Abstract
This narrative inquiry explores how participation in the 2025 University Scholars Leadership Symposium (USLS) in Kuala Lumpur shaped the author’s development as a global citizen and emerging educator. Throughout the symposium, field texts were gathered through journals, photographs, and artifacts, then revisited through reflective analysis. Guided by curriculum-as-lived, global citizenship education, and Greene’s concept of wide-awakeness, the study highlights how learning occurs not only in formal classrooms but also in relational, global, and service-oriented spaces. Four themes emerged: care and joy as pedagogy, leadership as small but courageous action, resisting ignorance through empathy and humanizing knowledge, and identity development through dialogue and mentorship. Key moments—such as Kindness Day with refugee children and conversations with peers and humanitarian leaders—illustrated how presence, care, and imagination shape educator identity. This inquiry affirms that global experiences hold transformative potential for preparing educators as justice-oriented global citizens.
Recommended Citation
Clopp, Kacie and Straub, Sarah
(2026)
"From Kuala Lumpur to the Classroom: A Narrative Inquiry into Becoming a Global Citizenship and Educator Identity,"
Journal of Multicultural Affairs: Vol. 11:
Iss.
1, Article 2.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/jma/vol11/iss1/2
Included in
Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Curriculum and Social Inquiry Commons, Humane Education Commons, Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons
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