ABSTRACT
The study of what is now called “globalization” – roughly meaning global linkages, organization of social life on a global scale, and growth of a global consciousness – has always had a place in the social studies curriculum in North America. And while globalization has never been the major focus of the social studies curriculum, it has been given significant attention in recent decades under the broad rubric of “global education.” The term globalization has become ubiquitous, yet its meaning is notoriously slippery and used in contradictory ways. Our aims in this chapter are twofold. First we examine the concept of globalization in an attempt to identify various ways in which the term is used as part of the school curriculum. We argue that globalization is a key concept, perhaps the most important concept, within the social studies curriculum. Secondly, and based on our examination of what globalization is, we illustrate how issues of class and capitalism are central to teaching not only about globalization, but for the entire social studies curriculum.
