Global Citizenship Education Analysis

The UN Secretary-General in launching the Global Education First Initiative (G.E.F.I.) in 2012 heralded global citizenship education as one of UNESCO’s three education priorities and one of its key education objectives for the next seven years (2014-2021). UNESCO sees global citizenship education as a way that will empower learners with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to become responsible global citizens so as to tackle global challenges. Albeit a hotly contested term as to its nuances and breadth, UNESCO (2014:14) explicitly defines global citizenship as referring to:

“ a sense of belonging to a broader community and common humanity. It emphasises political, economic, social and cultural interdependency and interconnectedness between

c) Behavioural: referring to shifts in attitude and behavior and the manifestation of these changes through active and effective engagement from local to global level for a more peaceful and sustainable world.

UNESCO sees Global Citizenship Education as the process through which learners and educators examine the roots and causes of events and developments at the local level, and forge connections with the global level identifying possible solutions. This fusion of the frames between micro- and macro-level issues is a critical element in furthering learners to reach their full potential in an ever-changing and interdependent world context.

Tawil (2013),writing for UNESCO, makes a distinction between a conservative approach termed “civics” and a more progressive, critical approach termed “citizenship

Besides, being an Athenian or a Miloan gives the players a first-hand experience and deep insight into the socio-political background of that era and the power constellations at work along with the vested interests at stake which allows for critical interpretation of the historical incident rather than merely learn about it by reading a page or viewing a presentation. The players become part of the incident, not passive consumers of it.

2.4.2.2Effective teaching/learning practices for GCE a

For the successful implementation of GCE which UNESCO (2014) deems an actually transformative pedagogy, it proposes the following teaching/learning practices as effective:

• a clear connection between Information & Communication Technologies and effective teaching/learning practices with the use of distance and online platforms, virtual classrooms and virtual field trips for GCE to establish a community of practice that transcends physical borders and continents through online learning.

• alignment of learning goals, teaching/learning practices and assessment by promoting learner-centred and interactive