From Rhetoric to Reality: Identifying Teacher Opportunities and Barriers in Educating for Human Rights

In this paper we report findings from a four-year study into legal literacy that examined educational opportunities and barriers when teaching about legal literacy, citizenship education, and human rights education. Detailed findings are drawn from interviews with eleven teachers who self-identify as valuing and embedding legal literacy and related themes (human rights, identity, citizenship, and ecological sustainability) in their classrooms. Results show that despite deep rhetorical commitments to human rights education, teachers are stymied by perceived barriers to implementing HRE, particularly the action dimension. We name these perceived barriers and examine the case of one of the teachers who seemingly has overcome them, in order to identify potential constructive interventions in teacher education

The Role of English in Global Citizenship

Despite a number of scholars attempting to define and conceptualise global citizenship, the literature tends to ignore the role of English as the global lingua franca. This paper argues that this is a gross oversight, particularly in internationalised higher education where global citizenship is often presented as an aspiration for students. Websites of two South Korean universities were analysed regarding how the institutions intend to develop global citizens. Twenty students enrolled in the universities participated in interviews regarding their conceptualizations of global citizenship and how they frame their relationship with global and Korean identities. The findings reveal that global citizenship is generally conceived in terms of English with a strong adherence to native speaker norms and in opposition to Korean identity. This has an influence on how the students position themselves in relation to a global community and how it impinges on their national identities. The paper ends with both theoretical and practical recommendations regarding the role of English in global citizenship.

The Impact of Short-term Study Abroad on Global Citizenship Identity and Engagement

Higher education has increasingly begun to realize the importance of engaging students in global citizenship learning opportunities to be more globally informed, prepared, responsible, and competent. Study abroad in higher education is rapidly becoming recognized as an effective experiential learning platform for fostering intercultural exchanges. This article reports on research that examined study abroad as a learning platform for integrating classroom acquired knowledge with real world experience. The study explored the value of short-term study abroad in the facilitation of students' global awareness and knowledge, their identification as global citizens and endorsement of prosocial values associated with global citizenship, and their participation as globally engaged citizens. Participation in study abroad was found to significantly strengthen one’s affiliation with global citizenship, endorsement of prosocial values, and identify motivation to engage in global citizenship activities. Our findings have implications for the design and implementation of global citizenship education curricula in higher education.

Global Citizenship Education Starts With Curricular Reform and Active Student Learning

In this new age of globalization, the concept of global citizenship has taken root and become the subject of increasing scholarly attention and analysis.  While the study of global citizenship has become part of high school curricula in several countries across the globe, it has not to the same degree in the United States .  To expand upon the existing literature and advance the study of global citizenship in the United States, this qualitative, interpretivist case study evaluates the perceptions and experiences of an administrator, two teachers, and six students of a global studies course at an urban high school in New Jersey.  The study included interviews of the participants, as well as analysis of the course curriculum, syllabus, and student assignments.This study advances three primary findings.  First, the need for continued curriculum development and design of global studies related courses and content in U.S. high schools.  Second, the importance of experiential learning, among other forms of pedagogy and instructional practices, in furthering the goals of global citizenship education.  Third, the need for class projects, international education programs, and other experiential learning opportunities (such as fieldwork, service-learning, or community programs) to cultivate student interest in global citizenship.  Based on these findings and the prevailing literature, this study is proposing that U.S. high schools offer an elective course on global citizenship with ten units: 1) Introduction to Global Citizenship; 2) Sustainable Development; 3) Poverty and World Hunger; 4) Global Health Issues; 5) Child Mortality; 6) Peace and Conflict; 7) Human Rights and Gender Equality; 8) Universal Education; 9) Liberal Democratic Governance and Rights; 10) Global Citizenship Action Plan

Lessons from Los Angeles: Self-Study on Teaching University Global Citizenship Education to Challenge Authoritarian Education, Neoliberal Globalization and Nationalist Populism

Humanity and our planet faces a number of growing interconnected problems as well as opportunities exacerbated by globalization(s), which demand new paradigms of teaching and learning. Despite criticisms, global citizenship education (GCE) has been offered as an attempt to assist policy makers and practitioners to address complex global problems through education. Filling a void on empirical research of teaching university GCE in the United States and guided by such questions as what should be the roles and responsibilities of universities in addressing global problems and how should teacher education programs incorporate pedagogies of GCE, the author offers preliminary findings from a qualitative self-study on teaching GCE to undergraduates in Los Angeles.Before exploring critical approaches to GCE, the author examines challenges of authoritarian education, neoliberal globalization and nationalist populism that GCE confronts. Moreover, the author illuminates pedagogical themes of critical GCE that emerged from the research, and considers models of critical GCE and why they deserve more attention throughout US universities, specifically within teacher education programs and schools/departments of education

Inclusive Global Citizenship Education: Measuring Types of Global Citizens

In three studies, we constructed and provided initial evidence of validity for a measure of types of global citizenship. Oxley and Morris (2013) proposed eight different types of global citizens based on prior theory (e.g., moral, economic). We constructed and examined the factor structure of a measure of these different types (Study 1). With the exception of a social dimension of global citizenship, all of the proposed types appeared to be distinct factors. In Study 2, we found the same factor structure in a different sample of participants and examined associations between the dimensions and prosocial values related to global citizenship (e.g., social justice, intergroup helping). Lastly, in Study 3 we examined the associations between the seven different types of global citizenship, different types of intended activist behaviors, and various values (e.g., moral foundations, core political values). Together, the results suggest that the measure of global citizen types is a valid and reliable measure

Assessing International Student Mobility in Canadian University Strategic Plans: Instrumentalist versus Transformational Approaches in Higher Education

This paper examines the strategic commitments made by Canadian universities around international student mobility, and evaluates whether these commitments provide an appropriate foundation for delivering strong mobility programs adopting “transformational” approaches. Through a content analysis of university strategic plans, I examine the nature of international student mobility discourse, ideas and objectives in Canadian higher education. This locus of examination is important because the strategic plan sets the tone and commitments for the university, and has significant power to influence decision-making at the program and department levels. This analysis also helps us to see the ways that university administration understands the purpose of international student mobility, and where gaps exist. The findings demonstrate that current conceptualizations of student mobility in the Canadian university context are: 1) Instrumentalist in the sense that they are near-exclusively designed to promote the university, and 2) Do not lay the foundation for strong international mobility programs

Introduction to Special Issue: The Practice, Politics and Possibilities for Globally Engaged Experiential Learning in Diverse Contexts

This special issue features eight articles all exploring globally-engaged experiential learning opportunities available to youth and/or students in diverse contexts such as transnational learning/volunteer abroad programs and locally-based global engagement. The collection brings together academics and practitioners to consider the efficacy, assumptions and stakes of the rise of volunteer abroad programming, and the implications for student learning outcomes

The Bridge Program: Recasting Blackness, Fostering Resilience and Transformative Resistance through Narratives of Success

This article presents the results of data based on individual interviews and focus groups conducted with Black students who participated in a post-secondary student retention program called The Bridge. The program was specifically designed to address the needs of Black students and to identify the types of support programming that would enhance their engagement and graduation rates. Three of the themes that emerged from the interviews and focus groups identified the importance of developing differing frames of Blackness, engaging in transformative resistance, and the importance of providing spaces for the students to engage with and explore multiple conceptions of Blackness and narratives of success