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Issuing a Report
Large parts of the population remain unaware of the dramatic changes that are causing the world to be more interconnected than ever before. They do not know the extent of their state’s relationships with other countries or what will be required for future jobs. Because the need for international education is a relatively new concept at the K–12 level, there is little organized information about what is going on within a state. A number of states have therefore produced reports or other publications to share data on their state’s relationships to the world and the extent to which opportunities for young people are increasingly linked to those relationships, to gather information on what is and is not happening in their schools, and to build the case for the importance of international education. Surveys of schools, focus groups of educators, and other research tools have been used to gather data on what is currently being done in international education and what some of the barriers and key needs are.

You may want to release your own report based on the results of your preliminary research and the recommendations and action plan from your task force. Recent state reports to use as examples are provided by clicking on the name of the state to the right. The actual release of the report can be used to gain attention for your initiative in the media and in your state. Some states officially release their reports at a state conference or summit. No matter what time you decide to release your report, you should be sure to notify the media through a press release or by holding a press conference. Involving task force members as well as the governor in your press conference could lead to stronger coverage.

The common theme in each of the state reports highlighted on the right, is the urgency of increasing their citizens’ international competence so that they can live and work in a world where the rapid pace of change has made earlier education norms obsolete. Their recommendations focus on: the need to integrate international content into state standards in all subjects; the need to create opportunities for teachers to learn about the world and to internationalize teacher preparation; starting world languages earlier; engaging higher education institutions in strengthening the international content of schools; and the need for a statewide mechanism to promote state economic growth and the development of international knowledge and skills.

In addition to reports from individual states, the Southern Growth Policies Board, which serves the governors of 14 states, issued a report in 2004 entitled, The Globally Competitive South (Under Construction). Based on extensive economic analysis, the report argues that for the South to respond to evolving business and community challenges, it needs to “urgently internationalize its education system P–16.”

Excerpted from :
Stewart, Vivien and Ted Sanders. Putting the World in Our Classrooms:
A Guide to State Action. NASBE journal, to be released in February.