This paper will explore the possibility and the tensions of using a global literacy approach to instruction to promote common values across local, national, and international lines.

This study is an exploratory qualitative study that was part of a larger study on teaching global literacy. According to Creswell (2013), qualitative research is used “because a problem or issue needs to be explored” (pg. 47). The research question under investigation was What did global education experts believe were the components of teaching global literacy at the K-12 level? Qualitative inquiry examines a construct in a holistic way, permitting researchers to hear the voices and stories of those who experience the construct as well as the evidence of those who study the construct (Denzin & Lincoln, 2005; Lincoln & Guba, 2000; Vogt, King, & King, 2004). This allows the researcher to consider the practitioner and the expert views of the construct.

Twenty interviews were conducted one-on-one using a researcher-generated semi-structured interview protocol of nine open-ended questions with additional probes (Creswell, 2013). Questions intended to garner the curricular choices and instructional processes participants chose with the goal of leading to global literacy at the K-12 level. Interviews were audio recorded when permitted, and in the two cases when the participant chose not to be recorded, I took extensive notes. Verbatim interview transcripts and researcher notes were analyzed in NVivo software using iterative thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006).