This glossary collects some key words and expressions you will find within the GMCM teacher training modules and the related teaching modules. It includes highly relevant terms in the fields of global citizenship education and multilingual pedagogies.
Ableism
Unfair treatment of people with disabilities by prioritizing the needs of people without disabilities.
Ageism
Unfair treatment of people because of their age.
Asylum seeker
A person who seeks protection from persecution or serious harm in a country other than their own and awaits a decision on the application for refugee status.
Biodiversity
Different kinds of animals and plants that live on our planet.
Consumerism
A person’s or a society’s focus on buying things.
Critical attitude
A mental disposition thanks to which phenomena are subject to analytical attention rather than taken for granted or overlooked.
Critical visual literacy
The ability to examine and question visual images and how, together with writing, they create meaning. By integrating critical visual literacy into classrooms, students learn to critique and discuss a wide range of ideas while expressing their own.
Culturally responsive teaching
An approach to teaching that engages learners while respecting their cultural identities.
Deforestation
Cutting down large amounts of trees in a forest.
Differentiation
Differentiating is about adapting teaching methods and materials to accommodate learner diversity.
Ecoliteracy or ecological literacy
The knowledge and understanding of how nature and its systems function.
Ecology (Ecologies)
The relationship between humans, animals, plants, nature, and their surroundings.
Endangered language
A language is endangered when fewer people are using it and it is no longer passed on to younger generations.
Ethnocentrism
The tendency to view one’s own society or culture as the standard by which other societies and cultures should be judged.
Fake news
Untrue stories that are presented as the truth in the news or on the internet.
Gender stereotypes
Assumptions or preconceptions about people based on attributes or characteristics related to gender.
Global citizen
Someone who understands their relationship to the wider world and feels a sense of responsibility to take action to make our planet more peaceful, sustainable, and fairer.
Global citizenship
The understanding that everyone is a citizen of the worldwide community.
Global North
The countries, located primarily in the northern hemisphere, that have historically been identified as “the West” or “first world” due to perceptions of their relative wealth, technology and global dominance.
Global South
The nations of the world which are regarded as having a relatively low level of economic and industrial development and are typically located to the south of more industrialised nations.
Glocal
The connection between local and global issues.