What does a globalized curriculum look like for diverse learners in primary schools?

Abstract

Children in our classrooms today come from a wide variety of backgrounds, and some have English as an Additional Language (EAL). Haslam et al define such children as ‘learners whose preferred language/s are not English and therefore add it to their language/s’ (2005: 97). The words diversity and globalization have numerous and contested meanings. We begin this article by looking at the multiple ways in which the ideas these terms express are conceptualized, especially for primary school children with EAL. We then explore globalization as a concept to see how it links with diversity so that relevant knowledge is generated using ideas from empirical and methodological studies. Finally, we consider how primary school leaders can bring a global dimension into their curriculum.