Opening doors, opening minds: A cosmopolitan pedagogical framework to assess learning for global competency in Chicago's underserved communities

The purpose of this research and report is to utilize a cosmopolitan pedagogical framework to qualitatively assess education for global competency in underserved communities. Using qualitative methods such as participant-observation and interviewing, a nine-month long participatory action research study is described that includes three educational programs facilitated through Hostelling International-Chicago and Chicago Public Schools. The results demonstrate that a cosmopolitanism pedagogical framework can teach global competencies that reflect hope, memory, and dialog as well as other cosmopolitan values to students who may not have the opportunity for more traditional international/intercultural education.