Charting a democratic course for global citizenship education: Research directions and current challenges

Authors

  • John P. Myers Florida State University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.24.2174

Keywords:

global citizenship education, research directions, globalization and education, democratic education, neoliberalism

Abstract

This article outlines research directions for global citizenship education, by emphasizing the centrality of democratic goals for schools in the 21st century. Despite a significant shift in educational policies and practices towards addressing education that respond to the conditions of globalization, there is not a clear vision regarding its role in schools. Furthermore, curriculum reforms such as global citizenship education inevitably face the issue of whether to adapt to neoliberal tenets of privatization, high stakes testing and standards-based accountability, or to resist and challenge these policies with alternative, democratic visions of schooling. This article argues that for global citizenship education to reach maturity, there is a need for a programmatic research agenda that addresses the complex dynamics that globalization has introduced to schooling, particularly the challenges to teaching and learning for helping youth to make sense of the world and their role in it. An analysis of recent advances in research and practice in civic education is used as a starting point to advance directions for global citizenship education. Two key directions are suggested: to gain a more secure foothold in schools and the need to focus on a shared conceptual focus that helps researchers, practitioners and other stakeholders to access the same body of practices and knowledge.

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Author Biography

John P. Myers, Florida State University

John P. Myers is Associate Professor in the School of Teacher Education at Florida State University and coordinator of the Social Science Education program. His research examines the consequences of globalization for how youth understand the complexities of the modern world. This work focuses on classroom practices that foster global citizenship and identities as students come to understand core world history and social science concepts.

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Published

2016-05-16

How to Cite

Myers, J. P. (2016). Charting a democratic course for global citizenship education: Research directions and current challenges. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 24, 55. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.24.2174

Issue

Section

Education for Global Citizenship