Abstract
This grounded theory study sought to understand how educators who have participated in a Punahou School-Wo International Center professional development program define components of global citizenship, integrate them into their teaching practices, and detect its presence. This qualitative study interviewed 20 educators (after reaching saturation) either in-person or through videoconferencing methods. Transcriptions were manually coded to identify topics and themes that could form a grounded theory, defended by interviews and the literature review. Six themes based upon the participants’ experiences in professional development experiences emerged from the interviews as fundamental necessities to be a strong global educator, which results from practicing collaboration, empathy, ethical-decision making, global awareness, reflective practice and resilient behaviors. Educators need opportunities to participate in professional development around global citizenship in order to successfully provide their students with the skill set to thrive in communities and activities that necessitate complex problem-solving. The implications of this study affect what kind of professional development experiences the Wo International Center should facilitate as well as what kind educators from Punahou’s partner schools should be seeking.|Keywords: Global citizenship, professional development, global education