Page 62 - Diversity in Action

Martina Irsara, Valentina Gobbett Bamber, and Barbara Caprara

citizens who are agents of change and actively contribute to a sustainable
world and the well-being of all its inhabitants. Inspiring learners to act re-
sponsibly for the common good is a key aim of CGCE. However, it could also
be argued that fostering positive attitudes towards global issues should take
precedence over action with younger learners, as encouraging optimism is
more urgent at this stage of development. Today, children are not only wit-
nesses to, but often experience various global challenges, including environ-
mental degradation such as deforestation, landslides, and floods; rapid social
change that often leads to tensions and instability; democratic crises that
triggerconflict andwar;growingeconomicinequalities;anddigitalphenom-
ena that bring with them a range of problems such as addiction, cyberbully-
ing, misinformation, privacy concerns, and more. Children are often aware of
a wide range of global problems, and the weight of these issues can lead to
anxiety, especially in more sensitive children. It can be argued that in today’s
world, hope and optimism are essential to nurture their natural curiosity and
wonder, and to help them grow into adults with a confident, forward-looking
mindset. When it comes to diversity, for example, it is not just about tolerat-
ing or respecting differences but about embracing and celebrating the pos-
itive aspects of diversity. People who appreciate and value diversity in its
broadest sense are more likely to contribute actively to the well-being of a
wider community.

Thinking and Learning
Thoughtful reflection is an essential skill for the recognition of common hu-
manity and global interconnectedness. GCED aims to develop learners’ un-
derstanding of complex and diverse global issues, where complexity and
diversity are seen as enriching forces that provide opportunities for reflec-
tion and deeper learning. Successful or deeper learning means being able to
move to higher levels of thinking. Although it could be argued that there is
no clear hierarchy of thinking, the pioneering taxonomy proposed by Bloom
and his associates in 1956 and its subsequent revisions encourage higher-
order thinking in the classroom (Fisher, 2005). According to Bloom’s cognitive
taxonomy of educational objectives, lower levels of thinking involve know-
ing, understanding and applying, while higher levels involve analysing, syn-
thesising, and evaluating. Rather than limiting teaching and learning to the
application of rules and the recall of information, Bloom’s taxonomy and later
editions remind teachers to move to higher levels of metacognition by en-
couraging children to question, compare, contrast, examine, appraise, sup-
port, value, and investigate further. These higher-order cognitive practices

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