Topic: Is there a need to introduce a global citizen element in the school education system keeping the
local flavours?
Reference Book: Global Citizenship Education: Everyday Transcendence Book by Willam Gaudelli (2016)
Introduction:
Global Citizenship Education (GCE) is not a new concept, but it is clear that it is one of the areas receiving
the most attention in domestic and foreign education discussions as a global education agenda.
Due to the rapid progress of globalisation, human and material exchanges across national borders have
become more active, and the interconnectedness and interdependence between countries have deepened
in political, economic, social and cultural aspects.
Therefore, as the international community emphasises the cultivation of global citizenship necessary to live
as a responsible member of the global community, I would like to investigate the necessity of global
citizenship education.
Global Citizenship Education as a Global Education Agenda:
The 2015 World Education Forum held in Incheon, South Korea in May last year and the United Nations
General Assembly in September set global citizenship education as a common educational goal that must
be achieved in order to create a sustainable world by 2030.
However, since the focus is only on practice without sufficient discussion or consensus on what is the
consciousness and attitude of a global citizen, and why we need global citizenship education, confusion is
increasing in the educational field.
The Need for Global Citizenship Education:
Unlike the traditional concept of citizenship based on a legal basis, global citizenship is understood as a
kind of ethos rather than a concept that entails specific legal status and nothingness.
Therefore, it is not easy to define global citizenship education as a single concept, and it is a
comprehensive concept in which various existing educational discussions such as education for
international understanding, education for peace, education for sustainable development, development
education, and civic education have evolved and converged. Currently, domestic and international
discussions on the necessity of global citizenship education can be summarised into four main categories.
First, global citizenship education is an education that allows one to have a sense of identity and belonging
as a member of the global community.
Underlying such global citizenship education is the tradition of cosmopolitanism that emphasises living as a
global citizen beyond the boundaries of a specific community such as nation or nation.
Due to the rapid progress of globalisation since the 1990s, human and material exchanges across national
borders have become more active, and the interconnectedness and interdependence between countries
have deepened in political, economic, social and cultural aspects.
Therefore, global citizenship education is an education that builds identity as a member of the global
community even if race, religion, and nationality are different, recognises each other's diversity, and
develops the power to live together.
Second, global citizenship education is an education that cultivates people who pursue the universal values
of mankind and strive to realise them. It is necessary to internalise universal human values such as human
rights, peace, and social justice.
In other words, global citizenship education is not a value-neutral education, but a value-oriented
education. However, it is necessary to agree on what defines the universal values of mankind, which
means that it is necessary to include global elements in education that was organised around the nation-
state and reconstruct it in a global context. Therefore, global citizenship education is an education oriented
toward universal values that can be agreed upon at the present time.
Third, global citizenship education aims to cultivate citizenship to recognise and practice one's rights and
responsibilities as a responsible member of a global civil society. The progress of globalisation has resulted
in the rapid spread of global problems that cannot be solved at the national level, such as poverty,
environmental problems, terrorism, and infectious diseases.
Therefore, a global citizen does not stop at understanding global problems and issues, but has a sense of
ownership for the global community and actively participates and solidifies for social change.
From this point of view, global citizenship education is an education that helps learners to critically reflect
on the world around them, from local communities to global issues, and to form their own values.
Finally, global competency development is also viewed as a part of global citizenship education.
In the trend of political and economic globalisation that has developed rapidly since the 1990s, global
capacity development has been emphasised in order to strengthen national competitiveness.
Unlike the previous three perspectives on global citizenship education, from the perspective of global
competency development, foreign language ability, sensitivity to other cultures, and knowledge and skills
contributing to social development are regarded as key elements of education.
Therefore, global citizenship education is an education that nurtures democratic citizens with the
knowledge, skills, and attitudes that can respond to globalisation from a self-cultural perspective.
As such, GCED can be interpreted and expressed differently depending on the perspective and perspective
on global citizenship, but it generally assumes a global community and aims to create a better world
through poverty, human rights, peace, and sustainable development. Therefore, global citizenship
education should be a comprehensive education that can acquire the knowledge, values, attitudes, and
skills necessary to take ownership of the global community and solve it.
And this education is not limited to elementary and secondary school education, but should be done at all
stages of education including higher education, and needs to be dealt with in terms of lifelong learning that
encompasses formal education and non-formal and informal education.
Keeping the traditional flavours:
However, it must be introduced after taking necessary measures to protect and maintain the traditional
‘flavours’ preserved in the Indian education system from years. The Indian education system includes a lot
of indigenous languages which must be kept in use to preserve the heritage and diversity of the country.
The use of traditional flavours of the country’s education should not be lost due to globalisation and
modernity. The inclusion of traditional knowledge also enables those in Western and post-colonial
societies to re-evaluate the inherent hierarchy of knowledge systems. The knowledge obtained can also be
used to transform and change the global system to adjust accordingly with the needs of the citizens.
Solution:
Global citizenship education in the Indian society is now in its infancy, and conceptual and practical
discussions are still in its infancy. Therefore, in order for global citizenship education to be established and
spread in the field of education with necessary measures, more active discussions should be supported in
the future.