Out now: International Review of Education special issue on global citizenship education

Featuring 12 research articles and an editorial by the guest-editors, the bumper special issue spans formal, non-formal, higher and lifelong learning contexts, illustrating how global citizenship education (GCE) 'is enacted across diverse cultural, political and institutional settings' while advancing 'new understandings of ethical responsibility, democratic participation, epistemic plurality and social transformation'.

In their editorial to the special issue, the guest editors note that in recent years, GCE 'has been discussed as a distinctive educational paradigm grounded in the pursuit of the common good. It has been conceptualised as an ethical and values-based pedagogy, as a democratic and pluralistic approach that cultivates critical consciousness, and as a pedagogical intervention capable of advancing societal service, inclusion, equity and environmental sustainability.'

Yet, they go on to say, 'as contemporary crises - including violent conflicts, widening inequalities, forced migration, environmental degradation, and the rapid transformation of knowledge through artificial intelligence and digital technologies - become increasingly interconnected and mutually reinforcing', global citizenship education 'confronts a fundamental question: what kind of educational project should it become? The challenge is no longer whether GCE is necessary, but how it can respond effectively and ethically to these intersecting global challenges while fostering democratic resilience, social justice and the common good.'

Geographically, the articles present research conducted in Kazakhstan, the United States, South Africa (in two different articles), Germany, Australia, Mexico, Colombia, Indonesia, New Zealand and Israel; while four philosophical/theoretical articles are not limited to any particular country or world region.

The contributions variously foreground 'the role of lifelong learning and community-based education in cultivating GCE beyond formal schooling', address 'the profound educational challenges emerging from an increasingly complex and technologically mediated world', exemplify a 'commitment to epistemic diversity' and position GCE 'as an ethical practice enacted through educational relationships' .

Access the full special issue of the International Review of Education