MODULE 5

GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP AND ISSUES

I. INTRODUCTION:

Do you consider yourself a global citizen? If so, are you aware of global
issues that may have an impact in your life as a future educator? Perhaps
you are already aware that civic responsibility goes beyond national borders.

In this chapter, you will learn more about these global issues and how
you can prepare to positively contribute to the local, national, and global
communities while promoting personal and social responsibilities and global
learning and diversities.

II. LEARNING OUTCOMES:

• Identify the meaning of global citizenship.

• Determine the global issues, their causes and effects.
• Relate issues to the notion of global citizenship.
• Create an advocacy poster related to a particular global issue.

III. LEARNING ACTIVITIES:

Activity 1: Unlocking Difficulties

Directions: Use the given clues to determine the word that

corresponds to the given definitions.

1. something for discussion or of general concern

i s e

2. relating to or happening throughout the whole world

g o a

3. the duties and responsibilities that come with being a

member of a community

c i i z s i p

4. the state of not having enough money to take care of basic

needs such as food, clothing, and housing

p o v y

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 Activity 2: Warm Up

Directions: Let us say that you saw this post in your Facebook wall. If
you would be asked to write in the comment section, what
would you say? Write your answer in the space provided.

Comment

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 Activity 2: Building Connections
Directions: What local and global challenges are we facing today?
Complete the chart below by writing these issues that people
face today.

Issues and Problems in the Global Issues

Philippines

Activity 3: Connecting Ideas

Directions: Which of the issues you have written in Activity 2 do you

consider as urgent and most challenging? Write your answer
in the space provided.

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Activity 4: What You Should Know

Directions: Read an article on global citizenship below. Then answer

the questions that follow.

This was taken from an article written by Madeleine F. Green, a

Senior Fellow at NAFSA and the International Association of
Universities. It was originally published in NAFSA's newish Trends
& Insights series of short online article that are "designed to
highlight social, economic, political and higher education system
trends affecting international higher education."

• Global citizenship as a choice and a way of thinking

o National citizenship is an accident of birth; global
citizenship is different. It is a voluntary association with a
concept that signifies "ways of thinking and living within
multiple cross-cutting communities—cities, regions,
states, nations, and international collectives…" (Schattle
2007, 9).
o The practice of global citizenship is, for many, exercised
primarily at home, through engagement in global issues
or with different cultures in a local setting. For others,
global citizenship means firsthand experience with
different countries, peoples, and cultures. For most, there
exists a connection between the global and the local.
Whatever an individual's particular "take" on global
citizenship may be, that person makes a choice in
whether or how to practice it.

• Global citizenship as self-awareness and awareness of others

o As one international educator put it, it is difficult to teach
intercultural understanding to students who are unaware
they, too, live in a culture that colors their perceptions.
Thus, awareness of the world around each student begins
with self-awareness. Self-awareness also enables students
to identify with the universalities of the human
experience, thus increasing their identification with fellow
human beings and their sense of responsibility toward
them.

• Global citizenship as they practice cultural empathy

o Cultural empathy or intercultural competence is
commonly articulated as a goal of global education, and
there is significant literature on these topics. Intercultural
competence occupies a central position in higher
education's thinking about global citizenship and is seen

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 as an important skill in the workplace. There are more
than 30 instruments or inventories to assess intercultural
competence. Cultural empathy helps people see questions
from multiple perspectives and move deftly among
cultures—sometimes navigating their own multiple
cultural identities, sometimes moving out to experience
unfamiliar cultures.

• Global citizenship as the cultivation of principled decision

making
o Global citizenship entails an awareness of the
interdependence of individuals and systems and a sense
of responsibility that follows from it. Navigating "the
treacherous waters of our epic interdependence (Altinay
2010, 4) requires a set of guiding principles that will
shape ethical and fair responses. Although the goal of
undergraduate education should not be to impose a
"correct" set of answers, critical thinking, cultural
empathy, and ethical systems and choices are an
essential foundation to principled decision making.

• Global citizenship as participation in the social and political life

of one's community
▪ There are many different types of communities, from
the local to the global, from religious to political groups.
Global citizens feel a connection to their communities
(however they define them) and translate that sense of
connection into participation. Participation can take the
form of making responsible personal choices (such as
limiting fossil fuel consumption), voting, volunteering,
advocacy, and political activism. The issues may
include the environment, poverty, trade, health, and
human rights. Participation is the action dimension of
global citizenship.
Source: https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/globalhighered/global-citizenship-%E2%80%93-what-
are-we-talking-about-and-why-does-it-
matter#:~:text=The%20issues%20may%20include%20the,action%20dimension%2

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others
Citizen
aware of
Global aware and
Ex. Self-
question by completing the flower map below.
Directions: What are the characteristics of a global citizen? Answer the
Activity 6: Completing the flower Map
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human beings?
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towards your fellow
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_______________________________________________ citizen? Why do you
_______________________________________________ yourself as a global
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Question: My Notes:
the space provided.
Directions: Answer the questions that follow. Write your answers in
Activity 5 Thinking It through
Activity 7: Reading Text on Global Issues

Directions: Read an excerpt on the article below. Then answer the questions
that follow.

SIX CRITICAL GLOBAL ISSUES

FOOD SECURITY
The number of hungry people in the world has increased over the
last few years. One in nine people in the world go hungry each day,
and suffer from nutritional deficiencies as a result. Food security is
the biggest threat to the overall health of the human population,
more so than malaria, tuberculosis or HIV.

The problem is not that we aren’t producing enough food, but

rather that people lack access to food. Many people do not have
enough money to purchase food and cannot grow their own.

MAJOR GLOBAL HEALTH ISSUES

Increased access to clean water and improved education around
proper sanitation has resulted in an overall decrease in the
prevalence of transferable diseases worldwide. Communicable
diseases are still responsible for 71% of deaths, and low-income
countries are the most severely affected.

GLOBAL CHILD HEALTH AND PRIMARY EDUCATION

Child health and education go hand in hand. Malnutrition of
children leads to permanent physiological damage, known
colloquially as “stunting”. Children who are hungry cannot
concentrate and, thus, cannot learn.

THE NEED FOR GENDER EQUALITY

Women are disempowered from a young age, when they are held
back from attending school for financial reasons, or because of the
perception that their education does not matter. Globally, women
still earn less than men, and women with children tend to earn
even less. This is a waste of potential and hampers progress on
obstacles to global prosperity.

EMPOWERMENT WORK IN AFRICA

A number of world statistics highlight a need for additional support

in sub-Saharan Africa. This region has the highest child mortality
rate and persons living with HIV infection in the world, as well as

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the most extreme rates of child stunting, the highest number of
road traffic fatalities, and the lowest numeracy and literacy rates.

GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

There are three major environmental issues listed by the UN. These
include threats to habitats and organisms on land and underwater,
as well as resource depletion.

• HABITAT AND BIODIVERSITY LOSS

Biodiversity loss, deforestation and mass extinction are global
issues.

Extinctions are happening at what scientists estimate to be

about 1,000 times the normal pace. Not only are we losing flora
and fauna, we are also damaging our ecosystems, and throwing
them out of balance – the effects of which we cannot anticipate
due to the intricate and complex nature of these systems.

• OCEAN CONSERVATION
Overfishing and unsustainable fishing practices are causing the
endangerment and extinction of many marine species.

Global warming has caused an increase in coral bleaching,

where reefs lose vital nutrients and can no longer sustain the
ecosystems that depend on them.

Pollutants like boat fuel, pesticides, fertiliser, sewage, and

plastics cause “dead zones” – spots where no organism can live
– to form in the ocean.

• WATER SCARCITY
About two billion people still use a source that is contaminated
with human waste, and about the same amount don’t have
access to adequate toilet facilities.

Source:https://www.gvi.co.uk/blog/6-critical-global-issues-what-are-the-
worlds-biggest-problems-and-how-i-can-help/

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world facing today and
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What challenges is the
Question: My Notes:
the space provided.
Directions: Answer the questions that follow. Write your answers in
Activity 8. Thinking it Through
Activity 9: Completing the Chart

Directions: What are the six critical global issues? Complete the chart
by writing the causes and effects of these global
challenges.

Global Issues Causes Effects

Activity 10: Writing Your Reflection

Directions: Write a short reflection by answering the questions below.

Use the space provided.

How would you relate the issues to global citizenship?

How can the school and the community help in addressing
these global issues? Are there laws in the Philippines which
address these issues? What are these?

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Activity 11: Creating an Advocacy Poster
Directions: Create your own advocacy poster focusing on a particular
global issue. Use the space provided. Be guided by the
rubric.

Criteria Excellent Very Satisfactory Needs

Satisfactory Improvement
(4) (3) (2) (1)
Details are Almost all Very few Details are
very clear, the details details to lacking and
accurate and are clear support the do not
Content very highly and main ideas complement
complement accurate and visuals the visuals.
the visuals. and highly only
complement support
the design. some of the
details
Color, design, Color, The color, The color,
lay out are design, lay design, lay design, lay
highly out are out are out are not
appropriate, almost somehow appealing.
and visually adequate adequate Significant
Visual appealing. and visually and details, are
appeal It matches appealing. appealing. not included
every detail It matches Some to support
that supports almost all of details are the major
the major the details included to ideas. The
ideas and the that support support the title and
title and topic the major major topic were
were very well ideas. The ideas. The not
presented. title and title and included.
topic were topic were
well included.
presented.
No errors in Minimal Errors in Errors in
spelling and errors in spelling spelling and
grammar and spelling and and grammar are
Mechanics there are no grammar grammar evident and
distracting and there are few and there are
elements are no distracting many
distracting elements distracting
elements were elements
minimal

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Use this page to create your poster.

Try to rate your own advocacy poster.

Your guide:
Criteria Excellent 4
Content: ____ Very satisfactory 3
Visual Appeal: ____ Satisfactory 2
Mechanics: ____ Needs Improvement 1
Total: ____

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I SELF-CHECK No. 2
I Name: _____________________________Course/Yr. & Sec. ____________
I Instructor: ________________________________Date: _________________________
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Directions: Answer the following questions. Write
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your answers in the space provided. (10 pts.)
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1. What does it mean to be a global citizen?
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2. What strategies can be used to address global issues? Do you think
I social media is a good platform in raising awareness on global
I issues?
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