Professional development perspectives on Global Citizenship Education in Ghana

ABSTRACT

Background

Increasingly incorporated into curricula worldwide, Global Citizenship Education (GCE) is a complex and evolving area of education. As the significance of GCE in the classroom grows, so does the need for insight into professional development for GCE educators. Given that many approaches to GCE have typically stemmed from ‘global North’ contexts, it is particularly important to research this area from ‘global South’ perspectives. This paper contributes by reporting on a study conducted in an initial teacher education setting in Ghana.

Purpose

The study aimed to investigate prospective teachers’ viewpoints on GCE. It sought to explore aspects including how pre-service teachers understood the orientation, meaning and relevance of GCE teaching and their views on the debates surrounding GCE’s underlying approaches and values.

Methods

Participants were 16 pre-service teachers who had taken GCE courses during their degree programmes at a university in Ghana. Data were collected through three focus group discussions and analysed qualitatively.

Findings

In-depth analysis of the rich data suggested that participants had generally positive perceptions about GCE, whilst observing challenges and tension in the relationships between local, national and global issues. Whereas some were of the opinion that GCE had a neocolonial orientation, focusing on Western elements over other cultures, others expressed the view that GCE content could be reoriented to address local issues as well. Although participants felt that greater practical experience could strengthen their learning, they believed they had obtained adequate skills in terms of content and theory for the teaching of GCE.

Conclusion

The study draws attention to the need for educators to be supported from an early stage and throughout their career journeys with professional development in GCE that invites exploration, critical thinking and challenge.

KEYWORDS:

• Citizenship education
• Global Citizenship Education (GCE)
• higher education
• 21^st century skills
• teacher education
• African studies

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. https://www.un.org/en/academic-impact/page/global-citizenship-education#: :text=The%20primary%20aim%20of%20Global,responsible%20and%20active%20global%20citizens.

2. https://www.un.org/en/academic-impact/page/global-citizenship-education#: :text=The%20primary%20aim%20of%20Global,responsible%20and%20active%20global%20citizens.

3. In line with much GCE scholarship, quotation marks are used to reflect that ‘global North’ and ‘global South’ are contested terms that have limitations and shortcomings (see further Pashby and da Costa 2021).

4. Their Bachelor’s degree programme was their teacher training, as students undertake content courses and pedagogic courses. At the end of four years, students graduate as professional teachers in their subject areas. After the Bachelor’s degree programme, students take licensure exams to become licenced teachers; only professional teachers are mandated to take the licensure exams.