Education for global citizenship is a framework to equip learners for critical
and active engagement with the challenges and opportunities of life in a
fast-changing and interdependent world. It is transformative, developing the
knowledge and understanding, skills, values and attitudes that learners need
both to participate fully in a globalised society and economy, and to secure a
more just, secure and sustainable world than the one they have inherited
UGM believes that young people’s learning, thinking and actions – both
now and in their adult lives – are integral to the achievement of that more
just, secure and sustainable global future. Therefore, alongside a rigorous
development of global understanding and multiple perspectives, an education
for global citizenship should also include opportunities for young people to
develop their skills as agents of change and to reflect critically on this role.
Around the world there is a growing recognition of the fundamental
importance of educating for global citizenship because:
- All learners need a safe space in which to explore complex and controversial
global issues they encounter through the media and their own experiences,
and school can provide this. Even very young children are already trying to
make sense of a world marked by division, conflict, environmental change,
inequality and poverty.
- It has a critical role to play in equipping a generation with the vision and
means to rise to complex challenges that transcend national borders.
- We live in an increasingly globalised and interconnected world in which the
global is part of our everyday lives, and analysis of seemingly local issues
benefits from global perspectives.
- Research (for example, by Think Global) and our own work in schools have
shown the demand from learners.
Education for global citizenship uses a multitude of participatory teaching
and learning methodologies, including discussion and debate, role play,
ranking exercises, cause and consequence activities, and communities of
enquiry. These methods are not unique to education for global citizenship
but, used in conjunction with a global perspective, they can advance
global understanding while fostering skills such as critical thinking,
questioning, communication and cooperation. They also enable learners to
explore, develop and express their own values and opinions, while listening
respectfully to others’ viewpoints. This is an important step towards learners
making informed choices about how they engage with global issues. The
following case studies highlight how teachers have successfully developed
a focus on global citizenship in their curriculum development. They provide
insights into how global citizenship can enrich different areas of the
curriculum across the age range.