Major Education in Global Contexts (B.A. Education) (90 credits)
Offered by: Integrated Studies in Ed (Faculty of Education)
Degree: BA-ED
Program credit weight: 90 credits
Program Description
The B.A.(Education): Major Education in Global Contexts is intended to equip students with a strong grounding in educational theory, issues and challenges, with an emphasis on building in-depth understandings on key issues facing education in diverse global contexts. A foundational program, it provides a variety of pathways for future study or employment for our students in a range of government, educational, industry and community organizations. Students complete a 54 credit major in Education in Global Contexts addressing the core of the program, with the addition of an 18 credit minor in a complementary discipline (choice of three approved minors), and complete the degree with 18 credits of electives. The program includes an internship and opportunities for applied research. This program is a general degree mirroring the "Liberal Arts" degree, but specifically in the area of Education.
NOTE: This program does not lead to Teacher Certification for formal elementary/secondary classroom teaching in the Province of Quebec.
Note: For information about Fall 2025 and Winter 2026 course offerings, please check back on May 8, 2025. Until then, the "Terms offered" field will appear blank for most courses while the class schedule is being finalized.
Freshman Program
Students whose highest level of education is high school (normally out of province) are admitted into Year 0 (U0) to complete the Freshman Program. Freshman students are required to complete 30 credits of introductory (100- or 200- level) courses of the students' choice (in addition to the 90-credit program), verified by an adviser1, for a total of 120 credits. Students will not be granted permission to take first-year (U1) courses if the credits from the Freshman year have not been obtained. In consultation with the Program Adviser, students may select courses from the recommended course list below or other courses. There are no required courses in the Freshman Program, though the department recommends that students use the opportunity to take 100- or 200- level courses in the subject areas that interest them or are relevant to their chosen concentration. As well, the Freshman year offers students the opportunity to explore areas that are not typically taken as a course of study in the program.
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Freshman Advising:
All Freshman students must have their Fall and Winter course selections verified prior to the start of classes. This can be done by email or by attending the group advising session in late August. To verify your course selection by email, send a message to edgc.advise@mcgill.ca with the subject "B.A.(Education) Freshman Course Selection" including your student ID number and Adviser name.
The department recommends the following courses:
Courses in the Faculty of Education:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| EDEC 247 | Policy Issues in Quebec and Indigenous Education. | 3 |
Policy Issues in Quebec and Indigenous Education. Terms offered: Summer 2025 The organization of Quebec education, including Indigenous education, from historical, political, social, cultural and legal perspectives. The implications and contributions of policy decisions to schools, students, and families. | ||
| EDPE 208 | Personality and Social Development. | 3 |
Personality and Social Development. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Personality, social behavior, and moral development from nursery school up to, but not including, adolescence. Emphasis on aspects of personality and social development that are related to the process of schooling. | ||
| EDPT 204 | Creating and Using Media for Learning. | 3 |
Creating and Using Media for Learning. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Creating and using media for learning. The course reviews audio-visual education (text, visuals, audio, video, and augmented reality), media and information literacy for K-11, higher education, and society, and how data are represented and used in education and research in different disciplines. The rationale and underlying principles for the design, production and effective use of media are emphasized. | ||
Courses from the French Language Centre:
(Placement tests may be required)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| FRSL 101 | Beginners French 1. | 3 |
Beginners French 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A comprehensive introduction to basic vocabulary, grammatical structures and speech patterns of written and oral French for students in any degree program having no previous knowledge of French. Learning to communicate at a functional level in a French-speaking environment. Short essays, cultural readings, mandatory lab practice. | ||
| FRSL 102 | Beginners French 2. | 3 |
Beginners French 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A comprehensive introduction to basic vocabulary, grammatical structures and speech patterns of written and oral French for students in any degree program having no previous knowledge of French. Learning to communicate at a functional level in a French-speaking environment. Short essays, cultural readings, mandatory lab practice. | ||
| FRSL 207D1 | Elementary French 01. | 3 |
Elementary French 01. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This two-term course uses a task-based approach to provide students with authentic materials related to Canadian culture and prepares them for real life communication. Therefore, class time will be mostly dedicated to the completion of communicative tasks which often rely on the use of technology (mobile apps, blogs and other online tools). This course tackles different topics that students can relate to in their personal, social and academic life, and provides a review and further training in elementary language structures to develop their communication skills and digital literacy in French. | ||
| FRSL 207D2 | Elementary French 01. | 3 |
Elementary French 01. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. See FRSL 207D1 for course description. | ||
| FRSL 211D1 | Oral and Written French 1. | 3 |
Oral and Written French 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Language lab attendance required. Grammar review, comprehension, vocabulary development, selected readings and group discussions. | ||
| FRSL 211D2 | Oral and Written French 1. | 3 |
Oral and Written French 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. See FRSL 211D1 for course description. | ||
Courses Across McGill Faculties:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| INDG 200 | Introduction to Indigenous Studies. | 3 |
Introduction to Indigenous Studies. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The focus is on Indigenous experience in Canada, but encourages comparative approaches. Introduction to the social, political, economic and cultural dimensions of Indigenous life in Canada. | ||
| INTD 200 | Introduction to International Development. | 3 |
Introduction to International Development. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An interdisciplinary introduction to the field of International Development Studies focusing on the theory and practice of development. It examines various approaches to international development, including past and present relationships between developed and underdeveloped societies, and pays particular attention to power and resource distribution globally and within nations. | ||
| RELG 207 | Introduction to the Study of Religions. | 3 |
Introduction to the Study of Religions. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This course is an introduction to classic and contemporary approaches to the academic study of religions. This includes perspectives from philosophy, theology, anthropology, sociology, psychology, phenomenology, and feminism. Students are also exposed to applications of these perspectives from visiting scholars who treat some aspect of a religious tradition in light of current-day interests and events. The primary objective is to introduce students to the principal theories and methods that have shaped our understanding of religion, its various meanings as well as its roles and functions in society. | ||
| SOCI 210 | Sociological Perspectives. | 3 |
Sociological Perspectives. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Major theoretical perspectives and research methods in sociology. The linkages of theory and method in various substantive areas including: the family, community and urban life, religion, ethnicity, occupations and stratification, education, and social change. | ||
| WCOM 250 | Research Essay and Rhetoric. | 3 |
Research Essay and Rhetoric. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Academic research-based writing across the disciplines. Article summary, critical analysis, rhetorical strategies, citation and paraphrase of academic sources, and editing for cohesion and clarity. | ||
For examples of courses suitable for Freshman Year 0 students, see the Faculty of Education approved freshman courses (https://www.mcgill.ca/dise/freshmancourses).
If you are admitted into McGill with advanced standing (International Baccalaureate, Advanced Placement, etc.), those credits may be used to fulfill some or all of your Freshman requirements.
Required Courses (42 credits)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| EDEC 202 | Effective Communication. | 3 |
Effective Communication. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Effective writing, speaking, and non-verbal communication skills for a variety of academic and professional situations. Feedback approaches, influential rhetoric, and how to make effective requests to build productive teams through communication. Communication norms in multiple contexts and cultures, identification and correction of common errors in grammar, mechanics and usage. | ||
| EDEC 221 | Leadership and Group Skills. | 3 |
Leadership and Group Skills. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Management, effective team leadership, group dynamics, and communications skills crucial for leaders. Discussion of mainstream, intercultural, Indigenous, international, and institutional practices and leadership skills. | ||
| EDEC 233 | Indigenous Education. | 3 |
Indigenous Education. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An exploration of Indigenous knowledge and pedagogy, primarily in Canada but also world-wide. Consideration of the diverse social, cultural, linguistic, political, and pedagogical histories of Indigenous communities. Examines how a teacher's professional identity and practice can be influenced by an understanding of Indigenous knowledge and worldviews. | ||
| EDEC 249 | Global Education and Social Justice. | 3 |
Global Education and Social Justice. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A cross-curricular, interdisciplinary approach to teaching/creating learning experiences for students. It will foster critical thinking and nurture lifelong global understanding, active engagement and participation in relation to questions of social, economic, and environmental justice, by infusing these issues in the classroom. | ||
| EDEC 260 | Philosophical Foundations. | 3 |
Philosophical Foundations. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Ideas essential for the development of a coherent educational theory and sound professional practice. Reflections on: the nature of the person, of reality, of knowledge, and of value; the aims of education, the nature of the school and the curriculum, the roles and responsibilities of professional educators. | ||
| EDEM 220 | Contemporary Issues in Education. | 3 |
Contemporary Issues in Education. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An introduction to contemporary issues in education in local, national and international contexts, including a critical perspective on educational issues by drawing on a variety of analytical frameworks. | ||
| EDER 461 | Society and Change. | 3 |
Society and Change. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Factors influencing patterns of stability and change in major social institutions and the implications for formal and non-formal education. | ||
| EDGC 201 | Learning and Knowledge Approaches | 3 |
Learning and Knowledge Approaches Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Exploration and application of a diversity of literacy practices that support a critical “reading” of the world. Introduction of the interdisciplinary field of diverse knowledge approaches, digital media, and learning, focusing on how digital media are changing the youth’s learning lives and approaches to knowledge across countries and contexts, and the very movements of contemporary culture. | ||
| EDGC 299 | Professional and Research Seminar. | 3 |
Professional and Research Seminar. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Professional seminar for emerging leaders in education. Topics include professional development, professional ethics, reflective practices, career resilience, and research methods in the field of education. | ||
| EDGC 301 | Program Design and Evaluation. | 3 |
Program Design and Evaluation. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Development and design of programs and curricula; exploration of current models of assessment and evaluation as applied to the educational context. | ||
| EDGC 398 | Internship: Education in Global Contexts. | 0 |
Internship: Education in Global Contexts. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Internship with an approved host institution or organization, with a focus on education in global contexts. | ||
| EDGC 399 | 3 | |
Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. | ||
| EDGC 400 | 21st Century Learning. | 3 |
21st Century Learning. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 21st Century Learning that shifts education away from learning as a cognitive/rational endeavour focused on reproduction of content knowledge, and toward learning as a life-long process. Contemporary learning in seven areas: 1) make learning and learner engagement central; 2) learning is social and often collaborative; 3) be attuned to learners’ motivations and emotions; 4) be sensitive to individual differences including prior knowledge; 5) be demanding for each learner but without excessive overload; 6) recognize assessment as critical, but with strong emphasis on formative feedback; 7) promote horizontal connectedness across activities and subjects, in and out of school. | ||
| EDGC 499 | 3 | |
Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. | ||
| EDPE 300 | Educational Psychology. | 3 |
Educational Psychology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Selected theories, models, and concepts relevant to planning and reflecting upon educational practice and improvement. Overview of development, learning, thinking, motivation, individual difference, etc. In relation to applications in classroom teaching and learning, the complementary role of counsellors and psychologists, educational computing and technology. The Youth Protection Act. | ||
Complementary Courses (30 credits)
12 credits from the following; no more than 9 credits from one specific list. Other courses on these topics from the Faculty of Education or other Faculties may be selected subject to approval of program adviser.
Leadership and Social Change
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| EDGC 300 | Special Topics. 1 | 3 |
Special Topics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Selected topics in education in global contexts. | ||
| EDGC 312 | Understanding Teacher Leadership. | 3 |
Understanding Teacher Leadership. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Promotes understanding of education standards and self as a leader. Existing literature and research base for teacher leadership. Explores the leadership behaviours and mindsets that positively impact learning within a school environment. Focuses on building learning communities. Teacher leadership skills, effective instructional strategies, and the development of reflective practitioners within a collaborative culture. Emphasis is placed on concepts and procedures for creating and sustaining instructional teams, designed to support systemic inquiry and school improvement. | ||
| EDGC 313 | Cultivating Process of Social Transformation. | 3 |
Cultivating Process of Social Transformation. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Investigates, critically analyzes, and compares different efforts to cultivate social change: activism and social movements; collaboratives and collective impact processes; organizational and workplace change initiatives; policy and institutional change processes; and knowledge-to-action strategies. | ||
| EDGC 411 | Affect, Education, and Social Change. | 3 |
Affect, Education, and Social Change. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Social and cultural theory in education research on the role of moving, human bodies in learning and literacy; critiquing politics of emotion that overvalue the role of “reason” in schooling; and investigating the “felt” in human life that creates atmospheres of learning and social change and affects our capacities for agency and belonging across cultures. Introduction to affect theory to conceptualize and analyze connections to learning and education through movements in educational studies. A central focus is affect as it relates to mobilizing human bodies toward collective and transformative social action and learning across local and global scales. | ||
| EDGC 412 | Historical Knowledge: Tool for Agents of Change. | 3 |
Historical Knowledge: Tool for Agents of Change. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Workings of historical consciousness in educational practitioners’ sense of knowing and doing as professionals. Historical consciousness and accounting for how historical knowledge impacts worldviews and consequent intentions for bringing about change in the world. Explores key authors who have defined historical consciousness, and the impact of their ideas on teaching and conducting research in the social sciences, with a particular focus on education. | ||
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when topic is relevant to this list.
Ethics, Wellbeing, and Diverse Knowledge Approaches
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| EDER 494 | Human Rights and Ethics in Practice. | 3 |
Human Rights and Ethics in Practice. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Explores contemporary issues in human rights from an educational perspective, focusing on implications for praxis; explores ethical notions, including rights and responsiblities, as applied to contemporary challenges. | ||
| EDGC 222 | Integrating Arts into STEM. | 3 |
Integrating Arts into STEM. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Investigates connections between the arts and STEM disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics). Includes historical perspectives, and emphasis on ways of thinking that cut across the arts and STEM, such as design-based thinking. | ||
| EDGC 300 | Special Topics. 1 | 3 |
Special Topics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Selected topics in education in global contexts. | ||
| EDGC 324 | Physical Health and Wellbeing in Education. | 3 |
Physical Health and Wellbeing in Education. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Explores various issues related to physical health and wellbeing in educational contexts. Addresses the physiological needs of children and youth, as well as issues and challenges related to mental health and wellbeing. The readings and specific topics addressed are multidisciplinary, and assignments explore traditional as well as alternative learning approaches and environments in the 21st century. | ||
| EDGC 423 | Human Knowledge Claims and Education. | 3 |
Human Knowledge Claims and Education. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to the evolving attitudes of the sciences and social sciences to knowledge, and how such emerging claims impact education in terms of teaching and research. Specific focus on the different methods that can be employed for understanding both the physical and human world, with particular attention on the consequences of such approaches on knowing and acting in social reality. Opportunity to develop research and teaching designs for today’s globalized world. | ||
| EDSL 390 | Teaching English as a Second Language in the Community. | 3 |
Teaching English as a Second Language in the Community. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to pedagogical, program and policy contexts of teaching ESL outside the formal K - 11 school setting, including teaching children, adolescents and adults, in the private and community sectors in Canada and abroad. | ||
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when topic is relevant to this list.
Critical Issues in Education
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| EDGC 200 | Knowledge through the Arts. | 3 |
Knowledge through the Arts. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Exploration of attributes of a critical-creative educational culture, individual, and community, alongside the interrelationships between epistemology, communication technology/internet/social media, the arts, global citizenship and formal/informal communities. | ||
| EDGC 233 | Learning in Out-of-School Contexts. | 3 |
Learning in Out-of-School Contexts. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Investigates children's learning in non-academic contexts, for example museums, families, sports. Includes study of the funds of knowledge that students bring from home that can be leveraged in school settings. Explores learning in culturally specific contexts, focusing on the ways in which disciplinary thinking is culturally situated. | ||
| EDGC 300 | Special Topics. 1 | 3 |
Special Topics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Selected topics in education in global contexts. | ||
| EDGC 335 | Eco-Justice and Sustainability in Education. | 3 |
Eco-Justice and Sustainability in Education. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Considers the importance of the tenets of education for sustainable development through practical and theoretical means. Components will take place off-site (i.e., at an outdoor centre or at an alternative setting); exploration of how to integrate holistically cultural, economic and financial components for sustainable living and being. The role of education in eco-justice and sustainability will be the focus. | ||
| EDGC 336 | Race, Class, and Power in Education in Global Contexts. | 3 |
Race, Class, and Power in Education in Global Contexts. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Explores ways in which race, class, and power can impact educational outcomes, with specific emphasis on the role of these in the systemic reproduction of educational and societal inequalities. | ||
| EDGC 337 | Gendered Identities, Social Learning. | 3 |
Gendered Identities, Social Learning. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Explores the impact of gender identity on teaching and learning, in both formal and non-formal learning contexts. | ||
| EDPI 341 | Instruction in Inclusive Schools. | 3 |
Instruction in Inclusive Schools. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Developing, planning, implementing and evaluating effective learning programs for diverse learners, and consideration of their more general applicability. Adapting curriculum and instruction for learners with varying abilities, learning styles, and needs. Collaboration with students, families, and other educators (or stakeholders) in the instructional process. Application of adaptations at the classroom and school level for all students in inclusive schools. | ||
| EDSL 500 | Foundations and Issues in Second Language Education. | 3 |
Foundations and Issues in Second Language Education. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction of second language (L2) education; an overview of contributing disciplines (e.g., linguistics, psychology, sociology and education). A history of theory and various methodological approaches to L2 teaching and learning is used to promote an understanding of current theory and practice. | ||
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when topic is relevant to this list.
Children and Youth
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| EDGC 244 | Investigating Children's Reasoning. | 3 |
Investigating Children's Reasoning. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Young children's thinking, how to assess children's thinking through interviews, and how to interpret and analyze children's work. Typical conceptions children have about ideas in math, science, and other disciplines. | ||
| EDGC 300 | Special Topics. 1 | 3 |
Special Topics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Selected topics in education in global contexts. | ||
| EDGC 348 | Global Perspectives of Early Childhood Education. | 3 |
Global Perspectives of Early Childhood Education. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Explores international perspectives of early childhood care and educational thinking, emanating from the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child. Value-principles relating to early childhood education (i.e., human rights, democracy, professionalism, culture, ethical responsibilities and the value of play), with investigations into educational models and research studies on young children from communities around the world. How schools for young children reflect and affect philosophies of early learning, social patterns and beliefs. Issues, policies and objectives reflecting global perspectives of the image of the whole child will be analyzed with respect to theories of universal early childhood education. | ||
| EDGC 444 | Critical Contexts of Youth Development and Wellbeing. | 3 |
Critical Contexts of Youth Development and Wellbeing. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Critically examines the social, economic, institutional and political contexts shaping diverse developmental trajectories among children and youth. | ||
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when topic is relevant to this list.
One of the following approved minors:
B.Com.; Minor in Management for Non-Management Students
B.A.; Minor Concentration in International Development Studies
B.A.; Minor Concentration in Educational Psychology
Subject to approval of program adviser, students in a minor offered by the Faculty of Education (i.e., Educational Psychology) may be granted permission to complete a second minor from the above list in order to fulfill the requirement of 18 credits of elective courses.
Elective Courses (18 credits)
18 credits of electives selected from Faculty of Education offerings. Exceptionally, students may be permitted to take courses elsewhere in the University with permission of the program adviser.