The Global Sandbox/ We Can Get Along

Firstly, our world has truly become a global village, yet far from becoming a harmonious family. Some are physically strong, while some are weak, and some are crafty and deceptive in their dealings in order to govern more of the village or “sandbox” and its resources.

James Michael Brant - President, World Institute for Social Education Development

Presented at Comparative and International Education Society Conference Washington D.C., 2015

The objective of this study is to demonstrate three points:

1. Firstly, that the relations between countries and governments in today’s modern “global village” is similar to young children trying to get along in a sandbox or playground with limited sand, equipment, and toys.  Some children get along better than others.  Some are aggressive, some are more passive. 

2. Secondly, that much as in an early learning scenario, the problems can be ameliorated by social emotional training intervention. 

3. Thirdly, that although limits and rules must be established and enforced for the safety of all, these regulations have proven difficult to enforce effectively on an international level, however less enforcement would be needed if a strong foundation of social emotional skills were taught internationally throughout the education process.  

Firstly, our world has truly become a global village, yet far from becoming a harmonious family. Some are physically strong, while some are weak, and some are crafty and deceptive in their dealings in order to govern more of the village or “sandbox” and its resources.  The atmosphere is insecure because of the aggressive ones.  In this case, the players are not only nation states, but multi-national corporations and not-so-obvious economic and power interests.  This paper seeks to demonstrate that these problems of a global scope, regardless of the players involved, are rooted in the same social emotional challenges and deficiencies as can be found in a group of young children on a playground who must learn to get along.

Secondly, global conflict can be ameliorated by early social emotional training, much as in a pre-school or kindergarten.  The concept of getting along and becoming one global family must be introduced into the education and cultural system, starting at preschool and continuing on through higher education.  This formation of healthy attitudes, promoting harmony and mutual respect can build a peaceful and kind global village.

Thirdly, although international regulations are set in place to avoid conflict, these often prove ineffective in practice.  Longitudinal studies have shown that crime rates are lowered from adolescence on through adulthood by early social emotional training.  Public expense related to police intervention and correctional institutions is lessened through such a foundation.  If this truth is extrapolated to a global level, might we not avoid wasting our resources on military expense and destroying our brotherhood in war?

The perspective of this study ranges from local to global levels.  The reason for this is to show that if peace and friendship can be established in a kindergarten, a neighborhood, or a city, there is hope that the same methods which brought this result can do it on a global scale.  Observations are made on social emotional training programs and their effects on children and adolescents in schools.  Projects promoting friendship between children and youth internationally are also studied to measure their effectiveness.  The educational theory applied in most of these efforts is social constructivist in that children and youth work together to effect a positive change in world understanding between countries.

The methods of inquiry include quantitative statistical reports on the effects of social emotional programs from preschools to universities.  Qualitative assessments are also performed by way of interviews and supervisory logs of experimental programs in Latin America, Russia, and China.  Cost and labor effectiveness is considered, as well as the savings gained from needing less correctional measures by justice and social departments.  A review of the literature shows widespread use of such programs in a variety of social contexts, along with the results.

Data resources include academic studies from JSTOR, Ebsco, and Harvard Libraries, as well as HighScope Institute, Vanderbilt Center on Social and Emotional Foundations, Yale University, and the California State Department of Education.

The conclusions of this study show that social emotional training starting at preschool and continuing throughout the education process is effective in promoting a better quality of life, including a lower rate of social conflict and crime.  It is therefore plausible that a similar outcome could be expected on a larger global level.

The significance of this study to the field of Comparative and International Education is that it shows hope for greater world harmony through education.  If all nations put a high priority on social emotional skills training and peace education at every grade level, we would have many more well-adjusted and peaceful people, countries, and a more harmonious world.