What topics are studied?
The Global Perspectives course is built around a series of topics, each containing issues of global importance. At ISL, each year will focus on four different topics. Within each topic, students will explore global issues related to these topics from a personal, local/national and global perspective. They will use research, reasoning and questioning skills to gain understandings and form judgements. Individual Research Reports, Group Projects and the Written Exam will all focus on one of these topics.
Topic |
Global Perspectives |
Local/National Perspectives |
Family/Personal Perspective |
Belief Systems |
Why do people have different belief systems? What are some of the different belief systems held in different countries? How do belief systems affect a country’s political system and culture? |
What are the different belief systems in my country and in my community? How do these belief systems affect the nature of the local community? Is respect shown for other people’s beliefs? |
What differing beliefs do my friends and family have? How do these beliefs affect their behaviour and how other people view them? Have my own beliefs changed over time? |
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Loss |
Why are plant species threatened? How can existing material/mineral resources be maintained? How would we judge whether the loss of a number of plant or animal species constituted a disaster Are humans themselves becoming more, or less, diverse? |
How can habitats (plant and animal) be maintained? What projects or initiatives are there in my country for maintaining resources and/or finding alternative sources? |
How do I and my family and friends use existing material/ mineral resources? Do I do anything to threaten plant species? What steps can I/ we take to reduce ecosystem loss? |
Climate Change |
What causes climate change? What are the effects of climate change? Is the present climate change a natural phenomenon or human induced? How do different countries approach climate change? |
How does my country approach climate change? What facilities or laws exist to help reduce the impact? What measures are taken in the local community? |
Are my family and friends really aware of the issues? Do I, my family or my friends do anything that might contribute to climate change? Are there further steps we could take? |
Conflict and Peace |
Why do wars and conflicts begin? Are wars an inevitable part of being human? Where is there conflict in the world today? What is the role of the UN in times of conflict? |
Which groups seem to be in conflict within my own country or community? Is it their interests or ideas that are conflicting? What political/ethical systems enable people to live with their differences? |
What causes conflicts between me and my family or peers? How are these conflicts best resolved? How can this help me to understand conflict on a wider scale? |
Disease and Health |
How do infant mortality rates and expected life spans compare in different countries? What are the reasons for this? What are the major health problems facing the world today? Is access to good health care a right? |
How good are my local health care and sports facilities? Are they equally available to everyone? Which people in my locality have the greatest health care needs? How well does my community cater for people with disabilities? |
What can I do to keep myself healthy? Do I have a responsibility to keep myself healthy, and if so, why? Where should I go if I have a health worry or need advice about staying healthy? |
Education for All |
What is education for? What is the relationship between a country’s wealth and its rate of literacy? What effect does illiteracy have on a person and on a country? Does everyone have the right to an education? |
What types of education are available in my area? Who uses them? How is education funded? What are the educational options available for people with learning difficulties or physical disabilities? |
How much do I value my own education? What do I most want to learn as I grow older? If I could change the education system, what changes would I make to the curriculum? |
Employment |
Why is employment important? Which countries have the highest and lowest employment levels? Why do employment levels differ? What causes unemployment? |
What are the employment levels in my country and local community? How do they compare with other countries? What is done to help the unemployed? |
How are my extended family and friends’ parents employed? How does this affect my/their lifestyle and choices? What is important to me about the kind of job I have? |
Family and Demographic Change |
Why do some countries have a high proportion of children, or of elderly people? What difficulties can this cause? What is a ‘family’? What responsibilities do family members have to one another? How or why has the family changed? |
What sorts of families live in my local area? What proportion of households are single people? Has this changed in recent decades? What support is there in my area for families in need?How is this funded? |
What responsibilities do my parents have to me? What responsibilities do I have to them? What sort of parent do I want to become, if at all? How would I choose to be cared for when I am elderly? |
Fuel and Energy |
What are the world’s mineral resources used for? Which countries provide the most/least? Which countries use the most/least? Who controls the prices? What kinds of fuels are the most environmentally friendly? |
Who are the biggest fuel users in my locality? Where do local fuel supplies come from? Is my community taking action to reduce fuel consumption? Does my community use solar power, wind power, hydro-electric power? |
Which fuels/resources do I regularly use at home and at school/college? How can I, my family and friends contribute to reducing fuel consumption? |
Humans and Other Species |
How well do humans share the planet with other species? Are certain species more important than others? Should humans be permitted to ‘use’ other species to make human life easier/better? |
What are the laws in my country relating to humans and other species? Do people in my country show respect to animals and other creatures? |
What are the attitudes of my friends and family to animals and other creatures? Do my friends/family have strong beliefs about keeping pets, being vegetarian, experiments on animals? |
Language and Communication |
How has the internet transformed the world? Why is it not always easy to make yourself understood in another country, even if you speak the language? Do other societies have different means of communication to those available in my country? |
How do people in my country communicate differently with each other? How does the role of the media affect political decisions in my country? What investment has my country made in communication systems? |
How does the way I communicate with my family and friends differ? How easy is it to be misunderstood? Why is it important to speak other languages? |
Law and Criminality |
Why do people make laws? Do we need laws? What causes some people to break laws? Who decides which laws should be in force? What are the problems caused by different law systems in different countries? |
What are the crime rates in my country/community? What are the major crimes? What schemes are there to protect people from crime? How effective is the national/local police force? |
Do I or my family or my friends break any laws? Do I feel safe in my local community? Has crime affected me or my family and friends? Can I do anything to help prevent crime? |
Poverty & Inequality |
Why are some countries poorer than others and are all the people in these countries poor? How has the gap in equality changed between countries in recent years? In what way should richer countries be concerned about poverty in other countries? |
How does local society treat people differently? What is my country doing to combat poverty? How have some people in my country become wealthier than in comparison to other countries? |
How would I define being poor? Why do I feel superior or inferior to other people? How do the roles in my family demonstrate equality/ inequality? |
Sport and Recreation |
Has the Olympic movement contributed to global wellbeing? Why do some countries have more of a tradition in the arts than others? What is the purpose of museums? |
How might leisure facilities be improved in my community? What role does sporting success play in a nation’s development? Why do professional artists, musicians or sportsmen and women earn so much money? |
What part does sport play in my life? What would be an ideal work-life balance for me and how would I sustain it? Why do I or members of my family support a particular team? |
Technology and Economic Divide |
Which are the most & least technological nations? Why do nations have differing levels of technology? Which are the wealthiest/poorest nations? What are the effects of differing levels of technology and economic status? |
How does my country stand in comparison with others with regard to levels of technology and economic status? How does this affect the level of development and living standards of my region? |
What technology do I have access to at home/school? How does the level of technology and economic status of my family affect me, my family and friends? |
How do countries trade with one another? Who makes the rules? Why are some countries with plenty of natural resources poorer than some other countries? Do richer countries have a responsibility to help poorer countries? |
What does my country import and export? Which countries do we trade with the most? Why are some goods imported even though we produce similar goods at home? |
What should I consider when I make decisions about whose products to buy? What effect does this have on the lives of others around the world? Are there some companies I should specially support, or boycott? |
|
Tradition, Culture and Identity |
Why do people value tradition? Why do people divide into nations? Why do some people move from one country to another? How does this affect their lives? If we have ‘European citizens’, should we aim eventually for all people to be ‘world citizens’? |
What traditions give my country a sense of national identity? What role does culture play in the values of my society? How are people from my country identified when they are abroad? |
What makes me proud of my country? What traditions does my family have? What does national identity mean to me and my friends? What cultural traditions have I inherited? |
Transport and Infrastructure |
Why do countries maintain transport links between each other and when might they close them? Why do some countries have better public transport systems and infrastructures than others? In what way might landlocked countries be disadvantaged? |
How could the system of public transport be improved in my country? How has transport changed in my country over the last century? How are some people disadvantaged in my country because of where they live? |
What methods of transport do I regularly use? In what way does transport infrastructure affect where my family lives? Why is the speed of a journey more important to me than its quality? |
Urbanisation |
Why are more houses being built in many countries in the world? Should there be restrictions on house building? What different types of houses are there in the world? What are the rules in different countries for building houses? |
What provision is there in my country for homeless people? What kind of homes are there in my community? Does the housing meet people’s needs? What happens to people in my area if they are homeless? |
What kinds of homes do I and my family and friends live in? What is important to me about my home? How would I feel about new houses being built near my home? |
Water, Food and Agriculture |
Why do some countries have an inadequate supply of clean water? Why do some countries have a surplus of food and others do not have enough food? How can growing genetically modified (GM) crops solve food shortages around the world? |
What foods are important in my community and why? What emergency measures are in place for coping with droughts and floods in my community or country? What causes famine and drought and how do they affect my community? |
How much water do I use each day and for what purpose? How much food does my family waste each day and why? What decisions does my family have to make about food on a daily basis? |