approved Proposition 58, also known as the California Education for a Global Economy Initiative (CA Ed.G.E.). CA Ed.G.E. authorizes school districts and county offices of education to establish language acquisition programs for both native and non-native English speakers, and requires school districts and county offices of education to solicit parent and community input in developing language acquisition programs.

State Seal of Biliteracy
The State Seal of Biliteracy (SSB) recognizes high school graduates who have attained a high level of proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing one or more languages in addition to English. The SSB is awarded by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction in accordance with specified criteria set forth in the legislation.

State Seal of Civic Engagement
The State Seal of Civic Engagement recognizes California students who demonstrate excellence in civics education and participation, and an understanding of the United States Constitution, the California Constitution, and the democratic system of government. Global education and civic education are integral to each other and to supporting development of the whole child.

Global California (PDF)
Global California 2030 (Global 2030) was launched in May of 2018, with the intention to vastly expand the teaching and learning of world languages and the number of students proficient in more than one language over the next 12 years.

Global 2030 helps to better prepare California students for the 21st century economy, broadening their perspective and understanding of the world by building upon the diversity of backgrounds, languages, and cultures that make California unique, successful, vibrant, and dynamic.

Instructional Resources

The following websites provide instructional resources and support for classroom teachers integrating global education across the curriculum.

California Department of Education Resources

Global Competence Indicators and Benchmarks External link opens in new window or tab.
These benchmarks were developed by the California Global Education Network using the global competence indicators created by the California Global Education Project (CGEP), and aligned with the Four Domains of Global Competence. The benchmarks were generated to guide greater understanding of global competence among educators, parents, community partners, and students, and to support the implementation of global education programs in kindergarten through grade twelve (K–12) classrooms, after-school programs, and informal education settings.

English Learner (EL) Roadmap
Guidance on welcoming, understanding, and educating the diverse population of EL students attending California public schools. The California EL Roadmap supports local educational agencies as they implement the EL Roadmap Policy.

Universal Design for Learning Guidelines External link opens in new window or tab.
The Guidelines are a tool used in the implementation of Universal Design for Learning, a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all individuals based on scientific insights into how humans learn.

Additional Resources

California Global Education Project External link opens in new window or tab.
One of nine California Subject Matter Projects External link opens in new window or tab., CGEP’s mission is to provide professional learning experiences and support for K–12 educators to develop the knowledge, skills, resources, and leadership needed to foster global competence in all students.

Asia Society Partnership for Global Learning External link opens in new window or tab.
The CDE recognizes the Asia Society’s Four Domains of Global Competence External link opens in new window or tab. as a tool for building the skills of global citizenship.

Global Oneness Project External link opens in new window or tab.
The Global Oneness Project is a free multimedia platform for educators and students grades three through twelve. Access free curricula as well as films and photo essays to learn about social, cultural, and environmental issues from people and communities worldwide.

Battelle for Kids Partnership for 21st Century Skills External link opens in new window or tab.
Home of P21’s Framework for 21st Century Learning, developed with input from teachers, education experts, and business leaders to define and illustrate the skills and knowledge students need to succeed in work and life. They put 21st century skills at the center of learning.

World Savvy External link opens in new window or tab.
World Savvy's approach to learning is based on the belief that students learn best when they are engaged in relevant and important issues that impact their communities and the world. World Savvy seeks to empower educators to make school inclusive, relevant, and engaging for all students, inspiring them to learn, work, and thrive as responsible global citizens.

Climate Action Project External link opens in new window or tab.
The Climate Action Project is a free six-week project allowing teachers and students ages three through twenty-one to collaborate on environmental topics. Over the course of the project, classrooms explore causes and effects of climate change, develop solutions, and take action. Teachers become part of a global community and receive badges and a certificate. The Climate Action Project involves a global tree planting PlantED External link opens in new window or tab.. The Climate Action Project app allows students and teachers to keep track of their impact.

The Center for Global Education: An International Resource Center External link opens in new window or tab.
The Center for Global Education is involved in research and resource development efforts which support international education initiatives at the local, state, regional, national, and international level.

Edutopia’s Global Education Resource Roundup External link opens in new window or tab.
Edutopia maintains a broad gamut of resources to help students appreciate cultural diversity, build awareness about global issues, and develop global competence. Access these resources for ways to integrate global dimensions into the classroom.

Empatico External link opens in new window or tab.
Empatico is a free tool that matches and connects classrooms around the world. The Empatico platform supports activities designed to foster meaningful connections among students ages six through eleven and makes student stories the heart of the learning process. Students share their experiences and perspectives via live interactions, videos, and photos.

Mapping the Nation External link opens in new window or tab.
Mapping the Nation is a new interactive map that pulls together demographic, economic, and education indicators—nearly one million data points—to show that the United States is a truly global nation. Examining this map challenges how we think about "global." How connected is your community with the rest of the world? And what does it tell you about the future? The business community, national security agencies, and parents have spoken out about the need to develop global competence among the rising generation. The data brings an objective basis for considering the need.

Global Nomads Group (GNG) External link opens in new window or tab.
GNG fosters dialogue and understanding among the world's youth. Operating at the intersection of global and peace education, GNG's virtual exchange programs serve as a vehicle for awareness, bridge the boundaries of cultural misconceptions, and instill in their audience a heightened appreciation and comprehension of the world in which they live. GNG's programs are rooted in a Project Based Learning curriculum that prepares students with 21st century competencies, such as cross-cultural communication and collaboration, empathy and critical thinking, in order to interact effectively with their peers from around the world. Programs are accompanied by a teacher professional development workshop that trains educators to facilitate cross-cultural dialogue, opening their classroom to international, multicultural perspectives.

Professional Learning

Resources and information that support professional learning for global education.

California Department of Education Resources

California Global 2030 (PDF)
California Global 2030 is an initiative designed to equip California students with the world language skills needed to succeed in a global economy and to fully engage with the diverse mixture of cultures and languages found in California and throughout the world.

Educating for Global Competency External link opens in new window or tab.
Report and recommendations from participants of the California Global Education Summit. The Virginia-based Longview Foundation funded this Summit in 2016, bringing together parents, educators, business, community members, and policymakers to assess the state's current efforts in developing students' global competencies. Their findings and recommendations resulted in the formal report available at the link above.

Distance Learning Resources for Planning and Instruction

The following organizations provide guidance, resources, and professional learning opportunities relevant to global education, including targeted support for remote learning and distance education.

For a curated list of distance learning instructional resources in a variety of subject areas, visit the CDE Distance Learning web page under the Content Resources tab.

Partnership for 21st Century Learning (P21) External link opens in new window or tab.
P21 works to ensure that all students are prepared with the rigorous content knowledge and broad curricula they need for college and career readiness and global citizenship.

California One System Serving the Whole Child
The system is designed to align supports meeting the needs of the whole child with the Local Control and Accountability Planning (LCAP) process. The system identifies resources and initiatives that assist local educational agencies, schools, and local stakeholders as they plan and implement their LCAP or other improvement planning processes.

California Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) External link opens in new window or tab.
California's MTSS focuses on aligning initiatives and resources within an educational organization to address the academic, behavioral, and social-emotional learning (SEL) needs of all students. This website, created and maintained by the Orange County Department of Education under contract to the CDE, provides information and resources supporting the awareness, adoption, and integration of MTSS in California schools.

California's Social and Emotional Guiding Principles (PDF)
The SEL Guiding Principles are designed to build on the practices already happening in many schools and to empower local stakeholders to continue to advance SEL in ways that meet the needs of their specific contexts and populations.

Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy builds on decades of asset-based pedagogical research. It not only accepts and affirms the backgrounds of students of color, connecting to students’ cultural knowledge, prior experiences, and frames of reference; it further views schools as places where the cultural ways of being in communities of color are sustained.

California Department of Education Professional Learning Database
A searchable database of professional learning opportunities available throughout California and online.

Additional Programs and Resources

Fulbright Programs External link opens in new window or tab.
The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, currently offers 12 different international exchange programs for teachers, including the Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms External link opens in new window or tab. Program, providing U.S. middle and high school teachers the opportunity to participate in an online professional development course, two Washington, D.C.-based symposiums and a two-week professional development exchange.

Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE) External link opens in new window or tab.
SPICE is a program of the Freeman Spongli Institute for International Studies, an interdisciplinary center at Stanford University that conducts research on key international issues related to security, political economy, the environment, and health policy. SPICE offers curricular units as well as professional development for teachers.

Participate Learning External link opens in new window or tab.
Participate Learning supports global educators through cultural exchange,professional development programs, and online resources in multiple languages.

Students and Families

Information on state, national, and international global education programs of interest to California students. For guidance regarding international students wishing to study in California schools, please visit the International Students web page.

The key to a child's educational success is a successful partnership between teachers, parents and family members. Go here to find information that will help you help your child.

CDE Student Portal
The California Department of Education strives to provide the best education to get you ready for college and careers after you graduate. Find information here that will help you succeed.

California’s State Seal of Biliteracy (SSB)
The SSB, marked by a gold seal on a high school diploma or transcript, recognizes graduates who have attained a high level of proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing one or more languages in addition to English.

California’s State Seal of Civic Engagement (SSCE)
California students can now pursue a SSCE, awarded to learners who demonstrate excellence in civics education and participation, and an understanding of the U.S. Constitution, the California Constitution, and the democratic system of government.

Global Education interests and resources can form the basis of impactful student projects addressing school and community concerns and priorities. The CGEP External link opens in new window or tab. offers professional learning programs geared to developing these opportunities, such as Teaching for Sustainable Communities, a program that prepares educators to engage students in environmental literacy, design thinking, global competence, and civic action.

Heritage Schools
The California Department of Education maintains a list of registered Heritage Schools in California. These programs operate outside of compulsory education and offer instruction in the culture, traditions, history, and language of a country other than the U.S.

Study Abroad

Global Navigator High School Study Abroad External link opens in new window or tab.

The Council for International Exchange (CIEE) External link opens in new window or tab. is a nonprofit study abroad and intercultural exchange organization offering a variety of study abroad programs for high school students. CIEE also offers an array of scholarships, grants, and other funding opportunities to help high school students make their dreams of studying abroad a reality.

Exchange Programs for Secondary School Students External link opens in new window or tab.
The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, currently offers nine different international exchange programs for U.S. high school students.

Programs for International Students

For guidance and information pertaining to students from other countries who wish to study in the U.S., please access the International Students web page.

Updates

Receive Quarterly Updates about Global Education

To receive quarterly updates and resources related to Global Education, join the California Department of Education (CDE) Global Education listserv by sending a blank email message to join-global-education@mlist.cde.ca.gov.

To unsubscribe from the CDE Global Education Update, send a “blank” message to unsubscribe- global-education@mlist.cde.ca.gov.

Questions:   Professional Learning Innovations Office | PLIO@cde.a.gov | 916-323-6269
Last Reviewed: Wednesday, June 26, 2024