Social Studies Inquiry: Teaching the Importance of International Relations
In today’s interconnected world, international relations impact everyone, no matter where they live. It’s becoming clearer that issues like climate change, pandemics, and economic inequality require nations to work together to find lasting solutions. As we move further into 2025, it’s important to recognize the significance of international relations and to teach students about the impacts of international cooperation.
International cooperation refers to nations working collaboratively to address issues that affect the global community. Without such collaboration, problems like climate change, human rights violations, and pandemics become insurmountable. Teaching students the importance and effectiveness of international cooperation is critical in helping them understand the impact of a country’s actions on a global level.
This article will review some important international issues and examine Canada’s role in global efforts using the social studies inquiry process. It will also offer inquiry-based learning ideas for elementary and secondary classrooms using recent, real-world events for relevancy.
For teachers who are new to inquiry learning, start here to understand how to plan your first inquiry learning unit. Some links in this article are affiliate links. Read our full affiliate disclosure here.
The Historical Inquiry Process
In Ontario, there is a huge emphasis on applying the historical inquiry process, whereby students gather, interpret, and analyze historical evidence from a variety of sources. The goal is that by doing so, they can investigate and make judgments about issues, developments, and events of historical importance.
The process is split into similar stages as the inquiry learning process:
Formulate questions
Students develop questions to explore various events, developments, and issues from a particular time. Teachers can help students develop high-quality inquiry questions by developing a criteria they can use to evaluate their evidence and information as they progress.
Gather and organize
This stage requires students to select, gather, and identify helpful sources of information. They should evaluate each source to determine whether it is credible, accurate, and reliable, as well as the purpose of each source.
Interpret and analyze
Once students have conducted some research (see the difference between inquiry and research here), they will need to analyze their evidence to uncover the main points, look for biases, and ensure they have enough information to address their key question.
Evaluate and draw conclusions
This is the stage where students synthesize their information and make judgments, connections, and conclusions about their research.
Communicate
The final stage of the inquiry learning process is using appropriate forms to communicate their information, implementing correct historical terminology and citing their sources properly.
Concepts of Historical Thinking
Students can be successful in working through the historical inquiry process by focusing on the four concepts of historical thinking:
- Historical significance
- Cause and consequence
- Continuity and change
- Historical perspective
Below, we have broken down how each concept of historical thinking ties into an exploration of international relations:
Historical Significance:
This concept helps us understand why certain events, people, or decisions matter over time. In international relations, historical significance is important because it explains how past events shape global politics, cooperation, and conflicts today.
When studying international relations, it’s important to recognize instances where international cooperation has resulted in significant global developments. For example, the creation of the United Nations following World War II was monumental in its aims to prevent future conflicts and promote global peace. The UN’s work in peacekeeping, disaster relief, and human rights protection has been significant in how it has shaped international relations among countries.
Similarly, the formation of the EU was meant to promote economic and political stability. Its significance lies in its power to moderate a common market and improve economies for participating countries. Its impact on global trade and diplomacy is a prime example of its significance.
Cause and Consequence:
Understanding cause and consequence helps students understand how events happen (causes) and what effects they create (consequences). In international relations, this is important because decisions made by countries – whether about war, peace, trade, or diplomacy – can have major impacts on the world.
For instance, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change was adopted in 2015 as a result of a growing consensus about the climate. World leaders and scientists recognized that climate change was a growing crisis caused by pollution and carbon emissions.
Consequently, countries signed the agreement, committing to reducing emissions and working together to slow global warming. This decision has influenced national policies, renewable energy development, and environmental awareness on a global scale.
Check out our collection of Insightful Cause and Effect Inquiry Project Ideas to implement in your classroom.
Continuity and Change
Often, students understand history as a timeline of events. However, understanding history as a multi-layered, simultaneous occurrence of events is a much more accurate and complete way of studying the subject. We’ve written a guide on How to Teach Events that Occurred at the Same Time in History, designed to help students understand the idea that events occurred in different places at the same time.
Relating continuity and change to international relations means understanding that some global issues have existed for centuries. For example, issues pertaining to peace, trade, and diplomacy have always existed, but the ways countries handle them has changed over time, and will continue to do so.
One good example is the negotiation of NAFTA (USMCA). The idea that countries have always traded goods and services to grow their economies underpins the concept of continuity. However, the way that modern trade agreements have changed – for example, shifting from NAFTA to USMCA – highlights ever-occurring changes to reflect new economic needs, technologies, and political relationships.
Historical Perspective
The concept of historical perspective helps students understand past events by considering the viewpoints and experiences of people from different times and places. In international relations, this is important because countries and leaders make decisions based on a variety of factors. From one person’s perspective, a particular decision might make sense. However, the leader of another country, with their own viewpoint and considerations, might disagree.
Studying historical perspective helps students see why nations cooperate or disagree on global issues. For instance, the formation of the European Union after World War II was to prevent future conflicts – something most European countries could agree was a priority from their perspective. Today, some countries debate leaving the EU (like was the case with Brexit) because their economic perspectives have changed.
Another example is the global response to refugees; some countries respond based on their histories, and others may limit refugees due to economic concerns or past conflicts. Considering these perspectives helps students analyze international decisions more clearly.
Understanding Canada’s Role in International Relations
Understanding why it is important for countries (in this particular instance, Canada) to be involved with countries around the world, and in what ways Canada makes a difference in the world is an expectation of the elementary social studies curriculum in Ontario. Even if you’re not teaching students in Canada, you can still apply these ideas to your classroom or learning environment.
Guided Inquiry Idea #1: How does international cooperation help combat climate change, and what actions has Canada taken to contribute?
Understanding climate change and international cooperation helps students recognize the interconnectedness of the world. It helps them develop a sense of responsibility and awareness of environmental issues while also learning about Canada’s role in international efforts. This helps students in many ways:
- Students learn that climate change is a global issue requiring cooperation among nations
- They see how Canada contributes to international agreements and efforts
- Learning about this helps students appreciate environmental policies and how they impact their daily life
- Students gain skills in research, collaboration, and problem-solving
Begin with a class discussion about climate change and its effects. Some good whole-class resources to support this include:
- The Story of Climate Change – excellent introductory text (with stunning illustrations) about changes in the Earth’s climate, the impact of the Industrial Revolution, and the contributions made by factory farming and pollution
- Eyewitness Climate Change – facts and statistics to share and discuss with students about the Earth’s climate and how human activities are contributing to the problem
- Climate Change and How We’ll Fix It – a great discussion text about the practical hurdles surrounding “fixing” climate change, written in an understandable way for younger students
Brainstorm the inquiry question together and have students use Think-Pair-Share to discuss their ideas about the topic. Break students up based on similar questions they have to conduct some research to uncover different aspects of climate change. Assign topics such as “what is climate change and why is it a global issue?”, “what international agreements exist?”, “how has Canada contributed to solving the problem?”, etc.
Groups not only research their question/topic, but agree amongst themselves what information is relevant and what isn’t. This is where students need to analyze their information and make judgments about what to include in the “communication” portion of the inquiry. Encourage students to think about how they’d like to present their findings – for example, a poster or digital presentation, a display board, or a seminar. This would also be a good opportunity to use the Jigsaw Method to share information.
Check out some more Unique Inquiry Project Ideas here!
Guided Inquiry Idea #2: How does Canada help people affected by conflicts and natural disasters around the world?
Helping students understand the importance of humanitarianism is critical not only to help them develop empathy and understanding, but also to help them make sense of real issues that people face. Begin by facilitating a discussion about the following questions:
- Think about a time when you had to leave something familiar behind, like a favorite toy or a place you loved. How did it feel? How did you cope with the change?
- Imagine you had to leave your home and everything you knew. What would be the hardest thing to leave behind? What would you miss the most?
- Think about a time when you showed strength or resilience. What happened, and how did you overcome the challenge?
Narrow the focus to understanding how natural disasters and conflicts affect people globally. This would be a great time to make connections between climate change and displacement – for instance, many people are displaced because their home country becomes inhospitable. Reasons for this include extreme weather occurring more frequently, unliveable conditions due to excess heat, or prolonged periods of drought that render their land unusable.
Next, split the class into two groups. Challenge one group to write down ways people are impacted by conflicts. Challenge the other group to write down ways people are impacted by natural disasters. Compare the lists and discuss further.
Introduce the question: How does Canada help people affected by conflicts and natural disasters around the world?
This is a good opportunity to show videos or stories about real-life relief efforts. Once the question has been introduced, invite students to split off into pairs or small groups to research different aspects of Canada’s humanitarian efforts. Students can focus on one small topic in their groups:
- What natural disasters and/or conflicts has Canada responded to?
- What organizations help in these instances? (e.g., Red Cross, UNICEF, World Food Programme, etc.)
- How does Canada provide aid (e.g., medical support, food, shelters, financial aid)?
- What challenges exist in delivering aid
Once each group has collected research and analyzed their information, encourage them to create a campaign poster or presentation about a real or imagined disaster relief effort led by Canada. Students include information about the disaster, Canada’s role in helping, and how Canada’s efforts make a difference globally.
Suggested Materials for this Inquiry:
- A Kids Book About Humanitarianism
- Fantastic Kids: Helping Others – this text introduces five kids helping to make the world a better place through their individual efforts (geared toward younger students)
Guided Inquiry Idea #3: How does Canada cooperate with other countries to improve global health, and how effective are these efforts?
Global health challenges such as pandemics, disease prevention, and access to healthcare require international cooperation. Understanding Canada’s role in improving global health helps students recognize the importance of things like medical aid, vaccines, and public health initiatives.
Approaching this topic on the heels of the Covid-19 pandemic is a good starting point, since most students will have some understanding of the importance of global cooperation. Introduce the question to students and gather their perspectives in terms of:
- How their everyday lives were impacted, as well as the lives of those around them
- How they saw people working cooperatively to deal with the impacts of the pandemic
- Ways in which they observed countries around the world working together to tackle the pandemic and its impacts
- Their observations of different country’s responses to the pandemic
Students can then choose an aspect of the inquiry question that appeals to them. For example:
- Explore Canada’s role in the World Health Organization and other international health programs
- Research how vaccines are distributed in different countries from a logistics standpoint
- Investigate Canadian organizations that support global health
- Examine Canada’s response to a particular issue, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the AIDS epidemic, improving outcomes for women and children in developing countries, etc.
Once students have chosen their focus, provide resources and time for them to research their smaller questions and collect information. Encourage them to present their findings in a way that effectively communicates the purpose of their research. This might mean creating an awareness campaign, an informative pamphlet, or drawing a concept map to show how Canada works alongside other countries to improve an aspect of global healthcare.
Guided Inquiry idea #4: How has Canada contributed to international peacekeeping, and what impact has it had on global conflicts?
Peacekeeping plays a key role in maintaining international stability. This topic might come up in your lessons as stories filter in about the changing dynamics of relationships between countries. Learning about Canada’s involvement in global peacekeeping efforts helps students understand global conflicts and Canada’s reputation as a peacekeeping nation.
Discuss what it means to be a “peacekeeper”, and ask students if they’ve seen examples of peacekeepers at school, at home, or in the community. Agree on a definition of what “peacekeeper” means and what its purpose is.There are several interesting passages that can be pulled from “Understanding Peacekeeping” to share with students to further the discussion. Introduce the inquiry question above – How has Canada contributed to international peacekeeping, and what impact has it had on global conflicts? Of course, this can be changed to any country depending on where you teach.
To accompany this discussion, you might like to show some clips of Canada’s involvement in peacekeeping operations. Please consider the ages of your students and review the videos prior to sharing them:
- Remembrance Moments: Canada’s role in Peacekeeping
- Canada’s peacekeepers face a troubled world
- UN peacekeeping missions explained
This is also a good time to discuss the ethical dimensions of peacekeeping. For example, you can broaden the discussion by asking students if they think Canada is obligated to help other countries, and why our status as a prosperous, strong nation gives us cause to do so. In addition, you could set up a role-play exercise where students negotiate a peace agreement for a simulated conflict. This is where scenario-based learning can be a huge benefit to students.
This inquiry can go in a few different directions:
1. Research a specific peacekeeping mission: In this approach, students choose a specific Canadian peacekeeping mission (e.g Rwanda, Bosnia, Cyprus, etc.) and analyze its purpose, challenges, and impact.
2. Role-play simulation: Students take on the roles of peacekeepers, government officials, and civilians in a simulated international conflict resolution scenario. Recent research has explored the lack of digital games that deal with peace processes, and what their benefit would be in classrooms. Some prototypes are available through the Peacekeeping Simulations website, and might give you some ideas to incorporate if you choose this direction.
3. Comparative Analysis: In this scenario, students compare Canada’s peacekeeping efforts with those of another country to understand the different approaches that exist to international conflict resolution. Their findings can be presented in the form of an infographic or debate.
Final Thoughts
Learning about international cooperation introduces them to different cultures, perspectives, and global challenges. For younger students, it encourages curiosity and helps them see the value of working together to solve problems.
For older students, studying international relations helps them engage with real-world events, analyze causes and consequences, and consider the effectiveness of different policies. It helps them understand how decisions made by governments and organizations affect people worldwide. In turn, this empowers them to think critically about international issues.
Being open and communicative about international relations is not only part of our job as teachers, but it also benefits students by strengthening their communication and collaboration skills. Whether through debates, simulations, or research projects, they learn to express their ideas, listen to others, and work as a team. Doing so prepares students to navigate their world and encourages them to be informed, engaged, and responsible citizens.
