Global Citizenship Themes in the Social Studies Classroom: Teaching Devices and Teachers’ Attitudes

Abstract

Globalization significantly influences the very notion of citizenship that is no longer universally seen as only a nation-related concept. Therefore, the discourse of global citizenship is getting more attention in programmatic educational texts and curricula. This study investigates how teachers use the conceptual framework of global citizenship in the social studies classroom, and what curricular devices and pedagogies social studies teachers use to address aspects of global citizenship. The study demonstrated that social studies teachers frequently use information about international issues in their classrooms, and there is a tendency to incorporate global and international perspectives into citizenship education. However, educators need more rigorous assistance to teach emerging types of citizenship. The study demonstrates that despite the fact that participants rarely use the term global citizenship in their instruction, they provide rationales that correspond to the notion of global citizenship.

Key words:

• constructivism
• global citizenship
• social studies
• teaching methods