In this article we argue that a positively formulated theory of education ought to take into consideration empirically based knowledge. Theories of education are normative theories, because they are mainly focused on how the world ought to be: they present ideals, they prescribe preferred repertoires of actions, and they describe valued attitudes. However, using a recent example of an ideal of cosmopolitan education, we here reveal some ways in which prevalent theories of education quickly become remote and powerless if they (...) rebuff empirically based knowledge about peoples’ actual experiences and ways of being in the world. (shrink)

Editor's Comment: One of the functions of the journal is to develop an awareness of its own history. These papers are online-only papers that discuss the first ten years of the journal going back to 1969. Every so often the journal publishes synoptic articles that take a broad approach to the beginning of the Society and the journal to treat major themes and topics. As one can clearly see EPAT published many of the luminaries that helped to shape the discipline.

In this study, we examined gender and ethnicity differences in globalmindedness among graduating seniors in six North Florida public high schools. Using a mixed method design, we administered 1096 globalmindedness surveys and conducted 59 one-on-one interviews measuring the five globalmindedness dimensions of responsibility, interconnectedness, globalcentrism, cultural pluralism, and efficacy. Females scored significantly higher on all five dimensions of globalmindedness than their male counterparts on the globalmindedness survey; however, the interview results revealed a higher level of globalmindedness among females only on (...) the dimensions of responsibility and efficacy. African-American students possessed a higher level of globalmindedness in the dimensions of efficacy and interconnectedness than their European-American counterparts in both the survey and interview data. The interview results also revealed a higher level of globalmindedness among African-American students in the dimensions of responsibility and cultural pluralism, a difference not seen in the survey data. We discuss the need for further globalmindedness research with graduating high school students, with special attention to the dimensions of globalmindedness that did not align in the survey and interview data. The implications of the findings for educators seeking to teach from a global perspective are addressed. (shrink)