The document discusses the World Studies Extended Essay (WSEE) and its key aspects and requirements. It provides examples of global citizenship frameworks and themes that could be covered in a WSEE. It emphasizes that a strong WSEE examines an issue of contemporary global significance through an interdisciplinary lens, explores both global and local dimensions, and proposes solutions to address the issue. The document also provides guidance on developing a clear research question and employing diverse research techniques for a successful WSEE.
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World Studies Extended Essay
Global consciousness encompasses:
• global sensitivity – a sensitivity to local
phenomena and experiences as manifestations
of broader developments on the planet
• global understanding – the capacity to think in
flexible and informed ways about issues of global
significance
• global self – a perception of self as a global actor
and member of humanity, capable of making a
positive contribution to the world
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Global Citizenship Framework
• Commitment to rights and
responsibility
• Commitment to Sustainability
• Desire to make a difference
• Sense of interdependence
• Positive sense of identity
• Commitment to peace
• Commitment to justice
• Open to new ideas
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Global Citizenship Themes
• Sustainable living
• Conflict and peace.
• Fairness and equality
• Identity and Belonging
• Rights and responsibilities
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Global Self
How do I feel and
what can I do
about this issue?
World Studies Extended Essay
• Global
Understanding
How does this issue
help me understand
an increasingly
interconnected
world?
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• Global Sensitivity
How does this issue
impact my life in both
tangible and indirect
ways?
ISSUE
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World Studies Extended Essay
• An extended essay in world studies invites
students to conduct an in-depth,
interdisciplinary investigation into an issue
of contemporary, global importance.
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Interdisciplinary allows students to
• pursue independent research
• develop research and communication skills
• develop the skills of creative and critical
thinking
• engage in a systematic process of research
appropriate to the topic
• experience the excitement of intellectual
discovery
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Student Dialogue
World Studies Extended Essay
• An extended essay in world studies invites
students to conduct an in-depth,
interdisciplinary investigation into an issue
of contemporary, global importance.
• Complex issues such as these cannot be
adequately understood or addressed if
only approached from the perspective of a
single subject
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World Studies Extended Essay
Researchers Reflective Space
• link local and global issues effectively
• illustrate how their problems of study impact their
local daily lives.
• reflect about a complex problem considering
multiple dimensions and weighing multiple
disciplinary approaches
• reflect about their emerging findings and questions
• consider their growing sense of self as
internationally minded actors
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World Studies Extended Essay
• Personal Interest
• Multifaceted
• Of Contemporary & Global
Significance
• Viable
Is the topic something
that I find interesting
or that matters to me?
Do I truly want to
know more about it?
Does the topic
include dimensions
(e.g. people, money,
weather) that are
typically studied by
different
subjects/disciplines?
Does researching
this question help me
understand not just
my own community /
country, but also
other countries and/
or the world
Will I be able to find
the necessary experts,
data, information,
etc. to really
understand the topic?
Is there enough time?
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Student Dialogue
WSEE Global themes
Science, technology and society
Culture, language and identity
Conflict, peace and security
Equality and inequality
Health and development
Environmental and/or economic
sustainability
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World Studies Extended Essay
The best essays contain
• A good balance of global/local
• The concepts and perspectives of two or
more disciplines made clear to the reader
• Some self generated, local research to
illuminate the issue of global significance
• A clear research question which is resolved in
novel ways by virtue of the interdisciplinary
approach
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World Studies Extended Essay
Aspects of excellent WSEE
1. The issue of contemporary global
significance
• Is identified and is significant
• Is sufficiently elucidated and referenced
• Invites an interdisciplinary approach
• Plays out at local level
• Can be narrowed enough for the candidate to examine
in depth
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World Studies Extended Essay
Aspects of excellent WSEE
2. The interdisciplinary approach
• Is adopted
• Subjects are mentioned and justified in the essay
• Is clearly brought out through occupation of
academic subject territory
• Is clearly brought out through the adoption of the
vocabulary of disciplines
• Juxtaposes subject material drawing inferences for
the topic
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World Studies Extended Essay
Aspects of excellent WSEE
3. The Research Question
• Is clearly stated
• Is presumed to be in a survey of a topic
• Is focused for meaningful treatment in 4,000
words
• Defines the local context widely to be of
relevance to a global issue
• Has been retro-fitted
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World Studies Extended Essay
Aspects of excellent WSEE
4. Research techniques
• Research findings are presented with
analysis
• Surveys/questionnaires are realistic or well
conceived
• The issue of global significance is set in
usable context
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Research
Question: What
are the economic
and cultural
causes of infant
malnutrition in a
rural district of
Maharashtra and
what public health
policies are
needed to
mitigate it?
Subject 1: Economics
Research builds
understanding of how
economic circumstances
impact child malnutrition in
Maharashtra
Subject 2: Humanities
Research builds
understanding of how
cultural traditions impact
child malnutrition in
Maharashtra
Subject 3: Science
Research gives a strong
understanding of what
malnutrition is and how it
affects the human mind
and body
Data and insights from the
subjects/disciplines are
integrated to build a
complex explanation of the
causes and effects of
malnutrition
Existing health policies are
analyzed and a pragmatic
solution to the problem is
considered
Connections are made to
other countries with a
malnutrition problem,
particularly in terms of how
the students’ research
could inform policy
decisions in these other
countries.
Subject 4: Political Science
Information about existing
public health policies is
collected for an up-to-date
idea of what is being done
about malnutrition
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Furthermore, in line with the IBO’s aim of developing internationally minded people who, recognizing their common humanity and shared guardianship help to create a better and more peaceful world, the world studies extended essay seeks to advance students’ global consciousness. Global consciousness encompasses:
Connection that are
About ourselves, others and the environment
Immediate and locally relevant
Global and also locally relevant
Rooted in the past
Present in our lives today
Going to affect our lives in the future
Explain global citizenship as a terminology used in different contexts
Share one example
Examples of pressing issues include the global food crisis, climate change, terrorism, energy security, and global health problems such as the spread of HIV Aids and drug-resistant tuberculosis.
Interdisciplinary allows
pursue independent research on a focused topic, using concepts, perspectives, findings, or examples from at least two different subjects/disciplines
develop research and communication skills, including the ability to communicate to audiences from more than one subject/discipline
develop the skills of creative and critical thinking, particularly those skills involved in integrating concepts, theories, perspectives, findings, or examples from different subjects/disciplines to develop new insights or understandings
engage in a systematic process of research appropriate to the topic – a process that is informed by concepts, theories, perspectives and methods from the chosen subjects/disciplines
experience the excitement of intellectual discovery, including insights into how different subjects/disciplines complement and / or challenge one another when used to address the same topic or issue
Interdisciplinary allows students to
pursue independent research on a focused topic, using concepts, perspectives, findings, or examples from at least two different subjects/disciplines
develop research and communication skills, including the ability to communicate to audiences from more than one subject/discipline
develop the skills of creative and critical thinking, particularly those skills involved in integrating concepts, theories, perspectives, findings, or examples from different subjects/disciplines to develop new insights or understandings
engage in a systematic process of research appropriate to the topic – a process that is informed by concepts, theories, perspectives and methods from the chosen subjects/disciplines
experience the excitement of intellectual discovery, including insights into how different subjects/disciplines complement and / or challenge one another when used to address the same topic or issue
Examples of pressing issues include the global food crisis, climate change, terrorism, energy security, and global health problems such as the spread of HIV Aids and drug-resistant tuberculosis.
Interdisciplinary allows
pursue independent research on a focused topic, using concepts, perspectives, findings, or examples from at least two different subjects/disciplines
develop research and communication skills, including the ability to communicate to audiences from more than one subject/discipline
develop the skills of creative and critical thinking, particularly those skills involved in integrating concepts, theories, perspectives, findings, or examples from different subjects/disciplines to develop new insights or understandings
engage in a systematic process of research appropriate to the topic – a process that is informed by concepts, theories, perspectives and methods from the chosen subjects/disciplines
experience the excitement of intellectual discovery, including insights into how different subjects/disciplines complement and / or challenge one another when used to address the same topic or issue
Examples of pressing issues include the global food crisis, climate change, terrorism, energy security, and global health problems such as the spread of HIV Aids and drug-resistant tuberculosis.
Students who undertake a WSEE must follow the criteria of the WSEE and ensure that their essay fits within one of the six global