VAKS (static version)

Values, attitudes, knowledge, and skills (VAKS) for teacher competences for multilingual pedagogies and global citizenship education

A teacher who is committed to Global Citizenship Education (GCE) and multilingual pedagogies tends to hold a range of values, attitudes, knowledge, and skills in these areas. In this framework, we present some of the core competences that such a teacher is likely to hold. We do not expect the framework to be completely comprehensive but we hope that it is a useful reflective tool for those wishing to teach GCE and multilingual pedagogies.

PDF version

This tool is available as PDF in the following languages:

Static version

Values
Attitudes
Knowledge
Skills

As a teacher, I…

  1. …identify as a global citizen.
  2. …value linguistic and cultural diversity.
  3. …feel a sense of responsibility for taking action on global issues.
  4. …am committed to environmental sustainability.
  5. …am committed to social equity.
  6.  …believe that pedagogy should be built on values of empathy and compassion.
  7. …respect my learners’ identities, voice, and right to their own opinions.
  8. …value my learners’ participation in classroom decisions and processes.
  9. …believe in the importance of teaching my learners critical attitudes and behaviours.
  10. …believe that my learners should be supported in developing a sense of responsibility and agency for addressing global issues.

As a teacher, I…

  1. …am open towards developing new skills in respect to global citizenship education and multilingual pedagogies.
  2. …want to promote tolerance, open-mindedness, and curiosity in my learners.
  3. …feel that it is important to reflect on myself and my practices.
  4. …believe that all teaching should promote respect for all types of diversity.
  5. …am willing to engage with sensitive and controversial topics in my classroom.
  6. …like to challenge my learners to adopt a global view in their thinking.
  7. …am sensitive to my learners’ linguistic and cultural backgrounds.
  8. …want to actively work with my learners’ linguistic resources.
  9. …want to stimulate my learners to think critically about global issues.
  10. …am committed to teaching my learners how to be responsible global citizens.

As a teacher, I…

  1. …have an understanding of the diversity of cultures.
  2. …know about some of the challenges people face in different parts of the world, in terms of social equity and access to resources.
  3. …understand some of the root causes of global poverty and inequalities (e.g., European colonialism).
  4. …am familiar with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
  5. …understand some of the issues underlying global migration.
  6. …am aware that some of my consumption habits have an effect on people and the environment in other parts of the world.
  7. …understand that language is important to one’s identity and especially to the identities of my students.
  8. …am aware of the languages my students use and speak.
  9. …know strategies to encourage my students to draw on their multiple languages in the classroom for social and for learning purposes.
  10. …am aware that languages and the use of language is related to issues of power and status.

As a teacher, I am able to…

  1. …promote students’ critical and independent thinking.
  2. …help students become aware of representation in media, in particular the voices and positioning of certain social groups.
  3. …show students how to examine the origins and implications of their own assumptions.
  4. …challenge students to engage with complex local/global processes (e.g., socioeconomic inequalities).
  5. …foster students’ awareness that their choices or lack of action affect their own lives and those of others.
  6. …show students how to appreciate and learn from all kinds of diversity.
  7. …guide students to analyse causes and consequences of conflict from different perspectives.
  8. …promote multilingualism, including regional, minority, and migration languages.
  9. …make students aware of issues of power and status in languages and language use.
  10. …teach students how to use their different languages as resources.