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INTRODUCTION
Although the United States is commonly thought to be long on power (e.g.,
political, economic, cultural, technological, etc.), its citizens remain short on the
competencies (i.e., knowledge, skills, and attitudes) needed to be responsible and
effective members of a global community. While the United States has, since the end of
the Cold War, been the world’s one undisputed superpower, a 2002 Roper survey found
that only 17 percent of United States citizens (18 to 24 years old) could locate
Afghanistan, a country which the US had recently invaded, on a map of the world. The
same survey determined that only 13 percent could find Iraq on a map of the Middle
East/Asia, while nearly 30 percent were unable to locate the Pacific Ocean, the world’s
largest body of water, on a map of the world.
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Similarly, a 2002 Pew Research Center
survey revealed that only 15 percent of United States citizens (18 to 29 years old) follow
international news “very closely,” even in the aftermath of 9/11.
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Overall, 60 percent of
all age groups related their lack of interest in international news to a lack of the
background information needed to understand it. But interestingly, for those of us
studying undergraduate global education, this reason becomes less common with
increases in education -- 65 percent of respondents with a high school diploma or less
cited this as a reason for not following international news while only 52 percent of
college graduates did so.
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This gap between global power and competency is not limited to knowledge of
geography and current global affairs. Only 35 percent of US citizens can speak more
than one language compared to 89 percent of young people in Sweden, and 68 percent,
63 percent, and 54 percent in Germany, Italy, and France respectively.
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Young people in
Convention