PROJECT CARE

Championing Advocate and Resilient Educators in GCED

“Online Division Training Workshop for Teachers and Development of

Sample Lesson Exemplar with GCED Integration in Araling Panlipunan”

We live in an interconnected and interdependent world. Although globalization can be

viewed as a window of opportunities for benefitting individuals and communities, the
conditions of globalization have privileged certain countries and persons while it has
intensified the vulnerability of others. Yet, when it comes to such challenges as climate
change, migration and peace and security, the fate and fortunes of all are inextricably
intertwined. Across the world, people find themselves in increasingly diverse societies and
increasingly competitive global labor markets. We need to work together to realize a
sustainable, equitable and peaceful world.
Global Citizenship Education (GCED) is based on the belief that globalization is a new world
paradigm; it functions as an interconnected system that influences how citizenship
operates. The global frame does not replace attention to national and local issues. Rather, it
re-orients citizenship education so that learners become aware of the issues and the actors
at many levels that shape the world around them. GCED is a meta-discipline that includes
the related fields of global education, education for sustainable development and human
rights education.

International education and global education have been in use for decades before the
introduction of GCED. GCED encompasses and reinforces many of the aims of these
approaches. However, UNESCO’s GCED approach is unique in that it focuses on citizenship,
not only in relation to political participation but also with respect to transnational political
participation and transnational. As envisioned by UNESCO, participation is not just about
engagement, but also concerns cultivating our societies to respect and protect the human
dignity of all. Such aspirations have been part of UNESCO’s efforts since its 1974
recommendations. For UNESCO, Global citizenship education aims to be transformative,
building the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes that learners need to be able to
contribute to a more inclusive, just and peaceful world. Global citizenship education takes a
multi-faceted approach, employing concepts and methodologies already applied in other
areas, including human rights education, peace education, education for sustainable
development and education for international understanding, and aims to advance their
common objective.
GCED Key Learning Outcomes
Cognitive:
• Learners acquire knowledge and understanding of local, national and global issues and the
interconnectedness and interdependency of different countries and populations
• Learners develop skills for critical thinking and analysis
Socio-emotional:
• Learners experience a sense of belonging to a common humanity, and sharing values and
responsibilities, based on human rights
• Learners develop attitudes of empathy, solidarity and respect for differences and diversity
Behavioral:
• Learners act effectively and responsibly at local, national and global levels for a more
peaceful and
sustainable world
• Learners develop the motivation and willingness to take necessary actions
The aim is to equip users with a theory-based lens for GCED and to assist in articulating an
approach through which policies, curricula, pedagogies, teacher education and professional
development, resources and school-based practices can be reconceptualized.

The process of developing a holistic GCED policy that all stakeholders understand and own
will need to be inclusive and transparent. Processes for reviewing and planning for GCED will
involve different individuals and group representatives, depending on the sector involved.
For example, a review of national curriculum goals might involve not only national-level
curriculum developers/specialists, pedagogical counselors, teachers, educators and policy-
makers, but also other kinds of representatives who come from different levels of society.
Here are three different ways for understanding the purpose of global citizenship education
for young people. While each of the interpretations is important and has an evident focus,
they all overlap and are even mutually complementary.
1. A “global competitiveness” approach. Because we live in a globally interconnected world,
young people everywhere need to be prepared to take their place in it, particularly in
relation to jobs and the economy.
2. A “cosmopolitan” approach. Because we all live as part of a shared global community, it is
important that we understand more about each other, learn about and respect different
cultural perspectives, and seek solidarity and the application of ‘universal’ values, for
example, those values related to human rights.
3. An “advocacy” approach. Because inequity and unfair conditions are evident throughout
the world, it is important that people work to challenge and overcome these inequities. This
approach is closely related to social justice, civic action and empowering individuals and
communities to raise their voices.
Successful implementation of GCED requires a comprehensive curriculum proposal with
systematic support through educational laws, curriculum frameworks, teaching and learning
materials, evaluation and assessment measures, and teacher education and professional
development. The goal is for these policies to be sufficient, aligned, mutually reinforcing and
supported by all stakeholders, especially teachers.
GCED Key Learner Attributes
KEY LEARNER ATTRIBUTES
Cognitive: Informed and Critically Literate
• Know about local, national and global issues, governance systems and structures
• Understand the interdependence and connections of global and local concerns
• Develop skills for critical inquiry and analysis
Socio-Emotional: Socially Connected and Respectful of Diversity
• Cultivate and manage identities, relationships and feelings of belonging
• Share values and responsibilities based on human rights
• Develop attitudes to appreciate and respect differences and diversity
Behavioral: Ethically Responsible and Engaged
• Cultivate appropriate skills, values, beliefs and attitudes
• Demonstrate personal and social responsibility for a peaceful and sustainable world
• Develop motivation and willingness to care for the common good
How GCED emerges in curriculum frameworks will likely be a marriage between GCED’s
aspirations and the opportunities for integrating GCED into existing curriculum standards
and processes. A mapping study can help with identifying likely starting points for
developing a deeper and more comprehensive treatment of GCED topics, values and hands-
on activities. The process of the mapping study can be part of ongoing learning and
decision-making regarding the natural place for GCED in a curriculum, building on culturally
relevant themes and values. These local values can, in turn, be mobilized as rationales for
the global citizenship approach to education, as well as starting points for expanding the
global citizenship approach.
One positive side effect of a curriculum mapping study is that it can be used to mobilize
interest in and understanding of GCED.