Global citizenship education a necessity now
The 75th birthday of the United Nations was celebrated in October, not only by world leaders at the international stage, but also at several schools, whereby junior and senior students researched and discussed aspects of global citizenship, and the values underpinning it.
Global citizenship was initially considered an oxymoron, a contradiction in terms and a contested area. People typically take pride in nationalism and see the inculcation of loyalty to one’s nation as being in conflict with a possibly wider loyalty to the world as a whole. However, more lately, there has been a growing realization that our destinies are inextricably bound together, that the earth is one common homeland. The Covid-19 crisis has underlined our interdependencies and highlighted that we are only as strong as the weakest link.
The emphasis on global citizenship at the UN 75 celebrations reminded me of Acharya Vinoba Bhave’s motto of ‘Jai Jagat’ propounded in 1950s India, and it is sweet to recollect that the idea of global citizenship was already inherent in the sagacious Indian philosophy of Vasudhaiv Kutumbkam.
The sense that these ancient Indian values were the right ethos for today’s world was already strengthened when the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)– adopted by all world leaders at the UN in 2015 – included ‘global citizenship education’ as an important target within its Education Goal (Goal 4).
The inexorable movement towards global citizenship education (GCE) is also seen in the creation of university courses in development education, and in the inclusion of GCE in national documents such as India’s new National Education Policy 2020, which includes GCE as an important goal for education in its paragraphs 4.24, 6.20 and 11.8.
The Sustainable Development Goal on education (Goal 4) has seven target outcomes, and one of these seven is “Knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development”. This target states: “By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development”.
The progress of a country towards this goal shall be measured by the following indicator: “Extent to which (i) global citizenship education and (ii) education for sustainable development, including gender equality and human rights, are mainstreamed at all levels in: (a) national education policies; (b) curricula; (c) teacher education; and (d) student assessment”.
Attaining this goal is very important for the collective life and wellbeing of all who dwell on the planet. Going forward, it should be the effort of schools to mainstream education for global citizenship and sustainable development (including gender equality and human rights) in our school curricula, teacher training and student assessment. For this to happen, it would be needed to include GCE in the new National Curriculum Framework, and in exam boards’ syllabuses and exam papers.
Going forward, much thought needs to go into how can we teach young people and adults respect for diversity, justice, empathy, compassion and abandoning prejudices – values that are at the heart of global citizenship. How can schools and universities best inculcate a concern for and engagement with contemporary global issues such as responsible climate/environmental behaviour? How to develop a concern for sustainable development and all that it implies, including reduced materialism and consumerism, sacrificing consumption, reducing needs, and understanding obligations and duties rather than merely emphasizing rights.
We need this to create a better world. It’s a long road, but the journey needs to start.
THE INEXORABLE MOVEMENT TOWARDS GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION (GCE) IS ALSO SEEN IN THE CREATION OF UNIVERSITY COURSES IN DEVELOPMENT EDUCATION, AND IN THE INCLUSION OF GCE IN NATIONAL DOCUMENTS SUCH AS INDIA’S NEW NATIONAL EDUCATION POLICY 2020