## Abdeljalil Akkari Kathrine Maleq  *Editors*

# Global Citizenship Education

Critical and International Perspectives

Global Citizenship Education

Abdeljalil Akkari • Kathrine Maleq Editors

# Global Citizenship Education

Critical and International Perspectives

*Editors* Abdeljalil Akkari Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences University of Geneva Geneva, Switzerland

Kathrine Maleq University of Geneva Geneva, Switzerland

Published with the support of the Swiss National Science Foundation

ISBN 978-3-030-44616-1 ISBN 978-3-030-44617-8 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44617-8

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## **Foreword**

Across the world, democracy and citizenship appear to be in crisis. Beyond specific events such as the election of Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro, a number of global trends have been identified as potentially undermining democracy. Furthermore, countries worldwide are faced with challenges such as growing inequalities in terms of both wealth and income; increasing flows of migrants escaping poverty, war and other circumstances; and the rise of extremism. In addition, the dominance of technocratic and bureaucratic cultures and practices is gradually reducing the scope for political engagement and access to full citizenship.

Neoliberalism as the main driver of globalization has had a tremendous impact on society and institutions. As Marx and Engels wrote, "all that is solid melts into air." Indeed, neoliberal globalization has degraded the environment, hindered social cohesion and produced multilevel social exclusion resulting in economic, political, cultural, and ethnic inequalities (Rogers 1995). Furthermore, in today's global world, Palmade (1968) argues that society is witnessing a breakdown of traditional values within nation-states, political and economic spheres, cultures, religions, and schools.

Globalization, which has defined the world's economy in recent decades, is not a natural phenomenon but a ramification of capitalist hegemony on peripheralization. While some areas have flourished, globalization has widened the gap between the world's poorest and richest nations, with most of the world's profits flowing back into the pockets of the wealthiest.

This current model of globalization appears to be very distant from Kostas Axelos's (1964) utopian vision of a global world that would promote "planetary thinking." With his poetic philosophical style, he depicted a world that would use technology to create a loving, supportive, and egalitarian society.

Paulo Freire, the extraordinarily influential Brazilian pedagogue, argued that education is freedom as it is the only way to break free from domination, where the poor are rendered powerless and voiceless (Freire 1996). Drawing our attention to the contrast between the ideal democratic citizen and the ideal capitalist consumer, Freire (1974) argues that capitalism requires the maintenance of naïve consciousness, whereas democracy demands the development of critical and autonomous thinking.

One of the great if not the greatest tragedy of modern man is in his domination by the force of these myths and his manipulation of organized advertising, ideological or otherwise. Gradually, without ever realizing the loss, he relinquishes his capacity for choice; he is expelled from the orbit of decisions. Ordinary men do not perceive the tasks of the time; the latter are interpreted by an 'elite' and presented in the form of recipes, of prescriptions (Freire 1974, p. 5).

In the periphery countries, citizenship building in schools is generally promoted through civic and moral education and aims to educate all citizens as individuals respectful of the established order. For instance, in Brazil, the dictatorial regimes of the 1930s, 1960s, and 1970s gave great importance to moral and civic education in national curricula in order to form obedient and uncritical citizens (Gramsci 1975). Currently, an opposite, but equally problematic, strategy has been adopted by Brazil's current neoliberal theocratic government that plans to remove citizenship education from the secondary curricula after having already marginalized human sciences in higher education. This educational policy is far from Dewey's (1916) liberal conception of citizenship education as a means of forming democratic, autonomous, critical, and free citizens.

In the present era of globalization, social, economic, and political changes have generated the need to rethink traditional models of citizenship in order to address global challenges and promote peace, human rights, equality, tolerance of diversity, and sustainable development. However, Colliot-Thélene (1999) asserts that it is impossible to design a single model capable of embracing the diversity of civic consciousnesses acquired historically around the world.

This book, *Global Citizenship Education: Critical and International Perspectives*, seeks to provoke discussion on the educational challenges posed by globalization and its philosophical and political underpinnings. The chapters examine the role of citizenship education in building more inclusive societies, respectful of cultural diversity, ethnicity, gender equality and human rights, while fighting against social and economic exclusion. The authors discuss the concept of global citizenship education and analyze the principal issues regarding citizenship education in various geographical contexts – Latin America, Asia and Pacific, Africa, North Africa, Europe and North America – as well as valuable contributions from experts in the field of international education and innovation.

Adressing some of the most burning issues of our time, such as inequality, human rights violations and exclusion, the chapters in this book, edited by A. Akkari and K. Maleq, provide local perspectives on conceptions and issues related to global citizenship education and demonstrate the gap between the discourse of international organizations, particularly within the UN's framework of Sustainable Development Goals, and the reality of the marginalized and the excluded.

Curitiba, Brazil Peri Mesquida

#### **References**


Dewey, J. (1916). *Democracy and education.* New York: The Macmillan Company.

Freire, P. (1974). *Education for critical consciousness*. New York: Bloomsbury.

Freire, P. (1996). *Pedagogia da Autonomia***.** São Paulo: Paz e Terra.

Gramsci, A. (1975)*. Quaderni del carcere*. Torino: Einaudi.

Marx, K., & Engels, F. (1997). *Manifesto do Partido Comunista*. Lisboa: Editorial "Avante".

Palmade, J. (1990). Postmodernité et fragilité identitaire. *Connexions, 55*(1), 8–27.

Rogers, G. (1995). What is special about social exclusion approach? In: G. Rogers, C. Gore, & F. José (Eds.), S*ocial exclusion: rhetoric, reality, responses* (pp. 43–56). Geneva: International Institute for Labor Studies.

## **Contents**

#### **Part I Introduction**


#### **Part IV Africa**


## **Editors and Contributors**

#### **About the Editors**

**Abdeljalil Akkari** is a professor and the director of the research group on International Education at the University of Geneva, Switzerland. He is also a guest professor at the faculty of International Relations at the Kazakh National University Al-Faraby and regular consultant for UNESCO and other international organizations. He was the dean for research at the Higher Pedagogical Institute HEP-BEJUNE, Bienne, Switzerland, and assistant professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, United States. His main experience and major publications include studies on international cooperation, educational planning, multicultural education, teacher training, and educational inequalities. His principal research interests are currently centered on teacher education and reforms of educational systems in a comparative and international perspective.

**Kathrine Maleq** is a research and teaching fellow at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Switzerland. Previously, she was responsible for the design, coordination, implementation, and evaluation of nationwide and regional education for peace programs for an NGO. Her research focuses on global citizenship education, multicultural education, preschool-family collaboration from a cross-cultural perspective, and early childhood education in the Global South.

#### **Contributors**

**Naouel Abdellatif Mami** is a professor at Mohamed Lamine Debaghine, Sétif 2 University, Algeria. She has extensive experience in cooperation, international research, and project development and management. She is the coordinator of several research projects nationally and internationally such as ABDEM, Dire-MED,

ESAGOV, and PreNet and has extensive experience in the Erasmus+ Program. Her research relates to educational psychology, education, internationalization, citizenship, human rights, intercultural dialogue, digitalization and IT in education, and artificial intelligence in social sciences.

**Nigel Bagnall** has extensive professional and consulting experience in a wide range of educational settings. His work in international schools and his research on the International Baccalaureate have established his reputation in the field of international curriculum in cross-cultural settings. His current research interests include education and belonging, global identity, youth transition, and the role of international schools as agents for change.

**Aitkali Bakitov** is a lecturer in the Department of Diplomatic Translation, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan. His interests cover international relations, languages, interdisciplinary research, and translation. Previously, he was granted a fellowship from the Swiss Confederation and successfully completed his studies at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland.

**Dominique Demelenne** is head of the Department of Social Sciences at the Catholic University of Asunción, Paraguay, and a professor of sociology and research methodology. His work focuses on the relationship between knowledge production and public policy management. He was an advisor on indigenous education policy in Paraguay and is currently working on the definition of the National Plan for Indigenous Peoples.

**Alexis Gilmer** is a doctoral student in the Public Health Program at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. Her research focuses on improving the psychosocial outcomes of youth in the child welfare system. She is also interested in evaluating the effectiveness of mental health programming to achieve desired outcomes. She hopes her research will contribute to advancing the mental health options available within the country.

**Vlad Glăveanu** is an associate professor and the head of the Department of Psychology and Counseling at Webster University Geneva, Switzerland; associate professor II at Bergen University, Norway; and director of the Webster Center for Creativity and Innovation (WCCI). His work focuses on creativity, imagination, culture, collaboration, and societal challenges. He received in 2018 the Berlyne Award from the American Psychological Association for his outstanding earlycareer contributions to the field of aesthetics, creativity, and the arts.

**Conrad Hughes** is the campus and secondary principal at the International School of Geneva, La Grande Boissiere, Switzerland. He teaches philosophy and holds a PhD (University of the Witwatersrand) and an EdD (University of Durham). He is a member of the educational advisory board for the University of the People and a UNESCO-IBE fellow. His research interests include twenty-first-century education, critical thinking, international education, and assessment.

**Thibaut Lauwerier** is a research and teaching fellow at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Switzerland. He is interested in the role of international cooperation in educational policy development, the quality of basic education in the South, and inequality in education. He is also the coordinator of the Master in Advanced Studies International Education and Research and the coeditor of the journal *Education in Debate: Comparative Analysis*.

**Colleen Loomis** is an associate professor in the School of International Policy and Governance at Wilfrid Laurier University and the Balsillie School of International Affairs, Canada. She is on the advisory committee for Master of Advanced Studies in International Education and Research at the University of Geneva, Switzerland. Her research focuses on educational agendas and policies.

**Sarah Jane Moore** is an independent creative artist and academic with a PhD in Reconciliation through music and art from the University of Sydney, Australia. Her research interests include indigenous education, oceanic research, and creative research and project partnerships. She has extensive experience in qualitative research methodology partnerships with the University of Guam, UNSW Sydney, the University of Sydney, Western Sydney University, and the University of Tasmania. Her research on songwriting and art-making explores themes of belonging and identity.

**Aoi Nakayama** is a professor at the Center for Global Education and Research, Osaka Kyoiku University, Japan. Her principal research interests are intercultural and international education, comparative education between Japan and Europe, and global and democratic citizenship education. She is also a research member of the project "development of a model program of teacher training for the teachers in charge of education for foreign children and students" entrusted by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

**Halima Ouanada** is a teacher-researcher of eighteenth-century French literature at the University of Tunis El Manar, Tunisia, president of the Tunisian Association of Studies on Enlightenment, and member of the Voltaire Society (ATEL) and of the Scientific Council of the Center for Research, Studies, Documentation and Information on Women (CREDIF). Her work focuses on philosophers of the Enlightenment, Voltaire, female characters in literature, and Enlightenment philosophy in the Arab-Muslim world.

**Myriam Radhouane** holds a postdoctoral position at the University of Geneva, Switzerland. Her research mainly focuses on intercultural approaches in teacher training and the teaching profession. She also works on the recognition of students' language and culture, teachers' cultural identity, and social justice in education.

**Sarah Ranco** is a doctoral student in the Community Psychology Program at Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada. Her research interests are influenced by her history as an educator and include youth-adult partnerships in schools, promoting

youth engagement in social justice, and educational pedagogies. She seeks to ground her work in community-based applications, as well as use her research to center youth voice.

**Moussa Mohamed Sagayar** is a professor at the Ecole Normale Supérieure of Abdou Moumouni University, Niamey, Niger, deputy coordinator of the Center of University Pedagogy (CDPU), director of Open and Distance Training (FOAD-TICE), and coordinator of the Master in Conceptualization and Design of Educational Alternatives at Abdou Moumouni University. His research interests cover support in teacher training (observation and analysis of practices), quality of initial teacher training in Niger, citizenship education in contexts of ethnic tension, open and distance learning, and "good practices" for quality education.

**Mylene Santiago** holds a PhD in Education from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She is a professor and vice-coordinator of the Nucleus of Support to Inclusion of the Federal University of Juiz de Fora, professor of the Postgraduate Program in Education of the Fluminense Federal University, and researcher of the International Observatory of Inclusion, Interculturality, and Pedagogical Innovation. She has experience in education, working mainly on teacher training, inclusion in education, and interculturality.

**Almash Seidikenova** is an associate professor and head of the Diplomatic Translation Department, Faculty of International Relations, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan. Previously, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. Her research mainly focuses on university mobility.

## **Part I Introduction**

## **Chapter 1 Global Citizenship Education: Recognizing Diversity in a Global World**

**Abdeljalil Akkari and Kathrine Maleq**

In today's globalized and interconnected world, inequality, human rights violations and poverty still jeopardise peace and environmental sustainability. In response to these challenges, global citizenship education (GCE) has been identified as a means to prepare youth for an alternative, inclusive and sustainable world. Indeed, efforts to move along a sustainable development path may only be achieved by promoting global social justice. Therefore, schools have a fundamental role to play in empowering learners to become responsible and active global citizens.

GCE has suddenly become a strong policy focus in international agendas, in particular in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit in September 2015. Its promising aim to empower learners to act responsively towards global issues draws attention to the pressing need to foster global citizens; thereby promoting more peaceful, inclusive and sustainable societies. Closely linked to human rights, it conveys values of respect, diversity, tolerance and solidarity (UNESCO 2015).

However, this publication attests that GCE is a contested concept and subject to multiple interpretations. Despite the universal reach of its human values, the practice of citizenship is closely related to national context. GCE therefore requires an adaptation to regional, national and global dimensions of citizenship, making its operationalization in national educational policies challenging.

This book aims to contribute to the international debate, question the relevancy of GCE's policy objectives and their possible articulation with local and national perspectives, ideologies, conceptions and issues related to citizenship education.

A. Akkari (\*)

Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland e-mail: abdeljalil.akkari@unige.ch

K. Maleq University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland e-mail: kathrine.maleq@unige.ch

To this end, we aim to open new perspectives, counterbalance the mainstreaming and normalisation of the GCE discourse in global agendas and give a voice to stakeholders from diverse regions that are too often overlooked in the GCE debate.

#### **Global Citizenship Education: A Reshaped Concept in International Agendas**

*We must foster global citizenship. Education is about more than literacy and numeracy. It is also about citizenry. Education must fully assume its essential role in helping people to forge more just, peaceful and tolerant societies* (Ki-moon 2012).

While cosmopolitanism and cross-national border thinking is not new in the history of humanity, we consider that contemporary discourse on GCE is mainly linked to international organisations' agendas. Although GCE is a relatively new concept in UNESCO's policies, its roots go back to the founding texts of the organisation. As we can see in its Constitution, the primary goals of UNESCO have many similarities to those of GCE: peace, human rights and equality.

Extract from the UNESCO Constitution:

The purpose of the Organisation is to contribute to peace and security by promoting collaboration among the nations through education, science and culture in order to further universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for the human rights and fundamental freedoms which are affirmed for the peoples of the world, without distinction of race, sex, language or religion (UNESCO 2018a, p. 6).

The 1974 "Recommendation concerning Education for International Understanding, Co-operation and Peace and Education relating to Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms" aimed to develop a sense of social responsibility and solidarity towards less privileged groups, paving the way for the GCE framework.

A few years later, in 1989, the concept of a "culture of peace" was formulated at the International Congress on Peace in the Minds of Men, laying the foundations for GCE. Henceforth, education has been envisioned with a global perspective: "an educational concept is developed that no longer merely advocates civic education, education for democracy, human rights education, peace education and intercultural understanding, but does so with a global perspective, i.e. with an awareness of global interconnectedness" (Wintersteiner et al. 2015, p. 6).

The Global Education First Initiative (GEFI) launched in 2012 by the United Nations Secretary-General identified fostering global citizenship as one of the three priorities. This marked a paradigm shift: framing education in a global perspective and aiming to enable learners to understand global issues and empower them to take action. "This investigation of the relationship between micro- and macro-level issues and developments is a critical element in equipping learners to fulfil their potential in a fast-changing and interdependent world" (UNESCO 2014a, p. 15). Following this initiative, GCE became a key priority of UNESCO policy and is a central objective in UNESCO's Medium-Term Strategy for 2014–2021 (UNESCO 2014b), highlighting the need to foster global citizenship in an increasingly interconnected world.

In 2015, the Incheon Declaration and the global Education 2030 Agenda marked a milestone in the advancement of GCE advocacy as the Member States of the United Nations committed to promote and implement GCE within the SDG1 (Sustainable Development Goal) 4.7 target.

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 (United Nations 2015, p. 19).

We note that the SDG 4.7 target provides a list of ambitious objectives aiming to promote sustainable development. However, the lack of structure and prioritization of these numerous objectives inhibits educators' ability to understand and pursue the target. Furthermore, the wording of this target implies a universal validity without reflecting the complex reality. Concepts such as citizenship and human rights are interpreted differently according to the political, economic and cultural background. Moreover, depending on geopolitical, conflict and post-conflict contexts, concepts such as "promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence" are unlikely be addressed in the same way.

Despite UNESCO's recent attempts to make the concept both universally and locally rooted (UNESCO 2018b), the voices of all stakeholders around the world are not taken into account equally in the GCE debate. As pointed out in several international forums and seminars on GCE: the difficulty resides in the lack of a shared international understanding of the concept.

As of now, member states must provide further conceptual input, acknowledging the interdependence of global/national citizenship and global realities. The linkage between them must open global citizenship agendas to diversity and indigeneity rather than mainstreaming and narrowing the scope.

We believe that the United Nation's recent focus on the need to foster global citizenship is not a random choice but rather the refection of the hard realization that the mission entrusted to the League of Nations founded in Geneva in 1920 to prevent wars, unite countries and establish a global governance of international relations has not succeeded. Above all, increasing developmental and environmental challenges, which by definition are global, call for each and every one of us to act as responsible global citizens.

Furthermore, by putting GCE in the spotlight, the Education 2030 agenda also appears to have acted in response to the growing influence of PISA's (Programme for International Student Assessment) focus on learning outcomes in reading, mathematics and science literacy. In turn, GCE has not escaped the prevailing

<sup>1</sup>The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has set 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with 169 targets. The SDG 4 aims to ensure incisive and equitable quality education and promote life-long learning opportunities (United Nations 2015).

domination of international educational assessments. Indeed, most educational systems are currently concerned with assessing the impact of reforms and educational innovations.

However, assessing the progress achieved in meeting the SDG 4.7 target is not an easy task and the vagueness regarding its ambitious objectives has resulted in a lack of precision in the formulation of indicators.

UNESCO's Global Education Monitoring Report exemplifies this lack of precision in their global indicator:

The 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 (UNESCO 2016, p. 79)

And four thematic indicators:


We can identify three key issues in these assessment tools: (1) the indicators do not cover all the goals outlined in the SDG 4.7 target; (2) the lack of precision in the indicators limits the possibility of international comparisons (3) the quality and relevance cannot be assessed without a shared definition among stakeholders and learners.

For its part, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) seems to have responded to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development goals by broadening the framework of the 2018 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), evaluating young people's understanding of global issues, and their attitudes toward cultural diversity and tolerance. In doing so, they postulate the existence of a universal and measurable global competence they define as "the capacity to examine local, global and intercultural issues, to understand and appreciate the perspectives and world views of others, to engage in open, appropriate and effective interactions with people from different cultures, and to act for collective well-being and sustainable development" (OECD 2018). This could be seen as a measure of the impact of GCE programs, however, the subjective nature of the standardized assessment tests and questionnaires casts serious doubt on the overall validity.

Although some may welcome this initiative, it is important to state that no single international large-scale assessment can fully grasp the complexity of students' global competence as a learning goal, especially regarding the socio-emotional, attitudinal and value dimensions.

#### **National or Multicultural Identities**

Traditional conceptions of citizenship have evolved under the influence of globalization, international treaties and conventions, and frameworks for international human rights protection. In addition, the expansion of ICT (information and communications technology) has facilitated the creation of international networks and communities with shared interests and concerns (Sassen 2002). This has reinforced a feeling of belonging to a global community, creating a sense of world citizenship identity and a civic engagement in global issues. Increasingly diverse societies have also shaped this evolution. The traditional national model of citizenship no longer reflects today's changing realities (Castles and Davidson 2000).

These deep societal changes are reshaping the very model that underpins traditional civic identity, and as a result are increasing focus on alternative, cosmopolitan and multicultural identity models. The concept of global citizenship is therefore seeing an unprecedented rise in popularity amongst international organisations and scholars (Gaudelli 2016).

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the values that embody global citizenship and related terms such as global competence, global-mindedness, global consciousness, and world citizenship are subject to divergent viewpoints and political stances. In fact, we can identify two opposing global trends: on the one hand post-national forms of identity are emerging in an increasingly interconnected, interdependent and culturally diverse world and on the other hand populism, nationalism, identitarian closure, ethnic conflicts and religious extremism are rising. Moreover, in many countries experiencing immigration, we can observe growing scepticism and sometimes even outright hostility towards multiculturalism.

In a globalised world, and in nation-states characterized by diversity, there have been calls for a renewed focus on forms of civic education which promote national belonging and loyalty; such calls often target, either explicitly or implicitly, students from minority or migration backgrounds. An apparent binary is established, between those who see the primary purpose of citizenship education as nation-building, and those who want to promote global solidarity. (Osler 2011, p. 2).

Nevertheless, one may argue that citizenship education is still the prerogative of national authorities, and this despite the reinforcement of the multiple processes of globalization. All (national) citizenship education efforts aim to consolidate national cohesion and contribute to nation-building. The question for GCE is how to integrate greater references to global interdependence and responsibility which may not necessary be in opposition to nation-building efforts.

#### **Conceptual Debate**

Global citizenship and related concepts have a long philosophical history. Cosmopolitan citizenship, central to Stoic philosophy and later taken up by Emmanuel Kant, is characterized by a sense of belonging to the worldwide

community of human beings and based on the principle of respect for diversity. Originally, these ideas were those of an elite that perceived themselves to be part of a world culture. Today, scholars and educators worldwide have revisited them to define or rethink identity models in our modern globalized world (Myers 2016; Oxley and Morris 2013). These new conceptions and understandings of cosmopolitanism and global citizenship can be divided into two strands: "a conception of cosmopolitanism as a rootlessness that enables people to live and work across borders; and a conception of cosmopolitanism as the political ideology of a wellordered and conflict-free world respectful of human rights" (Papastephanou 2018, p. 179).

Differing conceptions of citizenship education in a globalized world have resulted in ongoing disagreements over GCE's definition and scope, thereby weakening its potential. Pashby's (2016) definition accurately shows the complex and specific nature of GCE: "Global citizenship education generally extends the idea of rights and responsibilities beyond the limits of the nation-state. It can be understood in a variety of ways and reflects different ideologies and ideas of what is and ought to be desired of citizens" (p. 85).

The framing of GCE varies significantly across different national contexts as it is strongly linked to how nation-states experience and respond to the forces of globalization (Ho 2018) and understand the link between national citizenship and the global community. Consequently, a wide range of conceptions and objectives of GCE coexist (e.g. building the capacity to participate in local and global communities, learning about global issues, empowering learners to take social and political action, becoming globally competitive, and promoting the use of information technology and global connectivity) (Gaudelli 2016). Diverging interpretations of the GCE concept and its rooting in national citizenship education consequently requires us to consider different reference models of citizenship throughout the world (Miedema and Bertram-Troost 2015). The key challenge is, however, to overcome binary conceptions of national and global citizenship and bridge the gap between them (Tarozzi and Inguaggiato 2018). Osler (2011) adds that coexistence between these two levels of citizenship education is only possible provided there is a critical approach to patriotism.

Nation-states remain the main actors in the real exercise of citizenship as the acquisition of national citizenship determines access to certain rights from which others are excluded. In this sense, in a world deeply divided between citizens and non-citizens, global citizenship may appear to be an oxymoron.

Nevertheless, citizenship education must be responsive to the current changes in the conception of citizenship and citizen practices and address global issues of a social, political, economic, or environmental nature. Indeed, the role of GCE may be critical for achieving sustainable development (Davies et al. 2018; Langran and Birk 2016).

In the light of these considerations, additional conceptual input is needed to reach an agreement on the scope of GCE and develop locally relevant programs. Furthermore, it is important to underline that GCE frameworks need to go beyond basic concepts such as 'bring the world into the classroom' or 'send students into

the world' that reinforce the divide between 'us and them' and 'here and there' (Andreotti 2014). "We wish to resist simplistic notions that may suggest that educational responses to globalisation can be achieved merely by adding international content or token global education type activities to citizenship education programs" (Davies et al. 2005, p. 85). In this respect, the analysis of power relations must be at the heart of GCE:

Despite claims of globality and inclusion, the lack of analysis of power relations and knowledge construction in this area often results in educational practices that unintentionally reproduce ethnocentric, ahistorical, depoliticized, paternalistic, salvationist and triumphalist approaches that tend to deficit theorize, pathologize or trivialize difference (Andreotti and De Souza 2012, p. 13).

Following Andreotti's (2014) post-colonial approach that advocates a critical perspective and breaks away from asymmetric models that reproduce social inequality, there was a call to embrace a global social justice framework for GCE. Through a decolonial and anticolonial perspective, this framework suggests adopting a "critical and progressive commitment towards human rights, peace, environmental sustainability, social justice and economic equality, and a positive attitude towards diversity" (Tarozzi and Inguaggiato 2018, p.34). Indeed, GCE cannot merely promote human values and overlook the "conditions that create the inequities faced by marginalized groups, specifically by migrants who are perpetually deported to the site of non-humanity and global non-citizenship" (Chapman et al. 2018, p. 155).

In other words, GCE must respond to the challenge of exploring citizenship from the perspective of those marginalized or excluded (Davies et al. 2018, p. xxv). This critical approach requires teachers to address sensitive issues that potentially impinge on their duty of neutrality. For instance, issues related to sustainable development and inequality cannot be addressed without an awareness of the role played by consumers in capitalist societies. The political dimension can pose a real risk for teachers and conceivably lead to resistance.

#### **Global Citizenship Education: Universal Understanding and National Ownership**

Over the next few years, the concept of GCE is likely to be at the heart of national and international education policies. The purpose of this publication is to contribute to collective and critical thinking on the 2030 Agenda SDG 4.7 target, question its relevance to national local contexts and point out the challenges the implementation of GCE in national educational systems entails.

First, in an increasingly globalized and interdependent world, which policy directions should be given to citizenship education and GCE and what are the possible articulations between the two? Some of the contributions to this book, particularly from the Global South, identify a crisis of national citizenship where social exclusion and limited political participation limit the ability to make both GCE and citizenship education operational.

Second, given the fact that the two interconnected phenomena of globalization and neoliberalism are evidently not beneficial to everyone on the planet, GCE raises the questions of social exclusion, national identities and collective narratives. How can we rethink our approach to citizenship education on a national level, in the context of globalization? In educational systems affected by globalization and increased cultural and ethnic diversity, how can GCE provide a framework that effectively links inter/multicultural education approaches to issues related to citizenship and social justice?

This book takes a critical and international perspective to the mainstreaming of the global citizenship concept and analyzes the key issues related to GCE across the world. In this respect, it addresses a pressing need to provide further conceptual input and to open global citizenship agendas to diversity and indigeneity.

With a crucial focus on diversity and inclusiveness, authors provide contextual understanding of the key concepts that underpin GCE (e.g. justice, equality, diversity, identity) and pinpoint issues related to women's rights, marginalised groups, Indigenous peoples and migrant populations. Issues related to peace building, democracy, citizenship education in post-conflict contexts and sustainable development are also covered in several chapters. Although this publication does not achieve a comprehensive coverage of the world, leading experts from across the globe have brought their valuable insights to rethinking education within a global perspective.

The contributions come from countries situated in the five regional groups as well as experts in the field of international education and innovation:

• *Latin America*

The authors will provide insights into the complexity and dynamics of citizenship in Latin America through the emblematic examples of Brazil and Paraguay. On the one hand, Brazil has experienced a remarkable democratic transition over the last decades which enabled millions of people to escape from poverty thanks to ambitious social policies and citizenship participation. Nevertheless, the newly elected far-right government and corruption raise serious doubts about the future of the country's democratization process. On the other hand, Paraguay, despite being the only country in Latin America where a majority speak an Indigenous language, still faces the challenge of political representation and involvement of Indigenous Peoples.

• *Asia and Pacific*

Representing the Asian and pacific region, Japan, Kazakhstan, Australia and New Zealand provide interesting perspectives on GCE. Japan, as a major player in globalization and the host country to a growing number of immigrant workers, is slowly moving toward greater diversity and inclusion in a context of an insular culture. In Kazakhstan, conceptions of citizenship are marked by both the Soviet legacy (and its portal as the land of Soviet friendship) and by the authoritarian regime that succeeded it. Although the newly independent country managed to maintain peace between different ethnic groups, promote multilingualism and forge a new Kazak national identity, it currently faces challenges related to democratization and economic globalization. In turn, Australia and New Zealand are seeking ways to promote social inclusion of Indigenous Peoples. In this respect, understanding Indigenous world-views and perspectives on global identity may be a first step in opening different perspectives to citizenship.

• *Africa*

We have chosen to address the complexities of citizenship building in Africa by first focusing attention on the Nigerian context. After a succession of authoritarian regimes that followed decolonisation, Niger has experienced a difficult democratization process and is currently threatened by a growing Jihadist movement. The next chapter broadens the debate and discusses the potential and relevancy of the concept of GCE in the wider West African context.

• *North Africa*

The chapters on Algeria and Tunisia illustrate the current citizen dynamics underway in the region. Following Algeria's independence from colonial powers, the democratization process got off to a difficult start, parallel to a delicate process of identity negotiation. While Tunisia has the most progressive laws on women's rights in relation to other parts of the Arab world, the country is currently marked by political tensions between women's rights and religious conservatism.

• *Europe and North America*

The national contexts presented in the North American and European section address the question of GCE in multicultural contexts. Although the countries presented are economically comparable, they differ in terms of historical approaches to citizenship and diversity. After a historical struggle for civil rights, the U.S. still faces deep social inequalities and ethnic divisions. In Canada, multiculturalism has evolved from a promising idea to an official policy. Yet the promise of recognition and formal equality have not succeeded in addressing the continuing economic, social, and political inequalities experienced by Indigenous Peoples. The examples of France, Switzerland and England are interesting insofar as they have different political traditions: Jacobinism in France, direct democracy in Switzerland and liberal democracy in England. Although GCE could provide an opportunity to open citizenship models to a more inclusive conception of national identity, this potential seems to be hampered by the current political climate and growing scepticism towards multiculturalism.

• *International education and innovation*

Finally, looking at GCE from the perspective of international education and innovation will allow us to better understand the construct of international education and explore the connections between education for creativity and education for global citizenship.

Thus, this book aims to provide a comprehensive and geographically based overview of the challenges citizenship education faces in a rapidly changing global world, question the relevancy of GCE's policy objectives and enhance understanding of local perspectives, ideologies, conceptions and issues related to citizenship education on a local, national and global level. To do so, we give a voice to stakeholders from geographic regions that are too often overlooked in the GCE debate as we believe that a relevant and responsive global citizenship agenda should recognise the legitimacy of local knowledge systems and go beyond the opposition between "universal" and local knowledge.

#### **References**


**Open Access** This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, duplication, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, a link is provided to the Creative Commons licence and any changes made are indicated.

The images or other third party material in this chapter are included in the work's Creative Commons licence, unless otherwise indicated in the credit line; If such material is not included in the work's Creative Commons licence and the respective action is not permitted by, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to duplicate, adapt or reproduce the material.

## **Part II Latin America**

## **Chapter 2 Citizenship, Social Exclusion and Education in Latin America: The Case of Brazil**

**Mylene Santiago and Abdeljalil Akkari**

**Abstract** Latin America's first encounter with the rest of the world happened over five centuries ago as a result of the European colonial conquest, characterized by the slave trade and the domination and exploitation of Indigenous Peoples. It was not until the late nineteenth century that Latin American Nation-States emerged in the quest for freedom, equality and access to citizenship. However, political instability and lengthy military dictatorships in the 1960s and 1970s provided limited and fragile access to citizenship.

First, this chapter analyzes the current state of education and citizenship in Latin America, after three decades of a gradual return to democracy. Our analysis suggests that citizenship is an unfinished agenda throughout the region. Minorities such as Afro-descendants and Indigenous Peoples have limited access to citizenship due to the social and educational exclusion they experience. Second, we review the main debates related to global citizenship and analyze how the concept of global citizenship is constructed in core education policies and curricula in Brazil. We conclude by examining the uncertain prospects of global citizenship education in Brazil and in the larger Latin American context.

**Keywords** Social exclusion · Minorities · Inequality · Quality education

M. Santiago (\*)

Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

A. Akkari

Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland e-mail: abdeljalil.akkari@unige.ch

#### **Introduction**

To contextualize our work, it is important to understand that the definition of Latin America is above all a political concept that does not limit itself to a specific geographic, cultural or economic area. This concept, rooted in the colonial past (Farias 2015), has evolved over time and refers to a set of cultural, ethnic, political, social and economic characteristics.

In the sixteenth century, Latin American countries were colonized and exploited by the Spanish and Portuguese who imposed European culture, dispossessed Indigenous Peoples of their land and resources, and imported African slaves. In other words, the increased prosperity of the European colonists was directly linked to the impoverishment of Latin America (Galeano 2012).

Latin American countries only achieved independence in the nineteenth century after a long struggle against colonial powers. Following the decolonization and the establishment of pluralistic and relatively democratic political systems over the last 30 years, citizenship has been problematized, initiatives have been put forward and new institutions have been created to ensure effective access to citizenship for most of the population.

However, the post-colonial era has not resolved the social issues and persistent social inequalities, perpetuating the historical social exclusion of Afro-descendants, Indigenous Peoples and rural populations. Indeed, modern history has revealed that the citizens of today's post-independent Latin American countries have always been subject to colonization, domestication and cultural and social domination, but the extent varies depending on their ethnic and social backgrounds.

Consequently, a process of decolonization still remains necessary in Latin America to overcome historical traumas and honor the social debts towards the excluded. Latin American has indeed a historical debt towards its citizens and remains today one of the most unequal regions in the world. In this respect, the challenges related to human rights and inequality entail a need to rethink social justice epistemologies and pedagogy for social justice in Latin America.

Undoubtedly, colonial heritage is still present and can be seen in the educational system that serves the interests of the dominant classes (Fernandes 2005). Concerned more with their economic enrichment and the preservation of their privileges, the elites of Latin American countries play lip service to the effective importance of education for citizenship. Evidence of this is the fact that the right to education has not yet been absolutely guaranteed in most countries that have suffered colonization (Cury 2002).

It is therefore evident that a radical reform of the educational system, capable of promoting social, political and economic rights and providing access to quality education is needed in order to foster democratic and active political participation of citizens (Farias 2015). Access to education opens a way to self-construction and allows individuals to make informed choices. In this respect, the right to education is an opportunity for citizen growth, a path to differentiated options and a key to growing self-esteem (Cury 2002).

Education and citizenship have always been intertwined, with education in Latin America being a tool to shape its citizens. In Brazil the right to vote was, until recently, limited to the literate. In order to better understand the links between education, citizenship and social exclusion in Brazil, this chapter will focus on Afro-descendants and Indigenous peoples whose access to citizenship is hampered by the return of authoritarianism, both politically and morally, and by social exclusion that prevents them from fully exercising their social, political and educational rights. It is hoped that in the future, a more equitable access to education will allow citizens to exercise their political rights in an informed and responsible manner. Furthermore, access to quality education may provide opportunities for social mobility, help overcome poverty and reinforce social cohesion.

#### **Education: A Pillar of Citizenship and Democracy**

Education is recognized as a fundamental right in all Latin American legal systems. In Brazil, Article 6 of the 1988 Federal Constitution states that education is a social right because it enables men and women to have the material conditions essential to true equality. Over the last 30 years, the universalization of the right to education has been gradually assured across most of Latin America and represents a significant step forward in the quest for democracy.

Education plays a fundamental role in educating people and empowering them to fight for democracy and their fundamental rights. In this respect, the meeting of the Ministers of Education of Latin America and the Caribbean, organized by UNESCO in Cochabamba from March 5–7 2001 at the VII Session of the Regional Intergovernmental Committee of the Major Project for Education (PROMEDLAC VII), recognized that without education, human development is impossible. It is evident that education alone cannot eliminate poverty or create the conditions necessary for sustained economic growth or general 'well-being'. However, it is the basis for personal development and a determining factor to ensure equal access to opportunities for a better quality of life (UNESCO 2001).

The right to Education is one of many social rights but education is a key indicator that reveals the level of social and cultural development as well as economic potential. In other words, no country can be considered socially developed without having good educational standards. A study conducted by Dias et al. (2017) suggested that Latin America's PISA low ranking score has negative consequences for labor productivity, innovation (new patents) and technological development, resulting in low rates of economic growth.

Although there is still a long way to go, Latin American countries have strived to improve the quality of education and have adopted educational policies to achieve this goal. For example, measures have been taken to ensure the universal provision of public education and to increase educational expenditure (in absolute terms and as a percentage of GDP). This has resulted in a significant reduction in socioeconomic and performance inequalities between schools. Brazil and other countries such as Mexico and Argentina have also adopted decentralization policies, adapted teaching practices and curricula to local realities, invested in the modernization of infrastructures and supported literacy projects (Dias et al. 2017).

Despite these significant efforts, inequality between ethnic groups remains a major social issue. Gentili (2009) underlines that Afro-descendants, Indigenous Peoples and individuals who have not yet reached the age of their majority are most likely to be poor in Latin America or the Caribbean. In Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Mexico and Paraguay, Indigenous and Afro-Latino communities experience poverty at twice the rate of the white population (Gentili 2009). For this reason, Silveira and Nardi (2014) argue that the concept of race is relevant when analyzing power relations in this context. What distinguishes black and white groups in Latin America cannot be assigned to cultural differences but rather to a relationship based on exploitation, domination, discrimination and privilege.

Afro-descendants in Latin America make up approximately 30% of the total population, which is equivalent to almost 120 million people. However, the data available is often imprecise and outdated since Afro-descendants constitute only a small minority of the overall population in many countries. This is not the case in Brazil which is home to the largest Afro-Latin American community (65% of Afrodescendants in Latin America are Brazilian), representing the largest black population outside Africa (Oliveira 2010; Correio Nagô 2017). The numbers are even increasing as the percentage of people that identify themselves as black in Brazil, has risen from 7.4% to 8.2% between 2012 and 2016. At the same time, the population that refers to themselves as *pardos* (with a mixed black and white ethnic ancestry) increased from 45.3% to 46.7%. In contrast, the number of Brazilians that identify themselves as white fell from 46.6% to 44.2% during the same period (IBGE 2017).

In terms of educational opportunities, systemic inequalities have intensified discriminations and the exclusion of Indigenous and Afro-Latin groups (Gonçalves e Silva 2004). As evidenced by several studies and research, Gentili (2009) argues that pedagogical and curricular discrimination maintain and perpetuate educational racism. Indeed, constant and tenacious segregation reflected in the quality and quantity of educational opportunities for Indigenous and Afro-Latin populations have meant that educational apartheid has become more complex. In other words, the probability of being excluded from school or having access to deeply degraded educational conditions goes up exponentially for Afro-descendants and Indigenous Peoples born in any Latin American or Caribbean country. These inequalities between ethnic groups have forced the Brazilian government, among others, to adopt affirmative action policies.

Unlike other Latin American countries, Brazil introduced entrance exams to limit access to higher education. In the most prestigious universities, the application process is highly competitive and selects only a small number of students. As a result, most students who enter these institutions belong to a well-educated elite and have benefited from private education that better prepared them for the entrance examinations. To address this inequality, affirmative action measures have been implemented to help reduce social disparity and to facilitate access to higher education for Afro-descendants, *pardos* and Indigenous Peoples from low income households who are more likely to be excluded from higher education and the labor market.

The quota policy law 12.711/2012 in Brazilian's public higher education requires a minimum of 50% of undergraduate places in federal higher education institutions be reserved for students who have graduated from public high schools. Furthermore, within this quota, 50% of the vacancies must be reserved for students from lowincome households. Quotas also exist for students that identify themselves as Afrodescendants, *pardos* and Indigenous reflecting the ethnic makeup of the local population of the State or Federal District.

In order to reduce the process of exclusion in Brazil, specific affirmative action policies have also been implemented by the Indigenous Student Support Program in higher education institutions to increase Indigenous student enrollment in higher education; help Indigenous students achieve good academic performance and provide them with access to graduate education; ensure permanence and increased efficiency; change institutional policies and community involvement; strengthen recognition and respect for cultural diversity in the university community; link Indigenous students to their communities through social service and the diffusion of culture; and promote research projects on Indigenous issues (Linhares 2010). In this respect, combating exclusion constitutes a means of promoting citizenship, which refers to the right to participate in society and enjoy essential benefits, in particular, the right to access all levels of education including higher education.

While countries may address issues regarding social and educational exclusion differently, the need to develop policies to support equal opportunities is present throughout Latin America. For example, although statistical data from the National Population Council (CONAPO) shows that, in absolute terms, the largest Indigenous population is located in Mexico, they are nevertheless marginalized because of their culture, linguistic practices, ethnicity and religion.

Undeniably, access to education has improved in Latin American during the last three decades. However, it seems important to emphasize that the universalization of education does not imply true democratization. In almost all Latin American countries, private networks for the elite exist in parallel to public networks for the working classes (Akkari et al. 2011). The obvious problem is that the quality of instruction offered by private institutions far exceeds that of state-run educational institutions. In this respect, the generalization of access to basic education paradoxically produces exclusion and separation since quality is not ensured.

Furthermore, it is important to note that today's Latin American societies and educational systems do not guarantee access to full citizenship for all. After having made real advances following the return of democracy in the early 1980s, Latin American counties are currently witnessing a decrease in democratic spaces in society and school. This decline is linked both to the rise of authoritarian regimes and to an erosion of tolerance toward minorities encouraged by conservative religious movements. Therefore, we believe global citizenship education (GCE) programs must include strategies to empower invisible and excluded citizens to become 'emerging' citizens. Schools are faced with a delicate and multi-faceted mission to overcome the economic, political, cultural, ethnic, and gender subordination experienced by the excluded and break the self-reinforcing dynamic in which exclusion and invisibility are mirror images that reinforce mutual consequences (UNESCO

#### **Democracy and Citizenship**

According to Hernández (2006), the concept of democracy implies an articulation of the political and social dimensions of citizenship. A distinction can be drawn between civic citizenship that involves access to fundamental rights guaranteed by the State (De Carvalho 2008) and political and social citizenship often claimed, gained and earned through social struggles (Hernández 2006). These social struggles aimed at combating exclusion, ensuring legal and political rights for all minority groups and achieving a better distribution of power and wealth, in turn strengthen civil society by promoting citizen participation in public affairs and encouraging involvement of citizens in local communities. Far for the ideal of equal democracy, contemporary "democratic regimes" in Latin America remain linked to authoritarian states that do not guarantee civic citizenship and where poverty, exclusion and marginalization prevent the attainment of fully-fledged political and social citizenship. In order to move towards democratic governance and ensure the inclusion of minorities, schools must therefore fulfill their mission to foster civic culture based on participatory citizenship projects.

Marginalized civil societies not only prevent all citizens from enjoying public goods, they do not provide the conditions that will encourage their empowerment. In this sense, facilitating the participation of citizens in the formulation of public policies through the opening of communication channels that guarantee access to information may be an important measure to help expand the democratic process in Latin America. Sharing the benefits of economic growth and social and political development is also crucial. As confirmed by Hernández (2006), citizen participation requires simple and direct mechanisms, effective means of communication and appropriate decision-making processes of all economic, political and social agents. Coordination and horizontal communication with citizens allows the creation of a complex network that facilitates democratic participation in decision-making and the implementation of public policies. Citizen participation requires the opening of new spaces involving all social and political actors, including the excluded, in decision-making, formulation and implementation of public policies (Hernández 2006).

Yet in recent years, Latin America has experienced a heavy bureaucratic apparatus aimed at reducing citizens to mere consumers. In this context, citizens participate little or are indifferent to political matters, and do not contribute to the creation of a social identity that forms the basis of democracy. Thus, the promises of solidarity and social identity are weakened, and the processes of democratic legitimacy and accountability are eroded.

Furthermore, although globalization cannot be blamed for all the troubles in the region, we need to include it in the debate. According to Amar (2017), the tragedy of Latin America at the beginning of this century should not go unnoticed because of the morally unacceptable conditions in which more than half of the population lives. Despite the incredible advances in science and technology, few benefit from wealth, perpetuating historical exclusion and inequality. The new globalized reality has so far meant only increased poverty for Latin America (Amar 2017).

The percentage of people living in poverty in Latin America is extremely high – almost 170 million live in poverty and more than 70 million in extreme poverty. Between 2008 and 2014, these rates fell and then leveled off. Nevertheless, several Latin American countries such as Chile and Brazil have recently elected right-wing political parties that aim to remove most social programs and safety nets, the impact of which is predicted to be devastating.

In a context faced with ongoing exclusion and poverty, it is necessary to reaffirm that education is the social investment with the highest rates of return, both for individuals, social groups and for the country. In addition to the investment in human capital, Amar (2017) stresses the importance of citizenship building and believes that in Latin America, the ultimate goal of education should be to foster citizenship and promote the exercise of power within democratic ideals.

Latin American education faces the challenge of constructing new policies, not only through increasing quantitative opportunities, but also by providing conditions for new pedagogical processes. Rethinking education that is less linked to an instrumental vision of technological progress will allow a true democratization of society with intellectual values and ideals that are more politically and culturally sound. In this respect, political decolonization and new educational alternatives are necessary to overcome colonial traumas and decolonize minds. This resonates with Amílcar Cabral's and Paulo Freire's idea that education represents the best means of overcoming the barriers that underpin political domination (Romão and Gadotti 2012).

It appears evident that conservative and elitist governments are reluctant to unlock the full potential of schools to form active and responsible citizens capable of building a more just and egalitarian society in which different cultures and a plurality of epistemological knowledge coexists. In this respect, Nieto (2018) seeks to promote a decolonial approach to citizenship education:

Decolonial theory invites us to challenge the false universalism of global discourses in democratic citizenship education by tracing how the 'Others' of the (global) world – the displaced and dispossessed, immigrants and refugees, Indigenous and diasporic populations, the 'under-developed', 'Third world' and 'rogue' regions – are products of imperial capitalist development tied to long historical trajectories of colonial mentalities of governance, including those fostered by educational discourses of development and democratization (p. 435).

Regarding the plurality of knowledge, we propose to examine Santos' (2007) idea of the ecology of knowledge. In an effort to contrast hegemonic culture, the author proposes an educational project that would allow people to overcome political, social and epistemological challenges and contribute to the inclusion of all knowledge that has been marginalized throughout history. This idea is linked to Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed in which "learning from the South using a Southern epistemology" represents a catalyst to understand and recognize the

plurality of heterogeneous knowledge, and the sustainable and dynamic interactions between them without compromising the epistemological autonomy of countries with a history of colonial exploitation. The ecology of knowledge is based on the idea that real knowledge is a "network of knowledges".

What does the ecology of knowledge have to say about GCE in Latin America? Humanity faces the challenge of establishing new forms of cooperation and democratic social organization that integrate cultural diversity into an ecology of knowledge (Santos 2006) and develop a just and ecologically sustainable relationship with the environment. This perspective clashes with consumer frenzy and competitive commercial relations that are responsible for aggravating poverty in exploited countries.

In this context, we believe that the re-appropriation of the Pedagogy of the Oppressed (Freire 1987) is a plausible approach to GCE that could potentially lead to what Freire (1996) described as Pedagogy of Autonomy. By recognizing the world as unfair, this approach could offer hope for change. Perhaps the main legacy we could wish for Latin America is to move from the historical exploitation of its natural resources and people to an example of environmental sustainability and citizenship for the world. However, in order to achieve this, GCE cannot ignore the consequences of globalization in Latin America and the complex relationship between preparation for the labor market and the exercise of citizenship (Magalhães and Stoer 2003).

#### **Global Citizenship Education: From National Curricular Parameters to Human Rights Education**

The main limitation on the implementation of GCE in Brazil is the selective, segregated and highly competitive school system. The current educational model, rooted in the project of modernity which was imposed on Latin America, is inherently oriented towards a reductionist view of progress that is linked to industrial development, Western civilization and scientific positivism (UNESCO 2018).

The contemporary world has undergone major transformations that have brought new challenges for citizenship, which in turn seeks new spaces for action and represents a significant step towards ensuring better living conditions for all. According to Cury (2002), the right to school education is one of those spaces that will always be relevant since education is a fundamental dimension of citizenship, and, as such, is indispensable for active citizenship participation in social and political spaces. As pointed out by Marshall (1967) and Cury (2002), when the State aims to accomplish its mission to educate all children, it has in mind to inculcate a sense of citizenship.

Furthermore, the right to education is a step towards the right to diversity. In the Brazilian context, the Constitution of 1988, Articles 205 and 206, states that:

Article 205: The promotion and encouragement of education as a right and the duty of the State to prepare for the exercise of citizenship as well as providing qualifications for work.

Article 206: The teaching will be based on the following principles:


The dialectic relationship between the right to equality and the right to difference in schools is not a simple equation. On the one hand, equality as a principle of citizenship calls for the elimination of all forms of discrimination and inequality related to gender, social, ethnic or religious backgrounds. On the other hand, respect for diversity cannot subsist without considerations of equality.

In Brazil the National Curricular Parameters (PCN) were developed in 1997 by the Federal Government and aimed to guide educators through the standardization of some fundamental factors concerning each discipline and to provide students with the basic knowledge necessary for the full exercise of democratic citizenship. In addition to the disciplinary contents, the PCNs proposed crosscutting (transversal) themes that comprise six areas:

(1) Ethics (mutual respect, justice, dialogue, solidarity); (2) Sexual Orientation (body, sexuality, gender relations, prevention of sexually transmitted diseases); (3) Environment (nature's cycles, society and environment, environmental management and conservation); (4) Health (self-care, community life); (5) Cultural plurality (cultural plurality and the life of children in Brazil, constitution of cultural plurality in Brazil, cultural plurality and citizenship); (6) Labor and Consumption (labor relations, labor, consumption, environment and health, mass media, advertising and sales, human rights, citizenship).

Some of the principles related to GCE are included in the Brazilian National Parameters for Education (Brasil 1997): (1) build tools to understand social contexts and to participate in large and diversified social and cultural interactions that are the basic conditions for exercising citizenship in a democratic inclusive society (2) take into consideration issues related to globalization, scientific and technological transformations and a discussion of society's ethical values.

The integration of transversal themes in the curriculum can be seen as progress made in educational systems regarding the inclusion of important social themes and the commitment to building citizenship. Given the central role of education in fostering citizenship and democracy, we consider it relevant, at this point, to present an educational project based on human rights education. In 2012, the Ministry of Education established the National Guidelines for Human Rights Education (HRE) to be observed by the Brazilian educational system and educational institutions (Brasil 2012).

The concept of Human Rights Education is treated as a fundamental right. The right to education, with the purpose of promoting education for change and social transformation, is based on the following principles:

(1) Human dignity; (2) equal rights; (3) recognition and appreciation of differences and diversities; (4) state secularism; (5) democracy in education; (6) transversality, experience and global reality; and (7) socio-environmental sustainability (Brasil 1997).

We believe that the establishment of such principles should ensure the rights, already prescribed by the Constitution, be transformed into subjects to be taught and practiced in educational spaces within a systematic and multidimensional process. To integrate the subject of rights we articulate the following dimensions:

(1) Comprehension of historically constructed knowledge of human rights and its relation to the international, national and local contexts; (2) Affirmation of values, attitudes and social practices that express the culture of human rights in all areas of society; (3) Forming a citizen conscience present at cognitive, social, cultural and political levels; (4) Development of participatory methodologies and collective construction, using contextualized languages and teaching materials; and (5) Strengthening of individual and social practices that generate actions and instruments for the promotion, protection and defense of human rights, as well as reparation for violations of rights (Brasil 1997).

In order to underline the importance of Human Rights Education founded on a transversal model, the guidelines recommend that it should be considered in the construction of the political-pedagogical projects for schools, institutional development plans, pedagogical course programs of higher education institutions, teaching and learning materials, models of teaching, research, and the various evaluation procedures. Accordingly, Human Rights Education should inform initial and continuous training and be a compulsory curricular component in the courses destined for educational professionals.

Another relevant aspect to be considered is the prescription that educational systems and research institutions in the field of Human Rights and Human Rights Education should promote and disseminate successful studies and experience, create policies for the production of didactic materials and promote human rights extension actions, in dialogue with those experiencing social exclusion and the violation of their rights.

This importance given to human rights within the Brazilian context matches the current trends in international educational policies.

The Incheon Declaration, adopted by the International Education Forum in 2015, set out to reaffirm the vision of the Education for All global movement launched in Jomtien in 1990 and reiterated in Dakar in 2000. The commitments towards quality education included the need to respond to local and global challenges through education for sustainable development (ESD) and education for global citizenship. The declaration stipulated that by 2030: all students should acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to promote sustainable development through ESD and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship, enhancement of cultural diversity, and the contribution of culture to sustainable development (UNESCO 2015).

Although the concept of global citizenship is a recurrent theme in international documents, it has yet to be elucidated how Latin American countries can adopt the concept, as recommended by the world education agenda.

In Latin American politics, conservative political regimes have emerged and postponed the implementation of proposals aimed at broadening the democratic debate and building citizenship in each country. Global citizenship in the current socioeconomic and political scenarios of Latin America can represent a real revolution in terms of resistance to the pressures of exclusion and increasing inequalities. The conception of citizenship, promoted by international organizations, involving questions of equity, collective participation and rights has shifted to include concerns for adaptation to the global world, social cohesion and individual responsibility while downplaying forms of youth participation and ignoring the unequal structures of power affecting the implementation of coexistence-oriented curricular reform (Nieto 2018).

Regarding environmental issues, for decades Brazil has played a prominent role in the international climate change arena. Host of the Eco '92 conference, Brazil was the birthplace of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. Twenty years later at the Rio+20 conference, the country helped bring the Agenda 2030 discussions to life, paving the way for the UN Sustainable Development Goals. In 2017, the Brazilian environmental defender, Antonia Melo received the Soros Foundation Award for Environmental and Human Rights Activism for her dedication to justice and reparations for the Indigenous communities affected by the Belo Monte Dam. Those working on the frontline of environmental protection and the environmental rights of Indigenous Peoples in Brazil nevertheless face escalating violence at a time when biodiversity loss has reached alarming levels.

Furthermore, the new Brazilian government plans to pull out of the Paris Agreement and relax environmental regulation in order to stimulate economic growth, which will have potentially dramatic consequences for the preservation of Indigenous land and the environment.

#### **Conclusion: Uncertain Prospects for Global Citizenship Education in Latin America**

The prospects for GCE in Latin America seem uncertain for several reasons. First, the gradual democratization of the region that began approximately 30 years ago still remains unfinished. While all Latin American citizens theoretically enjoy political rights, social exclusion prevents many inhabitants of the continent from effectively exercising their political, social and educational rights. The way the region fits into neoliberal economic globalization produces social exclusion. In addition, the wave of right-wing political parties gaining power jeopardizes the maintenance of public programs fighting social inequalities. Consequently, the prospect of peaceful national citizenship, open to the world and to global ecological issues seems remote.

Second, the separate schooling of children from the privileged classes and underprivileged classes (public and private education) makes it difficult to organize educational projects promoting "coexistence". Residential segregation is also reflected in school segregation, reinforcing inequality.

Third, Latin American societies and schools are experiencing a high level of urban and rural violence. With this backdrop, promoting a culture of peace driven by GCE appears to be an unattainable utopia.

However, GCE in Latin America may have a promising future if linked to human rights issues and the Freirean approach to critical pedagogy (Schugurensky and Madjidi 2008). In this sense, it is important to include political projects in citizenship curricula in order to bring about changes in policies, institutional practices and culture. As stated by Paulo Freire: education alone cannot transform society but society cannot change without it (Freire 2000).

Finally, an understanding of the processes of independence and identity formation of Latin American states is essential for the interpretation of GCE on the continent. As the Uruguayan writer Ernesto Galeano questioned:

What will the Latin America destiny be like? Are we going to be a caricature of the North? Are we going to be like them? And are we going to create a different world and offer the world a different world? (Sant and González Valencia 2018, p. 79).

#### **References**


**Open Access** This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, duplication, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, a link is provided to the Creative Commons licence and any changes made are indicated.

The images or other third party material in this chapter are included in the work's Creative Commons licence, unless otherwise indicated in the credit line; If such material is not included in the work's Creative Commons licence and the respective action is not permitted by, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to duplicate, adapt or reproduce the material.

## **Chapter 3 Paraguayan Indigenous Peoples and the Challenge of Citizenship**

#### **Dominique Demelenne**

**Abstract** We consider that citizenship education policies should be a product of a socially informed process where we must question whether it is possible to build a dialogue between cultures that do not share the same world-view. We must therefore reflect critically on what has resulted from the meeting of cultures in Latin America, and understand the fundamental knowledge of Indigenous Peoples which relates to their specific conceptualization of citizen education. This leads us to rethink the meaning of education, participation and the relationships between humans and the environment.

To better understand the issues and challenges of citizenship education in this context, this chapter will focus on the case of the Indigenous Peoples of Paraguay. To do so, we will outline Indigenous epistemologies and worldviews, and identify the challenges of a truly intercultural dialogue between different epistemologies. This will allow us to envision culturally relevant citizenship education for Indigenous Peoples.

**Keywords** Indigenous education · Interculturality · Citizenship education

#### **Introduction**

In 1993, Paraguay took an important step forward by introducing an educational reform defined as bilingual and intercultural. However, it is important to note that this reform neglected the issues of Indigenous education. It was not until the adoption of the General Law of Education in 1998 and the creation of the Department of Indigenous School Education that the identity of Indigenous Peoples was recognized in educational policies.

However, despite these efforts, the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations persists. To reduces these inequalities, we believe it is necessary to build programs and policies based on effective participation and dialogue. To this

© The Author(s) 2020 31

D. Demelenne (\*)

Catholic University of Asuncion, Asunción, Paraguay e-mail: dominique\_demelenne@hotmail.com

A. Akkari, K. Maleq (eds.), *Global Citizenship Education*, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44617-8\_3

end, we need to first question the feasibility of building an in-depth dialogue between cultures with very different world-views. This chapter therefore aims to explore the potential for expansion of the scope of global citizenship to include the active participation of Indigenous Peoples. Furthermore, the very concept of global citizenship education (GCE) leads us to rethink Indigenous education and Indigenous citizenship.

As in many academic studies in Latin America, the question of Indigenous knowledge poses numerous epistemological and methodological challenges, (see for example the minutes of the colloquium "multiple knowledge and social sciences", Gómez et al. 2018). Our approach aims to bring a new perspective and to create a dialogue between different Indigenous leaders consulted in recent years and theoretical works of thinkers such as Raúl Fornet-Betancourt and Arturo Escobar.

#### **Indigenous Education in Paraguay**

Working with Indigenous communities in Paraguay first took place at the end of the twentieth century, following the enactment of the *General Education Act* No. 1264/98, with specific projects involving only a few schools and supported by social and religious organizations. At the time, Paraguay did not have a definite plan, leaving private organizations to develop the first programs and materials for Indigenous schools. For instance, the Association for Cooperation of the Mennonite Church has long supported a large group of Indigenous schools where the Mennonite cooperatives have influence in the Central Chaco region. The Catholic association CONAPI (*Coordinación Nacional de Pastoral Indígena)* worked to introduce Indigenous education within educational reform, prepared the Indigenous education bill, and supported its implementation along with a steering committee of Indigenous representatives of the 19 Indigenous Peoples of Paraguay. In 2008, the creation of the Department of Indigenous School Education (DGEEI) made possible the approval of projects based on the rationale of focus-group experiences to establish a framework of action. This framework sought to regulate the law and to specify its scope. This is how the Indigenous School Education was slowly defined:

A learning process guided and transmitted by teachers, and supported by the Indigenous community, where two teaching systems are articulated. These are *the Indigenous* and *the National* systems, so that the participants strengthen their culture, acquire general knowledge, and that of other cultures as well (DGEEI 2013, translated from Spanish).

Accordingly, the Indigenous School Education intercultural proposal was designed to act as an '*exchange space*' between informal education and formal schooling. Built initially on the foundations of Paraguay's national education program, it gradually sought its own meaning. For example, it defined the fundamental elements of Indigenous School Education as follows (DGEEI 2013):

#### 3 Paraguayan Indigenous Peoples and the Challenge of Citizenship


To build this educational proposal, it was necessary to recognize the importance of Indigenous languages (19 Indigenous languages are spoken in Paraguay), each Indigenous Peoples' cultural identity, wisdom and knowledge, the natural biodiversity of each local territory, and Indigenous spirituality which is the root of the Indigenous way of life and social practices.

In this respect, a single action framework could not be used and it was necessary to think of how to formulate a specific proposal for each of the 19 communities. As this could not be done from an office or by a group of experts, Indigenous teachers were trained in intercultural research methodology that had been used previously in Ecuador. Teachers therefore became researchers of their own reality and acted on rescuing Indigenous knowledge, infusing it in the curriculum and creating culturally relevant teaching material (Demelenne 2010).

*There's a lot of talk about participation. That is what we always expect. We believe that the Indigenous Peoples, and especially the Indigenous teachers, should take part in the preparation of the curriculum. The most important thing is to understand the conceptual elements that are the basis of Indigenous cultures. Territory, health, environment, and food security are fundamental components to be considered in order to develop the proposal. The law says that all the members of the community must participate in the preparation of the curriculum* (Teacher of the Mbyá Guarani community, Itapua).

It was an ambitious proposal considering that many Indigenous teachers did not have professional training. Their role was nevertheless essential since they had the advantage of local knowledge and proximity with the community elders. However, this first attempt at formulating proposals for each culture was still far from an effective response to the needs of the different communities.

#### **A Globalized World with Significant Gaps**

To understand the context and the current needs of Indigenous Peoples in Paraguay, we can use the data provided by Tauli-Corpuz (2015) in her report to the United Nations.1 The report points out that in the Indigenous population, people over the age of 15 years have had an average of 3 years of schooling compared to 8 years for the non-Indigenous population. It is clear that in terms of the right to education, even though the number of students enrolled in basic education has increased, there are still significant differences in the gross rate of schooling among Indigenous and non-Indigenous population.

As for the socioeconomic situation, although extreme poverty has declined in Paraguay (DGEEC 2014), the available data shows that 66.2% of the population is in a situation of poverty and 34.4% in extreme poverty. The incidence of poverty is twice the national average, and extreme poverty triple the national average among Indigenous Peoples. For those under 5 years of age, the extreme poverty rate is 63% (compared the national average of 26%) and chronic malnutrition 41.7% (compared to 17.5%) (Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, INDI, and FAO 2014). Indigenous representatives constantly demand measures to address the lack of food security and access to drinking water (especially in the Chaco region), because there are serious and recurrent problems associated with both. The illiteracy rate of Indigenous Peoples aged 15 or older is 33.3%, with a maximum of 40.8% for women. Access to electricity is available to only 59.4%.

Facing these realities, the report recommends among other things:

The formulation, adoption and implementation of a national public policy on Indigenous education that gives effect to Indigenous Peoples' right to education, which includes their right to establish their own educational systems in their own languages. The policy should also provide for special measures to ensure access to the general education system, especially in secondary and tertiary levels; the implementation of a review of the curricula used in the general education system – in order to ensure that these promote interculturalism and contribute to a better understanding of, and due respect for, Indigenous Peoples and their history, heritage, culture, and rights (Tauli-Corpuz 2015, p.21).

The report ends by affirming the urgency of an in-depth dialogue with Indigenous organizations to identify causes and design effective public policies to resolve the problems identified.

<sup>1</sup>Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous peoples.

#### **Bases of an Intercultural Dialogue**

It is not the first time that a report highlights the need for dialogue with Indigenous organizations. But what is meant by an in-depth dialogue? In a study previously conducted in Indigenous communities in Paraguay, a Mbyá community leader describes his experience:

*We would have been the first, but it has been two years and we are still not the first (…) because the white men went to the communities collecting the data, but they never come back. And the communities ask what happened with our data, who took it and why they do not come to tell us what the plan was (…). We have always taken part in public policies, we contributed with our votes in the presidential and municipal elections, but there was never a true participatory space for Indigenous Peoples. We are many, we are all poor. Why? Because the State seems to isolate us, we seem to be in another country and not in Paraguay. We always ask why. Why have we lived like this if so many projects include Paraguay and why are they not given to Indigenous Peoples who are the first?* (Demelenne 2011, translated from Spanish)

In political speeches, Indigenous Peoples appear to be given priority: 'they will be the first'; yet the day-to-day reality is that they do not see any tangible evidence of this being true. This results not only from a lack of political will, but it is also due to the difficulty of creating new forms of action. Research and diagnosis provide all the necessary data to 'know' the reality of the Indigenous Peoples. These data have been published and disseminated, yet, according to various leaders, it all 'remains on paper'. They claim that, in order to change their reality, it is necessary to go beyond "knowing" and reach 'recognition'.2 Knowing is a cognitive exercise achieved from a comprehensive reading of texts. Recognition implies an effort to understand others and their way of being different; it is constructed from interactions. Another Mbyá leader commented on our research work and highlighted the difficulty of constructing a relevant research methodology that can for instance integrate the Guarani concept of *temiandu rekavo*.

*Temiandu* means *what is felt*, and this can not be looked for or researched because it is a *feeling*. It can be understood as the aim to search for information that truly responds to a need felt by its recipients. In this case, we give it a different meaning (Leader of Pindoyu, Itapua).

In other words, *Temiandu rekavo* (to find what you feel) cannot be achieved with research tools; it needs a different process. The explanation of the leader reflects the difficulty of achieving in-depth dialogue. It is challenging to understand ways of feeling, living, and thinking that are different from ours. The ways of seeing and behaving are explained using narratives. Ours are meant to be rational and scientific, those of the Indigenous Peoples are based on their own world-views.

In the Mbyá-Guarani culture, the concepts of "*ayvu*" (human language), "*ñe'ê*" (word) and "*e*" (say) encompass a double meaning: expressing ideas as well as

<sup>2</sup>Explanation developed by a Nivacle teacher during a workshop on the definition of Indigenous educational policies.

being a divine portion of the soul (Cadogan 1992). Constructing a deep dialogue implies not only being able to understand the words but also being able to reach the feeling (the divine portion of the soul).

According to Kalisch and Unruh (2018), when we face these different worldviews, we can adopt different attitudes. Some may qualify them as imaginary, not rational but symbolic, or accept that they speak of another reality. For this author, we are facing another type of epistemology. The Indigenous Peoples' way of thinking about the world has the same value as that of academia; it is in-depth knowledge but with a different epistemology.

We can therefore question if it is possible to build a dialogue about feelings between different epistemologies or ways of seeing the world. Indeed, this confrontation with other narratives puts our way of understanding reality in doubt.

The interpreter of the world, the owner of the verb, is suddenly exposed to other interpretations and listening to words that are not an echo or an imitation of his or her verb, which supposedly is the origin of all the names of the world; but, on the contrary, they have their own memory and articulate their own vision of the world (Fornet-Betancourt 2006, p. 30; translated from Spanish).

For Raul Fornet Betancourt, constructing a dialogue under these conditions forces us to redefine its basis. In this regard, it allows us to highlight the ambivalences, ruptures and silences, to focus on their different stories beyond the predominant narrative discourses within each culture (Schramm 2007).

These are the very conditions of interculturality and intercultural education that we must review in order to build a dialogue between different narratives about knowledge and humanity (Fornet-Betancourt 2007). National educational policies initially sought to assimilate different cultures into a single identity, based on a single language, culture and history while intercultural education recognizes diversity and seeks to create a dialogue between different cultures.

There is therefore a need for a more profound approach than the one adopted by the Department of Indigenous Education when it sought to articulate informal Indigenous education and formal schooling. The diversity of narratives forces us to recognize different types of knowledge, including social knowledge produced outside academic institutions, regardless of *officially* established codes to regulate the production of knowledge (Fornet-Betancourt 2007). As a lot of this knowledge has disappeared through contact with other cultures, Fornet-Betancourt (2007) argues that it is crucial to reconstruct a new equilibrium with other paradigms.

Another aspect to consider in the construction of this dialogue is that we cannot achieve it based on the current paradigms of education that place cultures and people in competition. For Maturana and Dávila (2006), we live and coexist in a culture based on relationships of domination, subjugation and competition, with the consequences of isolation and subsequent pain and suffering for communities and entire ethnic groups throughout the world. Dialogue and listening require an openness to '*know where you do not know*' and seize opportunities to learn and not to compete (Maturana and Dávila 2006).

Furthermore, in today's world, the proposals of interculturality occur in contexts of unequal status, within a perspective of globalization and varied competences. In addition, the increasingly difficult conditions in Indigenous communities force families to migrate to the cities. As a result, traditional political and organizational systems are weakened. Public policies transform leadership and participatory systems, and do not allow effective insertion or participation.

Now the Tamoi cry, because they are destroying their habitat, the land. That is due to lack of respect for Indigenous rights (San Pedro leader, consulted in 2017).

The land, the territory and the environment play a fundamental role in Indigenous communities. They have a spatial, social, political, and spiritual meaning. The land, or rather a 'quality habitat', is the pillar that enables access to other rights, including education, health, and food security. In Indigenous cultures, these concepts cannot be dissociated, and they interact with each another. This 'habitat' has a cultural sense of 'ancestral or traditional territories' which the Mbyá Guarani call *tekoha guasu*.

In this way, many of the demands and struggles of Indigenous Peoples can be seen as *ontological* struggles for the defense of other life styles. According to Escobar (2016), these strategies of resistance are shaped by three major concepts: *autonomy, commonality, and good living*.

As stated above, there is a long history of participation of Indigenous Peoples in the definition of legal frameworks and public policies in Paraguay. The Convention of the Constituent Assembly 1992, was a historic event because Indigenous representatives were included in the Assembly, even if they only had a voice without voting rights. Later, the Second National Indigenous Census of 2002 marked another important milestone that allowed a process of institutionalizing social policies for Indigenous Peoples including the enactment of the Indigenous Education Law, the Indigenous Health Law, the incorporation of Indigenous officials into different public institutions, etc. Despite the political will, we cannot say Indigenous Peoples have achieved effective recognition yet. For a long time, some recognition was given through the concept of citizenship in reference to the construction of a Nation-State defined as a project of assimilation-integration. However, in the case of the Indigenous Peoples of Paraguay, this integration has not occurred. The absent State not only maintains discrimination but also denies them access to basic rights by keeping them in a situation of extreme poverty and invisibility. This is a consequence of the absence or lack of relevance of public policies and weak participation in the electoral processes and decision-making spaces. Society in general not only ignores their reality and cultures, it denies their existence and discriminates against them.

This is how, our brother said, we have many laws but do not see an effective compliance, either locally or nationally, we are still in a lower stage of development as a people, which is different from others. That is very sad (Indigenous leader San Pedro, consulted in 2017).

Returning to the three concepts above, *autonomy* is what should allow Indigenous Peoples to be recognized in their capacity to have different and pertinent public

policies. *Communality* is the logical framework that recognizes the concept of an Indigenous collective organization, separate from western, social or institutional organizations. *Good living* is a different project for society, based on a holistic concept inherited from Indigenous worldviews, which presents another way of relating to people, communities, and the universe; and differs from our view of society seeking development and economic growth. It is a project based on a balanced relationship with nature and humanity in which sharing rather than competing is the basis of social interactions. Furthermore, the basis of action must be the social knowledge of communities and 'Indigenous protagonism' as opposed to the knowledge of experts. The construction of Indigenous citizenship should then recognize their autonomy and the possibility of organizing themselves from a community as opposed to an individual right.

As we can see, our CULTURE is ending, we are losing everything. Although there is the Secretariat for Culture, its participation in our communities is not effective, there is no coordinated work to recover or strengthen the culture (…) Many times we find it impossible to strengthen our culture, because today there is the prohibition of entry to sacred sites previously used by our ancestors, to collect traditional remedies, among other things. Then why do we have the law? What is its purpose? (Qom leader San Pedro, consulted in 2017).

For the Indigenous communities of Paraguay, citizenship remains an abstract concept far from their immediate needs. From the perspective of Indigenous citizenship building, it is necessary to transform our views and our interactions.

According to Fernández Droguett (2009), the concept of ethnicity accounts for a relationship between asymmetrical categories resulting from colonialism. The ethnic minorities are constantly redefined, creating a dynamic category, incorporating the political struggle of the Indigenous Peoples to fight from a position of cultural difference. Reina (2000) adds that ethnicity can become a process of searching for a new form of integration, based on the recognition and appreciation of differences, proposing a new form of social organization from cultural pluralism, proceeding towards the formulation of 'ethnic citizenship'.

It is no longer a project to assimilate nor is it an intercultural dialogue. This new form of Indigenous citizenship seeks to promote the protagonism of Indigenous Peoples and, to a certain extent, respect their autonomy. In this way, some authors propose to change the concept of ethnicity and recognize them as nations. Citizenship is constructed from the perspective of pluri-national states as in Ecuador and Bolivia.

The question arises of how to build an Indigenous citizen education from a perspective of pluricultural identity without breaking national citizenship. The search for an answer forces us to review this concept and to base it on effective participation of Indigenous Peoples, recognizing different systems of social organization and leadership.

#### **An Indigenous Citizenship Education**

Until now, we emphasized understanding citizenship in relation to the living conditions of Indigenous Peoples and stressed the need to redefine this project according to the new challenges. We would like to conclude by explaining the role of education in this project. First of all, it is important to underline that an education project is by its very essence a socialization project and also a commitment towards the construction of a certain type of society. Taking this into consideration citizen education projects, from an Indigenous perspective, should respect and promote the possibility of constructing different ways of defining and articulating social life.

We are here to share our knowledge, to generate our own commitment, they must listen to us so that this can conclude with a result according to what we propose in this meeting (…) Let's talk about participation, this must be our own and not what the state organisms bring us or suggest, we have the capacity to generate our own participation according to our knowledge with the aid of the State (Qom leader San Pedro, consulted in 2017).

Responding to this challenge forces us to review the very roots of our educational projects and, above all, to review our ways of implementing them. In terms of discourse, we can agree with ideas of inclusion, autonomy or protagonism, but how do we solidify them into a national education project that not only respects but also energizes other ways of viewing society, social organizations, and the diversity of knowledge? How can it be done without relinquishing the construction of a society through a common interpretative and normative framework?

When we talk about new methods of implementation, it is important to recognize that, so far, we have neither the know-how to proceed, nor the knowledge of how to train teachers in this direction. We do not know if the educational spaces and the current educational actors are the most relevant for this task. However, it appears certain that a new Indigenous citizenship education needs structural transformation. To search for it is to understand that there is not a single solution, but alternatives that are built in a shared manner. Fornet-Betancourt (2006) points out, it is necessary to start from the existing polyphony and cultural alterity, which means to radically and methodologically widen the sources, to build an educational proposal that truly acknowledges plurality and builds educational actions from different cultural narratives. To recognize that it is not the global forces that should define our field of action, but the stories in which cultures recount their foundations and invite us to discover what defines meaning and disseminates their way of relating to the world (Fornet-Betancourt 2006).

In other words, this type of education cannot be designed, it must be experienced and recreated according to contexts and experiences. Rediscovering GCE from an Indigenous perspective forces us to try to understand the views of Indigenous Peoples towards the world and to accept the coexistence of several perspectives. It means adopting a different way of looking at and living the issues related to rights and citizenship: protagonism, identity and inclusion.

If we take cultural diversity seriously, we must epistemologically pluralize education so that it is a service in favor of the equilibrium of knowledge. In this way, educational programs would be a space in which dialogue, supported by a great deal of knowledge, takes place and one learns to identify its relative importance in the world we would like to live in (Fornet-Betancourt 2006).

Fornet-Betancourt's (2006) proposal integrates the different dimensions of citizenship education in a holistic perspective where the epicenter of the proposal is displaced. Modern and active education has placed the student at the center of the learning processes in contrast to the Indigenous Peoples of the Ecuadorian Amazon who propose that it should be nature. To leave behind an anthropocentric perspective will force us to conceive of another type of pedagogy, one that would make more sense if we look for an inclusive education, one based on community rights and seeking sustainable development. In order to achieve a more equitable and respectful society of rights, it is necessary to break with methodological individualism and integrate the collective values of justice, equity and solidarity.

Viewed in this way, Indigenous citizenship education is not a goal in itself, but a proposal along with other proposals; it is the link and mediation between different identities. As Indigenous communities are dynamic spaces composed of different cultures (for example, the culture of today's youth is not always in agreement with their parents' culture), the construction of an Indigenous citizenship education is not only the cause of Indigenous Peoples. We must all enter the same dynamic. It supposes the existence of citizenship that surpasses or articulates the identities of the different ethnic or social groups.

#### **Conclusions: Is an Intercultural Citizenship Education Possible?**

Words can only fully be understood in their temporal and special context. For instance, the standard definition of citizenship refers to the possibility of participating in political life within a State governed by a democratic system which implies a capacity for abstraction, while the Indigenous political and participatory system is a more local notion, with specific knowledge and attachment. At these different levels, the words and concepts take on different meanings from the ideas of insertion, roots, autonomy and rights. From the local community perspective, the balance in relationships (with each other or with nature) and the absence of conflicts are important. The word 'tranquility' is frequently used in Paraguay and reflects a sense of 'good living' of the Andean people. It reflects an emotional and spiritual balance.

In this chapter, we can see that educational reforms emphasize inclusion and respect for diversity but are not sufficient to change viewpoints and overcome fears. Ironically, politicians translate their desire to be inclusive by speaking of "our" Indigenous people, but at the same time they deny them space, seize their land and do not even consider them as Paraguayans.

Access to citizenship for Indigenous Peoples remains a burning issue that is linked to land management. Traditional territory is a vital concept for Indigenous Peoples and it is believed that access to territory is what allows us to be human, while access to rights allows us to be citizens. Furthermore, it must be said that the right to vote in all elections is not sufficient to allow Indigenous Peoples to be part of the public policy agenda as they remain widely unrecognized. Finally, the democratization of formal education has provided increased access to schooling for Indigenous children has yet to meet the challenge of providing equal access to the tools required of actors in a global world.

More than ever, we must be creative to construct educational policies that do not seek to assimilate, but to build dialogue and autonomy in culturally diverse societies. Today, Paraguay is faced with the challenge of constructing a plural education that respects different types of knowledge and being, understood as an experimental proposal capable of reversing views based on the individual and competition, and able to move from "one against the other to one for the other" (Honneth 1997) where the achievement of collective objectives is valued.

For instance, our previous work demonstrated that during a mathematical Olympiad, Indigenous students solved mathematical problems collectively under the leadership of the older students (Demelenne 2014). Of course, this way of working collectively was contrary to the rules of the contest which was based on individual competition. We can learn a lot from the experience of Indigenous teachers who mediate the knowledge of their community, where through intercultural research methodology they seek to rescue community knowledge and share it in academic spaces. But these community experiences are not enough.

The curriculum is the core of our educational policies, it is designed from an equality perspective that seeks to give the same opportunities to all students as equal citizens of the same country. But we are not the same, we are different from a social, economic, and cultural perspective, and also with different epistemological perspectives. An Indigenous citizen education cannot only be achieved through curricular reform, nor can giving the Indigenous Peoples the autonomy to build their own curricula be enough. We need to involve everyone in the possibility of thinking about a different education where we learn to live together "for each other".

#### **References**


Fornet-Betancourt, R. (2006). *La interculturalidad a prueba*. Aachen: Maniz.


Honneth, A. (1997). *La lucha por el reconocimiento*. Barcelona: Crítica.


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## **Part III Asia and Pacific**

## **Chapter 4 Three Educational Approaches Responding to Globalization in Japan**

#### **Aoi Nakayama**

**Abstract** There is a pervasive idea of Japan as an ethnically and culturally homogeneous nation despite the country being home to several ethnic minorities and increasing diversity brought about by internationalization and globalization. This chapter examines how educational policies respond to globalization and analyzes three fields of education: citizenship education in social studies, education for international understanding, and education for living together. As citizenship education is taught partly within the subject of social studies, its curriculum guidelines and textbooks are examined.

Education for international understanding was introduced just after Japan became a member of UNESCO in 1951 and emphasized the importance of education in a global society. As the number of foreign children increases, the importance of education for living together is progressively recognized among teachers and policymakers. This chapter analyzes these three approaches to education by identifying their contradictions and possible links. Whether the belief in a homogeneous national identity is transmitted through education will also be examined.

**Keywords** Citizenship education · Globalization · Diversity · National identity

#### **Introduction**

Japan is often portrayed as a monoethnic nation by both Japanese and international authors. Indeed, although the percentage of foreign residents has gradually increased since the reform of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act in 1990, it remains comparatively low (2.2% in 2018). Nevertheless, increasing numbers of children of mixed marriages and naturalized parents have enhanced cultural diversity in schools even though they have Japanese nationality. Furthermore, taking into consideration the history of integration/assimilation of minorities such as the Ainu and the Ryukyu people, the myth of Japanese ethnic and cultural homogeneity

© The Author(s) 2020 45 A. Akkari, K. Maleq (eds.), *Global Citizenship Education*, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44617-8\_4

A. Nakayama (\*)

Osaka Kyoiku University, Osaka, Japan e-mail: aoi@cc.osaka-kyoiku.ac.jp

should be critically examined. As pointed out by Oguma (1995) the Japanese selfimage of mono-ethnicity is a political construct. This sense of national identity has been inculcated by state schools and consolidated through national ceremonies (Yosino 1997). Nevertheless, this identity construction and perceived uniqueness could potentially hinder international communication and understanding (Sugimoto and Ross 1995).

Firstly, rapid globalization and internationalization have emphasized the need to adjust to a more interconnected world. In social studies1 courses in lower secondary school, the key aims are to foster basic competencies for citizens with wide perspectives, live proactively in a globalized international society, and create a peaceful, democratic state and society. (MEXT 2017a). Considering citizenship education is partly taught within social studies (Kobara 2011) and aims to foster citizenship in a globalized international society, this chapter will analyze how social studies textbooks address the topics of internationalization, global issues, and diversity in Japan. Moreover, how Japanese national identity is perceived and whether it is incompatible with the Japanese multicultural context are examined.

Secondly, this chapter analyzes the principles and practices of education for international understanding implemented by the Japanese National Commission for UNESCO in response to educational challenges related to internationalization.

Thirdly, education for living together in the Japanese educational system will be examined. Given the growing number of children with a foreign background in Japan2 (Ministry of Justice 2018), teachers and educational policy makers recognize JSL (Japanese as a Second Language) and education for living together as increasingly important.

The final part of this chapter will analyze the controversies arising from these three approaches and their possible synergy. Whether the discourse of a Japanese homogeneous national identity is conveyed by Japanese education in a global world will also be examined.

#### **Citizenship Education within Social Studies**

The need for civic education was widely recognized following the General Election Law of 1925 that granted all men older than 25 years the right to vote regardless of the amount they paid in tax. In the 1930s, civic education therefore replaced the subject of law and economy in secondary school curricula (Matsuno 1997). However, as the war between Japan and China and the Second World War

<sup>1</sup>MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) determines the Courses of Study as broad standards for all schools, from kindergarten through upper secondary schools, to organize their programs in order to ensure a fixed standard of education throughout the country. The Courses of Study are generally been revised once every 10 years.

<sup>2</sup>The number of foreign residences was 1,686,444 in 2000 and 2,637,261 in 2018 (Ministry of Justice 2018).

intensified, civic education programs were considerably influenced by imperialistic policies. At that time, civic education and moral education (*Shuusin*) strongly emphasized the duty of loyalty to Japan and its emperor.

After the Second World War one of the most important roles of education in Japan was the reconstruction of a democratic society. Under the occupation of the U.S.A forces, the educational system was reformed and the 1947 Fundamental Law of Education was promulgated. A crucial element of this reform was the removal of *Shuusin* from the curriculum. However, after having been strongly influenced by the North American model, the school curriculum was redesigned to reflect Japanese culture as soon as the occupation forces were removed (Cogan 2011).

Within the current Japanese curriculum, citizenship education is taught through social studies in primary education and is integrated with geography and history courses. In junior high school, citizenship education is taught in the third year after studying geography and history in the first two years. It is interesting to note that the key goal of social studies has evolved over time and its objectives expanded with every Course of Study revision. In 1947, the main objective was "to give young people an understanding of civil life and to develop an attitude and capacity to contribute to the development of society" (Kobara 2011, p. 79) whereas in 1989, the goal was "to raise interest in society from a wider perspective, make multilateral and multidimensional considerations based on various inputs, deepen the understanding and love for the country and its history, nurture the basic education of citizens and develop civic qualities appropriate to the future builders of a democratic and peaceful state and society, while living in the international society" (MEXT 1989).

It should be noted that the concept of "love for one's country" appeared for the first time in the 1989 Course of Study. In 2017, the "love for one's country" and "civic qualities of the democratic and peaceful state" remain key components but the approach to "living in the international society" was changed to "live proactively in a globalized international society" and "thinking socially and pursuing and resolving problematic issues" was added.

As for the field of citizenship education, the Course of Study defines four main study areas: (1) modern society, which covers themes such as globalization, information society, declining birthrate and aging, traditions and culture. (2) economy, (3) politics and (4) the international community, where the themes include international institutions, cooperation to deal with environmental issues and poverty in the world, and sustainable development.

The four most popular citizenship education textbooks3 cover all the above themes and describe globalization in terms of the increasing mobility of people,

<sup>3</sup>『新しい社会 公民』東京書籍 (New Social Studies: Civics, Tokyo Shoseki, 2016)

<sup>『</sup>中学社会 公民的分野』日本文教出版 (Social Studies for Junior High School: Field of Citizenship, Nihonbunkyo Shuppan, 2016)

<sup>『</sup>中学社会 公民 ともに生きる』教育出版 (Social Studies for Junior High School: Civics: Live Together, Kyouiku Shuppan, 2016)

<sup>『</sup>社会科 中学生の公民 より良い世界をめざして』 帝国書院 (Social Studies: Civics for Junior High School Students seeking for Better World, Teikoku Shoinn, 2016).

goods, money, and information as well as the mutual interdependency of nations. All four books, therefore, emphasize the importance of intercultural understanding. The textbooks also mention how popular Japanese culture is in other countries, for example the popularity of Japanese food, and they emphasize the importance of understanding Japanese traditions and culture. This aspect is directly linked to the Course of Study objective for students to understand the influences and importance of cultures in modern society and be interested in Japanese traditions and culture. One of the textbooks states that before opening up to new cultures, Japanese should acquire their own culture and then exchange with other cultures in foreign countries. It may be one of the features of citizenship education in Japan that in order to understand other cultures, students should first understand and be aware of the importance of Japanese culture and traditions.

Regarding Japanese traditions and culture, all textbooks cover various regional cultural events, the art and crafts heritage to be passed on to younger generations and point out the importance of cultural inheritance. In this respect, globalization seems to promote a sense of localization in Japanese textbooks. Although the four textbooks mention the diversity of local Japanese culture, only one textbook refers to the Ryukyu Islands' specific history and traditional culture. The situation of the Indiginous Peoples of Hokkaido, the Ainu is discussed in lessons on human rights and they are described as a minority suffering from discrimination. The issue of discrimination towards people who are of Korean descent and first-generation Korean immigrants is also raised in all four textbooks. However, they are not described as people who have contributed to the richness of Japanese culture. Despite the recognition of diversity, only two textbooks use the word "multicultural society" when referring to Japan.

The Course of Study states that in order to realize world peace and to preserve the welfare of human beings in the context of international interdependence, students should recognize the importance of cooperation among nations and approve their sovereignty. They should acknowledge the importance of love for their own country and its peace and prosperity. It is important to point out that although there is a clear aim to promote cooperation with people from other countries, Japan's ethnic minorities are not mentioned. In this respect, Japan's internal diversity is once more omitted. This confirms Moto's (2004) arguments that education in Japan has contributed to the sense that the nation state should consist of only Japanese and that multiethnic/multicultural diversity has been hidden since the Meiji Era. She adds that the Japanese Course of Study works on the assumption that all students are Japanese without considering that some of the students have more than one nationality or are non-Japanese (Moto 2004). As confirmed by Minei (2010), "Japaneseness" is emphasized in school education in Japan. However, this leads us to question what it means to be Japanese and whether the conception of Japanese identity embedded in the curriculum is obliging ethnic minority groups such as Ainu people or Japanese of Korean and Chinese descent to conform to Japanese identity and culture.

Overall, we can observe a contradiction between the Course of Study's aims to promote cooperation with people of other countries and the strong emphasis on Japanese traditional culture that overlooks the diversity of people living in Japan.

#### **Education for International and Global Issues**

In 1951, a year before the Allied occupation ended, Japan became a member of UNESCO and education for international understanding was introduced into the curriculum. To support this initiative, UNESCO's Associated School Networks (ASPnet) designed activities and the Japanese National Commission for UNESCO published the "Education for International Understanding" handbook (UNESCO 1959).

The 1974 UNESCO's "Recommendation concerning Education for International Understanding, Co-operation and Peace and Education Relating to Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms" challenged the Japanese National Commission to integrate education for global issues into Japanese citizenship education (Minei 2015). At the same time, the Japanese Central Educational Council advocated education for Japanese living in the international community. Its priorities centered on learning foreign languages, international exchange, and education for Japanese students returning from foreign countries. The Japanese Council's policy emphasized the concept of living in an international society rather than global issues. As Japan became an economic powerhouse, the need to educate Japanese youth to play an active role in the international community was widely recognized. Fujiwara (2011) pointed out concerns about Japanese students returning from foreign countries and their adjustment to life in Japan after having been immersed in different cultures.

The 1996 report of the Japanese Central Educational Council "Education in Japan looking forward to the 21st century" was also responsive to the challenges of internationalization (Ishii 2003) and aimed to (a) foster wide perspectives, attitudes and competencies to understand and respect other cultures and live together with people with different cultures, (b) increase self-awareness in order to deepen international understanding, (c) promote communication skills such as basic foreign language competencies and the ability to express opinions in international society. The report placed great emphasis on understanding Japanese history and traditional culture in order to live in the international community. In other words, these educational policies emphasized, on the one hand, intercultural competencies to understand other cultures and communicate in foreign languages, and on the other hand, knowledge of Japanese traditional culture and history. These are thought to be the two pillars of international understanding in Japan.

In 2005, the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) defined international education as education to foster the attitude and competencies needed to act independently with a global perspective in the international community. The term "international education" is used to widen the concept of education for international understanding in Japan.

In the current situation, the variety of terminologies and overlaps between educational approaches such as education for peace, human rights, sustainable development and global citizenship education (GCE) create some conceptual confusion. Nevertheless, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) teacher survey showed that terms such as international understanding, peace education,

environmental education and human rights education were all widely recognized, although the most popular one was undoubtedly international understanding (JICA 2014).

In practice, international education is dealt with in Social Studies, Moral Education, Special Activities and Integrated Study which was introduced into the curriculum in primary and secondary education in 2002 (JICA 2014). According to another JICA survey, the most popular themes among teachers are "lives and cultures in other countries" (75%), "understanding of other countries" (50%), "relationship between Japan and world" (48.8%), and "English learning activities" (48.8%). The survey also shows that the most popular themes of Integrated Study were "intercultural understanding" (69.6%), "English learning activities" (67.9%), "international exchange" (45.5%), "Japanese traditions and culture" (35.9%), whereas "human rights, environment and peace" (20.2%) and "poverty and the north-south problem" (6.3%), were much less popular (JICA 2014). This study demonstrated once again that a strong feature of the Japanese approach to international education is the inclusion and promotion of Japanese traditions and culture, viewed as an important tool to build understanding of other cultures by both MEXT and school teachers.

In 2015, a MEXT advisory committee published a report promoting international education in primary and secondary education. The report included three aims for international education: to accept people from other cultural backgrounds and to live together, to build identity rooted in traditions and culture of their country, to express their opinions and act accordingly. The establishment of a Japanese identity should be one of the important pillars for international education in Japan as well as acceptance of others. However, as the number of children of first- and second-generation immigration has increased in Japan, this approach can be questioned.

NGOs and teachers have promoted educational approaches that relate to sustainable development since the 1980s, notably by the Development Education Association and Resource Center (DERA). The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and JICA have also supported development education. After the introduction of Integrated Study in schools in 2002, development education has been actively carried out in some schools. Another factor behind promoting development education in Japan was the UN Declaration of the "Decade of Education for Sustainable Development." However, the percentage of schools that made use of the support provided by NGOs and JICA was less than 10% (JICA 2014).

This situation could be ascribed to the educational policy of international education, which gave priority to learning foreign languages, international exchange and education for the Japanese students returning from foreign countries over other global issues. Another reason could be the lack of clarity between various definitions and terms related to international education. Therefore more prominence should be given to education for global issues in teacher training and in the curriculum of teacher education.

#### **Education for Living Together in a Multicultural Society**

Over the last three decades, the diversity of people living in Japan has been growing. Besides Japanese ethnic minorities, the number of registered foreigners has increased by approximately 2.8 times since the 1990 Reform of Immigration Control and the Refugee Recognition Act that allowed, amongst others, Japanese immigrants living in other countries such as Brazil and Peru to work in Japan.4 Between the Second World War and the normalization of diplomacy in 1972, many Japanese people who could not move back to Japan resided in China. When allowed back to Japan, some were no longer able to speak Japanese and brought their foreign spouses and children with them.

Diversity has also been growing due to an increasing percentage of international marriages. Not only has the average marital age increased along with the percentage of people who do not get married, it is more and more difficult for men, especially farmers in the countryside, to find a spouse. As a result, the number of men marrying foreigners from other Asian countries has grown. According to the statistics of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (2015), 1 out of 30 newborn babies has one or two parents who hold a foreign passport (Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare 2015). Moreover, MEXT announced in 2018 that they plan to increase the number of international students in higher education to 300,000. International students are encouraged to stay and work in Japan after their studies to make up for labor shortage5 (Ministry of Justice 2016). This situation is likely to expand due to a decline in the country's population and globalization.

In 2006, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications presented the "multicultural coexistence promotion plan" that recommends local governments promote multicultural coexistence where different people recognize each other's cultural differences and live together as members of the community while trying to build equal relationships. This initiative was followed by a "committee for improvement of education for foreign children and students in primary and secondary education" organized by MEXT in 2008. In its report, it is stated that, in the near future, acceptance of foreign children may be an important educational issue in all the regions of the country. Furthermore, it pointed out that teaching foreign children Japanese as well as the knowledge and skills necessary to live as members of Japanese society is an essential condition for them to realize a happy life in Japan. This is particularly necessary as foreigners now stay longer or settle in Japan, and it is considered to be an important condition for the stability and development of Japanese society (MEXT 2008).

<sup>4</sup>Brazil is the country where the largest number of Japanese immigrants live in the world, and 250 thousand Japanese have immigrated to Brazil since 1908. It is said that about 1.5 million people with Japanese ancestry live there. (Associação Nipo-Brasileira 2019).

<sup>5</sup>For example, international students can apply for "employment support project for graduate students" (Ministry of Justice 2016)

Therefore, it is indisputable that the number of students who need Japanese language instruction has also increased since the 1990s. MEXT reported more than 43,000 primary and secondary school students needed Japanese instruction in 2016. Those students include both foreign students and Japanese children who have one foreign parent. Integration of non-Japanese speaking children or children with limited Japanese language competencies continues to be challenging for schools and teachers (MEXT 2017b).

The committee also concluded the desirable attitude of a person living in the international community should be nurtured by Japanese children learning together with foreign children (MEXT 2008). Both Japanese language instruction and learning together are described as important in the report. Foreign children are seen as resources for Japanese children to acquire desirable attitudes towards living in the international community. For instance, some schools encourage children to greet foreign students in their mother tongue or invite parents of foreign students to present their culture to encourage students to take an interest in their foreign classmates. Today, the words "living together in multicultural society" or "education for living together" are becoming popular among teachers and educational institutions. This represents a small but significant step for Japanese education with its long history of assimilation of Korean people living in Japan.

However, Sato (2001) shows that foreign children in Japan tend to adopt the marginalization acculturation strategy described by Berry et al. (1992) since it is difficult for them to keep their cultural identity and cultural characteristics as well as build relationships with other groups with different cultures. Sato (2001) ascribed one of the reasons for their marginalization as the dominant value and structure of the school which requires foreign children to be assimilated. In order to achieve the goal of living together in a multicultural society, it is necessary to rethink the dominant value and the structure that supports it (Sato 2001).

Another challenge for education of foreign students is that students who have already acquired BICS (Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills) but have not yet acquired CALP (Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency) still need support. Furthermore, there is few access to mother tongue education in public schools. Finally, because foreigners have no obligation to attend school in Japan, support for foreign children who are not schooled is also an important educational task.

Since 2003 MEXT has conducted specialized training in Japanese language instruction for the teachers and instructors in charge of the education of foreign children. Some universities also offer lectures on JSL (Japanese as a Second Language) and education for foreign students. However, training and lectures emphasized teaching Japanese language rather than multicultural or intercultural education. Nieke (1995) categorized intercultural education in Germany into two approaches. One is "education for encounter" and the other is "conflict education" (translated from German). The former includes for example, getting to know the culture of immigrants and mutual cultural enrichment. The latter includes eliminating prejudice and ethnocentrism, equal chance and fighting against xenophobia. Like Japan, Germany was not perceived as a country of immigration but has nevertheless accepted a large number of foreign workers and refugees since the Second World War. Nieke (1995) analyzed intercultural education in Germany and described its four stages: I. initial support for education for foreign students, II. criticism of specific education for foreign students, III. intercultural education and differentiation from compensational education, IV. extension to ethnic minorities. Within Nieke's (1995) model, intercultural education in Japan could be considered to be at the first stage. In teacher training, the focus is on education for non-Japanese speaking children but often fails to train teachers in intercultural education.

#### **Conclusion**

This chapter focuses on education responding to globalization in Japan. The first approach is citizenship education within social studies at the national level. MEXT and the Courses of Study have emphasized the importance of understanding of other cultures and the interdependency of global society. They promote students' love for their country and their understanding of Japanese culture and traditions. One of the features of Japanese citizenship education might be the belief that knowledge of Japanese traditions and culture is a fundamental precondition to understanding other cultures. However, as the diversity of people and cultures has increased in Japan, there is a need to redefine what Japanese culture is in today's society.

The second approach is education for international and global issues. International education has its origin in UNESCO and emphasizes the understanding of one's own culture and foreign cultures as well as the communication skills necessary to live in an international society. Again, Japanese traditions and culture are recognized as important to establish the identity of Japanese living in international society. Tsuneyoshi (2016) criticizes this "global human resource" model promoted by the Japanese government as it limits itself to English communication skills and to Japanese identity which seeks to protect Japanese national interests rather than promote a global identity. Furthermore, the question of how Japanese identity can be inclusive of Japanese immigrants remains. In addition, education for global issues ought to address issues related to poverty, the north-south divide and sustainable development.

The third approach is education for living together in Japan. Since the 1990s education for children who need Japanese language instruction has been recognized as important. Teacher training and lectures focus on how to teach JSL (Japanese as a Second Language) or how to accept children whose mother tongue is not Japanese. However, intercultural education should also be promoted for all students in order to advance an inclusive society and foster 'living together'. Moreover, there is considerable disparity in social status between Japanese and foreign residents, especially when comparing the percentage of white-collar workers. It is thought that the disparity experienced by the first generation could be reflected in their children's educational attainment, perpetuating socio-economic disparity (Korekawa 2012). Therefore, teachers should encourage foreign parents to get involved in school.

This chapter has highlighted the common hidden agenda that underlies the three approaches, namely fostering Japanese identity. This raises the question of how this conception of national identity promoted by the government and schools could integrate a sense of global citizenship. This analysis of the Japanese educational responses to globalization has pointed to a contradiction in foreign language policies. Although MEXT and the Japanese government stress the importance of English proficiency and intercultural communication skills for living in a global society, the educational system does not promote bilingual education for migrant students nor does it recognize their potential to become a "global human resource" (Tsuneyoshi 2016).

As the diversity of people living in Japan is highly likely to increase in the near future, all the approaches above need to draw links with each other and promote education for diversity and interculturalism. In fact, the second approach of education for international understanding is often integrated into the first approach of social studies (JICA 2014). The first approach could be connected to the third approach when addressing the topic of globalism. For instance, migrant parents or members of the community could share their knowledge of various cultures and their experience of migration. Another idea could be to promote language awareness programs that are transversal to the second and the third approach. Finally, fostering knowledge and understanding other cultures and history should aim to build good relations with neighbouring countries such as China and Korea.

The image of a homogeneous Japanese identity described by Anderson (2016) as an "imagined community" and conveyed by MEXT needs to evolve to a more inclusive Japanese identify. Furthermore, the three approaches discussed in this chapter should take into account growing cultural and ethnic diversity in Japan.

#### **References**


Cogan, J. (2011). Foreword. In Ikeno, N. (Ed.). *Citizenship Education in Japan*. London: Continuum.


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## **Chapter 5 The Construction of Citizenship in Kazakhstan Between the Soviet Era and Globalization**

#### **Almash Seidikenova, Abdeljalil Akkari, and Aitkali Bakitov**

**Abstract** From the Soviet era to the present day, conceptions of Kazakh citizenship have undergone continuous transformations, notably due to changes in political regimes, shifts in the demographic composition, and economic fluctuations. Despite its tumultuous history, Kazakhstan has managed to forge a flexible approach to citizenship and relatively peaceful relationships between the county's different ethnic groups. In today's post-independence nationhood, Kazakhstan may represent a unique case of citizenship building in the context of globalization.

The first part of this chapter addresses the ambiguities concerning conceptions of citizenship during the Soviet era, which were marked not only by deportations, evacuations, voluntary and involuntary migrations but also by a rhetoric that depicted Kazakhstan as the 'Promised Land' benefiting from the Soviet Union's friendship. The second part analyzes citizenship building following the county's independence in 1991 that could be described as a subtle blend of Soviet heritage and renewed Kazakh national identity. The third part will focus on the transformations driven by the country's economic globalization and new migratory flows. Finally, the fourth part suggests that Kazakhstan's trilingual policy may open up new prospects for global citizenship education (GCE).

**Keywords** National identity · Ethnicity · Language diversity · Globalization

A. Seidikenova (\*) · A. Bakitov

Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan e-mail: Almash.Seidikenova@kaznu.kz

A. Akkari

Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland e-mail: abdeljalil.akkari@unige.ch

#### **Introduction: Citizenship Before and Under the Soviet Regime**

In order to understand the complexities of Kazakh national and cultural identity it is important to trace its origins. One of the most important aspects of Kazakh society is its division into three *zhuz* (territorial and tribal division), namely Uly (Great), Orta (middle) and Kishi (little). Despite what their names suggest, this division is not directly linked to the size of each *zhuz*. In addition, the three *zhuz* are composed of different ethnic groups and tribes.

These territorial and tribal divisions go back to the sixteenth century and relate to the Kazakh Khanate1 heritage. As suggested by Arslan (2014), the splitting into *zhuz*, *urugh*<sup>2</sup> and tribes remain an important feature of Kazakh society today. For instance, when Kazakhs meet for the first time they will ask the person's last name and where they are from (*"kay elsin"*?). The answer indicates the *zhuz* and *urugh* of the person. The importance given to this sense of identity is associated to the Kazakhs' deep respect for their ancestry and heritage, as illustrated in the proverb: 'he who does not know his ancestors of the past seven generations is ignorant'.

The division into three *zhuz* is related to the country's geographical regions and the ancient nomadic routes: the territory of the *Great zhuz* is located in Zhetisu (South-East Kazakhstan); the people of the *Middle zhuz* traditionally occupy the territory of Central, North and East Kazakhstan as well as a small portion of the Southern territory; Kazaks that belong to the *Little zhuz* are located in Western Kazakhstan (Massanov et al. 2000).

Throughout history, the territory of present-day Kazakhstan was crossed by various populations, including Tartar and Mongolian tribes, and experienced numerous invasions. In the thirteenth century, Genghis Khan's troops invaded central Asia that became part of the Mongol Empire known as the Golden Horde (Grousset 1970). In the fifteenth century, the Golden Horde was fragmented into khanates, which included the Kazakh Khanate (located approximately in the territory of modern-day Kazakhstan) (Zardykhan 2002).

During this period, the region experienced internal conflicts linked to "tribalism" (discord and internal disputes among tribes belonging to the different *zhuz*) that hampered its development and significantly weakened its defense capacity. This changed in the eighteenth century when Ablai-Khan3 united the three *zhuz* to strengthen the state, fight against external enemies, preserve the land and develop the country (Bakitov and Jumanova 2016).

In the middle of the eightieth century, the Russian Empire gradually expanded across the Kazakh steppes. Following the "Great October Socialist Revolution" in 1917, the Soviets imposed communist ideology that profoundly transformed Kazakh society. This period was marked by the forced settlement of nomadic populations,

<sup>1</sup>The Kazakh Khanate is considered as the origin of the Kazakh nation. It was founded in the middle of fifteenth century when several tribes under the rule of sultans *Janybek* and *Kerey* were united.

<sup>2</sup>Extended family lineage or clan.

<sup>3</sup>A Kazakh khan of the Middle *zhuz*.

industrialization and urbanization, which created a new Kazakh Soviet culture (Bakitov and Jumanova 2016).

Under the Russian regime, citizens were at first ruled over by a Tsarist autocracy followed by a theoretically more progressive communist regime. Because of old rivalries between the Russian and Ottoman empires and the Kazak's strong cultural and linguistic ties with Turkey, the Soviet Socialist Republic wanted to implement a policy of assimilation in Russian culture in Kazakhstan. For this reason, they undertook a "civilizing" mission that resulted in exile, famine and loss of cultural identity for the nomadic Kazak people who had occupied for thousands of years the vast steppes of the Central Asia Mountains. Furthermore, many Germans, Koreans, Kurds and Chechens were deported to Kazakhstan followed by Russians, Ukrainians, Tartars and many others who were encouraged to settle in the region. Consequently, the Kazakhs found themselves in a minority position in their own territory. Kazakhstan, during the soviet period, was the only country in Central Asia that was in a position of demographic inferiority in relation to Slavic populations, particularly in cities where the indigenous population was in the minority (Bakitov and Jumanova 2016).

Nevertheless, in comparison to the Tsarist era, the communist regime was theoretically slightly more in favor of the recognition of Kazakh nationality within the Soviet Union. Kazakhstan was portrayed as a land of friendship between people and at the same time experienced an unprecedented economic boom. Factories, cities and numerous infrastructures were built during the Soviet period resulting in some improvements in the standard of living and education of Kazakhs.

During this period, every citizen of the Soviet Union was identified as belonging to an ethnic or national group while required to demonstrate absolute loyalty to the Soviet state as a whole (not to a particular ethnic group, which was condemned as nationalistic) (Olcott 1995). Thus, being a citizen in Kazakhstan during the Soviet period created ambivalent feelings; on the one hand, the cultural domination of Russia devalued the Kazak language and denied the population their cultural rights; on the other hand, the friendship between people advocated by the Soviet system allowed Kazakhs to assimilate Russian values and culture, in particular the language and way of life. It is equally true that the Republic of Kazakhstan was distinguished by the fact that it once served as a showcase of the Soviet regime for its social and economic programs. The term "Kazakhstan" appeared in official discourse to encourage a sense of citizenship pride among the inhabitants of this originally multi-ethnic republic (Kuškumbaev 2011).

It is important to note that caution should be exercised when using terms such as "nationality" and "citizenship" in Kazakhstan. As Davenel (2013) emphasizes in his book "Cultural Renewal and National Diversity in Kazakhstan": the term "nationality", from Russian "*nacional'nost*", refers to ethnic identity and is not related to the notion of citizenship. The Kazakh term "kazahstanec", not widely known outside Kazakhstan, refers to all citizens of the post-Soviet Republic of Kazakhstan, regardless of their ethnicity "*nacional'nost*" (Kazakh Kazakhstanis, Tatar Kazakhstanis, Ukranian Kazakstanis, etc.) (Davenel 2013).

#### **Reconfiguration During the First Years of Independence**

Kazakhstan gained its independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. To consolidate their newly acquired independence, the Republic of Kazakhstan attempted to respond to the territorial integrity and national security challenges resulting from demographic and ethno-geographic issues. However, the over dependence on the Russian economy led to an industrial and economic crisis (Fierman 1998).

After the country's independence there was a clear political mandate to "nationalize" the country. For instance, textbooks were revised to focus on Kazakhstan's history and the names of streets, squares, and cities were changed. Furthermore, state policy towards inter-ethnic dialogue was based on the primacy of the Kazakh culture and the conception of a "first culture among equals" (Davenel 2013). In this respect, the newly acquired independence from the Soviet Union allowed a reconfiguration of citizenship in Kazakhstan but maintained some Soviet practices of building national identity (Bozymbekova and Lee 2018).

Between 1992 and 1993, Kazakhstan set up a program to repatriate Kazakh exiles from neighboring countries such as Mongolia, China, Iran, Turkey, Russia and Tajikistan. This program was later followed by the "Kazakhstan 2030" strategy to strengthen the demographic weight of the country and address the demographic crisis linked to the departure of Russians and Germans. In various speeches, former President Nazarbayev evoked a population goal of 20 million people in 2015 and 25 million in 2030. To achieve this ambition, he called for the repatriation of the *Oralmans* (ethnic Kazakhs who fled the current Kazakh territory in the nineteenth century and during the Stalinist period). This resulted, among other things, in the 1998 Migration Act, which provided for the establishment of an incentive policy composed of financial and social aid.4 (Seys 2009).

During this period, the demographic dynamics meant that the Kazakh people finally represented the majority of the population. The proportion of Kazakhs grew from 39.6% to 59.8% from 1989 to 2007 while those of Russians and Germans fell respectively from 37.8% to 25% and 5.8% to 1.4% (Seys 2009).

In this context, we can speak of a "soft reconfiguration" of citizenship that did not result in clashes or ethnic conflicts. It seems that the open character of the Kazakh people allowed this smooth evolution. In fact, ancestral nomadic culture is characterized by welcoming and solidarity towards all groups despite their cultural differences or historical wounds. To survive in a hostile physical environment, Kazakh nomads considered it imperative to foster mutual aid and openness to others.

Nevertheless, in the first phase after independence, many non-Kazakh ethnic groups who previously identified with the Soviet Union experienced deep psychological malaise and many of them did not want their ethnicity to be specified in official documents (Ahmetzanova 1998).

<sup>4</sup>The aid consists of 600 € per adult (plus € 300 for transport), priority access to housing and land in rural areas as well as social benefits provided the person renounces their current citizenship and applies for naturalization.

Today, the ethnic composition of Kazakhstan is: 70.23% Kazakh, 19.96% Russian, 3.32% Uzbek, 1.31% Uyghur, 0.11% Tatar, 1% German, and less than 1% Korean, Turkish, Azerbaijani, etc. (Committee on Statistics 2019). The percentage of ethnic Kazakhs has gradually increased from 63.1% in 2009 to 70% in 2019 (Central Intelligence Agency 2014).

A national survey aimed at investigating the issue of ethnic and civic identity found that 75.1% of the respondents cite civic identity as the most important form of self-identification. However, the study shows that ethnic Kazakhs have a higher level of ethnic self-identification than other groups (61% of ethnic Kazakhs compared to 51% of Russians and 43% other ethnic groups) (Aitymbetov et al. 2015).

Overall, unlike many post-Soviet republics, such as Armenia or Turkmenistan, we can see that Kazakhstan remained a multi-ethnic state. According to Ahmetzanova (1998), the country promotes Kazakh ethnic identity revitalization but nevertheless maintains a strong multi-ethnic identity unlike other national contexts where mono-ethnic identity is dominant:

The Kazakh state had to establish a new identity policy upon which it could build its legitimacy, satisfying both nationalist groups looking for more radical changes and calming the fears of the massive Slavic population who had long lived in the republic. The authorities discussed whether they would choose to develop a civic nationhood as a state for all of its citizens, irrespective of their ethnic background, to build a binational or multinational state, seen as a state with two or more "core" nations, or, finally, to embark on a revenge-inspired nationalist agenda in favor of the main or "titular" nation (Sharipova et al. 2017, p. 221).

However, issues related to ethnic, civic and national identity have been subject to many debates since the country's independence and representatives of various ethnic groups have placed more importance on ethnic identity since the fall of the Soviet Union (Kuškumbaev 2011). Consequently, the ethnically diverse population of Kazakhstan presented a great challenge for the new political regime. In this context, postcolonial political discourse and ideological slogans in Kazakhstan become tools for the regime's legitimation and the growing national-patriotic movement fighting mass "Russification" and the loss of the Kazakh language and values (Kudaibergenova 2016).

The elites of Kazakhstan fear an ethnicization of economic and social policies and have pushed Kazakh leaders to gradually introduce into the statutes the principle of the sovereignty of the republic.

Kazakhstan has therefore implemented policy to manage cultural diversity and adopted laws to regulate the linguistic and cultural claims of the various national groups. The constitution of Kazakhstan recognizes the rights and freedoms of citizens to express their cultural and linguistic diversity in accordance with Article 7, paragraph 3 of the Constitution which states: "The State shall promote conditions for the study and the development of the languages of the peoples of Kazakhstan" (Republic of Kazakhstan 2019, para. 7) and Article 14, paragraph 14 which affirms that "No one shall be discriminated against because of their origin, social status, status, activity, sex, race, nationality, language, attitude to religion, belief, place of residence or other circumstances" (Republic of Kazakhstan 2019, para. 14). In this respect, national minorities are expected to respect the traditions and customs of Kazakhs without losing their own.

Today, Kazakhstan's multicultural society recognizes each ethnic group's right to maintain their native culture while respecting those of others. Each ethnic group is allowed to organize their national holidays or celebrate events such as marriages according to their own traditions. Priority is given to friendship, mutual understanding, tolerance and consent. An example that illustrates the respect for diversity in Kazakhstan is the *Nauryz* celebration during which different ethnic groups prepare their national dishes and perform traditional dances and songs.

This friendship between the ethnic groups of Kazakhstan is represented at the State level:


Despite these initiatives, disparities exist between ethnic groups which are unequal in size and political and economic power (Davenel 2013). Consequently, the interests and demands of different ethnic groups diverge on matters related to official state languages and educational policies; demographic and migratory problems; regional development; control of economic resources; advantages granted to minorities; representation in the legislative and executive branches of power; and even foreign policy (Kuškumbaev 2011).

It seems that interethnic relations in Kazakhstan are not divisive, but that does not mean that they are free from problems concerning the distribution of economic wealth and the status and prestige of certain languages. According to Davenel (2013), there are three main categories of discourse relating to ethnic minorities circulating in Kazakh society: many members of the elite promoting multiple reethnification; officials of cultural centers of national minorities denouncing discrimination; and both scientists and the first President Nazarbayev disputing that minorities are discriminated against because of their national allegiance.

#### **Current Issues of Citizenship in the Context of Globalization**

In the current context of globalization, social relations and the nature of citizenship are changing in Kazakhstan. After 30 years of independence, the current issues of citizenship are multiple and largely affected by globalization. The question of a new sense of national identity leads to broader implications regarding modern nationbuilding processes and the constraints of the government's constructivist nationbuilding policies (Sharipova et al. 2017).

Firstly, Kazakhstan has embarked on economic and political modernization of its economy and an opening up to international investments. The volume of these investments, particularly in the mining and petroleum sectors, has increased significantly and generated some economic prosperity. Kazakhstan has made enormous strides since the collapse of Soviet Union, and is now categorized as an upper middle-income country. GDP-Gross Domestic Product grew at a rate of 9% between 2000 and 2007 before dropping in 2008 and 2009, then rapidly recovering in 2010. As a result, there has been a dramatic reduction in official poverty rates, from 39% in 1998 to 3.8% in 2012, and a decline in unemployment rates (Blum 2016).

This modernization has also resulted in an openness to Western countries even if ties to Russia remain strong. The context of increasing globalization in Kazakhstan has seen the emergence of a middle class and increased consumerism, especially in urban centers where shopping malls, fashionable cafés and shops have sprung up which are "either explicitly Western or monolithically 'global' in the sense they exude modernity without any specific geographical character" (Blum 2016, p. 8). Furthermore, openness to the world has been encouraged by providing scholarship for international education and access to the Internet, and through the promotion of the English language.

Secondly, globalization and economic growth has brought new international migratory flows. This new influx of migrants has given rise to some tensions with the Kazakh population. In 2005, official statistics showed that a total of 74,807 people immigrated to Kazakhstan: 88% of which have immigrated from the Commonwealth of Independent States of the former USSR (60% of which are from Uzbekistan) (Seys 2009).

Thirdly, Kazakhstan is experiencing a revival of the Muslim religion, which had been suppressed by the Soviet regime. External signs of Muslim religiosity are multiplying in the public space, provoking a reaction from the State, anxious to preserve civil peace and religious freedom. The political debate is expected to resurge in the years to come on interethnic and interfaith relations, political participation of citizens and decentralization strategies.

Finally, while recognizing that the process of rebuilding citizenship and national identity has been relatively peaceful in Kazakhstan compared to other places in the world, underlying tensions should not be underestimated. An illustration of this is the successive changes in the alphabet used for the Kazakh language from Arabic to Cyrillic, to Latin in less than a century (Michelotti 2016) as well as the choice of the capital city reflecting a geopolitical search for stability in the country. The capital of Kazakhstan was Orenburg until it was attached to Russia. Kizilorda then became the capital in 1924 but was later moved to Almaty in the South in 1928. In 1997, after the country's independence, Kazakhstan decided to move the capital once more to Akmola, situated in an agricultural region rich in natural resources and benefiting from a strategic geopolitical position. Later, the city was renamed Astana, which means capital in Kazakh (Fierman 1998; Arslan 2014). In 2019, the capital's name

changed once again to Nur-Sultan, in reference to the former president of Kazakhstan.

The rebuilding of citizenship and national identity has revealed tensions within the Kazakhs *zhuz* and their respective positions within the elite population and the state bureaucracy have significantly evolved since independence. Schatz (2000, 2005) analysis shows that the Great *zhuz* has been disproportionately represented in state bureaucracy compared to their demographic weight, with the Small *zhuz* is continually relegated to the weakest position. This could be partially attributable to the physical distance between the west of the country and the Soviet-era capital of Almaty. Great and Middle *zhuz* members have been generally better educated and trained since the Soviet period (for example, the former and the current presidents belong to the Great *zhuz*). Although initially excluded to some degree from power, the Middle *zhuz* has allied itself with the Great *zhuz*, prompting the relocation of the capital city from Almaty in Great *zhuz* territory to Astana in Middle *zhuz* territory, and the significant incorporation of Middle *zhuz* members into state power structures.

#### **Trilingualism as a Perspective of Global Citizenship in Kazakhstan**

In this last section, we will discuss the role and status of languages in Kazakhstan and how they might shape Kazakh citizenship in the context of globalization in the years to come. Indeed, multiculturalism is a feature of Kazakh cultural and linguistic identity and opens up opportunities for global citizenship education (GCE). However, language issues, especially regarding the knowledge and usage of Kazakh remains a highly controversial and sensitive political topic. Although Kazakh is an official state language and the language of the predominant ethnic group, it still lags behind Russian in terms of everyday use since many people, including many urban Kazakhs, lack Kazakh-language proficiency (Sharipova et al. 2017).

The Kazakh political elite is constantly striving to find consensus in order to revive and perpetuate the use of the Kazakh language and culture within the existing legal framework, while trying at the same time not to restrict the interests and rights of other non-Kazakh ethnic groups. This delicate posture may carry a risk of interethnic misunderstanding (Èsment 1999).

This issue is directly related to the former Soviet government's fight against illiteracy and its "Russification" policy (Turumbetova et al. 2019). Under the Soviet regime, illiteracy was defined as a lack of knowledge of the Russian language and proficiency in Russian was required for access to higher education (Suleimenova 2011).

Following independence, language policies changed and Kazakhstan became a multilingual country. Today, Kazakh is spoken by 52% of the population and is the official language of the state. Russian nevertheless remains an official language

(Republic of Kazakhstan 2019) and is spoken by almost all citizens in the country, making it the lingua franca between the different ethnic groups and a dominant language in the media. The legal framework in Kazakhstan clearly establishes the status of each language (Zhumanova et al. 2016). Kazakh is recognized as the state language and is used for state management, legislation, legal procedures and bureaucracy in all spheres of social relations throughout the country. Furthermore, it is every citizen's obligation to acquire the state language. To do so, the government and all public institutions are required to strengthen the Kazak language by reinforcing its international authority and developing organizational, material and technical conditions to access free state language learning as well as promoting Kazakh learning among the diaspora.

Today, the 2011–2020 trilingual educational policy aims to develop fluency in Russian, Kazakh and English as well as promoting other languages (Zhumanova et al. 2016). The Kazakh Government's Cultural Project "Trinity of Languages" aims to strengthen Kazakh as the state language, Russian as the language of interethnic communication and English as the language of successful integration into the global economy (Zhekibaeva et al. 2018). This multicultural approach relates to integration and the desire to create a society in which interpersonal and inter-ethnic relations are encouraged as well as the spiritual growth of the nation.

Nevertheless, tensions between languages remain within the educational system. In theory, students can choose among the various programs offered in Kazakh, Russian, English, or other minority languages. The proportion of students who follow a particular program depends on the ethnic composition of their region. Thus, in the mainly Russian-speaking regions of the North, most programs are in Russian, while in the south of the country, teaching in Kazakh dominates. This system, which tolerates the use of different languages in education, means that many Russianspeakers do not practice Kazakh and feel culturally closer to Russia than to Kazakhstan.

It seems therefore, that Kazakhstan's tolerance has produced parallel linguistic practices even though most Kazakhs are more or less proficient in Russian. It is hoped that in the future the attractiveness of bilingual or trilingual schooling can be improved. This will result in fluid or hyphen cultural and language identities.

Rees and Williams (2017) suggest that despite the Assembly of People's rhetoric on cultural and ethnic diversity, there are still significant barriers to citizen-level adoption of a supra-ethnic identity in Kazakhstan, particularly regarding language. However, many people claim an association with Kazakhstani identity, especially those who strongly value civic behavior rather than ethnic belonging.

In this respect, the construction of a new nation in Kazakhstan needs to articulate ethnic diversity and national unity:

The nation is a modern construct. It is imagined. So, it depends on whether we want to imagine a nation along more ethnic-genealogical lines, which makes it more exclusive, or to imagine a nation along more civic-territorial lines that treats all, regardless of ethnic, religious or regional background, equally. We support the latter, which would lead to more inclusive nation building (Loh 2017, p. 428).

**Fig. 5.1** Dimensions of citizenship in Kazakhstan

The ensuing Fig. 5.1 summarizes the current challenges of citizenship in Kazakhstan. In addition to the ethnic division of Kazakh people into three main *zhuz*, the Soviet era bought a new set of ethnic-language diversity, and today economic globalization creates a need for the English language.

Within Kazakhstan's complex citizenship model, Ordabayeva (2017) stresses the need to integrate global awareness into school curricula; encourage professional development for teachers and recognize the importance of administrative leadership in teaching GCE.

#### **Conclusion**

We want to conclude this text by reflecting on the global thoughts of the Kazakh philosopher Al-Farabi and on how to implement GCE in Kazakhstan.

Al-Farabi, known in the Western world as Alpharabius (872\_ 951), was a renowned philosopher and jurist who wrote about political philosophy, metaphysics, ethics and logic. He was also a scientist, cosmologist, mathematician and music scholar. In the Islamic philosophical tradition, he is given the honorific title of "the Second Teacher", Aristotle being known in the East as "the First Teacher". He is credited with preserving the original Greek texts during the Middle Ages because of his commentaries and treatises, and with influencing many prominent Islamic philosophers, like Avicenna and Maimonides. Through his work, he became well known in the East as well as the West (Rescher 1962; Reisman 2005).

Al-Farabi, tried to identify the characteristics of a virtuous city by systematically identifying the impediments to achieving happiness. He concluded that a virtuous city is the opposite of an ignorant and immoral one. Deducing that it is built on cooperation among its citizens:

The goal of education is to lead individuals to perfection since human beings were created for this purpose. The perfect human being (al-insan al-kamil), thought Al-Farabi, is the one who has obtained theoretical virtue—thus completing his intellectual knowledge—and has acquired practical moral virtues—thus becoming perfect in his moral behavior. Crowning these theoretical and moral virtues with effective power, they are anchored in the souls of individual members of the community when they assume the responsibility of political leadership, thus becoming role models for other people (Tanabayeva et al. 2015, p. 126).

Al-Farabi educational theory is based on a pedagogy of proximity allowing learners to move from individuals to citizens (Abdul-Jabbar 2020). We argue that GCE in Kazakhstan should take inspiration from the work of Al-Farabi who believed that 'knowledge without upbringing, without a moral beginning, can bring harm, not good'. The own biography of Al-Farabi pointed out the he was a global nomad thinker living and working in different countries and languages. As suggested by Günther (2006), Al-Farabi was among the first Muslim scholars to suggest an integrated curriculum for the higher learning of both the foreign and religious sciences, with the foreign being those grounded in Greek philosophy and science and the religious being those based on Islamic tradition.

Finally, GCE cannot ignore the fact that the construction of citizenship in Kazakhstan is an unfinished process because of its recent history and the rapid changes experienced in recent decades. This chapter shows that the tensions around citizenship are centered on the imperative of a Kazakh ethnic renaissance and the need to maintain the linguistic and fragile plurality that has characterized the country since independence. The use of English and the new importance given to Mandarin may require new identity configurations. Finally, the political changes of 2019 towards a more democratic political transition may also lead to uncertainties about the fragile ethnic-language balance in Kazakhstan.

#### **References**


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## **Chapter 6 Global Citizenship Through the Lens of Indigenous Pedagogies in Australia and New Zealand. A Comparative Perspective**

#### **Nigel Bagnall and Sarah Jane Moore**

**Abstract** This chapter looks at the need for inclusive teaching especially for minority groups. It draws upon the experiences of two Pacific Nation's with different histories and cultural traditions: The Maori in New Zealand and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders' in Australia. Drawing on over 40 years teaching and researching in national schools, international schools and universities, we show how complex the global classroom has become. In particular, we look at the way education in New Zealand has much to teach Indigenous members of the global classroom. We raise the question of the Aboriginal voice in current Australian educational provision. How to be heard and what more needs to be done to include all the strands of Australian inhabitants, not just the most recent arrivals.

**Keywords** Global citizenship · Education and belonging · Critical multiculturalism · Indigenous education · Indigenous research · Reconciliation

#### **Introduction:** *Don't forget me cuz!*

Critical multiculturalism challenges unequal power relations in education (May and Sleeter 2010) and embraces new ways and old ways (Moore and Birrell 2011) of thinking, learning and knowing. This chapter looks at the need for inclusive

N. Bagnall (\*)

The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia e-mail: nigel.bagnall@sydney.edu.au

S. J. Moore University of NSW Sydney, Kensington, Australia e-mail: sarahjane.moore@unsw.edu.au

pedagogies and research strategies that focus on minority groups. It examines the politics of forgetting and embeds the importance of feeding, celebrating and listening to the living memories of Maori, Pacific Islander and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures through arts-based methods. It models projects that present land, or *Country*<sup>1</sup> as a vital learning partner that nourishes understandings between colleagues and communities of practice. It describes case histories where reforms and changes were enacted and Aboriginal knowledge recognized. Instances are described where Aboriginal Elders, academics and researchers were given the opportunity to lead learning and the chapter tracks the impact of these innovations on tertiary learning. The chapter stories moments where imaginative and creative pedagogies are explored and gives evidence of the potential of these modes to drive change. It draws upon the experiences of two Pacific nations with different histories and cultural traditions: The Maori in Aotearoa New Zealand and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in Australia. It stories pedagogies that model dynamic Oceanic dialogues that create inclusive and multi-dimensional global identities. It affirms the importance of the inclusion of creative identities in multicultural conversations. It presents the power of story, images, and imaginative work to disrupt power relationships that minimize the cultural capital of First Peoples. It examines the significance of projects, ideas and collaborations in Higher Education contexts where Indigenous Oceanic identities are at the nerve center driving change.

Drawing on over 40 years teaching and researching in national schools, international schools and Universities, Bagnall shows how complex the global classroom has become. In particular, he looks at the way New Zealand education has much to teach many Indigenous members of the global classroom. The chapter seeds the importance of the creative arts in facilitating and transmitting global citizenship and affirms the importance of the story in establishing socially just narratives of global identity.

The focus on arts-based innovation is growing globally. The recently published text *Arts-based methods and organizational learning; higher education around the world* mapped and explored a variety of arts-based methods (ABM) and contexts (Chemi and Du 2018).

Making use of her creative arts research background, Moore gives examples of how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices, stories and histories have been heard in current Australian educational provision through the description of case study projects at the University of Sydney and the University of Guam. She examines ways in which Oceanic voices have been prioritized and embedded through creative research projects and suggests that similar models may achieve success in global contexts. She examines inclusion strategies that enable all the strands of Australian inhabitants to be embraced. She gives evidence of transformational moments in projects and qualitative research that over a period of a decade have had cumulative effects in democratizing the learning and teaching space and describes instances where practical, symbolic and personal Reconcilations have been achieved.

<sup>1</sup>The Aboriginal meaning of '*Country*' includes the landscape, waters, air, trees, rocks, plants, animals, foods, medicines, minerals, stories, …

#### **Critical Multiculturalism and Reconciliation Frameworks**

The first publicly recorded use of the term 'Reconciliation' to describe reconciling Australia's Aboriginal Peoples within a recently settled white Australian context occurred in 1983 in a speech by Clyde Holding, the first Minister for Aboriginal Affairs in the Hawke Government (Ahluwalia et al. 2012). Whilst the term was used in 1983, Linda Burney's 2000 definition is preferred for this chapter.

*Broadly speaking, Reconciliation is about recognition, rights and reform. It is recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples as the original People of this land, and it is recognizing the Aboriginal history of this land, both the long Aboriginal history before the invasion, and the shared history since. Reconciliation is recognizing the rights that flow from being the first Peoples, as well as our rights as Australian citizens in common with all other citizens. It is about reforming systems to address the disadvantages suffered by Aboriginal Peoples and, as I have said, it is about changing the frame of reference of all Australians to include Aboriginal Australian* (Burney 2000, p. 66).

This definition was chosen because it articulates concepts of recognition, rights and reform for Aboriginal Peoples. It conveys a sense of the history of Aboriginal Peoples and offers the possibility of a collective history for all Australian Peoples. It acknowledges the significance of the land to Aboriginal Peoples and flags the possibility of the acknowledgement of universal rights, but also the recognition of special rights for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. The use of terms such as 'reform', 'recognition' and 'change' in the definition makes possible the reimagining of community (Ahluwalia et al. 2012) in a practical sense. Indeed, this definition embraces the cultural politics of Reconciliation and presents its possibilities as nation building and life changing. The use of the term 'suffering' in this context acknowledges the history of hurt for Aboriginal Peoples in Australia. Reconciliation is thus conceptualized in this writing as a healing practice (Ahluwalia et al. 2012) made possible through inclusion, reform and recognition. This chapter gives evidence of inclusion, reform and recognition that occurred over a 10-year period at the University of Sydney and presents examples of global identities within communities of practice that have included Indigenous voices, perspectives and players.

#### **Background Story**

Nigel Bagnall and Sarah Jane Moore met in 2007 and have worked collaboratively from that time, both as mentor and mentee, colleagues and friends. Bagnall and Moore worked closely on the Embedding Diversity research project at the University of Sydney from 2007 to 2010 where academics were encouraged to address Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives within their teaching, learning and research practices;

The outcome of this project was a commitment to change and advocacy for cultural competence to embedding stronger and more informed Aboriginal education, Aboriginal Studies Units of Study (subjects), and perspectives in teacher education curriculum (Mooney and Moore 2013, p. 302).

The tools for change were simple; Moore was employed to initiate conversations with members of the Faculty of Education and Social Work2 and was asked to create opportunities that focused on social justice for minority students. Moore aimed to map how staff members were embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives within their current work and in turn identify opportunities for change. During a 6-month period, Moore interviewed over 40 education-focused academics face to face. In all of the interviews conducted, the academics communicated that they recognized the need for change and showed willingness to shift their approaches. Moore trialed a number of arts-based methods in assisting others to embody critical multiculturalism and reform, recognize and change including a "Connecting to *Country*" visit with Ainwan-Gamilaroi-Darnginjung Aboriginal elder Oomera Edwards.

#### **Transformations; Connecting to** *Country* **and Elder-Led Learning**

The visit to Darninjung *Country* in New South Wales Australia was planned following requests from faculty members for more information about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and knowledge. Through consultation with faculty members, it emerged that people were keen to begin engaging with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in their work. One participant articulated her reason for attending the day: "I want to better understand appropriate communication approaches when working with Indigenous students". Another stated: "I want to learn about Indigenous ways of knowing in the hope that it will enhance my understanding and hence my teachings". This visit to *Country* offered participants the opportunity to learn about Indigenous cultures, gain insight into ways to connect to *Country*, to learn about kinship systems and to better understand the ways in which Indigenous students experience the school system. One participant stated that the trip provided, "a unique opportunity to talk to an Indigenous elder sharing her understanding and supporting ours". Throughout the learning, Oomera Edwards maintained, "you can't teach *Country* in a classroom", and the full day experience enabled participants to walk on, listen to and learn about *Country* from an Aboriginal perspective.

Faculty staff self-selected to spend a day with Oomera in Ourimbah in New South Wales, Australia in order to improve their understanding of Aboriginal cultures and assist in democratizing the ways in which they taught Aboriginal students and engaged with Aboriginal learning content. The connecting to *Country* experiences acknowledged the importance of nature-based, land led-learning. The land

<sup>2</sup>The Faculty is now a School within the Faculty of Arts and Social Science.

became the learning partner on this day and the focus and power relationships were shifted. Experts became novices, speakers became listeners and writers became observers. Without lap-tops, mobile phones or pens and lined paper, which so often become ways of thinking, recording and mapping learning for individuals, the group was asked to listen to stories and act as a collective, to move as a group, to care for each other and to think of the land as a living entity with knowledge to impart. They were asked to notice and listen to birds, to observe insects and note the possibility of *Country* to provide nourishment and support. They were encouraged to journey imaginatively and close their eyes and listen for sounds of the bush, to dance, stamp and sing. The group was directed to sit on large sand stones and learn a simple song using words from a local Indigenous language. The language was foreign to the group, the words new to them and previously unspoken. They were now outsiders. No longer encountering learning in accustomed ways, the experience of flipping the classroom and engaging with *Country* as a teacher was transformational.

The Embedding Diversity research program fostered critical multiculturalism that acknowledged that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and communities have had and continue to have custodial links to the land. One participant commented: "The day encouraged me to see a different world view and to start the process of developing a link to *Country*". In this way elder-led programs, projects and land-based learning encounters changed the ways academics recognized Indigenous students and their links to land by beginning to develop their own dialogues with *Country*. The program acknowledged the need to reform and recognized that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have been and continue to be collectively discriminated against. An academic who participated in the elder-led learning stated in his feedback: "Reaching out and consequently assisting disadvantaged and displaced people is not easy and one can easily offend (which would be counterproductive) but Oomera has a sincere way of bridging those gaps and has passed that on effectively to me".

By placing an Aboriginal elder as an expert in a place of learning where her knowledge was valued and celebrated, the academics present imagined a global identity that moved beyond an Anglocentric perspective. It refocused their thinking and challenged their ways of knowing. One participant reflected;

I gained an awareness of how an Indigenous person thinks and feels about their *Country* and to learn that not all *Country* is the same and that I have many of the same feelings and experiences but that I may have just forgotten them.

Learning in this way has the ability to enrich the capacity of individuals and groups to un-know. Through the process of un-knowing, new possibilities of global identities that support Indigenous knowledge were enacted. One participant reflected;

The leader of the workshop was very supportive and had a deep knowledge of her topic. The day-long experience was designed to build our understanding in both head and body. I came away with a sense of connection that I did not have before. But I know it is only the beginning of what I need to learn.

A community of practice that is encouraged to not only reflect on but, connect to and listen to *Country* is a global community that enables new power relationships to be forged. The long-term shifts in thinking, knowing and being that the Embedding Diversity Connecting to *Country* program encouraged, were described through the words of a participant who stated that;

It is almost a week after the day and I am still reflecting on the experience. I think that the main benefit is an introduction to a different way of approaching knowledge and the 'world' around us.

The Embedding Diversity project also involved a research field trip to Aotearoa New Zealand in 2007 that seeded and modeled ways of working to prioritize the listening to and storying of Indigenous knowledge, through song, story and oral transmission. Sharon Galleguillos, the highly experienced lecturer in Aboriginal Education, accompanied Moore and Bagnall for this 2-week visit. In 1976, Sharon was one of only two Indigenous graduates of the Certificate of Teaching program at Kedron Park Teachers' College, Brisbane. Drawing on her considerable experience of Indigenous education, as a practitioner and policy developer, she provided Indigenous leadership to the research program that involved deep insights into the need for grassroots democratization and access to education for Indigenous tertiary students. The team of Galleguillos, Moore and Bagnall visited a number of educational provision sites and were invited to speak to Maori and Pasifika community members about the reforms and changes necessary to achieve social justice for First Peoples students.

During the negotiations ahead of the visit, Moore was informed that her research conversations would only be supported if they were Indigenous-led. Sanga explored the notion of learning from Indigenous leadership (Sanga 2017) and in this way, the research conversations at the University of Auckland were begun ceremonially as the research party was welcomed on to Faculty Marae through singing and story. Maori was spoken, sung and was the preferred language. The cultural protocols for the research conversations firmly in place, The University of Auckland gave time to the research through a day of sharing session where Maori, Pasifika3 and Pakeha4 staff shared their personal stories around a circular table. During the research conversations, Education and Social work staff spoke reflectively on how they were transforming their own practices and responding to the need to acknowledge, embed and celebrate Maori histories, voices and funds of knowledge (Moll et al. 1992; Vélez-Ibáñez and Greenberg 1992) in their work. They spoke of past and present work and their plans for the future. As a senior and respected Indigenous educator, Galleguillos took leadership in these stories and sharings and gave her perspectives on the discussions. Other less senior and non-Indigenous colleagues participated through listening. Narrative styles and story sharing were adopted as the mode in which the research conversations occurred.

<sup>3</sup> "Pasifika" refers to people living in New Zealand who have migrated from the Pacific Islands or who identify with the Pacific Islands because of ancestry or heritage.

<sup>4</sup>Pakeha is a Maori-language term for New Zealanders of European descent.

At the time Moore wondered if critical multicultural dialogues embraced more aural and oral traditions in Australia, would they lead to deeper conversations. She questioned Galleguillos and Bagnall at the time whether research conversations in Australia were to more often embrace a yarning session or story circle, or talanoa where time was offered to listen to Aboriginal perspectives from local custodians, would Indigenous leadership models then be modeled and embedded in global research conversations in more secure and permanent ways. The research visits to Aotearoa New Zealand culminated in a day-long workshop for the faculty back at the University of Sydney. Galleguillos, Moore and Bagnall reported on their learning and these initiatives provided the team with opportunities to story, discuss, and share their learning through images and discussions. Informal feedback on the day gave evidence that staff found it useful and enjoyed the fact that the learning was enacted and not presented as a report. During this day of sharing, Aboriginal artists, storytellers, musicians and poets were employed to give performances and presentations. In this way, the importance of the sharing of creative pedagogies was affirmed.

Alongside the interviews, Connecting to *Country* Days and the International research program, the Embedding Diversity project involved more traditional outputs. In 2008, Moore co-wrote a journal article with Associate Professor Alyson Simpson that mapped the learning from the project. Moore was struck by Simpson's honesty and critical lens when she wrote:

Listening to an Elder speak of connection to *Country* and the principles of community that were related to the physical survival of a group of individuals and the maintenance of complex social and spiritual relationships, I realized how most of the teaching I was involved in was decontextualized and individualized. Even though the illustrated principles of learning espouse connection to authentic contexts the knowledge taught usually relates to advancement through artificial ranks of measurement in school systems. Learning is often competitive, designed to advance the individual rather than non-competitive, designed to support the community (Simpson and Moore 2008 p. 8).

Writing with Simpson encouraged Moore to reflect on the importance of reforming the ways in which Indigenous knowledge was transmitted. Rather than re-enacting text-based iterations of knowledge, where complex theories were formulated, Moore explored the notion of writing creatively for the journal, including photographs and art works and writing in ways that improved access to and democratized the ways in which information was shared.

#### **What Does Cultural Democracy Look Like from an Indigenous Perspective?**

Cultural democracy from an Indigenous perspective means that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander are given the opportunity to work, and develop competence with their non-Aboriginal colleagues.

The Embedding Diversity project allowed a reflective and process-based deep learning to occur which enabled practical and meaningful Reconciliation to transpire between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal staff. Within the Faculty of Education and Social Work, staff collaborated with, listened to, and were taught by Aboriginal Peoples in a range of contexts. Through this partnership, training, engagement, and conversations were had that shifted perspectives and changed thinking (Mooney and Moore 2013).

As an integral part of the Embedding Diversity Project, in 2008 Lynette Riley, a Wiradjuri and Gamilaroi woman from Dubbo and Moree gave an inspirational and groundbreaking workshop, where she employed role-play and drama-based activities to present her teaching. Riley was at the time a Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney and she presented her interactive kinship workshop to 80 predominantly non-Aboriginal staff. The interactive face-to-face presentation was first developed in 1987 by Riley to assist understanding of traditional kinship structures and the impact of colonization. Riley consulted with Aboriginal Peoples widely (Riley et al. 2015) and delivered her learning by dividing the participants into different family groupings. They were invited to group and re-group; exploring the learning space in physical ways and thereby enacting the different relationships, connections and associations that related to the kinship structures that Riley was teaching. Staff feedback from this game-based session was that the workshop was impactful. Bagnall reflected on his own learning from Riley in his words:

The shared experience of playing the kinship game under the leadership of Lynnette Riley, was a very significant part of acknowledging how some aspects of belonging and acceptance can lead to Reconciliation both on a personal and community level. I speak here as a pakeha from New Zealand who has spent more time living out of New Zealand than in. I feel very much like an infant in the ways of Maoridom and enacting and walking through the kinship structures I felt like I had put a significant piece within myself; one that had been missing. A piece of understanding about the ways of being, knowing and thinking of Aboriginal families and clans in Aboriginal nations was found for me. Playing the kinship game and walking through the encounter enabled an understanding that could not be found in a book. Physically embracing the encounter has opened up and created the most important space for future generations of Australian students, teachers and learners at the University of Sydney. Early connections with *Country* with Oomera Edwards and kinship games with Lynnette Riley are enacted and re-enacted as I continue my work within the School of Arts in 2019, some twelve years later. Today I see a place where all may feel welcome and want to participate in the creation of new knowledge and new ways of being. My own work on global identity and belonging is my Pakeha response to the need to know where I come from and how I am connected to *Country*, whether that be New Zealand or Australia. Working alongside colleagues and seeing their responses to the activities led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff members was one of the most important times in my twenty-five years at the University.

#### **The Importance of the Creative Arts and Sharing Stories in Global Communities**

A Culture and Wisdom Talking Transformation project, delivered by Bagnall and Moore at The University of Sydney in 2017, drew upon the experience gained from the Embedding Diversity project and acknowledged the importance of ongoing

Reconciliation dialogues and conversations. The creative arts workshops offered networking opportunities where Sydney-based comparative educationalists could meet together in a face-to-face environment and share ideas using creative modes. The workshops allowed participants the opportunity to story how their work embraced Indigenous cultural wisdoms and encouraged each participant to produce a canvas that symbolized their relationship with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge, wisdom, stories and histories. Instead of sharing through reports, PowerPoint slides or through the written word, students, lecturers, researchers and children shared their stories and images through painting.

The workshop participants created an exhibition of visual artworks that were presented to the public at the University of Sydney from September 6 to October 6. They were able to view their own completed canvas alongside the work of others and to see how their perspectives joined and grew together as a collective. Bagnall and Moore were mindful to avoid enacting a project that re-iterated the individual, competitive approach that Simpson wrote about in 2007. Talking Transformations was designed to support community minded participation, be non-competitive and inclusive. After being exhibited in Sydney, the canvases traveled to Noumea, where they were added to and re-exhibited at the University in New Caledonia during the OCIES5 Conference held there. Researchers, students and academics shared and exchanged conversations about their cultural wisdom and interfaced with Indigenous knowledge, creating images that acknowledged their own places of belonging.

Workshop participant Matthew Thomas, Associate Lecturer in Education at the School of Arts reflected to Moore in 2017 that;

The project was wonderful on several levels - it enabled collective discussion in a nonthreatening and relaxed atmosphere, creative expression, and most importantly, an opportunity to pause…and reflect…on Indigenous histories as they are both lived and told as well as assumed and overlooked.

Remembering, mapping, pausing and reflecting were vital ways in which critical multiculturalism could embrace a new way forward and endorse a fresh global identity. Reform, recognition and change could be enacted and truth telling through images and metaphor were encouraged. Here, researchers were given the opportunity to reflect on their own stances in critical ways and to commit to seek out, check in on and include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in innovative ways.

Moore extended the creative arts and story sharing global conversations through *The Artistic Residency* program at The University of Guam in 2016. In her collaborative project with Dr. Dean Olah of the school of Education she developed canvases with pre-service teachers and fine arts students mapping their Indigenous knowledge and stories. The local, Indigenous students in the class, the Chamorro students created canvases that delineated their latte stones. These pillars, topped by a hemispherical stone capital with the flat side facing up were used as building

<sup>5</sup>OCIES is the acronym for the Oceania Comparative and international education society. They held their annual meeting in Noumea in 2017.

supports by the ancient Chamorro People and are found throughout most of the Mariana Islands. The Chamorro students depicted them and told stories about how important the pillars were to their identity as Indigenous Chamorro Peoples. The students delighted in the sharing of images and stories as a discovery tool. The creative pedagogies enacted through the canvases enabled a collective sense of knowing, being and thinking (Martin 2008) to develop. When Moore and Olah asked what was the most memorable activity in the creative artistic residency a number of students spoke about the activity enabling the class to grow as a collective. One student remarked, "(…) presenting our canvas to the class made me see the different personalities we had in the classroom". Another noted: "It was a great activity for getting to know the people in your class as a simple canvas can reveal so much about a person's values, deep thoughts, and creative mind". The success of the project lay in the depth of the responses made possible through the students sharing images and symbols and then storytelling to each other using the canvases as a prompt. Olah and Moore discussed in their post-research dialogues how the canvases were used as a mirror, both to gaze within and to shine out. One participant commented: *"*The canvas paintings allow you to see what someone holds as important".

The residency in Guam provided opportunities for Pacific cultural perspectives to be gathered and heard in a global context. The arts-informed research approach gave permission to share and the freedom to explore individual stories, approaches and issues of the participants. The research reformed the way in which students acknowledged themselves as First Peoples and encouraged telling of truths. The creative pedagogies enacted carved out a space for listening to local wisdom and honoring local participants and stories in classrooms and learning spaces. It demonstrated the power of the creative arts to strengthen teacher education by empowering and listening to its Indigenous participants.

#### **Indigenous Truth-Telling and Global Identity**

The importance of "truth-telling", in Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives, cannot be underestimated. The Referendum Council, established to consult with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples about their views on constitutional recognition in Australia, highlighted the importance of "truth-telling" in its 2017 final report. "Truth-telling" was one of three recommendations supported at each of the council's 18 dialogues, attended by a total of 1200 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander delegates around the country. As a delegate from Darwin stated: *"Australia must acknowledge its history, its true history … the massacres and the wars. If that were taught in schools, we might have one nation, where we are all together"* (Reconciliation Australia 2018).

*Arts-based methods and projects give the opportunity for participants to engage with the difficult histories of First Peoples in creative ways.*

#### **Symbolic Reconciliation and Evidence of Change in the Community**

Symbolic Reconciliation dialogues, are also an important part of a multi-dimensional approach to social justice. A further endorsement of the way change can be introduced was evidenced in the smoking ceremony preceding the handing over of the role of Head of School in Education and Social work at the University of Sydney in February of 2019. The incoming Head of School had asked for this ceremony to be conducted as a way of cleansing the role that she was taking over. Having tried unsuccessfully to extend the Aboriginal flag flying at the Faculty of Education and Social Work for several years, where it only flew once a year on Reconciliation Day, this was seen as a really important step forward. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are now being taken seriously as the flags of their respective nations fly daily.

#### **An Indigenous World-View or a Global Identity?**

Margaret Mead in much of her work relating to the notion of culture in American Society, used a range of ethnographies of Indigenous groups. According to Molloy (2008) much of Margaret Mead's early popular ethnographies asked the question: "(…) what was it in American culture between the wars that was articulated in Mead's early work in such a way as to secure it and her enduring place in the public imaginary?" (p. 1).

If Mead spoke to America, then just as surely America spoke to and through Mead. She goes on to note that her focus was not on Mead's anthropology of the various Indigenous groups she studied, but "(…) rather, I consider her de facto anthropology of America, a significant part of each of her early ethnographies, and the raison d'être for them all: "Who or what was this America?" is the question…" (ibid).

In relation to the Indigenous inhabitants of Australia and New Zealand, what sort of vision or world-view do they have? How are their realities any different to those of the white settlers in both of these countries? As a comparativist it is difficult not to ask these questions. The reality is that the two countries had completely different perspectives and responses to the arrival of white people. In New Zealand when faced with the threat of invasion by the white settlers, the Maori tended to fight. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders seemed more inclined to retreat more deeply into the *Country* and avoid conflict wherever possible (although there is evidence that stories Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander resistance). This chapter cannot discuss these differences in detail, however, it is important to stress the thread that informs this chapter, in other words the notion of a global world-view. Did the original inhabitants of Australia and New Zealand have a conception of a world-view?

Was the arrival of the white man something to be taken in their stride and even embraced?

Running through Molloy's commentary on Mead's life work on culture and identity is a sustained concentration on the self and its relation to the larger society. It is one of the arguments of this study that the self as represented is not just any individual but is in some sense "(…) both an American self and the self of America" (Molloy 2008, p. 1). Whether or not Indigenous Native American populations felt the same sense of belonging to this concept of self is unclear.

#### **Maori Perceptions on Global Identity**

This final section draws on the experience in Aotearoa New Zealand of Maori and Pacifica interactions with white settlers predominantly from Europe. The historical background of New Zealand is quite different to that of Australia. The settlement of New Zealand was for the most part, voluntary with many arriving to start a new life. Those early European settlers who originally arrived in Australia, were often convicts forcefully removed from the United Kingdom and sentenced to lengthy terms of settlement. In reality, most who arrived never returned to Europe.

The worldview of the Maori People is discussed in *Te Putara*, a self-proclaimed commentary and opinion paper for the Kumara6 Vine, the Maori equivalent of the grapevine. It is noted that the task of formulating a single Maori worldview is an ambitious undertaking given the diversity of viewpoints encouraged within Maori culture. The suggestion is made that a good starting point could be to define what it is to be Maori. Te Putatara (2019) suggests: "Being ethnically Maori and identifying as Maori would be the foundation of a Maori worldview, if there is one!" Rebecca Solnit asserts: "Given a choice between their worldview and the facts, it's always interesting how many people toss the facts" (as cited in Te Putatara 2019).

The figures provided by the 2013 Census in New Zealand found that there were 668,724 people of Maori descent in Aotearoa New Zealand of these 598,605 (89.5%) identified as being Maori. About 87% live in the North Island and 13% in the South Island. There are a further 128,500 Maori (or approximately 17.6% of all Australasian Maori) living in Australia. According to the Putatara commentary, many Maori whanau7 in Australia and New Zealand now consider both countries as virtually the same country. The census figures show a merging of Maori and European in the context of religion and language where 98% of Maori identified as Christian and 100% speak English. Their worldviews merge although there is a noted discrepancy between those who say they know their *whakapapa* or lineage and those who do not.

<sup>6</sup>A Kumara is a sweet potato that was a key ingredient of the Maori diet before the arrival of white settlers in New Zealand. It has several varieties and is very tasty.

<sup>7</sup>Whanau is based on a specifically Maori and tribal worldview. It refers to the several layers of family connections. There is a physical, social and spiritual dimension to whanau.

Education in an adapted Maori way plays a major role in shaping engagement of Assimilation across New Zealand. *Te Aho Matua* is the philosophical base for *Kura Kaupapa* or Māori education, for the teaching and learning of children. *Te Aho Matua* is presented in six parts, each part having a special focus on what, from a Māori point of view, is crucial in the education of children:


Maintaining a Maori language is a critical piece of the puzzle in providing a meaningful education for all members of New Zealand society. It is not unusual in New Zealand for pakeha or white European New Zealanders to learn Maori. Just over 20% of those who speak Maori, speak Te Reo Maori at a conversational level of fluency. It is possible for students to undertake all their primary schooling in Maori, however only about 2% are enrolled in Maori education. The use of language as a unifying force in a nation's development, rather than trying to force English as the official language has clearly paid dividends for New Zealand society at large. The use of Maori is evident throughout New Zealand with Radio and Television station personalities often using Maori forms of greeting. The pronunciation of place names in New Zealand still calls for a considerable amount of focus as to make a mistake may cause offence.

#### **Conclusion**

The Embedding Diversity research dialogues described can be replicated in a variety of different higher education contexts and applied in different learning environments including formal education and informal adult learning frameworks. Elders can be involved in shaping learning and the land embraced as a valuable learning partner to assist and reform understanding of First Peoples knowledge. The creative arts canvas mapping and story sharing projects strengthened relationships, awareness and understanding between the peoples who participated in them and can be iterated and re-iterated in schools, universities and through communities of practice. The creative arts research models described demonstrated the transformational possibilities of sharing Indigenous stories. Furthermore, it evidenced the value of embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in comparative and international education (CIE) research, involving practitioners and students within Oceania and extending the dialogues to connect other oceans, islands and identities.

We have described a shared story of two countries.8 We have storied some of the responses of their respective Indigenous inhabitants to questions facing all nations in their quest for both survival and acceptance in a rapidly globalizing world. The questions are really concerned with the notion of change and adaptation of, what has always been, a contested space. The questions pose reform, recognition and change to enable Indigenous participation. The questions probe the need for the democratization of learning, teaching and research spaces through the inclusion of Indigenous perspectives.

The chapter has created a dilly bag.9 It is a dilly bag of questions that demand to be answered in ways that include, celebrate and involve First Peoples, their histories, stories and creativities. Some of these questions include: How does Oceania function as an island of knowing? How do we carve out space for Oceanic ways of knowing, thinking and being through multicultural perspectives? How can we engage in Global Reconciliation dialogues that honor Indigenous knowledge and people? There will be new ways and old ways (Moore and Birrell 2011) to listen, work with and adapt while opening different voices to citizenship.

*Don't forget me coz Coz forgetting diminishes story To remember brings us all to the circle. To speak of difficult histories, Remember the histories, Invite the ancestors in the room Talk outside Listen to the trees Don't forget me coz Coz I whisper on the wind.*

**Acknowledgment** The authors acknowledge and pay their respects to the traditional owners of the Land on which they work, live, learn and travel through. They pay respect to Elders past, present and emerging. Always was, always will be Aboriginal lands.

#### **References**


<sup>8</sup>The chapter also drew upon the Chamorro people from the Mariana Islands of Guam and the Kanak (French spelling till 1984, Canaque) of New Caledonia.

<sup>9</sup>The dilly bag is a traditional Australian Aboriginal bag, woven from the fibres of plants and used for a variety of food transportation and preparation purposes and in some communities was as a holder for personal or tribal artefacts.


**Open Access** This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, duplication, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, a link is provided to the Creative Commons licence and any changes made are indicated.

The images or other third party material in this chapter are included in the work's Creative Commons licence, unless otherwise indicated in the credit line; If such material is not included in the work's Creative Commons licence and the respective action is not permitted by, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to duplicate, adapt or reproduce the material.

## **Part IV Africa**

## **Chapter 7 Citizenship Education in Niger: Challenges and Perspectives**

**Moussa Mohamed Sagayar**

**Abstract** This chapter proposes a set of reflections about citizenship education, as well as its anchoring in the multi-ethnic and religious context of Niger, a Sahelian country at the southern border of the Sahara Desert. To address these questions, the chapter first presents the theoretical bases and concepts for analyzing citizenship education in the Nigerien educational system. The second part of the chapter deals with the issue of how ethnic groups in Niger evolve and coexist. On this basis, the third part exposes the issues of citizenship and their implications for the teaching of civic and moral education. The final part discusses potentially useful citizen actions towards improving citizenship education, especially in areas where the Islamist terrorist movement, *Boko Haram*, is active.

**Keywords** Citizenship education · Ethnic groups · Ethnicity · Citizenship · Citizen actions · *Boko Haram*

#### **Introduction**

Today, the issues of peace and lasting stability, which constitute real benchmarks for the respect of human rights and equality around the world, are at the center of debates on citizenship education. As many countries are becoming more and more democratic, there is a growing desire to establish a culture of responsible citizenship throughout the world. This chapter discusses the need to reinforce citizenship education in Niger and its potential for building a more peaceful future. After presenting some theoretical considerations, we will highlight the growing concern about the existing ethnic tensions and the challenges for citizenship education in this multi-ethnic Sahelian country. By taking the concrete example of the threats posed

M. M. Sagayar (\*) Abdou Moumouni University, Niamey, Niger

© The Author(s) 2020 89 A. Akkari, K. Maleq (eds.), *Global Citizenship Education*, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44617-8\_7

by the Islamist movement, *Boko Haram*, we will explore how citizenship education can promote useful citizen actions.

In this respect, citizenship education in Niger offers an interesting case study in which the government is striving to provide access to quality education for all as well as reinforcing security and promoting the values of peace and tolerance in an Islamic context.

#### **Citizenship Education in Niger: A Conceptual Framework**

The definitional approach to citizenship places individuals in relation to their position or status in society. From this point of view, a citizen is recognized as a member of a society or state. The political approach goes further and defines citizens as legal members of a State who enjoy rights and duties as well as civic privileges. Citizenship is also one of the components of the social bond that is based on values, civility, public spirit and solidarity. These values give citizenship its full meaning by not limiting it to the exercise of the right to vote. Here, the public spirit refers to the devotion and attachment of citizens to the State and their attachment to societal values and national interests (Barao 2018).

In his work, Simonneaux et al. (2012) speaks of citizenship education as "*la formation de l'esprit civique*" that could be translated as the 'building of a civic spirit'. This approach goes far beyond a narrow vision of civic instruction and incudes fundamental values such as freedom and equality as well as the idea of the collective good. He argues that educational initiatives that aim for attitudinal and behavioral change, such as citizenship education, need to break with traditional educational methods and evaluation system which tend to favor the acquisition of formal knowledge (Simonneaux 2006) rather than building competencies, skills and critical thinking. Although the teaching of formal knowledge on political rights, responsibilities and democratic institutions remains crucial, citizenship education must also seek to push citizens to think critically, question social norms and power relations, and act autonomously.

In this perspective, a report published by the '*Programme des Nations Unies pour le développement*' states that:

In most countries, civic education is part of the school curricula in one way or another. (…) There is strong evidence that active citizenship education is more effective if students do not just read about civic engagement in textbooks, but have the opportunity to experience it themselves (PNUD 2013, p. 25, translated from French).

In order to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing world that integrates new dimensions of participatory and collaborative openness, citizenship education also needs to incorporate ethical and social skills.

#### **Citizenship in Niger: A Historical Perspective**

Niger is a pivotal country situated between Arab-Berber and Sudano-Sahelian Africa. It was historically the hub of the main trans-Saharan trade route in which the country played a central role. As a result of its geographical location and history, Niger is considered to be a melting pot in which, for thousands of years, people from very diverse origins have coexisted. Over the course of history, the Nigerien population has forged bonds of solidarity that have given birth to a common culture recognizable in various traditional celebrations (Ministère de l'Education Nationale 1990).

Before colonization radically transformed Nigerien society, the country had a culture of unity and national pride (Ministère de l'Education Nationale 1990). The French colonization disturbed this social order and imposed a colonial system until independence in 1960 when President Hamani Diori, was democratically elected. He exercised power until a military coup overthrew him in 1974. President Seyni Kountché then governed the country until 1987 when he was succeeded by President Ali Saibou who imposed a single-party regime that represented a retrograde step for democracy and citizenship rights (Roufai 2018).

Throughout the country, dissenting voices rose up to demand reforms, freedom, social welfare and development. Following many years of political instability, the transition to multi-party democracy began in 1991 (Elischer and Mueller 2018). Unwilling to thwart the course of history, President Ali Saibou, as a pragmatic man, accepted their main demands and dismantled one-party rule. A new democratic era emerged paving the way for citizen participation, taking great strides towards new forms of living and expression (Roufai 2018).

Education has a key role to play in this democratic transition. In this respect, citizenship education must be reinforced in order to bring about the changes that will facilitate this transition towards true democracy that fosters both social cohesion and national unity (Roufai 2018).

#### **Citizenship and Ethnic Groups in Niger**

In Niger, the population is divided into eight major groups: Hausa, Djerma, Tuareg, Peulh, Kanuri, Gourmantché, Arab and Tubu. Niger's wealth of culture and tradition is reflected in this range of ethnic groups and the twenty different languages spoken across the country. Today, with the advent of political parties and a degree of individual freedom due to democracy, people are beginning to understand the role of freedom of expression and participation in the development of Niger. However, high illiteracy rates pose impediments to participatory and deliberative democracy.

It is no secret that in Niger political life has, over the last 20 years, been marked by political turmoil and instability, creating anxiety, frustrations and exasperation among the population. This resulted in several armed rebellions that have further threatened the unity of Niger (Yahaya 2016).

Although historically the cohabitation between ethnic groups was peaceful and social practices related to travel and internal migrations ensured close relationships characterized by humorous exchanges, inter-ethnic tensions are currently rising. These tensions are fueled by the power-lust of the larger ethnic groups who seek to impose their political will on the country or region and by some members of the intellectual class who stir hatred through inflammatory speeches (Tidjani 2000).

Furthermore, environmental pressures negatively affect the activities of these ethnic groups. For example, struggles over scarce water resources and grazing land have resulted in violence and deadly conflicts between nomadic cattle herders and sedentary crop farmers (Roufai 2015).

#### **Reframing Citizenship Education in the Nigerien Context**

Over the last decade, Niger has embarked on wide ranging reforms that have created not only a Ministry in charge of primary education, literacy, promotion of national languages and civic education (known under the French acronym MEP/A/PLN/ EC), but also a Department of Civic Education and Training for Citizenship (known under the French acronym DEC/FC).

Currently, the approach to citizenship education in Niger can be defined as patriotic, centered around the 'the love of the fatherland' and a shared sense of belonging. This approach places great importance on the respect of rules and regulations. Yahaya (2016) draws attention to the need to both foster political awareness that implies knowledge of one's rights as a citizen and one's duties to the community and the 'civic spirit' based on the principle of respect. Undeniably, the need to teach the principles of democracy and build national unity in the Nigerien context is evident; however, citizenship education should also integrate a human rights approach based on the values of liberty, dignity, solidarity and tolerance.

Throughout the Muslim world, there has been increasing interest in strengthening education through curricular reforms aiming to "promote pluralism, dialogue, citizenship and co-existence as tools to fight extremism" (Abu-Nimer et al. 2017, p. 154). However, many international organizations and NGOs attempting to implement educational programs, which aim to build peace and coexistence in Muslim countries, have failed to create a sense of local ownership (Abu-Nimer et al. 2017).

In this context, the Islamic peace-building model supports the claim that Islam is not intrinsically incompatible with nonviolence and peace despite the existence of arguments for conditioned uses of violence in the scripture. Still, it also supports the claim that the inherent values of nonviolence, peace and unity of humankind are often downplayed in favor of more radicalized Islamic discursive practices that have thrived especially in the last two decades due to the increased sense that Islamic identity is under attack (Abu-Nimer et al. 2016, p. 540)

Taking the example of Niger, Abu-Nimer et al. (2017) further argue that it is essential to strengthen values of peace and coexistence within religious education and develop context-appropriate programs, acknowledging that it is "necessary to look in even more depth at specific local contexts on a much smaller level than the national one, given that the situation, customs, culture and conditions vary drastically from one region to the next" (p. 155).

Abu-Nimer and Smith (2016) underline that in an increasingly interconnected world, intercultural and interreligious competences are essential life skills. More efforts are therefore needed to support interreligious peace education and to strengthen teachers' pedagogical competence. In this respect, Abu-Nimer et al. (2017) call for education reform with a major focus on a participatory approach involving teachers and students to study and analyze the values of peace in Islamic texts. Within this perspective, education for peace in the Islamic context relies on reinforcing peaceful messages derived from religious scriptures. In addition, this reform may only be effective if teacher training fosters the awareness of issues related to diversity and equality of religions.

In Niger, there has been a concerted effort to find the best way to develop a citizenship education textbook that teaches about democracy, but also covers important issues such as environmental protection, HIV and STDs, adolescent reproductive health and road safety education. The new themes retained contribute to the training of individuals who are conscious of their responsibilities and those of their family and the community to which they belong while being open to sub-regional and regional integration and, beyond, to globalization.

This new approach to citizenship education also covers three dimensions:


We can see that although the scope of citizenship education in Niger is not limited to the teaching of concepts such as freedom and democracy, it nevertheless does not address the issues of inter-ethnic tensions and religious minorities. These are very sensitive issues that are reminiscent of atrocities committed in the context of the Tuareg rebellion and conflicts between nomadic cattle herders and sedentary crop farmers. Efforts are therefore needed to consolidate citizenship education in curricula and integrate issues related to inclusion in a democratic and plural society, active participation in the life of a changing community and developments at the African and global levels as well as the fundamental right to food.

The primacy of reforming curricula and strengthening educational systems constitute a key aspect of global and national agendas. What is needed today is for contexts such as Niger to conceive a contextually and culturally appropriate approach towards such reform. In an effort towards achieving this goal, we believe the following questions need to be addressed:


#### **Citizenship Education in Niger: New Textbook and Approach**

Before 1990, there was almost a complete absence of citizenship education textbooks in primary, secondary and higher education. This observation was quickly taken up by the National Institute of Documentation Research and Pedagogical Actions, an institution whose mission is to conduct research and develop methods and strategies for the improvement of the Nigerien educational system. As such, the INDRAP1 actively participated in the elaboration of the 1988 programs, covering the first 6 years of schooling, and has been responsible for drafting textbooks for these programs. It has also provided a large number of courses for teachers on how to use these programs and textbooks (Sagayar 2011).

The current citizenship education textbook focuses on civic knowledge and the history of Niger as well as respect for the country's institutions and domestic development efforts. It also presents, in a few brief and simple pages, the essential democratic principles and institutions (Sagayar 2011). However, it is important to note the textbook does not encourage a reflection on citizenship and the inherent values of citizenship (Baldé 2008).

The notebook has been designed with the following theoretical content:


In April 2014, a Ministerial Order (No. 00035/MEP/A/PLN/EC/SG/DL) was passed stipulating that the *Ministère de l'Enseignement Primaire, de l'Alphabétisation, de la Promotion des Langues Nationales et de l'Education Civique* is responsable for:


<sup>1</sup>L'INDRAP (Institut National de Documentation de Recherche et d'Animation Pédagogique).

• the coordination and monitoring of civic education and citizenship training activities (République du Niger. Ministère de l'Enseignement Primaire, de la Promotion des Langues Nationales et de l'Education Civique 2014).

It is therefore clear that the new orientations focus on generalities but the appropriate content is still to be defined. There is no indication of performance levels nor the skills or competencies to be developed. In other words, we are presented with intentions that lack a real institutional anchor and do not identify the content elements needed to develop a context-appropriate program for the Nigerien context.

#### **Citizenship Education and Peacebuilding in Contexts of Ethnic Tensions**

In Africa, ethnic groups are referred to as majority and minority populations to indicate their numerical status. However, derogatory terms are used by the population to stigmatize some groups because they belong to minorities or due to an unequal distribution of wealth or simply because of their lack of political power.

On a global level, majority and minority power dynamics also play a role. Niger, being a 'minority' state, lacking global economic power and influence, has often been subject to strong external interference. In the field of education, many criticized the imposition and transposition of exogenous educational practices that are neither contextually nor culturally appropriate to the local context.

In the border region with Nigeria and Chad, the Islamist terrorist movement *Boko Haram* refuses all Western-style education which they consider to be sinful. Since 2010, the *Boko Haram* movement has intensified attacks against the population. Schools have been specifically targeted and held to ransom through the mass kidnapping of students. Their armed attacks create chaos in a region already suffering from poverty and social deprivation. In view of these events, citizenship is under pressure and the country is experiencing political instability, socio-economic insecurity, population displacements and food insecurity.

Attacks and military operations have led to a complex emergency situation in the region already suffering from high rates of poverty and of vulnerability. In this context, there is an urgent need to implement emergency actions with regard to education as the violence is keeping millions of children out of school and forcing families into exile (UNICEF Niger 2018).

Faced with this situation, NGOs are working with state structures to devise educational strategies to prevent children and young people joining the *Boko Haram* jihadist movement. In this emergency situation, educational alternatives and support for children and young people have also been set up with pedagogical content focusing on situational awareness and integrating security dimensions with issues of moral social values and human rights.

Yahaya (2016) states that, in many respects, the problem in Niger is not related to the religious texts. It is the partisan and reductive reading of political actors that has frequently led to institutional blockages, exacerbated by a lack of communication, political immaturity and the radicalization of positions, which in the extreme jeopardize the national interest. In this respect, Yahaya (2016) recommends acting on two levels:


#### **Supporting Citizen Actions Against** *Boko Haram*

For the children living in crises-affected regions, it is important to develop citizenship education approaches to meet the children's educational needs in emergencies and promote a more peaceful future (UNICEF 2019).

For this reason, policy makers, teachers and educators should reflect on:


Actions must be taken and framed in the logic of promoting citizenship education. Thus, the following avenues may be explored by empowering learners to become active and responsible citizen, aware of their rights and duties, and committed to building peaceful societies.

On an international level, initiatives have been proposed to face the *Boko Haram* jihadists' threat in the Chad Basin, in particular Nigeria, Benin, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, and initiatives have been announced:


Boko Haram, the establishment of a regional force to fight against this terrorist movement.

#### **Conclusion**

As in the case of Niger, citizenship education is a topical issue around the world. In this chapter, we have explored the issue of citizenship education as a condition of peace and stability in Niger.

The challenges for citizenship education in Niger are both national and global. On the national level, citizenship education programs need to build on the skills and competences, which support participatory democracy. In addition, the only way to promote deliberative democracy in Niger is through quality education and a sustained fight against illiteracy. On the global level, citizenship education must aim to build peace and coexistence in a context of ethnic tensions exacerbated by environmental pressures and climate change. In order to ensure community ownership and legitimacy, citizenship education must adopt a contextually and culturally appropriate approach.

If global citizenship education (GCE) is to be successfully implemented in Niger, it must avoid being perceived as an exogenous concept and an external intrusion, it must involve local stakeholders and Qur'anic schools. Thereby promoting values of peace in citizenship and religious education.

#### **References**


DL/2014 portant attributions de la Direction de l'Education Civique et de la formation à la citoyenneté.


UNICEF Niger. (2018). *Niger, Rapport annuel 2017*. Niamey: UNICEF Niger.

Yahaya, I. (2016). Etude sur le civisme au Niger. Analyse de la situation, diagnostic, des problèmes d'incivisme, solutions concrètes et réalisables. [Unpublished report of a study].

**Open Access** This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, duplication, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, a link is provided to the Creative Commons licence and any changes made are indicated.

The images or other third party material in this chapter are included in the work's Creative Commons licence, unless otherwise indicated in the credit line; If such material is not included in the work's Creative Commons licence and the respective action is not permitted by, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to duplicate, adapt or reproduce the material.

## **Chapter 8 Global Citizenship Education in West Africa: A Promising Concept?**

**Thibaut Lauwerier**

**Abstract** From early 2010, the concept of Global Citizenship Education (GCE) has been mainstreamed into international discourse and to a lesser extent in national discourse. Alongside education for sustainable development and education for peace, GCE has become the new buzzword in international development policies. However, its implementation remains problematic, especially in contexts such as West Africa where it faces major challenges. The exogenous origin of GCE and the lack of local stakeholders' involvement could diminish the relevance of the concept. Moreover, many multi-ethnic West African countries are still facing issues surrounding national citizenship and citizenship education. In this chapter, we discuss the potential of GCE in Francophone West Africa by reviewing the scientific literature on the topic.

**Keywords** Education · Citizenship · Globalization · Africa

#### **Introduction**

Our interest in international education agendas and their implementation in specific national contexts leads us to analyze the relevance of some of the targets of Agenda 2030 for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), such as global citizenship education (GCE). Indeed, this target is explicitly included in Goal 4.7 where we can read that, along with other knowledge and skills, learners should acquire global citizenship (UNESCO et al. 2015). More broadly speaking, since early 2010, the concept of GCE has been mainstreamed into international discourse and, alongside education for sustainable development and education for peace; it has become the new buzzword in international development policies.

In this chapter, we discuss the potential of GCE in Francophone West Africa by reviewing the scientific literature on the topic. As we have not found any empirical studies on this specific region, we have expanded our scope to include literature on

© The Author(s) 2020 99

T. Lauwerier (\*)

Université de Genève, Genève, Switzerland e-mail: Thibaut.Lauwerier@unige.ch

A. Akkari, K. Maleq (eds.), *Global Citizenship Education*, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44617-8\_8

Sub-Saharan Africa. Our chapter is divided into two parts that examine the two key terms of the concept: 'citizenship' and 'global'. This division allows us to highlight the main challenges but also the potential of GCE in the aforementioned context. In a transversal way, we are interested in the role that basic education can play. Moreover, we question the supposed 'Westernity' of the concept of GCE while nevertheless considering its potential in the Francophone West African context.

#### **The Issue of Citizenship**

Before addressing the issue of citizenship in West Africa, it is necessary to outline the general definition of GCE. UNESCO (2015), which has considerably deepened this concept in recent years, proposes a definition that is internationally authoritative (see *Introduction* chapter). But we must recall that behind this definition, there are some strong concepts like human rights, social justice, diversity, gender equality and environmental sustainability that learners must take ownership of. There is also the idea of empowerment among learners. In addition, it is important to note that according to this same organization, GCE has a universal scope (not only a Western one):

There are no contradictions between the two concepts of Citizenship and Global Citizenship Education because in practice, global citizenship is a set of universally shared principles that we are asked to apply in everyday actions. Therefore, it emphasises duty, what an individual must do in terms of responsibility and which is universally accepted. (UNESCO-Dakar 2015, p. 17; translated from French).

Although this definition considers the transformative and universal purpose of education, several authors note that what lies at the heart of GCE is Western-centric perspectivism (Abdi et al. 2015; De Oliveira Andreotti and de Souza 2012). The concept of global citizenship has become prominent in European and North-American governments, civil society and educational discourse. However, the hypothesis that this concept would achieve consensus between and within Western countries has not been validated. Firstly, not all Western countries have embraced this concept (essentially being a product of the United Nations and countries such as South Korea). Secondly, many European politicians are sceptical about its relevance, and even more so about its possible implementation: wouldn't their national citizenship be enough in itself?

As it is the case for GCE, many authors consider citizenship at the international level to be a Western concept since the concept arose in Europe in the seventeenth century following the Treaty of Westphalia: "Citizenship is about the lives of citizens who act in a given national space on the basis of institutionally or otherwise agreed upon rights and responsibilities" (Abdi et al. 2015, p. 1). That being said, at that time, and even later, Europe was made up of empires (Germanic, Austro-Hungarian, etc.) whose populations were considered to be subjects rather than citizens. Later, during the colonial era, metropolitan people were considered full citizens (or almost considering that women did not have the right to vote), while colonized peoples were second-class citizens.

One of the major issues raised in the literature is that African national territories are inherited from colonisation and have always been a source of tension. Indeed, state boarders were drawn artificially by foreign colonial powers without considering ethnic, linguistic, cultural or religious identity. Here again, we should bear in mind that most European borders are also arbitrary. For instance, the French national territory was established artificially imposing a shared sense of national identity, particularly in the case of the Alsace region and Corsica. If we take the case of Mali in West Africa, the country experienced the emergence of powerful empires from the fourth century, namely, the Malian empire, the Ghanaian empire and the Songhai empire. This was followed by a succession of small States that gained independence. In the second half of the nineteenth century, France gradually colonised all three kingdoms. The last empire fell in 1890 when French Sudan was created which in turn fell in 1946 (Kamissoko 2007).

According to Manby (2009), colonisation challenged the sense of membership in African communities as the creation of Nation-States with arbitrary boundaries brought together communities with diverse cultural backgrounds. These myriad identities pose challenges for citizenship laws based on equal rights and recognition. Rich Dorman (2014) notes that citizenship in Africa has been increasingly contested since the end of the Cold War and has been a source of violent political and democratic struggles throughout the continent. The denial of the rights of citizens, such as measures to prevent citizenship participation in social and political life, has been at the heart of many of the social and political upheavals in postindependence Africa. Manby (2009) pointed out that the struggle of stateless people in the Côte d'Ivoire led the country into years of civil war. In Mali, the absence of a State as well as ethnic tensions fuelled by jihadists resulted in violent attacks on Dogon, Fulani and other villages in early 2019. The Malian government is struggling to contain the country's unrest and ethnic tensions and has still not clarified its position.

According to Quaynor (2018), "there have been particular critiques that current frameworks for understanding citizenship fail to account for civic understandings and practices in both African and Afro-Diasporic societies" (p. 362). Thus, defining citizenship from a European historical perspective, such as that found in the United Nations Charter of Human Rights, runs the risk of losing conceptions of rights and participation that are important in particular contexts. Thus, beyond the question of borders, some rights, particularly the right to vote and women's rights, differ in strength and distribution according to the region. For example, the notion of voting as democratic participation can be largely symbolic and does not actually confer power to citizens to elect their political leaders, as can be noted in studies from different African societies. Citizenship laws in Africa were modelled on those of the European colonial States and some of the principles of citizenship inherited from colonisation still remain in parts of Africa. This can be seen in laws that favoured men (mothers could not pass their citizenship on to their children if the father was not a citizen), whereas Indigenous African practices privileged identity based on matrilineal descent (Manby 2009).

This begs the question whether or not citizenship should not be stabilised in West Africa before considering GCE – or at least address local conflicts and guarantee citizens' rights. Is it not a chimera to create citizenship rights that would be recognized on an international scale?: "Any attempt to transpose the notion of citizenship beyond the Nation-State to the global level thus becomes even more problematic, particularly from a legal perspective" (Tawil 2013, p. 2). The challenges of national citizenship, caused by social, political and ethnic tensions, are such that we must ask ourselves whether GCE is not an additional burden. However, GCE could also be seen as a way to overcome tensions related to national citizenship (Akkari 2018). For example, in research conducted in Liberia, students and teachers reported few global ties, and they overwhelmingly associated citizenship with the Nation-State. Nonetheless, most of the students had transnational affiliations with football teams and considered the world outside their nation as a source of knowledge (Quaynor 2015a). One may even wonder if GCE may provide a means of freeing the country and its citizens from former colonial dominance, still very present even decades after independence, by promoting the idea that we do not belong to a country (the former colony) but to the world.

In any case, promising experiences in terms of citizenship have taken place in Francophone West Africa. For instance, in Burkina Faso, a political movement called the "Citizens' Broom" (Balai citoyen) emerged in 2013 and called for all citizens to clean up the country. The symbol of a broom made of many twigs reflects the idea that an isolated citizen can do nothing but gathered together citizens can 'clean up the mess'. This movement aims, among other things, to promote citizen consciousness, to control the actions of elected officials and public authorities, to improve social assistance and to preserve the environment. This type of action has not only a national scope but can have an international impact to the extent that ecological dimensions are taken into account (Monde Diplomatique 2015).

Moreover, there has been an effort to promote citizenship education in Francophone West African contexts and some studies have confirmed the advantages of this. Bleck's (2015) research in Mali revealed that education of any type (including informal and Islamic schooling) plays an important role in empowering citizens as democratic agents. Simply put, students know more about politics than their peers who have not attended school. Education also appears to bolster parents' participation. Citizenship education is even more pronounced in emerging democracies and post-conflict environments. For instance, less than 50% of people interviewed in a research on citizenship education in Liberia expressed trust in governmental institutions, local government officials, the police and political parties (Quaynor 2015b).

But once again, citizenship education must be able to bring about a change in pupils and students, who will be the citizens of the future – this implies a guarantee of a certain quality of teaching and learning. Quality in education remains a major issue in Francophone West African school contexts compounded by low levels of enrolment and decreased quality of initial and in-service teacher training. Recently, the duration of teacher training courses has decreased significantly and teachers' satisfaction is often low. Furthermore, insufficient mastery of educational content and low levels of pedagogical competence affects student learning outcomes (Akyeampong et al. 2011). Even if the competency-based approach was implemented in national educational systems several years ago, getting pupils or students actively involved in complex tasks is challenging due to oversized classes and the traditional teacher-dominated instructional practices which emphasize recitation and memorisation (Lauwerier 2018):

We cannot use traditional teaching methods, which are limited to "knowledge transfer", for that. We believe that we should enter a transformative learning system, making use of transformative pedagogy that leads to real personal and social change (cf. Sterling 2014). This in turn is another major challenge for Cameroon to face: to have consequently qualified trainers. And that is another story (Foaleng 2015, p. 22).

Since quality education is a primary instrument for citizenship, it is essential in the context of Francophone West Africa to raise the issue of the language of instruction. Indeed, despite the students, teachers and teacher trainers poor French language proficiency and the attempts to introduce national African languages in basic education systems, French remains the official medium of instruction. As a result, Lauwerier's (2018) study showed that few pupils adopt a proactive role or volunteer to answer the teacher's questions. Although they do repeat words or sentences when asked to, they do not always understand the meaning of what they are repeating. Despite these language comprehension difficulties, teacher do not encourage the use of the pupil's mother tongue since all school materials, including national assessments and examinations are in French. This highlights the importance of mother tongue education to effectively implement active citizenship education and form pupils who are capable of thinking about what it means to be a citizen in their own contexts (Lauwerier 2018).

After arguing that considering issues of citizenship and the quality of education should be prerequisites for implementing GCE in Francophone West Africa, we now reflect on the 'global' aspect of the concept.

#### **The Issue of Global**

Behind the concept of global citizenship is the idea of the place and role of citizens in an increasingly global world. However, we know that in this globalized context, there are winners and losers, and that the balance is generally tilted against Africa, which does not fully enjoy the supposed benefits of the new global economy:

While we have achieved, through massive economic, cultural and technological globalizations, which by and large, has benefited wealthy northern countries and their corporations, there has been much devastation on the immediate lives and overall ecological locations of Indigenous populations (Abdi et al. 2015, p. 3).

In this context, can African people really feel part of a global community?

Yet, Youemura (2015) believes that the concept of global citizenship makes sense in Africa, given the continent's challenges for the planet: "The rising issues, such as population growth, youth bulge, urbanisation, climate change and inequalities have urged policymakers to re-prioritise their policies" (p. 74). Nevertheless, how will GCE support this transformation? Generally speaking, GCE, including in the Global North, has been considered within a minimalist framework, which at best would view global citizenship as a salve to solve the social and ecological challenges of globalization:

The common sense of education has been limited to the skills and knowledge that best serve market interests and practices. Given neoliberalism's embrace of possessive individualism, citizenship around the globe has been conflated to narrowly define common good as being solely based upon self-interest (Torres and Dorio 2015, p. 5).

In this way, GCE fits into neoliberal logic and is not unrelated to the aims of education at the global level, and in particular, those of the international organisations operating in Francophone West Africa. If we take the case of the World Bank, omnipresent for decades in this context, economic growth is at the heart of its concerns for education: "Simply put, investments in quality education lead to more rapid and sustainable economic growth and development" (World Bank 2011, p. v). In this respect, globalization, increasing in importance over time, will validate the World Bank's emphasis on education: "At the same time, the stunning rise of new middleincome countries has intensified the desire of many nations to increase their competitiveness by building more skilled and agile workforces" (World Bank 2011, p. 2). From this point of view, the organisation's priority is not to bring about profound transformations in response to global social and environmental issues. National governments in the present context often blindly repeat the discourse of international organisations, implying that GCE will remain at a superficial level. If we consider the discourse related to environmental issues from the World Bank, education would rather prepare students for a tsunami than suggest an alternative ecological model: "Comparing countries with similar income and weather conditions, those countries with better-educated female populations are more capable of coping with extreme weather events than countries with low levels of female education" (World Bank 2011, p. 13). Even UNESCO, less powerful in Africa than the World Bank but very active on GCE issues, seems to be uneasy with the conflict between economic growth and ecological issues as the organisation is concerned with the link between investing in education and its effects on economic growth (Lauwerier 2017). As Swanson (2015) suggested, it is imperative to distinguish neoliberalised approaches to GCE from criticaly engaged forms of GCE:

Global citizenship education has a task of educating, not only for global citizenship in its institutionalized and historically normalized categories, but as well or even more importantly now, for global social justice as part of being a citizen with undeniable basic rights irrespective of where you reside on planet earth (Abdi et al. 2015, p. 3).

In addition to this neoliberal vision of education, some authors consider the conceptions of the GCE as uncritically embracing "the normative teleological project of Western/Enlightenment humanism, which is deeply invested in the production of rational unanimity and unequivocal knowledge in regard to conceptualizations of humanity/human nature, progress and justice" (De Oliveira Andreotti and de Souza 2012, p. 2). For instance, on ecological issues, it is important to note that traditional beliefs such animism, still practiced in many African contexts, are respectful of the environment. However, here again, globalization that has resulted in massive urbanisation and the use of intensive agriculture has generated environmental degradations and downplayed society's values of respect for nature.

Another criticism of GCE and its 'global' nature concerns the usual classroom practices in Francophone West Africa. Indeed, GCE implies not locking oneself into simply local issues but instead opening up to the rest of the world. However, Lauwerier (2018) study in Senegal shows that there is a gap between what the curriculum suggests in terms of learners' decentration and classroom practices. In addition, the study shows that teachers struggled to cover topics in curricula such as the philosophy of the Lumières and Pasteur's vaccine of which they had little knowledge. In this respect, the majority of teachers that took part in this research stated that they mainly covered issues related to Senegal, as they were not well informed about foreign issues, even in neighbouring countries.

While taking into account these criticisms, we believe that the concept of GCE provides some relevant ideas to today's global challenges – for example, that the world is not binary. The dynamics of society's construction invite us to accept that concepts such as the GCE can make sense in contexts where they have not necessarily emerged. As suggested by Kane (1961) in his book "Ambiguous Adventure", African society is torn between the desire maintain to cultural roots and the desire to embrace thoughts and values coming from elsewhere, including from the colonising countries.

It is interesting to note that the concept of GCE has already been incorporated into many reports and declarations at the national and regional levels in Africa as we can see in the two following examples:

The GCE framework adopted in the Kigali Declaration at the end of the Ministerial Conference on Education Post-2015 for Sub-Saharan Africa that took place in Rwanda in February 2015:

Priority areas highlighted in the statement include equitable and inclusive access for all; inclusion, equity and gender equality; teachers and teaching; educational quality and learning outcomes; science, technology and skills development; education for sustainable development and global citizenship education; youth and adult literacy, skills and competencies for life and work; financing, governance and partnerships; education in crisis situations (ADEA 2015).

We can see that GCE is explicitly listed as a key priority and therefore considered relevant for Francophone West African educational policies.

On a more concrete level, UNESCO-Dakar has implemented GCE related programs in West Africa and the Sahel on issues such as migration and the challenges of integrating refugees and migrants in host countries. These programs cover different policy areas, including the protection of human rights and migrant employment as well as national security and social cohesion. UNESCO-Dakar implementation strategy focuses on capacity building for decision-makers, teacher trainers, curriculum development and advocacy (UNESCO-Dakar 2018).

Beyond the question of whether GCE is a fruitful concept for Francophone West Africa, it is perhaps more interesting to look at the key aims of GCE. From this point of view, we can see that many of its principles are historically rooted in African thought.

For instance, the non-governmental organisation (NGO) Oxfam's international framework for GCE aims to use a transformative approach based on social justice and by proposing key elements for 'responsible global citizenship':


These elements do not a priori contradict the idea of having global objectives that do not come into contradiction with African values.

In this respect, Geldenhuys (2013) and Waghid (2018) identified three aspects in the various existing definitions of GCE that are similar to what is said in African discourses: "a participatory form of human attunement in relation to recognising people's rights and identities; a human rights discourse that counteracts war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crimes against peace in an atmosphere of an openness to culture and democratic public life; an equal moral respect to all humans discourse" (Waghid 2018, p. 98).

Beyond the possible application of GCE in Francophone West Africa, we can also highlight existing theories and practices in sub-Saharan Africa that are similar to the concept of GCE. Indeed, it is more interesting to see which concepts build a bridge between common values rather than focusing on GCE in itself: "It is important to consider that Indigenous knowledges and practices have rich traditions regarding citizenship and education" (Quaynor 2018, p. 373).

From this point of view, according to the recent UNESCO report (2018) *Taking it Local*, there are national/local/traditional concepts whose purpose is to promote ideas that reflect those at the heart of GCE. Two examples in the African context can be taken from this report. The first one refers to the Charter of Manden in Mali:

Born from a context of diversity of ethnicity and faith, the Charter of Manden provides guidance on how to respectfully and peacefully interact with other cultures and societies, thereby illustrating notions that are key to GCED, namely respect for diversity and solidarity (UNESCO 2018, p. 3).

The other example mentioned by UNESCO is the South African concept of *Ubuntu*, which means 'I am because we are – we are because I am'. This concept has also been linked to GCE by other authors:

*Ubuntu* philosophy, with its emphasis on a social African humanism and spiritual way of collective being, provides the possibilities for replacing, reinventing and reimagining alternatives to the current destructive path of increasing global injustice, as it also offers opportunities to decolonize recuperative global citizenship discourses and coercive Western epistemologies (Swanson 2015, p. 33).

Thus, we believe that GCE is not a completely abstract concept for the context of Francophone West Africa.

#### **Conclusion**

Despite its exogenous nature, we have seen that GCE can be considered a promising concept for Francophone West African educational systems and can be linked to related African concepts such as *Ubuntu*. Nevertheless, GCE programs can not overlook the challenges of citizenship (internal conflicts, citizens' rights, types of pedagogy,…) and globalization (global inequality, in-depth change,…) in Francophone West Africa, which could potentially undermine its spread.

To further understand these challenges, we are currently conducting research to shed light on the potential relevance of this concept in Francophone West Africa, particularly in Senegal. To this end, we are analyzing to what extent the Ministry of education has integrated international discourse to propose relevant guidelines in national policy documents. We will complete this analysis through interviews conducted in Senegal with officials from the Ministry of Education on the one hand and representatives of international organisations, particularly UNESCO on the other. This will enable us to better understand their conceptualisation of GCE and its potential operationalisation.

We would like to conclude this chapter by identifying Francophone West Africa's many educational challenges that we have not addressed. For instance, access to basic education still remains a major issue throughout the region. After more than 50 years of independence, West African countries have made significant progress in access to basic education, moving from a net rate of no more than 10% in the 1960s to a rate of 70–90% today. Nevertheless, these advances mask the fact that there are still too many out-of-school children and important gender inequalities and rural/ urban disparities.

The region also faces serious challenges in terms of pupils' learning outcomes as many children struggle to become literate despite having had access to schooling. The findings from the Programme for the Analysis of Education Systems of CONFEMEN (PASEC) on Francophone Sub-Saharan countries show large disparities between regions in terms of pupils' learning outcomes. Indeed, on average in the 10 countries covered by these studies, more than 70% of the children in second grade were below the sufficient competency threshold in early primary language (47% in mathematics). Moreover, 12.4% of the pupils had great difficulty (below the first level of this test) in language (16.2% in mathematics). By the end of primary school, two out of three students did not have sufficient proficiency in French. The same ratio was true for their competencies in mathematics as 27% of students had great difficulty in this subject (PASEC 2015). These results are indisputable evidence of a learning outcomes crisis in the majority of Francophone Sub-Saharan countries despite the efforts made in terms of access and resources allocated to early education. We therefore would like to conclude with the following reflection:

We are here in a society with schools that have 3 out of 4 students who would have difficulty reading; with predominantly illiterate adults who are abandoned to themselves in terms of education; in a society where the notion of citizenship has no meaning for the many and where resignation and resourcefulness reign as the main features of African postcolonial societies. How to proceed in such a society in order to hope that people can efficiently gain access (that is to say, in a transformative manner) to global citizenship? (Foaleng 2015, p. 21).

#### **References**


Manby, B. (2009). *Struggles for citizenship in Africa*. London: Zed Books.

Oxfam, G. B. (2006). *Education for global citizenship* (A Guide for Schools). Oxford: Oxfam GB.


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## **Part V North Africa**

## **Chapter 9 Citizenship Education in Post-conflict Contexts: The Case of Algeria**

#### **Naouel Abdellatif Mami**

**Abstract** In most post-conflict contexts, weakened by the large scale of destruction, efforts are often directed towards rebuilding society through preparing citizens to manage conflictual relationships and rebuild at both social and identity levels. This obviously requires the support of citizenship education that models attitudes and civic practices as well as building civic competences.

This chapter focuses on two post-conflict periods in Algerian history. Firstly, we consider the post-colonial period characterized by the need of Algerian society to unite behind a national identity and achieve what the former president Houari Boumedien called "l'Etat – Nation" (the Nation State). From this perspective, we examine the historical complexities around citizenship education in Algeria comprised of three-identity components, namely 'Algerianity', Arabization and Islam. Secondly, we analyze the challenges of citizenship education following Algeria's 'Black Decade' civil war that ended at the start of this millennium. At that time, civic identity was very much influenced by a growing rejection of religious extremism. Finally, we discuss multi-level case studies of educational reforms related to citizenship education as well as changes in the Algerian educational system in terms of participation, conceptions of citizenship, an openness to discuss controversial issues linked to freedom of expression, human rights issues, the participation of women and contextual values of development.

**Keywords** Citizenship · Education · Globalization · Algerian educational system · Post-colonial conflicts

#### **Introduction**

In ancient Greek society, citizenship referred to a person's status as a member of a city. Access to citizenship status granted privileges that other inhabitants such as slaves were denied. In its modern sense, the concept of citizenship has evolved to recognise legal members of a sovereign state who assume duties and enjoy rights.

N. Abdellatif Mami (\*)

© The Author(s) 2020 113 A. Akkari, K. Maleq (eds.), *Global Citizenship Education*, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44617-8\_9

Mohamed Lamine Debaghine, Sétif 2 University, Setif, Algeria

Therefore, the concept of citizenship is linked to the nature of the state and its jurisdiction.

Wider definitions of citizenship are based on a democratic legal rational and include both social and human components that ensure equality without distinction of gender, race or religion.

According to Sarr (2010), citizenship confers equal civil, political, social and economic rights for all. It also defines obligations within the framework of a given political community and allows power sharing and participation in decision-making. Citizenship is therefore expressed through civic behavior involving a set of moral qualities and civic duties considered necessary to smoothly govern the city, where each citizen accepts the common rule of law. Defined as such, citizenship is an essential component in the creation of society (Bendif 2016), generating the need for citizenship education.

Today, citizenship education pays a key role in schools with the aim of both building and training citizens. Indeed, through socialization and education children acquire the knowledge, skills and values necessary to develop and evolve in their community, affirm themselves as free individuals, act responsibly and respect the legal framework that defines individual rights and duties.

However, this initial socialization period should not simply result in strict compliance with the established social norms and models (Rocher 1970). Children's characters are fostered by active debate between various components of their social environment. At times, active citizenship may lead to opposing or even rebelling against what can be considered inappropriate, unjust or unacceptable.

The difficult behavior that some young people may display during adolescence can be linked to a feeling of social exclusion or a citizenship crisis but can also be a phase of intense self-realization and affirmation. This can explain some of the difficulties that occur between the school system and young people. The resulting tensions are partly explained by the inadequate responses of the schooling system to the learners' inherent physical, psychological and social needs. For this reason, it is not only necessary to uphold the educational system but to adapt citizenship education to critical periods of development.

Citizenship education also plays an important role in regulating behavior during traumatic and post-traumatic situations. In this context, it is essential to train teachers to incorporate the principles of democratic citizenship education in their practice.

In recent years, citizenship education has been the subject of international attention, including two major cross-national studies (Jaramillo and José 2009). However, few reviews of citizenship education include research from post-conflict societies (Robertson 2011), a regrettable omission since post-conflict situations offer distinct challenges in terms of instilling both democratic norms and a sense of social cohesion.

This chapter will focus on two post-conflict periods in Algerian history by first considering the post-conflict period following decolonization and analyzing the historical complexities around citizenship education in Algeria during this time and the need for society to unite behind a national identity comprised of three components, namely 'Algerianity', Arabization and Islam. Then, we will examine the challenges

for citizenship education following Algeria's 'Black Decade' civil war and the fight against religious extremism. Finally, we discuss citizenship education in national educational reforms and issues related to freedom of expression, human rights and women's participation.

#### **Definition of Citizenship Education**

Citizenship education plays a significant role in the development of informed and responsible citizens aware of their duties and rights. To this end, school curricula often includes civic education, religious education or citizenship education. Despite the disparity of these subjects, the implicit or explicit objectives sought through civic, moral or religious education are similar as they all inculcate social behaviors associated with respect of social and legal norms.

It is however important to underline that citizenship education is not exclusively a matter of school curricula, it is also constructed or deconstructed under the influence of educational and pedagogical values that are linked to the economic, political, social, cultural, and institutional practices. It is influenced by context and by social, political and human paradigms.

UNESCO (1998) defines citizenship education as educating children, from early childhood, to become clear-thinking and enlightened citizens who participate in decisions concerning society.

In a democracy, citizenship education seeks to educate citizens who will be free to make their own judgements and hold their own convictions. Compliance with existing laws should not prevent citizens from seeking and planning better and ever more just laws. Respect for law, which is one of the objectives of civic education, calls not for blind submission to rules and laws already passed but the ability to participate in drawing them up (UNESCO 1998, p. 1).

UNESCO (2010) defines citizenship education as the development of skills including "a willingness to investigate issues in the local, school and wider community; a readiness to recognize social, economic, ecological and political dimensions of issues needed to resolve them; and the ability to analyse issues and to participate in action aimed at achieving a sustainable future" (UNESCO 2010, para. 1).

#### **Citizenship Education in Algeria**

To understand citizenship education in Algeria, it is essential to mention a set of components that come into play. Firstly, the concept of citizenship has different connotations and is highly context-dependant. It can therefore have a vast and varied scope depending on territorial context (the Algerian territory defined by national borders) or national context and identify components such as 'Algerianity', Arabization, Tamazight (Berber), and Islam. If we consider Algerian citizenship as a sense of belonging to Algeria and consider the country's historical, economic, sociological and political environment, we can distinguish three levels of identity in the Algerian society:


It is important to understand that these three levels of identity are not sufficiently integrated or harmonized at the national level, which is why we have chosen not to adopt the concept of "Nation" in this chapter. Indeed, it could be said that these levels function independently, each with their own logic and political, economic, diplomatic and strategic management, sometimes clashing violently, creating armed conflicts as was the case during the 'Black Decade' civil war. In this respect, these three levels of identity, imposed or rejected, constitute a problem of integration and harmonization.

Secondly, considering the different dimensions of citizenship education, a larger problem emerges linked to the lack of a shared conceptualization of Algerian citizenship. This hampers the promotion and development of citizenship education. In fact, educating the learner to democratic citizenship hardly creates consensus.

Thirdly, it seems hard to link the pedagogical objectives of citizenship education and global citizenship education (GCE) with the current educational discourse in Algeria. Moreover, the gap between discourse and reality hampers the implementation of educational reform projects such as the PARE reform which was initiated in 2002 and a second reform in 2014 in favour of citizenship education. In order to address these intricate issues, it is important to understand Algeria's historical background and analyze the country's current post-conflict situation.

#### **Citizenship in Algeria: A Historical Debate**

Citizenship is a fundamental issue in postcolonial educational systems. Since the country's independence, there has been little opportunity for people to express themselves freely and few possibilities for plural expression. In fact, citizenship education has only very recently become a popular subject. Following the decolonisation process in Algeria, political measures were mainly aimed at building resilience after 132 years of colonization and the war of independence that lasted more than 7 years. Less consideration was given to the social and civil needs of the people and, as a result, the educational sector was not a priority.

Algerians suffered from the French colonization which dispossessed them of their lands and wealth, but also prevented access to education by closing all the country's Koranic schools (Medersa). The horror of colonialism remains in Algeria's collective memory, in particular the massacre 8 May 1945 that Zoubir (2011) describes as "the fierce campaign that was conducted on behalf of the French state [that] has made tens of thousands of victims. The number has never been accurately determined, although our national memory recorded symbolically 45 000 martyrs" (p. 2). This was followed by many other tragic events such as the massacre that took place on 11 December 1960 and the murders committed by the Secret Armed Organization (OAS) between 1960 and 1962.

Moreover, colonialism has left Algerian society deeply scared. The French colonialism not only affected Algerian society in general but also the people's dignity, religion, identity and citizenship. One example of the French denial of Algerian citizenship is the "code de l'indigénat" which placed Algerians on the same level as slaves. The colonial conquest was also responsible for the impoverishment of Algeria. As stated by Zoubir (2011), "The famine and impoverishment that followed the colonial conquest, [resulted] in the loss of one third of the native population between 1830 and 1870" (p. 2).

We believe the identity issues that the Algerian people experience today are directly linked to the French government's refusal to recognize the crimes committed during colonization. This lack of recognition is regarded as an open wound and as continued denial of Algerian national identity and citizenship. For instance, up until 1999 the French government referred to the Algerian war as simply policing. It is fair to say that Algerians do not adhere to France's appalling claim that colonization was a civilizing mission and a means to prosperity for the Algerian population.

During the colonization of Algeria, the French colonial power massively invested in the country's integration into the French economy, which influenced the territorial organization and in turn upset local social, economic, cultural, and military organization (Abedellatif 2014). This resulted in an unequal geographical distribution of the population with 60% of the current population concentrated in only 4% of the territory, leaving the Highlands and the South sparsely populated (Bendif 2016). This massive urbanization represents an important social and educational challenge.

It is undeniable that French colonization damaged the Algerian spirit at all levels (Abdellatif 2014) and had a considerable impact on citizenship and citizenship education. In this respect, Algeria directed its efforts towards creating a sense of national belonging following the decolonization. To do so, it was necessary to promote a shared vision of the '*Umma*' Algerian Nation. At that time, the President Houari Boumediene's policy aimed to create a balanced identity as well as fair and functional administrative, economic, industrial, social and cultural organizations. The cultural homogeneity and the multidimensional political equilibrium created in 1971 was the most credible factor of consciousness and national unity.

Since the county's independence, leaders have created a discourse that depicts the national territory in a quasi-sacred way. Despite the political will to fairly create basic infrastructure, provide services, as well as distribute employment and resources, the means to achieving this were not sufficiently thought out and

unfortunately generated disparities and regional imbalances that have led to divisions in national unity at the level of citizen consciousness.

An important element that must be taken into consideration in Algeria is Islam. Algeria has a rich and diverse cultural heritage stretching from the regions of the great South, the southern and northern slopes of the Atlas to the Mediterranean coastal strip and the High Planes. The environmental diversity and specific historical context have created cultural diversity. Despite this, Islam as the common denominator has shaped the context of everyday life and united the national conscience of Algerian citizens.

The first government after independence restored Islam and the Arabic language. Articles 4 and 5 of the 1963 Constitution stipulate that Islam is the religion of the state and that the Arabic language is the national and official language. This was a legitimate and expected reaction after the oppressive practices of French colonialism but this political act denied the existence of the Tamazight-speaking Berber who constitute a third of Algeria's population (Abdellatif 2016). Thus, postcolonial Algeria has imposed an Arab-Islamic ideology, opposing all forms of cultural and linguistic diversity. The legislative proposals of Colonel Houari Boumediene (President of Algeria from 1965 to 1978) focused on the goal of creating an "authentic Algeria" (Déjeux 2008, p. 5) based on a unified national culture that aimed to reinforce the Arab-Muslim national identity.

In this context of "linguistic purification" (Abdellatif 2014, p. 45), an educational approach based on 'Algerianity', Arabization and Islamic citizenship was adopted. An ideology of monolingualism began to take hold and many feared the loss of the country's diverse linguistic heritage. The post-colonial government introduced an Arabization policy into primary schools through citizenship education and tensions among the population began to spill over into the political scene and violent clashes between students erupted.

The design of the national citizenship education curriculum reflected the values of the 'Nation' and a certain ideological, socialist and cultural approach which excludes Tamazight language and Berber culture. Under the presidency of Colonel Chadli Benjedid, the Algerian Parliament adopted on 19 August 1986 a law 86–10 creating the Algerian Academy of the Arabic Language (Grandguillaume 1997). This forced Arabization was later recognized as a serious political mistake.

In 1995, steps were taken towards the recognition of Tamazight with the introduction of a number of schools and universities in the Berber region. Nevertheless, the socio-political situation was not favourable to finding a definitive solution to the Berber issue and has remained an unresolved source of conflict regarding citizenship and citizenship education.

In June 1990, the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) won its first democratic municipal elections and a state of emergency was declared. At the same time, President Chadli was able to pass the Arabization Act on 16 January 1991 but it was postponed several times before he was deposed by the army on 11 January 1992. After the High Security Council (HCS) cancelled the results of the elections and appointed Mohamed Boudiaf head of state, Algeria faced a destructive spiral that became known as the 'Black Decade'. During his short mandate, Mohamed Boudiaf

announced that the Algerian population should speak 'Algerian Arabic' (Derdja) and combat radical Islamism, and the efforts made towards recognizing cultural diversity and fostering citizenship were weakened.

President Abdelaziz Bouteflika acceeded to power in April 1999 and started a policy of national reconciliation and openness to the Western world. On a linguistic level, President Bouteflika often spoke French and demonstrated a certain amount of cultural freedom. Finally, in April 2002, the Algerian parliament changed the constitution to recognize Tamazight as a national language. Since then, Tamazight is taught in primary schools and high schools and a Tamazight bachelor degree has been created in the Universities of Bejaia and Tizi Ouzou. A further revision of the constitution in 2016 gave the status of "national and official" language to Tamazight which was introduced into all schools in Algeria (Constitution of Algeria 2016).

Overall, from a sociological perspective, we can see that since Algeria's independence, Colonel Boumediene's plan to build an educational system based on a 'pure Algerian identity' or an 'authentic Algeria' has never been fully accomplished. The reason being that the break with colonial schooling has had incalculable repercussions on individuals, society and the Algerian educational system as a whole. The relation between national politics and citizenship were defined in the 1963 constitution. From then on, the educational debates revolved around the development of curricula in line with the new principles of an independent Algeria. However, like other colonized countries, the Algerian educational system was a copy of the French system adopting a neo-colonial approach.

We can see that the intricacies of Algerian history and the country's cultural and linguistic diversity has complexified the search for national identity and weakened the basis of citizenship education.

#### **Citizenship in the National Educational Debates**

Fully formed citizens succeed in making their own demands heard but know how to listen to others, to be prepared to compromise while refusing to be compromised, to confront certainties and rigid or dogmatic mindsets, even those in their own cultural and religious community. This is not easy to achieve and requires time, patience, empathy and determination.

After more that 2,00,000 people died in the 'Black Decade' civil war that ended in 2002 the generation which had not witnessed colonialism nor experienced the glories of independence had to face a form of black out in relation to their identity and historical truth. They felt that their history had been betrayed and that they needed to find peace, not only with the past, but also with the present.

In the aftermath of the 'Black Decade', citizenship education was introduced in schools at all levels of instruction aiming to create a coherent framework within a 'triple harmonization strategy', linking knowledge, pedagogical practices, didactic approaches and concrete practices. Unfortunately, despite these efforts, the design was inadequate to meet the needs of a modern and open society. Abdellatif's (2014) analysis of middle school citizenship education textbooks revealed that they have not benefited from the 'triple harmonization effort', rather they have adopted formalistic approaches to citizenship that carry the risk of favouring perverse forms of citizenship to the detriment of autonomous and responsible citizenship.

Not only do citizenship education programs in Algeria have to combine different levels of citizenship, they are exposed to what Selye (1956) described as sources of stress. One is situated in the environment and the social context in which the learner operates and the second is found in the post-trauma of civil war.

It is also true that since the country's independence, development efforts have not been sufficiently integrated, implemented or evaluated. Consequently, the country has experienced rapid social changes that have been insufficiently controlled. Population pressure in terms of birth rates and geographical mobility have provoked regional and social imbalance, posing, among other things, a challenge for spatial planning.

Furthermore, post-independent Algeria faces new social and economic challenges resulting from globalization. Traditional values of patriarchy and agrarian production clash with the demands of economic, social and political modernization. This has resulted in a multifaceted growth crisis, which destabilizes economic and social development.

In view of these rapid changes, citizenship education programs have registered a number of shortcomings in their compliance with the new socio-economic needs of the country and policies strive to respond to the socio-economic openness of the international market and promote both a change in mentality and in ideological practices while preserving Algerian identity.

In the midst of the 'Black Decade' civil war, a reform was launched in 1998 to improve the educational system and save national education from drifting. A multidisciplinary team aimed to support the development of educational content and develop tools to keep students in school, away from ideological influence. The mission was consistent with the introduction of other educational reforms and the overhaul of educational programs.

A few years later, the trauma causes by the civil war and the socio–economic repercussions engendered by globalization required a new comprehensive educational reform to prepare students for a new sense of citizenship. The national reform launched in 2003 had to face the challenge of unifying educational debates in order to overcome what Avanzini (1998) described as "the crisis of representations and social models" and necessitated serious reflection on the objectives to be achieved in terms of equal opportunities. According to Toualbi-Thaâlibi (2005), the 2003 educational reform was the result of a critical reflection that aimed to reconcile various questions about the new goals of education.

The introduction of a 'smart school' focused not on teaching citizenship education as a national concept but on teaching about citizenship as an international vehicle for intercultural dialogue. With this objective in mind, the new textbooks published in 2014 introduced the concept of GCE for the first time.

With the recent reforms, there has been a concerted effort to promote cultural and religious diversity in new textbooks. The decentralization of Arabization was the starting point of this reform, which is part of a larger initative: "as countries in the Arab world embark on the long road toward political transition and attempt to build more open and pluralistic political systems, the need to prepare citizens to become contributors to democratic societies has become increasingly urgent" (Faour 2013, p. 3).

Today, Algeria's educational system is clearly oriented towards the promotion of a new identity for students based on global citizenship. New educational programs have been introduced focusing on human rights issues and the role of women in the establishment of a prosperous society.

#### **The Struggle of Women in Algeria and Citizenship Education**

The current crisis of citizenship, calls for urgent measures to reshape schooling in general, and citizenship education in particular. Nevertheless, the challenge is to conceive of a more realistic, active and methodologically sound approach to citizenship education.

Indeed, according to Perrenoud (1997), the Nation State, which historically exercised more control over its citizens, is no longer the only means of establishing civil society. A greater ability to objectify information, knowledge and values, made possible by human and technological progress in all fields, has fostered more critical and independent thinking. New worldwide approaches in favour of Human Rights have proposed indicators for citizenship education based on respect and sustainability.

Algeria, along with Tunisia, ranks top of Arab countries in recognizing women's rights in their constitutions. Female activists have long challenged marginalization in conservative male-dominated environments and Algerian women's struggles go back to the revolutionary war of 1954–1962. Progressive statements promoting gender equality in a free Algeria have faced opposition from nationalists not well accustomed to female activism.

Salhi (2003) explains that "the challenge of Algerian women during the liberation struggle was on two fronts: it was, simultaneously, a rebellion against the colonial occupation of Algeria by France, and against the restrictive attitudes of traditional Algerian society" (p. 27). In fact, gender discrimination was widespread until the middle of the twentieth century and was inspired by patriarchal values common to monotheistic religions. When the first legislation on citizenship was adopted in 1963, women had not yet gained equality in terms of citizenship rights, not only in Algeria but also in many other parts of the world.

The latest reforms of citizenship laws in Algeria, mainly the 2016 constitution, have improved women's rights in the country. Algeria is the only country in the Arab world to give women the right to pass on their nationality to a foreign husband.

Gender equality in the Algerian educational system and citizenship education in the second-generation textbooks in Algeria enables Algerian pupils to use the powerful tools of education and civic participation in order to empower women to become leaders in their own right.

One important measure taken in favor of women's empowerment in Algeria is the development of networks to drive the advancement of women and increase their participation and visibility in key sectors of society. Based on the belief that development hinges on the sustained participation of women in socio-economic spheres at all levels and across all sectors, citizenship education includes the construction of networks, underpinned by a philosophy of citizen engagement at the national level.

Overall, progress on individual rights in Algeria has mainly resulted from the collective struggle of women. The reforms adopted in education have allowed women to feel more legitimate and determined to make changes in society in order to advance citizen equality and global citizenship.

Social science has identified a link between women's empowerment and improvements in society. Gender equity programs must therefore include GCE and help women participate in global initiatives and fight against violence, child abuse and discrimination. Indeed, countries with strong women are generally better advocates against all forms of human rights abuse as explained by Brysk *(*2009).

#### **Conclusion**

Since independence, Algeria has expressed an interest in the ways in which its youth are prepared for citizenship and how they learn to take part in the 'Nation's' civic life. Today, that interest might better be described as a growing concern, particularly related to young people's search to build a democratic society. Perhaps no country has yet achieved the level of understanding and acceptance of the rights and responsibilities of all its citizens required for the maintenance and improvement of a constitutional democracy.

The performance of the Algerian school system is therefore not reducible to its sole capacity to inculcate knowledge but measured by its ability to empower pupils and students. It should also consider the education and training of knowledge and attitudes, compatible with all the constituents of an Algerian identity and supported by a non-exclusive and coherent historiography, far removed from strategic and ideological visions. Thus, the Algerian school system should articulate a capacity for interaction and exchange with the values of modernity, universality, globalization, democracy, and the ability to create and manage stabilizing social consensus.

One should not consider that any of the components the Algerian identity, namely 'Algerianity', Arabization, Tamazight and Islam as a threat to citizenship education. On the contrary, the government and the society at large should draw inspiration from theoretical data, favourable to the development of constructive and responsible critical capacities, in order to create a balance between the theoretical values studied and those experienced in everyday life. This dimension of citizenship education goes beyond the school itself to challenge the whole Algerian society in order to achieve global citizenship.

We can argue that the efforts undertaken by the Algerian state in post-colonial crisis succeeded in offering a new educational perspective to make sense of the existing dilemmas of multiculturalism and national citizenship deficits. Nevertheless, more research must be carried out to explore the concept of GCE in relation to multiculturalism and address the three main topics which affect education in multicultural societies in a globalized world: solving the issue of diversity in relation to creating citizens, the issue of equality and social justice in democratic societies, and the tension between the global and local in a globalized world.

Lessons can be learned from each of the two post-conflict contexts in Algeria. GCE offers not only a unifying theoretical framework but also a set of policy recommendations aimed at achieving national unity which could be multicultural, multiethnic and diversified, and where all categories of society participate, including women. Progress in individual rights has already been made in Algeria and the Berber population is the living proof of it. However, all categories of Algerian society feel the need to be globally legitimate, and are determined to pursue their mission towards change.

Algeria is on course to achieve political modernization and although the path is not smooth, the country is forging ahead towards a better future. Algerian youth have already passed the test; the protests of 22 February 2019 are a lesson to be learned by societies that hope to witness democracy. After several weeks of street protests, the president Bouteflika stepped down and many prominent figures of the regime were arrested on corruption charges. However, street demonstrations have continued and political negotiations are ongoing in August 2019. It is therefore obvious that full Citizenship for each Algerian is a prerequisite for a better tomorrow.

#### **References**

Abdellatif, N. (2014). Approche nationale de la diversité religieuse en Algérie : situation scolaire dans le secondaire. In Conseil de l'Europe (Ed.), *Education et Diversité Religieuse en Méditerranée Occidentale* (pp. 43–77). Strasbourg: Conseil de l'Europe.

Abdellatif, N. (2016). *Dialogue des religions : situation scolaire en Algérie*. Alger: Editions Djitli.


Grandguillaume, G. (1997). Arabisation et Démagogie en Algérie. *Le monde diplomatique, 515*(3).

Jaramillo, R., & José, A. M. (2009). Citizenship education as a response to Colombia's social and political context. *Journal of Moral Education, 38*(4), 467–487.


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## **Chapter 10 Women's Rights, Democracy and Citizenship in Tunisia**

#### **Halima Ouanada**

**Abstract** The gap between the role that women have played in Tunisian history and their current position in public and political life makes it difficult to address the issues of woman's rights in relation to citizenship and democracy in Tunisia. Since the foundation of the ancient Phoenician-Punic city of Carthage, women have played a crucial role in the establishment of modern-day Tunisia endowed with a unique destiny. However, over the centuries, this role has often been obscured and undermined by politicized approaches to history with a deliberate attempt to conceal the women's contribution. This chapter will examine the role of women in Tunisian society from the perspective of women's identity, caught in a dichotomy between secular and religious worlds. Furthermore, we will examine women's major contributions to the founding of Tunisia, providing an insight into the country's current issues and challenges. We believe that the analysis of the role and place of women as citizens in the democratic process in Tunisia is the *sine qua non* condition to better understand the persistent ambiguities, barriers and issues the country currently faces.

**Keywords** Democracy · Women's rights · Citizenship · 'Jasmine Revolution' · Code of Personal Status

#### **Introduction**

This chapter postulates that the debate on citizenship education and global citizenship education (GCE) in Tunisia are directly related to democracy and women's rights. Indeed, Tunisia has experienced a tumultuous relationship with citizenship. Following the end of the French protectorate in 1956, the country embarked on a path of cultural modernization (notably by granting rights to women) but political power was marked by authoritarianism up until 2010.

H. Ouanada (\*)

University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia

© The Author(s) 2020 125

A. Akkari, K. Maleq (eds.), *Global Citizenship Education*, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44617-8\_10

The Tunisian revolution of 2011, also known as the 'Jasmine Revolution', was a peaceful demand for change and genuine democracy led by young people and women and strongly influenced by social media and women's movements. It was hoped that the long-standing dictatorship would surrender and give way to the long-suppressed desire for freedom of speech, equal citizenship and gender equality. Unfortunately, in the aftermath of the revolution, the divide between women's rights defenders and those who advocated a return to the traditions and values of Islam was stronger than ever. In this strained context, inconsistencies, paradoxes, opposing viewpoints and double discourses came to the forefront in public debate as the government struggled to conceive a new Democratic project for Tunisia.

The Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet, composed of the Tunisian General Labor Union (Workers' Union), the Tunisian Union of Industry, Commerce and Handicrafts (Employers' Union), the Council of the National Bar Association of Tunisia and the Tunisian League for Human Rights, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 2015 for its major contribution to the democratic transition. It is therefore important to understand the democratization process within the process of globalization as three components of this quartet are influenced by global forces but do not necessarily share a coherent ideological position. The workers' union denounces an unbridled globalization supported by international organizations and the employers' union supports a greater integration of Tunisia in the global economy while the Tunisian League for Human Rights has benefited from the continued support of the international community. From a broader perspective, multilateral and bilateral cooperation, often funded by the EU, the World Bank and Western countries, influences the debate on gender equality in Tunisia.

In this chapter, we will analyze the current situation of women in Tunisia but before doing so, we will examine their contribution to the founding of this nation. This brief historical overview aims to provide an insight into current issues and challenges. In other words, analyzing the role and place of women as citizens in the democratic process in Tunisia is, in our opinion, the *sine qua non* condition to understanding the persistent ambiguities, barriers and issues facing women within the dichotomy between secular and religious worlds.

#### **An Exceptional Female Destiny**

Because of its remarkable history and the legends associated with its foundation, Tunisia is seen as a fascinating exception. Indeed, Carthage the Phoenician-Punic metropolis of the Mediterranean, whose Punic name was *Qart Hadasht* (new town), was not founded by a God or a hero but by Elyssa (814 B.C.), a Tyrian princess of extraordinary beauty. First born of the King of Tyre (in present-day Lebanon), Elyssa, in order to avoid civil war, fled atrocity and the greed of her brother Pygmalion and traveled to the coast of present-day Tunisia (Bonnet 2011).

In contrast with the dominant position of male leaders throughout history, often said to be guided by divine forces such as Pythian Apollo who expresses himself through the oracle of Delphi (Detienne 1998), Carthage can be seen as a true gynarchy, exemplified by its wealth and independence among the Phoenician counters.

However, the incomplete and generally mixed results from excavations (Jaïdi 2014) have relegated Elyssa to the sphere of legend and collective imagination. This idea was reinforced by historians, archaeologists, writers and artists who while fascinated and inspired by the beauty of Elyssa, paradoxically gave less credit to her political status as a leading female figure. For instance, the renowned Latin writer Virgil depicted her as a neglected and grieving princess, voluntarily ignoring her status as the founder of a powerful city. Other authors often portrayed her as a grieving lover who, after being seduced and abandoned by the Trojan Aeneas, committed suicide by setting herself on fire.

Today, Tunisia has restored the founding myth of Elyssa to reflect both her political and economic genius and reaffirmed her historical importance.

#### **The Democratic Heritage of Carthage**

Carthage was considered to have an excellent form of government and constitution (814 BC) and was praised by Isocrates at the beginning of the fourth century BC, comparing the Carthaginians to the Greeks "who were the best governed" (Bunnens 1979). A century later, Aristotle valued the Carthaginian, Spartan and Cretan constitutions as superior to others in many respects.

A true model of a balanced "constitution with the best characteristics of the various types of political regimes, combining elements of the monarchical (kings or suphet), aristocratic (Senate) and democratic (people's assembly) systems" (Aristotle 1963, p. 11) characterized the political organization of Carthage. Its reputation for excellence seems to have been continually reaffirmed by authors in antiquity. An important characteristic of this ancient city was its cosmopolitan population that included Phoenicians, Greeks, Berbers, Iberians and others. Mixed marriages were frequent and widely contributed to the development of Carthage's specific civilization.

Unfortunately, because of the loss of Phoenician and Punic literature, we can only rely on Greco-Roman texts, that are patriarchal and biased sources *par excellence*, and do not inform about the participation of women in the Carthaginian city.

#### **Tunisian Female Figures in Antiquity**

Looking at Tunisia's historical milestones and democratic heritage, it is possible to believe in effective democracy in a Muslim country. The stelae in the Tophet of Carthage reveals that Carthaginian women enjoyed a degree of independence as they could exercise many professional activities and make sacrifices (Dridi 2006).

In this respect, Women's rights and democracy in Tunisia must be understood in the light of what Justin (1979) called the "female protection" when referring to Carthage, its "a-typical" history and long-standing involvement of women in the democratic process (Camau 1987; Krings 1994). Indeed, the historical destiny of modern Tunisia has to a certain extent been shaped by Elyssa, the founder of Carthage as well as other prominent female figures who have played important roles throughout the country's history.

However, because of its selective and patriarchal nature, history has kept only some examples of women who ended up being outstanding mythical figures. As well as Elyssa (879 BC), Sophonisbe1 (235 BC–203 BC); the Berber and warrior queen Dihia,2 also called Kahena (686–704 ADC); El Djâziya El Hilalia,3 (973–1148) the main hero of the hilaly epic; Saida Manoubia (1180–1257) known for her charity to the poor; Aziza Othmana4 (1606–1669) princess and protector of the poor and unfortunate have all influenced their times by their courage, intelligence, generosity and independence.

Since then, many other female figures, such as Fatima El Fehrya (also known as Oum al-banîn), founder of Al-qarawiyîn University in Fez (the oldest and still operating University in the world) and Tawhida Ben Cheikh the first woman doctor in the Arab world who founded the first hospital service providing family planning and birth control as well as the first clinic specializing in birth control, ensured that the issue of women rights in Tunisia remains a priority, more than in all the other counties in the Maghreb (Camau and Geisser 2004).

#### **Tahar Haddad and the Code of Personal Status**

Tahar Haddad, a trade unionist militant trained at the Great Mosque of Zitouna, conducted a socio-historic study of Tunisian society. His work shed light on a prestigious feminine past and the influence of the reformist movement of the nineteenth

<sup>1</sup>Daughter of the Carthaginian general Hasdrubal Gisco, Sophonisbe, she was renowned for her legendary beauty. She initiated the ties between Carthaginians and Numides by marrying King Syphax. Sophonisbe

<sup>2</sup>Zenet Berber warrior queen of the Aures who fought the Umayyads during the Islamic expansion in North Africa in the seventh century. She was a Berber warrior queen who unified the Amazigh tribes to counter Islamic invasions. She won two battles against Muslims and succeeded in reigning over the entire Ifriqiya for 5 years. She was the only woman in history to fight the Umayyad empire.

<sup>3</sup>Princess Jazia was probably the most important character of the tenth century. This heroine, whose beauty, sensuality and femininity were legendary, engaged in all male activities. Rider and warrior, poetess and adventurer, she was also a tragic character thanks to her feminine power and her love for Emir Dyab, her brave knight.

<sup>4</sup>She was a Tunisian princess belonging to the Beylical dynasty of the Muradites. Aziza Othmana, granddaughter of Sultan Othman Dey and wife of Hamouda Pasha. She freed slaves and war prisoners, offered all her property for charitable works and participated in the financing and building of the current Aziza Othmana Hospital.

century initiated by many defenders of the idea of modernism such as Kheireddine Pasha5 and Ibn Abi Dhiaf (Camau and Geisser 2004). Published in 1930, his book entitled "*Muslim Women in Law and Society*" drew attention to the need for changes for women in society, in line with a constantly evolving situation in the country. Tahar Haddad examined the condition of Muslim women and the main issues related to their emancipation (Sraieb 1999) and developed a program of societal reform, particularly through education for women. He advocated the liberation from the ancestral customs and traditions blocking Tunisian women from progressing. He also argued that that Islam was not an obstacle to their emancipation. In this respect, he invites the *Ulemas* (Muslim scholars) and legal experts to return to *Ijtihad* (independent reasoning to interpret the founding texts of Islam and reform Muslim law) to guarantee women's rights.

Admittedly, the enlightened and progressive ideas of Tahar Haddad encountered fierce opposition from *Ulemas* and were subject to a denigration campaign from conservative groups. Nevertheless, his work inspired those who designed and drafted the Code of Personal Status, issued on 13 August 1956 (Sraieb 1999). Today, he remains a contested figure and his grave was desecrated and his statue destroyed after the Tunisian Revolution.

#### **Women's Movement in Tunisia: From State Feminism…**

Following the independence movement that brought an end to the colonial protectorate, the first President of the Tunisian Republic, Habib Bourguiba, promulgated the Code of Personal Status (CPS) and launched a vast program to modernize society (Bessis 1999). This set of progressive laws included the right to divorce and the prohibition of polygamy, repudiation and forced marriage.6

Tunisian women first obtained the right to vote in 1959 and the right to abortion in 1973, giving Tunisian women unprecedented rights in the Arab world. However, it should be noted that the promotion of these rights was not solely thanks to Habib Bourguiba, but also supported by several women who had accompanied and assisted the national struggle for independence. It was during this struggle for the country's independence in the 1940s that they were given the opportunity to be actively militant. Several women of the Tunisian bourgeoisie participated in the national liberation movement by collecting donations for Tunisian resistance fighters, opening reception centers for children and most importantly demanding their rights to citizenship (Camau and Geisser 2004). However, once independence was achieved, they were immediately disillusioned by the establishment of a one-party political power that not only betrayed the causes for which it had long fought, but also blocked all initiatives for

<sup>5</sup>As early as 1868, Kheireddine Pasha wrote '*The Safest Way to Know the State of Nations*' in Arabic which argued that the future of Islamic civilization is linked to its modernization.

<sup>6</sup>Previously a bride's consent was not required, only her father's consent was deemed necessary.

democratization and emancipation. Habib Bourguiba made the best use of Tahar Haddad's enlightened ideas, which forged his image as the "father of the fatherland" and "liberator of Tunisian woman". It should however be noted that his policy sought to limit the social and political significance of Islam rather than to truly dissociate himself from the religious system that created patriarchal attitudes and gender-related stereotypes.

At that time, the CPS was considered a bold act in favor of gender equality in many areas but unfortunately its promises remained unfulfilled.

Habib Bourguiba's successor Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fueled ambiguity as to the place that women should occupy in society. He criticized what he saw as the "secular excesses" of his predecessor while glorifying Tunisia's Arab-Muslim identity, but nevertheless declared his attachment to the CPS following pressure from academics. "There will be no questioning or abandonment of what Tunisia has been able to achieve for the benefit of women and the family". (Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, cited by Mahfoudh and Mahfoudh 2014, translated from French).

In fact, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali sought to please both the modernists who wanted to maintain the CPS, a symbol of the country's modernity, and the conservatives who called for its revision. In the end, after some hesitation, he embraced both modernity and its contradictions by building, perhaps more than his predecessor, his reputation on his policy towards women (Bessis 1999). However, as he was not entirely committed to the women's cause and was rather more careful of the demands of the Islamists, he invalidated a series of decisions previously taken (Khiari 2003). This helped preserve the conservative mindset of a segment of Tunisian society strongly influenced by the rise of Islamism during the 1980s.

The principle of equality between men and women was nevertheless confirmed by the 1988 National Pact and the principle of a couples' joint family responsibility was introduced in 1993. Tunisia also ratified the United Nations Convention on the Prohibition of all Discrimination against Women. With the creation of the Centre for Research, Studies, Documentation and Information on Women and the creation of the Ministry of Women and Family Affairs, Tunisia has now structures dedicated to women defending their citizenship rights. Furthermore, the amended Labor Code has affirmed the principle of non-discrimination between men and women in all aspects of work (access to employment, equal pay), both in the public and private sectors.

Thus, having supported "a greatly varying feminism" the two leaders, Habib Bourguiba and Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, demonstrated political expediency (Khiari 2003). Habib Bourguiba, leading the way in the Arab World, promoted universal education and public health and created a true jurisprudence in terms of women's emancipation. However, his governing led to a real 'obstruction of politics', mainly by suppressing any hope for a democratic transition in Tunisia. Camau and Geisser (2004) draw attention to the inherent contradictions in his policy: both emancipative and moralizing, advocating new rules of behavior while allowing conservatism to persist, affirming equality between men and women but turning a blind eye to new forms of discrimination.

#### **…to Autonomous Feminism**

In the 1970s, women organized autonomous feminism under the banner "us by ourselves" and came together in the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women (*Association Tunisienne des Femmes Democrates*) (ATFD). Unlike State feminism, embodied by the widely criticized National Union of Tunisian Women, the ATFD denounces and reports discriminations based on gender, patriarchy and social practices endured by women. This militant association also aims to deconstruct the "submissive Arab woman" stereotype (Mahfoudh and Mahfoudh 2014) and contests former President H. Bourguiba's status as the "liberator of Tunisian women". They believe he instrumentalized women rather than liberated them.

Admittedly, the State has always rendered the autonomous feminist movement invisible and hindered its action by taking credit for its gains. Thus, conservative political speeches, reported by newspapers, describe the freedom of Tunisian women as a gift from President Bourguiba and assert that women "did not fight to win their rights and therefore they do not weigh their value" (Mahfoudh and Mahfoudh 2014, translated from French). This is not a fair representation of the role of Tunisian women who actively engaged in the National Liberation Movement, with prominent figures such as Bchira Ben Mrad, founder of the first feminist movement in Tunisia in 1936, and Radhia Haddad, one of the first women parliamentarians in Tunisia. Other women including Dorra Bouzid, the first Tunisian woman journalist, also marked history with the publication of articles such as the "Appeal for the right to emancipation" (13 June 1955) and "Tunisian women are of age" (3 September 1956). The Fayza magazine, with the symbolic name meaning "winner" or "laureate" in Arabic, published between 1959 and 1969, was the first Frenchspeaking Arab-African women's magazine and as such has remained renowned.

#### **Revolution and Post-revolution: Political Divides**

The 'Jasmine Revolution' of 2011 helped citizens regain their rightful place and paved the way for democracy in Tunisia. But more importantly, it lifted the veil on the political regime and brought to light a politically divided and socially unegalitarian Tunisia. In this context, the CPS constantly resurfaced in debates and became a source of conflict between conservative and progressive parties on the future societal project for the country. Consequently, the political divide between those wishing to consolidate and maintain the in-progress modernist project initiated by former President Habib Bourguiba and those wishing to abolish the existing constitution and revise the CPS became clear.

Following the collapse of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's government, the Islamist Ennahda party won a plurality of votes in the first democratic election of the National Constituent Assembly and their first demand was to revise the CPS, which they considered to be an undesirable foreign import. The new constitution was an opportunity for them to call for conservative reforms, the application of *Sharia*, the creation of Koranic schools and the establishment of the Caliphate (Mahfoudh and Mahfoudh 2014). The tensions ran high and some went as far as negating the ancient pre-Islamic history of Tunisia and destroying in 2012 historical remains and monuments, even Islamic sacred sites (*zouias*).

In the wake of the 'Jasmine Revolution', many new associations were created by both autonomous feminist activists and by more conservative and religious groups of women who were persecuted (or the wives of persecuted men) during the rule of former Presidents Bourguiba and Ben Ali. The more extreme conservative groups rejected the country's modernist project, in particular the CPS they considered to be inconsistent with 'Arab-Muslim identity', and aspired to Islamize women and families through a patriarchal, archaic, misogynistic, violent and discriminatory discourse. Supported by the Islamist party in power, they organized public events where Wahhabi preachers from the Gulf States and Egypt were invited to promote cultural practices foreign to Tunisia such as female genital mutilation, the wearing of headscarves by young girls, the *niqab*, the separation of boys and girls at school and polygamous marriage. Fortunatly, given the anti-democratic nature of these events, the civil society mobilized to block them. It should be noted that many conservative associations are more moderate and support the achievements of the CPS and the democratic transition even if they do not prioritize women's rights.

The current Tunisian constitution, adopted on 26 January 2014 by the Tunisian Constituent Assembly, recognizes Islam as the religion of Tunisia but does not mention Islamic law as a source of law-making and enshrines parity between men and women in the political sphere. One of the great disappointments after the Revolution was the division of Tunisian women into conservative and progressive groups that do not defend the same values or the same project for society.

#### **Women in Civil Society**

It is interesting to observe that the emblematic female figures such as Elyssa, El Kahena and Saida Manoubia have been instramentalized not only to support the political agenda of progressive women committed to universal values, equality and women's rights but also by conservative women who support a 'pro-family' project without gender equality and women's rights in conformity with the instructions of *Sharia* (Ouanada 2017), becoming the voice of what is now referred to as 'Islamic feminism' (Siino 2012).

Despite this polarization, there seems to be a common desire among these women to occupy the public space through associative work, the only space not dominated by patriarchal power. They have also turned to social networks and civil society to counterbalance power, much like the women in eighteenth century French Salons, to find a way to exercise their influence.

During the 2011 elections for the National Constituent Assembly, progressive associations forced the principle of parity and alternation between men and women in electoral lists; this allowed Tunisia to be one of the countries in the world with a high rate of women parliamentarians. While there is parity in the number of women candidates, women were largely excluded from the top lists due to a biased voting system (Chékir 2012)*.* Furthermore, Tunisian women still encounter difficulties related to patriarchal attitudes that prevents them from accessing positions of responsibility in many areas (Elbouti 2018).

Overall, we can see that Tunisian women, while enjoying equal citizenship with men, still have to fight for legal, social and economic equality, which is strongly opposed by conservative groups. Although Tunisia can be proud of the significant steps it has taken towards education for all as well as the country's public policy in favor of the economic empowerment of women and their active participation in the economic sector, their representation in civil society still lags behind. Women represented 37% of employees in public service in 2016 and 46% of the total workforce, which is low compared to those of the G20 countries. Furthermore, Tunisian women represent approximately 60% of university students and educators at different levels of education (Chékir 2012) but are underrepresented in decision-making positions.

Gender-based discrimination in the workplace still exists, creating a glass ceiling that limits women's access to positions of power. Moreover, after the revolution of 2011, the unemployment rate of women with tertiary education reached alarming levels and reinforced the gender gap (Présidence du Gouvernement Tunisien, ONU Femmes & MAEDI 2017).

Under the government led by Beji Caïd Essebsi between 2014 and 2019, women gained the right to marry non-Muslim partners and a law protecting women from violence was adopted. A new inheritance bill guaranteeing equality was passed but as it opposed Quranic law, which specifies that women inherit only half as much as male relatives, it was severely criticized by the Islamist party and subjected to fierce debate.

In June 2018, the Tunisian Commission on Equality and Individual Freedoms, promoted the idea of harmonizing the country's legislation with international human rights standards and current trends in the human rights and public and individual freedoms agenda (Human rights watch 2019).

#### **Citizenship Education**

From 2010, citizenship education began to be the subject of multiple national and international initiatives in Tunisia (Mouhib 2019). Thus, as part of a joint initiative of the Tunisian Government, the Arab Institute for Human Rights, local NGOs and United Nations agencies, Tunisia has created school clubs on human rights and citizenship in 24 primary and secondary schools. The objective is to educate the Tunisian youth about their democracy and to disseminate the values and principles of human rights and citizenship, using participatory pedagogy through "citizenship projects" (UNESCO 2015).

The low participation of Tunisian youth in the 2011 and subsequent elections justifies the need and urgency of such initiatives. However, efforts are still required to adequately improve school curricula. As suggested by Zaoui (2016), the official high school curriculum includes 'learning to live together' and solidarity but youth and citizen participation in decision-making and political life is under-represented.

#### **Conclusion**

The corpus of progressive laws that were adopted over time in Tunisia helped to establish gender equality, allowing women to get a divorce more easily and banning forced marriages and polygamy. Thanks to the CPS, which evolved over the years, Tunisian women enjoy the highest status of any women in the Arab world. However, Tunisia's policies on women's rights and family rights are still based on a series of ambiguities and progressists struggle to break with the patriarchal order, facing resistance from conservative groups.

Along with the legacy of former president Habib Bourguiba central to the development of a post-independence state in which women have revolutionary rights, Tunisia has a long tradition of female independence activists and women's rights activists. This tradition, which capitalizes on a series of achievements and gains along with the synergy of a civil society, brings hope of an inclusive approach. In Tunisia, *res publica* is today no longer the privilege of men, quite the opposite, graduates to illiterate and poor women have moved into the public space.

Although Tunisia has long been seen as a pioneer for women's rights in the Arab world, the country is still torn between conservatives and progressives. In this respect, the fight for greater gender equality is no longer a legal matter but one where attitudes must be revolutionized.

In the private sphere, that Tauil (2018) considers as a political space, the genderbased distribution of home and care duties remains an issue around the world. She states that as long as there is no true equality in the private sphere, women will not be able to claim real gender equality in the public sphere (Tauil 2018).

In the current Tunisian context, there is a strong revival of conservatism, and an urgent need to emancipate women's rights in relation to 'Arab-Muslim identity', which traditionally assigns women to a lower legal status. Overall, we can see that the Tunisian government is cautious when it comes to the issues of women's status, as it fears fueling political polarization. Despite having made significant progress towards equality on legislative matters since the country's independence in 1956, resistance to true equality is expressed by many conservative Tunisians. Viewed as not bold enough for many women and too progressive by others, the Tunisian regime is attempting to navigate between these two groups who have different aspirations and do not share a collective project of modernity (Bessis 1999).

According to Charfi (2012), Tunisia should take into consideration the composition of society and build a democratic system which guarantees broad participation of all social categories. This democratic model should have the ambition to guarantee dignity, freedom, equality, social justice, solidarity, evolution, scientific, technical and artistic creativity. This ambition can be fulfilled only if they manage to liberate all capacities and potentialities present in civil society to allow creativity and social mobilization and political engagement (Charfi 2012). Hence the importance of citizenship education at national and global levels.

#### **References**

Aristotle. (1963). *Politica*. Oxford: Oxford University Press.


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## **Part VI Europe and North America**

## **Chapter 11 Global Citizenship Education in Canada and the U.S.: From Nation-Centric Multiculturalism to Youth Engagement**

**Sarah Ranco, Alexis Gilmer, and Colleen Loomis**

**Abstract** This chapter examines the historical and current uses of global citizenship education (GCE) in Canada and the U.S. in public schools from primary through secondary levels, with attention to Canada as well as similarities and differences within and across the two countries. We assess how social and political contexts have influenced the definition and operationalization of multiculturalism, civic studies, and global studies in curricula, noting that the neo-liberal perspective has focused on making people an economic powerhouse rather than socially concerned global citizens. In our examination of educational approaches that relate to GCE, we present decolonizing pedagogies, the multiculturalism approach in Canada, as well as culturally responsive and anti-racist pedagogies. To illustrate these issues, we offer an example in the Canadian context and raise the need to prevent GCE from becoming yet another tool for hegemony by the Global North on the Global South, as dominant groups have long defined citizenship. We conclude by proposing that to realize GCE in these two countries, teacher/practitioner and local, national, and international actors must engage youth, and in doing so, power imbalances that prohibit becoming global citizens will be addressed.

**Keywords** Multiculturalism · Identity · Civic studies · Global studies

S. Ranco (\*)

Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Canada e-mail: ranc5320@mylaurier.ca

A. Gilmer University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada e-mail: gilm3440@mylaurier.ca

#### C. Loomis Wilfrid Laurier University and Balsillie School of International Affairs, Waterloo, Canada e-mail: cloomis@wlu.ca

#### **Introduction: A History of Citizenship Education**

What it means to be Canadian or American has been shifting for nearly two centuries. Citizenship education, in contrast, has remained mostly nation-centric with little connection to other countries or to how local views are connected and interdependent to a global worldview. Citizenship curricula have been primarily focused on developing a national identity for primary and secondary school students. This inward attention helped establish the two countries as independent of the United Kingdom, but also contributed to slavery and the development of Indian Residential Schools, which forced Indigenous children's assimilation. Our review of how Global Citizenship Education (GCE) has been used reveals gaps that prevent it from contributing to establishing world peace, human rights, and equality, as well as most of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved by 2030 (United Nations 2015). Successfully meeting this international agenda depends on quality education (SDG 4) (Vladimirova and Le Blanc 2016), which, we argue, includes a perspective and implementation of GCE that transcends nationalism. While this chapter pays particular attention to how GCE and other educational pedagogies play out in the Canadian context, examples and histories from the U.S. are interwoven throughout and act as points of comparison.

We begin with an understanding of the tragedies, limitations and accomplishments of previous educational conceptualizations related to GCE in Canada and the U.S. One of the main goals of citizenship education in many countries is to create an allegiance to the nation-state. It was in the eighteenth century when Immanuel Kant introduced the idea of the cosmopolitan citizen who valued an interconnected community across the globe (Evans et al. 2009; Nussbaum 2010). During this period, public schooling was an appealing concept, which focused on teaching national citizenship through a national language, civic values, and national history. Additionally, students from working-class families were expected to use this education to understand and maintain their position in social hierarchies. This process resulted in those in power, shaping the minds of future society to serve their ends and retain control over cultural and ideological narratives (Osborne 2000). This selective approach to citizenship has also been used to oppress marginalized populations. For example, while slaves in both countries built the economies and industries, they were not considered citizens by the dominant group and did not have the right to vote or to obtain an education. The abolition of slavery (1834 in Canada and 1865 in the U.S.) did not grant full citizenship rights. This skewed understanding of citizenship continues to impact contemporary educational systems in both countries through the structuring of school curricula.

Since formation, Canada and the U.S. have developed and imposed a nationcentric education curriculum. In the mid-1800s, both countries established Native American boarding schools and Indian Residential Schools. This schooling forced assimilation and striped Indigenous children of their culture intending to turn them into a colonialist rendition of Canadian citizens (Osborne 2000). Indigenous children were removed from their homes, forbidden to speak their native languages, and subjected to physical labor and abuse. Many children died in these residential schools. In the U.S., the passage of the 1975 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act was the beginning of protecting native languages and tribal involvement in education. In Canada, residential schools continued to operate until 1996, and in 2008, the Canadian government made a Statement of Apology to former students. Although considerable work remains to ensure culturally relevant, quality education for all Indigenous Peoples, the inclusion of more than the national languages in schools (English and French in Canada and English in the U.S.) is starting to be found in both countries. While not yet universal, Indigenous languages, practices and beliefs are present in some pre-primary through postsecondary education systems. Diversifying school content can have many tangible benefits for students. For example, Canada's use of heritage languages in schools improves learning outcomes for pupils (Cummins 1992) and contributes to the agenda of multicultural education by exposing all children to multiple languages. However, despite a review finding that multilingualism is associated with increased learning (e.g., Akkari and Loomis 1998), the U.S. has an ongoing and protracted debate about the use of languages other than English for instructional purposes, and beyond. The history of education as nation-centric and assimilationist has been pervasive.

The beginning of citizenship education itself in the U.S. could be situated in the act of assimilating all individuals living in America into the Anglo-Saxon culture (Banks 2008, 2009). Legal qualifications for citizenship provided the backdrop to schooling on the topic. In the late 1800s to early 1900s non-immigrant white men who owned property were the only citizens allowed to vote. No others had these privileges and rights, including white male immigrants. The history of the Amendments to the U.S. Constitution on voting and citizenship rights are many and varied, so we note only a few. The 14th Amendment (1868) guaranteed citizenship to all male persons born or naturalized in the United States. The 15th (1870) required states to accept votes regardless of "race, color, or previous condition of servitude." Women were not allowed to vote until 1920 (19th Amendment) and in the 1924 Indian Citizenship Act guaranteed the right to citizenship and voting for all Native Americans. Despite Amendments, from 1870 for the next 95 years, some states denied access to voting to racialized groups. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 protected voter registration for racial minorities; however, it was not until 1984 that all U.S. states counted all women's votes, including racialized and Indigenous. In 1918, Canadian women who were proxies for men (e.g., by being wives or sisters) or servants in war, such as nurses, had the right to vote. It was not until 1960 that Canadian women (white, racialized, and Indigenous) obtained the right to vote.

With mass immigration in both countries, immigrants were taught to be shameful of their home culture, family, and language (Banks 2009). For example, Mexican-Americans were punished for speaking Spanish within the classroom (Banks 2008). However, in the late 1960s, the report, An Examination of Objectives, Needs and Priorities in International Education in United States Secondary Schools (written by Becker and Andersen 1969 as cited by Cook 2008) directed more attention towards international education that was initially conceptualized as learning about other cultures and languages. Additionally, the ethnic revitalization, freedom movement, and civil rights movements of the 1960s and 1970s saw advocacy for cultural democracy and demanded institutions become more inclusive of needs across ethnicity (Banks 2008, 2009).

It is generally accepted that "global education" was first termed in 1975 by Hanvey as the following five elements: perspective consciousness, knowledge of world conditions, cross-cultural awareness, global systems dynamics, and knowledge of choices (Cook 2008). Kniep (1986) redefined the field, distinguishing four main features: the study of human values, global systems, global issues and problems and global history. In Canada, major national issues including the Quiet Revolution in Quebec and claims by Indigenous Peoples for land rights in the second half of the twentieth century opened an avenue to increase interest in citizenship education. Students learned about the complex cultural identity of Canada, including Anglo-Francophone relations, relations between Canada and the U.S., and the history of displacement of Indigenous Peoples (Evans et al. 2009). Indeed, the first expressions of what would become global education took place with a series of educational Royal Commission Reports in the late 1960s to early 1970s (Cook 2008). According to Cook (2008), the Hall-Dennis Report published in 1969 in Ontario was most influential, which advocated for large-scale education changes in Canada.

Furthermore, the movement toward international development, from 1960 to 1970 in Canadian schools, led to a greater focus on global citizenship. Reflective of these shifts, from the 1970s to 1990s, there was significant momentum towards GCE in Canada, with the development of new theories, methods, and models of teaching. Also, by the mid-1970s, there was an expansion of federal support and funding for development aid such as through the funding of the Canadian University Service Overseas, and the establishment of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA; Cook 2008). By the mid-1980s, CIDA placed pressure on provincial ministries to sanction global education in the mandated curriculum, as CIDA was funding global education across Canada (Cook 2008). However, since the curriculum is provincially mandated rather than federally, there is no consistent mandate involving the inclusion or emphasis on GCE across provinces and territories within Canada (Evans et al. 2009). As such, while post-secondary educators were advocating for a unified education approach, mandated curriculum was much slower in incorporating global citizenship into Canadian public schools (Mundy and Manion 2008). While the creation of a civics course in 1999 demonstrated a need for citizenship training within public education systems (Cook 2008), by the mid-1990s, global education had begun to lose momentum and was primarily shifted to post-secondary education.

#### **Global Citizenship Education Since 2000**

In the U.S., GCE tends to be taught in social studies classes and is often underrepresented in the curriculum (Rapoport 2009). A study by Rapoport (2010) found that GCE was not mentioned in textbooks, nor were teachers familiar with the content. Additionally, teachers felt that they did not have time to cover the topic and that they required more significant support to teach GCE appropriately. Finally, teachers noted that it would be useful if GCE were mentioned in curriculum standards. Myers (2010) conducted a study of a five-week international studies program focusing on globalization and global citizenship which suggests that students recognized two themes connected to the purpose of global citizenship as (a) a moral commitment to improving the world, and (b) requiring legal status. Additionally, the students in Myers's study defined a global citizen as a natural condition of all human beings, but one that required specific characteristics, such as a commitment to bettering the world. These studies showcase that while teachers may not feel confident teaching GCE material in the U.S., in some cases, students can still develop an understanding of global issues and citizenship.

Like the U.S., GCE in Canada is typically taught in social studies-related courses and differences are vast because the curriculum is provincially mandated. In the early 2000s, global education began to receive more support from Canadian government actors, particularly from those working on elementary curricula (Mundy and Manion 2008). In 2001, a report entitled Education for Peace, Human Rights, Democracy, International Understanding, and Tolerance, was released by the Council of Ministers of Education Canada, which described themes of GCE (Evans et al. 2009). Although policies were increasing, GCE was still not well represented in the classroom. Components of GCE can be found scattered across provincial curricula, typically within social studies courses (Evans et al. 2009).

Indeed, a curriculum analysis across seven provinces, suggesting that the extent to which GCE is addressed in the mandatory curriculum is quite variable. For example, while the provinces Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, and Yukon have mandated a specific grade in which students learn about global issues, Ontario and Quebec curricula mention GCE themes but do not place a strong focus on these issues. Additionally, while most officials agree that GCE should be a mandatory part of curricula, it is up to the teachers' discretion to incorporate the content (Mundy and Manion 2008). From teachers' perspectives this is problematic, since provincial curricula do not provide enough support or context for introducing GCE into the classroom (Mundy and Manion 2008; Schweisfurth 2006). However, some teachers have felt that the Ontario curriculum has provided ample opportunity to discuss global issues, and they had no problem finding space to incorporate these topics (Schweisfurth 2006). This experience implies that the incorporation of GCE in Canadian classrooms often requires motivation at the individual teacher level and without it, global issues may not be discussed.

Research shows a need for professional development for teachers in GCE. Although programs exist for teaching candidates to develop their understanding of global citizenship and how to interpret this in the classrooms, these programs are voluntary and thus, not all teacher candidates will access such experiences. In a study of 29 Grade six teachers, Leduc (2013) found that while teachers were discussing similar social justice concepts related to global citizenship, there was an identified need to improve the quality of GCE preparation for teachers. For example, McLean (2008) evaluated a program in Ontario consisting of events such as

weekend retreats, conferences, and resource fairs, and found that the most likely candidates were women with previous education in peace and global education. Identified barriers to teaching GCE included minimal support from supervising teachers, lack of confidence in the material, and difficulty integrating GCE material into curriculum guidelines. Many non-mandated resources have been developed in Canada to aid educators teaching GCE such as the guide CIDA developed in 2007 titled the Global Classroom Initiative (Evans et al. 2009) and Educating for Global Citizenship in a Changing World: A Teacher's Resource Handbook (Evans et al. 2004). Resources such as these can help prepare teachers for conveying GCErelated topics not focused on in provincially mandated curriculum and act as needed supports that complement the training of teachers in service.

We acknowledge that GCE curricula sit within the context of globalization and are influenced in North America by the neo-liberal perspective focused on making people economic contributors, rather than global citizens, in both countries (Andreotti 2014; Hartung 2017). Although conceptualizations of Canada tend to characterize the country as not focused on being an economic powerhouse, educational reform in the 1990s mandated that curricula must address "perceived economic priorities" (Osborne 1992, p. 375). These policies have been revised, rewritten and now re-introduced, most recently in the province of Ontario. Within this political context, in addition to training a workforce, we note that Canada is a reference for promoting cultural tolerance within the nation, although not (yet) globally, and that this work is being implemented through different educational approaches related to GCE.

#### **Teaching Global Citizenship**

Moving past the rationales and history contextualizing GCE development in the U.S. and Canada, we turn to how educators are teaching global citizenship in schools. Broadly, global citizenship has been defined as "awareness, caring, and embracing cultural diversity, while promoting social justice and sustainability, coupled with responsibility to act" (Pierce et al. 2010, p. 167). Osborne (2000) suggests that citizenship education from a national perspective involves seven main elements: a sense of identity, awareness of and respect for the rights of others, the fulfillment of duties, critical acceptance of social values, political literacy, necessary academic skills, and personal reflection on these components. While there is a general agreement that educating youth is essential to citizenship, there are disagreements regarding how citizenship should be taught within the education system. For example, in Canada, some argue that the most impartial way to teach citizenship is to provide information on the debates surrounding Canada's national history, such as injustices faced by Indigenous Peoples, and Anglo- versus Franco-identities, while others have argued that instead, GCE should focus on character and service to ensure social stability (Osborne 2000).

Teaching global citizenship has also been informed by traditional citizenship education, borrowing five main themes: a familiarity of related concepts; an identification with civic communities; an understanding of civil, political, socioeconomic, and cultural rights; personal reflexivity regarding citizen thinking; and an identification with values that lead to engagement in civic affairs (Evans et al. 2009). Furthermore, an analysis by Goren and Yemini (2017) suggests that between the two countries there are differences in how GCE is framed, as well as the dominant themes focused on by educators. For example, they highlight how Canadian GCE teaching strategies have focused on multiculturalism, immigration, and promoting tolerance, while U.S. approaches have focused on world political changes, understanding the global world, and maintaining the country's status of "world leader."

#### **Educational Pedagogies Related to GCE**

Beyond core curricula components and themes, GCE also merges with the educational pedagogies that influence school systems. Many GCE approaches advocate for world-mindedness, cross-cultural awareness, respect for the rights of others, and a social justice-oriented approach (Cook 2008; Eidoo et al. 2011; Evans et al. 2009; Osborne 2000). These values are especially relevant for the U.S. and Canada given the diversity of their populations, the complex intersections of race, ethnicity and culture, as well as the need to acknowledge and respond to legacies of colonization and systemic injustices. However, dominant, Eurocentric groups have long held the privilege of defining citizenship and structuring education systems to reflect their perspectives (Andreotti 2014; Young 1989). This context and history have resulted in the development of several educational approaches.

The importance of these pedagogies as they relate to GCE becomes apparent when you consider how GCE is currently taught in schools. Most GCE in public schools is woven into pre-existing subjects, such as social studies and civics, rather than existing as stand-alone course content (Orr and Ronayne 2009; Rapoport 2009). This lack of an explicit place in curriculum standards leaves educators with minimal institutional support for teaching GCE, many of whom may already be unfamiliar with the topic as it is, which consequently can lead to teachers postponing GCE education in favor of required content or presenting a superficial understanding of GCE packaged into more familiar concepts (Leduc 2013; Rapoport 2009, 2010). For example, while the curriculum in Ontario, Canada provides many opportunities to discuss global citizenship, there is no emphasis on the topic when compared to other curricular demands. As such, only those who choose to prioritize GCE may seek out opportunities to integrate it into their classes (Schweisfurth 2006). Because contemporary GCE is mostly unstructured in the curricula, and it is subject to the knowledge and dedication of individual teachers, the pedagogies that inform educational systems can help support GCE and promote similar values. While present in both countries to differing degrees, the following pedagogical approaches are presented mainly within the Canadian context and include decolonizing pedagogies, a multiculturalism approach, as well as culturally responsive and anti-racist pedagogies.

#### *Decolonial Pedagogies*

Decolonizing pedagogies highlight the White, Eurocentric agenda of contemporary education systems, while also calling to attention their modes of colonization. As conceptualized by Orr and Ronayne (2009), where they refer to decolonial education as Indigeneity education, four elements are needed to promote Indigenous values within citizenship education. These include: Indigenous Traditionalism (the return to traditional Indigenous values); Harmony with Mother Earth (the defense of Indigenous land and focus on the significance of the environment); Indigenous selfdetermination (through decolonizing colonial mindsets, repositioning issues in ways that are relevant to Indigenous Peoples, and taking back control of decisions that have been made oppressive); and People to People and Nation to Nation (recognizing the importance of peace between Peoples and nations). Orr and Ronayne argue that many GCE initiatives still uphold the colonial harm of dominant cultures and as such, may not always be a suitable approach in education. Focusing on Canada, their research concludes that while Band-operated schools (i.e., schools that are under the political jurisdiction of First Nations governments) tend to be supported by policies that facilitate the inclusion of Indigenous knowledge, provincial education policies are currently structured such that teaching these four pillars of Indigeneity is left to the discretion of teachers. This absence of a system makes it difficult for all Canadian students to be exposed to Indigenous issues in school, resulting in recommendations for more support from school boards and teacher education institutions so that schools can collaborate with Indigenous organizations to promote a decolonial framework.

#### *Multiculturalism*

In Canada, provincial curricula have been endorsing a multiculturalism approach since the 1970s, with a focus on embracing cultural diversity (Raby 2004). Multiculturalism seeks to highlight differences among groups in positive ways but often takes an apolitical, ahistorical stance, opting instead for a focus on celebration and an assumption of an egalitarian society where all groups are treated equally (Kishimoto 2018). While this approach may have been developed to promote empathy and acceptance, it has suffered from many shortcomings. Educational strategies that exclusively focus on celebrating culture run the risk of de-politicizing racism discourse, homogenizing cultures to create "us" versus "them" binaries, as well as reinforcing harmful power structures and the continual centering of White experience (Bedard 2000; Eidoo et al. 2011; Kishimoto 2018; Raby 2004). Eidoo et al. (2011) argue that GCE is already strongly linked to a multiculturalism approach because global education is seen to be inherent in cultural education. This link means that GCE can be susceptible to the same critiques leveled against multiculturalism, whereby a superficial focus on the similarities of individuals can ignore realities of power dynamics and oppression as well as support an underlying neoliberal, Eurocentric bias (Andreotti 2014; Eidoo et al. 2011; Hartung 2017). However, a GCE framework done critically can contribute to a stronger version of the multicultural approach by providing a nuanced understanding of settlement, immigration and pluralistic identities by acknowledging and addressing the dynamics between marginalized and dominant cultures (Eidoo et al. 2011).

#### *Culturally Responsive Pedagogy*

An alternative educational approach that is finding traction is Culturally Responsive Pedagogy, which focuses on respecting and understanding the complexities of student difference as well as integrating a student's prior knowledge and experience into the classroom (Gay 2000; Ladson-billings 1995; Ontario Ministry of Education 2013). Culturally responsive teaching is closely tied to youth engagement through its commitment to having students view themselves as valuable contributors to their communities, as well as its promotion of student empowerment by having youth use their experiences and culture to foster positive environments (Grant and Asimeng-boahene 2006; Ladson-billings 1995). Connecting culturally responsive pedagogy back to GCE, this approach has been directly linked to GCE by researchers in the U.S. as they explored the incorporation of African proverbs into citizenship education curriculum for urban schools, as a way of encouraging educators to implement teaching strategies that reflect the cultural traditions of their students (Grant and Asimeng-boahene 2006). Furthermore, culturally responsive pedagogy has a social justice-oriented standpoint that emphasizes the use of teaching to promote student equity, which is similar to anti-racist educational approaches.

#### *Anti-racist Pedagogy*

Given the limitations of the multiculturalism approach, some scholars have argued for the incorporation of anti-racist pedagogy into educational systems. Informed by Critical Race Theory, an anti-racist approach requires a political stance, aligning itself with social justice by critically reflecting on the power dynamics and institutional contributions that sustain racism (Kishimoto 2018; Raby 2004). The integration of an anti-racist approach provides the opportunity for a deeper engagement with concepts such as racism and seeks to diversify our understandings of race, nationhood and what it means to be a national citizen, using history and critical

analysis to illustrate how these concepts have been shaped to benefit dominant groups (Bryan 2012; Dei 2000; Kishimoto 2018; Raby 2004; Skerrett 2011). Research has shown that there is support among teachers for a stronger focus on anti-racism approaches, but there is currently a lack of structural support from schools for promoting anti-racist education (Skerrett 2011).

The aforementioned educational strategies all seek to center diversity in one way or another with culturally responsive pedagogy and anti-racism taking explicitly political stances towards a social justice orientation, thus connecting to fundamental core values of GCE (illustrated next).

#### **Case Example: Racialized Students' Relationship to Canadian Curricula**

When implementing GCE into public schools, educators need to be attuned to the diversity of their students and actively seek to understand and ameliorate the power dynamics and oppression marginalized students face in mainstream education. Not doing so means that you run the risk of not just reducing the efficacy of your teachings but, more importantly, contributing to the systemic-based harm students experience in school. A one-size-fits-all approach to GCE only serves to gloss over these issues, reduces students' critical engagement in their learning, and does a disservice to the core values GCE claims to uphold. As an example of the problems with not addressing core biases and generalizations, we turn to the Canadian school system and its contributions to perpetuating racism towards racialized students.

The Canadian public education system continues to be limited by its inability to work for all students, mainly being influenced by a White, Eurocentric curriculum at the cost of marginalized students (Dei et al. 2000; Kishimoto 2018; Parhar and Sensoy 2011; Zinga and Gordon 2016). Education has a direct impact on the lives of many people, and it continues to be a factor helping to produce and maintain racism in society (Bryan 2012). For instance, being in a school space can expose racialized students to acts of racism or negative stereotyping by peers or staff, where experiences of discrimination are linked to adverse academic and psychosocial outcomes for youth (Codjoe 2001; Deutsch and Jones 2008; Livingstone and Weinfeld 2017). Additionally, the existence of institutional racism in Canadian schools has been well-documented, where racialized youth are often subjected to exclusionary educational practices, misrepresentation, and having their experiences challenged while those from dominant groups are recognized (Codjoe 2001; Parhar and Sensoy 2011; Zinga and Gordon 2016).

These issues can be compounded by narrow, individualized understandings of racism, which allow for systemic or subtle racism to be downplayed or denied (Bryan 2012; Raby 2004; Zinga and Gordon 2016). The negative effects of this conceptualization become apparent when youth engage in discussions about racism. In two separate studies documenting Ontario secondary students' perceptions of

racism in their schools, Zinga and Gordon (2016) and Raby (2004) found that students denied or downplayed racist incidents in their school environment, even while providing examples of racism. This tendency was the case for the majority of all the students, although racialized students were overall more aware and open to discussing racism than their peers. Furthermore, students in both studies often attributed racist events to individual factors without acknowledging or perceiving connections to systemic racism. It is because of this pervasiveness of racism, and its negative effects on students, that the education system needs to adopt educational frameworks that openly acknowledge these concerns and seek to rectify the situation with more responsible and intentional pedagogical approaches.

One way to implement anti-racist education into schools, as well as promote youth engagement, is through youth-adult partnerships that focus on social justice and power. Previous research has acknowledged that youth care about their school environment because many of them spend a large part of their lives in educational settings and they seek to be included in decision-making processes related to equity (Checkoway 2011). Some partnerships between youth and adults have helped spur on GCE-related dialogues in educational settings by developing community events and awareness campaigns that center on racism and human rights (Cooper et al. 2013). School-based partnerships is a research area in its infancy, with studies still trying to identify core elements for successfully implementing and sustaining these groups in authority-driven school settings (Cooper et al. 2013; Deutsch and Jones 2008; Linds et al. 2013). The above illustration leads us to broaden the conceptualization of GCE to engaging youth as a means for realizing global peace, human rights and equity.

#### **Youth Engagement**

We reason that in the U.S. and Canada the most effective approach to GCE is through youth engagement, which can be broadly conceptualized as involving young people in their institutions, communities and decisions (Checkoway and Gutiérrez 2006). Western discourses on GCE are already closely linked to the concept of youth engagement (Hartung 2017), and act as a way of combatting common public perceptions of youth as unmotivated in civic engagement or failing to contribute to political activities (Ballard et al. 2016; Youniss et al. 2002). Barring youth from contributing to major decisions that affect their lives has often been justified by characterizing them as lacking expertise or an understanding of the negative impacts of ill-informed decisions (Blanchet-Cohen et al. 2013; Bulling et al. 2013). When negative messages are disseminated from authority-level adults, these beliefs can become internalized by young people, reducing their capacity to see themselves as agents of change in their own lives and contributing to their disengagement (Checkoway 2011; Checkoway and Gutiérrez 2006; Finn 2001). Citing a lack of competency and initiative to justify excluding youth only further contributes to their isolation, preventing opportunities to develop competencies and discouraging young

people from seeking out involvement (Bulling et al. 2013). GCE's focus on youth engagement contrasts this perception by representing youth as responsible, democratic members of the world who can meaningfully contribute to the social and political arenas in which they have been typically excluded (Hartung 2017).

The outcomes of youth engagement can be seen at the local level in organizations and communities that provide opportunities for meaningful youth involvement. Young people are in the best position to understand their rapidly evolving world, including how it intersects with advancements in technology and social media. As such, their involvement in political and social spheres can provide valuable insights, increase youths' sense of community and allow young people to act as agents of change, positively impacting both themselves and community development (Checkoway and Gutiérrez 2006; Perkins et al. 2001; Wong et al. 2010; Zeldin et al. 2005; Zimmerman et al. 2011). In school settings, involving youth in decisionmaking processes have contributed to the sustainability and long-term impacts of school-based programming (Menesini et al. 2012; Paluck et al. 2016), as well as fostered students' relationships with influential adults (Mitra 2004; Wong et al. 2010). Transformative youth-adult relationships, such as those developed out of these opportunities for youth engagement, can also be a resource for well-being acting as a protective factor against psychological and social problems, especially among marginalized youth (Sterrett et al. 2011; Ungar 2013). At a broader level, youth participation has been shown to increase public knowledge and encourage future democratic action (Zeldin et al. 2013). Researchers have proposed that how older generations conceptualize political engagement may no longer be relevant, with a growing interest by youth in unconventional forms of civic participation and a willingness to mobilize for issues directly related to their generation, such as environmental justice, educational reform, and internet laws (Ballard et al. 2016; Checkoway et al. 2005; Shaw-Raudoy and Mcgregor 2013; Youniss et al. 2002). The widescale impacts of these types of issues link youth engagement in these areas to the tenants of GCE discussed previously in this chapter.

As an example of the effects of youth engagement at the global level we turn to immigrant-led youth movements in the U.S. that engage in border activism. Primarily organized by Latino youth, young people have been advocating for the rights of undocumented immigrants and protesting the militarization of the U.S.- Mexico border through large-scale protests, developing national activist networks, sit-ins along the border and at immigration offices, as well as public demonstrations of undocumented youth crossing the border back into the U.S. (Burridge 2010; Ribero 2018; Solis 2018; Zimmerman 2011). Furthermore, these movements are situated within an era flooded with technology, where social media can play a significant role in broadening the impacts of social movements by facilitating the creation of support networks as well as the dissemination of non-dominant discourses (Mundt et al. 2018). In our current example, youth have been utilizing technology in novel ways to encourage the public to reconceptualize citizenship. Young people are using social media platforms to get their voices into the discussion, while the internet provides opportunities for organizing by building up advocacy networks nationally and across the globe (Zimmerman 2011). By focusing on international

human rights, nation-imposed borders, and immigration justice, youth-led border activism acts as an exemplar for how youth engagement can be scaled up to influence conceptualizations of citizenship as well as address multinational issues.

A crucial component for meaningful youth participation is having supportive adults acting as resources and allies, thus making youth-adult partnerships a vehicle for youth engagement (Shaw-Raudoy and Mcgregor 2013; Zeldin et al. 2013). Youth-adult partnerships involve multiple youth and adults collectively working together over time to promote social justice (Zeldin et al. 2013), which connects with the core tenants of GCE. While many partnership best practices can be found in the literature, we want to highlight the need for additional considerations when working with marginalized youth, where social and political contexts may make collaborative environments unsafe. For example, while racialized youth want to be involved in participatory projects, adults need to be critically aware of power dynamics and willing to invest more effort to gain trust, build relationships and secure buy-in (Fine et al. 2003; Ginsburg et al. 2002; Wong et al. 2010). Furthermore, while youth engagement in GCE may have the potential to foster innovation and empowerment, it comes with several unique challenges. One barrier, found in partnerships, involves a misguided understanding of power-sharing dynamics.

Given that adults often come in with a disproportionate amount of power, members may fall into the trap of believing that to be equitable with power-sharing youth must do everything of importance. This misperception limits adults' ability to collaborate effectively and places the burden of responsibility on youth (Camino 2005; Evans and Lund 2013; Shaw-Raudoy and Mcgregor 2013). Another barrier is that the youth engagement field is new and lacks long-established research and practice base. As such, many institutions, such as education systems, view youth engagement, and their ensuring partnerships, as modern concepts and are reluctant to invest resources into them (Zeldin et al. 2005). Finally, properly doing youth engagement requires adequate time and flexibility (Shaw-Raudoy and Mcgregor 2013), which can conflict with the rigid structures and time limitations of a school environment. While difficult, addressing these challenges may help avoid common pitfalls or mitigate some of their harmful effects.

#### **Conclusion**

We began with an overview of the political, social, and historical contexts that have shaped how GCE is conceptualized and taught in Canada and the U.S. Given the lack of well-defined, supported curricula for global citizenship, an overview is instead provided of educational pedagogies that incorporate core GCE tenants. Components of GCE can be found in decolonial pedagogies, multiculturalism approaches, as well as anti-racist and culturally responsive pedagogies. From there, we recommend that GCE in Canada and the U.S. shift towards a youth engagement approach in the form of youth-adult partnerships. While challenges exist for promoting meaningful youth engagement, incorporating youth voice into the implementation of GCE holds the potential to increase the impact, relevance and sustainability of global citizenship curricula. If Canada and the U.S. were to move forward with incorporating youth engagement into GCE, it would need to be an intentional effort demonstrated by institutional support through the provision of clear guidelines, comprehensive resources, and adequate training for educators.

We agree with Akkari & Maleq (Chap. 1, this volume) that GCE can only be realized by applying, in ways adapted to local contexts, the three distinctive frameworks of education: sustainable development, citizenship education, and intercultural education. We also observe that these frameworks can contribute to realizing many of the SDGs. We argue for GCE curricula to focus on addressing gender equality (SDG 5), reduced inequalities (SDG 10), and partnerships (SDG 17) across countries, within countries and across the generations, particularly with youth. We propose that youth engagement is a critical factor in rendering GCE relevant to local contexts as well as to the international sustainable development agenda.

When developing a GCE curriculum for Canada or the U.S., we suggest considering the following questions. How will the learning objectives influence more broadly the next generation of voters, policymakers, politicians, and world leaders on issues such as gender equality, poverty, and social justice? Will GCE build borders around nationality and citizenship or will it build bridges across countries that support the mobility inherent to global trade? From a global worldview, what is the relation between mobility, immigration, migration, peace and security? A highquality GCE will address these questions, and many others, including the role that citizenship plays in governing nations (for more information see *Globalizing Citizenship* by Kim Rygiel 2010). While we suggest the pathway of youth engagement for Canada and the U.S., it is critical that any future GCE conceptualizations move from a traditional nation-centric stance to one that fully embraces and supports the "global" in global citizenship.

#### **References**


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## **Chapter 12 Global Citizenship Education in European Multicultural Contexts: Opportunities and Challenges**

**Myriam Radhouane and Kathrine Maleq**

**Abstract** Deep societal changes resulting from globalization, increased cultural and ethnic diversity and the expansion of ICT (information and communication technology) have generated interest in the concept of global citizenship resulting in a growing body of literature on global citizenship education (GCE).

Despite its attractiveness, GCE appears nevertheless conceptually fragile and difficult to implement in national contexts. This chapter provides a comparative perspective on conceptions and current challenges for citizenship education in three European countries: France, Switzerland and England. We analyze how contents associated with global dimensions are integrated into educational policies and curricula, thereby highlighting the similarities and differences between contexts. We illustrate how France and England have brought citizenship education and the promotion of 'national values' to the forefront of the political agenda, with the specific aim of preventing radicalization.

Finally, we present considerations for the operationalization of GCE and argue that global citizenship may provide an opportunity to value multiple identities.

**Keywords** Diversity · Citizenship education · Global citizenship education

#### **Introduction**

Recently, the development of global citizenship education (GCE) and the building of students' global citizenship competencies has become a strong policy focus in international agendas, in particular in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (see *Introduction* chapter). Consequently, GCE represents a strategic area for UNESCO's Education Sector Program (UNESCO 2019) and is the new buzzword in educational landscapes around the world (Akkari and Maleq 2019).

University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

M. Radhouane (\*) · K. Maleq

e-mail: myriam.radhouane@unige.ch; kathrine.maleq@unige.ch

Worldwide, educators and policymakers increasingly seek to integrate GCE, in a bid to "prepare students to navigate and thrive in a modern global society" (Goren and Yemini 2017, p. 170). However, although GCE aims to provide answers to today's global challenges, foster social change and empower global citizenship, its operationalization and implementation at national levels remains complex.

Indeed, despite the concept's universal reach, GCE is largely context-dependent and subject to many interpretations. Goren and Yemini (2017) describe the variety of definitions and conceptualizations as a conceptual chaos. However, Dill (2013) suggests that there are two main approaches to GCE: the *global competencies approach*, aiming to develop the skills needed to compete in a global world, and the *global consciousness approach*, reflecting humanist values. Veugelers (2011) distinguishes between three categories of global citizenship: *open global citizenship*, which recognizes the interdependence between nation states in the global age and opportunities for cultural diversification; *moral global citizenship*, based on equality and human rights, which emphasizes global responsibility; and *socio-political global citizenship*, which is meant to shift the balance of political power to promote equality and cultural diversity. These categories are hierarchical, with *open global citizenship* representing a shallow form of GCE and *socio-political global citizenship* representing a more profound form.

The concept of citizenship itself is complex and must be understood in the light of historical, political and cultural contexts. With this in mind, this chapter aims to better understand how three Western European educational systems have incorporated curricular contents than can by associated with GCE and identify the current challenges and opportunities for GCE. To do so, we will provide a comparative perspective on GCE in France, Switzerland and England, countries which have historically adopted different approaches to citizenship education.

We have, therefore, chosen to adopt a comparative approach that enables us to understand how educational systems address global, national and local issues (Perez et al. 2002). It is important to note that although our work is inspired by comparative education, this chapter proposes a review of literature and educational policy documents rather that a comparative study.

#### **Conception of Citizenship Education: A Review of Three Contexts**

Since the understanding of the context is fundamental to comparative approaches to education (Groux 1997; Perez et al. 2002), this section begins with a brief review of contextual elements and provides an insight as to how citizenship education is conceptualized and developed in three national educational systems (France, Switzerland and England). We also analyze the current challenges for citizenship education related to sociopolitical and cultural changes such as migration and globalization.

#### *France*

In 1882, in a move towards the separation of church and state, *moral and civic* education replaced *moral and religious* instruction in French public schools (Bozec 2016). The mission entrusted to schools at the time was to create a nation composed of citizens with a shared sense of national belonging (Akkari 2009) and to ensure shared and common knowledge, believed to help emancipate the population (Mabilon-Bonfils and Martin 2016). In this respect, French public schools were seen as an instrument to consolidate national unity through the promotion of shared 'French Republican Values' (Ruget 2006) and civic knowledge (Bozec 2016).

A key aspect of the historical French conception of citizenship education is the division between individual and collective identities (Bozec and Duchesne 2007) in which the "abstract citizen has no age, sex, social, or ethnic origin" (Mabilon-Bonfils and Martin 2016, p. 7, translated from French). Mabilon-Bonfils (1998) described this process of favouring national belonging over individual identity as the denial of personal allegiances. It is important to note that this traditional French Republican model of citizenship is supported by the principle of secularity (Ruget 2006) that, to this day, plays a fundamental role in the French conception of citizenship education (Douniès 2018) and reaffirms the clear distinction made between the private and public sphere.

Historically, secularism on the one hand, and the centralization and homogenization of the national territory on the other, have both demoted to the private sphere two strong elements of differentiation between citizens, religion and local identity […] (Bozec and Duchesne 2007, p. 95, translated from French).

However, over time, conceptions of citizenship and citizenship education curricula have evolved significantly. While citizenship education has always been central in French educational policy, its importance in curricula has varied over time. Notably, after having been relegated to history and geography programs between 1969 and 1985 (Bozec 2016).

The first significant transformation can be seen in the paradigm shift that took place in the 1990s towards a more participatory approach (Chauvigné 2018b; Grimault-Leprince 2018) in which "argumentative debate" (*débat argumenté*) and building knowledge through "problematization of social realities" (Chauvigné 2018b, p. 46, translated from French) were promoted. In other words, the central focus of citizenship education moved from civic instruction, aimed at inculcating 'French Republican Values' and a sense of national belonging, to a more active approach that includes cognitive and emotional skills (Chauvigné 2018a).

The second shift can be seen in the acknowledgement of wider communities. Indeed, although citizenship education and history remain largely rooted at a national level, references to the larger European community have been gradually added since the 1980s (Legris 2010; Ménard 2017). This led to a wider debate on the importance given to the 'French Republican Value' of universality and the need

to recognize student's cultural diversity. This concern intensified at the end of the 2000, complexifying the conception of French citizenship (Legris 2010) and, to some extent, allowing citizenship education to be more inclusive and respectful of diversity.

In 2015, in response to the terrorist attacks committed in France and across Europe, a third shift in focus occurred, renewing the historical emphasis on 'French Republican Values' believed to build national unity and combat radicalism (Chauvigné 2018a). A remobilization of secularism as a "shield-value" of the French Republic became apparent in the political discourse (Prades 2019). However, the pressure toward the assimilation of these values and the practical application of the principle of secularism remains controversial and widely debated. The prime example being the controversy over the wearing of headscarves in schools (Diallo et al. 2016).

It is undeniable that citizenship education in France has become a topical subject that faces many challenges related to conceptions and teaching of morality (Kahn 2015), students' participation (Grimault-Leprince 2018) and cultural diversity. Indeed, many authors (Chauvigné 2018b; Douniès 2018; Roux-Lafay 2018; Mabilon-Bonfils and Zoïa 2016; Mabilon-Bonfils and Martin 2016; Durpaire 2016) illustrate how the universalist approach to 'French Republican Values' could conflict with the respect for cultural diversity. Furthermore, studies have shown that despite curricula reforms, normative approaches to citizenship education are still present (Chauvigné 2018a).

#### *Switzerland*

As the specific nature of the Swiss context has direct implications for education, it is necessary to understand some contextual elements. Switzerland is a highly decentralized federal state, divided into 26 cantons and four linguistic regions (Swiss-German, French, Italian and Romansch), with a long standing tradition of participatory and direct democracy in which citizens play a large part in the federal, cantonal and municipal decision making process (Gianni 2019). An interesting feature is that, unlike many national states, Switzerland has used this internal diversity to build its unity (Choquet 2019). It is also important to note that since educational policies are regional, Switzerland does not have a binding national educational system which makes it challenging to analyze Switzerland as a whole (Haeberli 2007; Oser and Reichenbach 2000).

The Swiss historical approach to citizenship education was primarily patriotic (Oser and Reichenbach 2000), aiming to build a national identity (Pache et al. 2018) and develop a sense of belonging to the national community (Haeberli 2007). Taking the example of the canton of Geneva, schools historically represented a powerful tool to foster national unity and promote adherence to the state (Hofstetter 1998), focusing up until the 1960s, exclusively on Switzerland, its federal system and semi-direct democracy (Haeberli 2007).

Since then, the approach to citizenship education first evolved towards a focus on formal knowledge related to the national and cantonal political institutions, followed by, more recently, an emphasis on "supra-disciplinary" skills (Oser and Reichenbach 2000, p. 8) and active citizenship participation. In current curricula, a shift towards the empowerment of students and deliberative democracy is apparent (Fink 2016). Furthermore, as a direct response to present-day global challenges, Swiss regional curricula have gradually included globally oriented contents, especially related to issues of sustainable development (CDIP 2016; Ziegler and Schneider 2011). The influence of international organisations such as UNESCO and the Council of Europe can therefore be seen in the new policy directions. For example, the guidance outlined in the latest official report1 (CDIP 2016) is in line with the Council of Europe's framework for "democratic citizenship" (Ziegler and Schneider 2011).

Following recent educational reforms, three major concerns related to citizenship education remain. First, although Switzerland actively promotes citizen participation through semi-direct democracy, young people paradoxically lack interest and evolvement in politics (Ziegler and Schneider 2011; Oser and Reichenbach 2000). Furthermore, studies highlighted the low-level of political education in curricula (Haeberli 2007). In the light of these findings, a national periodic review of the educational system emphasized the importance of strengthening the field of citizenship education (CSRE 2014).

Second, the debate regarding citizenship education mainly took place in a context of educational reform aiming to harmonize regional curricula. Following the reforms, authors criticized the new chosen orientations (Ziegler and Schneider 2011; Heimberg 2011) in which citizenship education was mostly integrated in a transversal way (Education 21 2019a, b) rather than as a specific subject. Although the relevance of a transversal approach to citizenship education has been recognized by researchers (Audigier 2011), concerns were raised about its practical application (Fink and Audigier 2008; Ziegler and Schneider 2011).

The third concern is directly related to social changes engendered by immigration and increased cultural diversity. Among the many issues related to the integration of migrants in Switzerland (Gianni 2019; Choquet 2019), Bolzman et al. (2001) point out that, in a context where naturalization in a long process, pupils who do not hold Swiss citizenship may feel excluded from political and civic participation. Consequently, Heimberg (2007) suggests that citizenship education should draw upon the school population's diversity to define the conditions and principles of "living together".

<sup>1</sup>Switzerland's National Institution *"Conférence des Directeurs de l'Instruction Publique"* (CDIP) is in charge of the alignment of the different regional curricula and makes recommendations regarding pedagogical practices, teacher training, etc. … This institution offers a certain amount of flexibility.

#### *England*

Citizenship education has developed in diverse ways throughout the United Kingdom (i.e. in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), reflecting the differing conceptions, outcome objectives and issues of national identity (Andrews and Mycock 2007). In this chapter, we have chosen to limit the scope of our review to England, with some references to the larger British context.

First, it should be noted that, there is no real tradition of explicit teaching of citizenship education in English schools (Kerr 2003). Mycock (2004) suggests that the British government's lack of interest in this topic was historically related to a fear "that it could undermine patriotic loyalty and stimulate radicalism" (cited by Andrews and Mycock 2007, p. 74).

However, following World War II, social, economic and political instability, the decolonization of the British Empire, immigration, Scottish and Welsh nationalism, feminist movements, and political unrest in Northern Ireland brought the issue of citizenship to the center of public attention (Grant 2016).

Citizenship has been a key way of framing questions relating to the basic interactions between individuals and the state, and between individuals within society – but those interactions and relationships were changing in the postwar period, as was the value attributed to different articulations of citizenship (Grant 2016, p. 1188).

In the 1970s, organizations such as the Hansard Society and the Politics Association acted on this lack of citizenship education in national policies and advocated the teaching of political skills and knowledge in secondary schools (Andrews and Mycock 2007). Furthermore, the 1990s witnessed growing concern "about the rapidly changing relationships between the individual and the government and the decline in traditional forms of civic cohesion" (Kerr 2003, p. 3). However, it was not until 2002 that citizenship became a compulsory subject in the English National Curriculum (Crick 2007) following the Advisory Group on the Teaching of Citizenship and Democracy in Schools' report published in 1998, often referred to as the Crick Report (McLaughlin 2000). This report called for stronger foundations for citizenship education in schools (Kerr 2003), on the assumption that British society suffered from a "democratic deficit" (Crick 2007). In other words, the political will to add citizenship as a compulsory subject to the National Curriculum was directly linked to a perceived erosion of the social, political, economic and moral fabric of society in England and inadequate levels of political understanding and involvement (Kerr 2003).

The report went on to advocate the introduction of 'political literacy', social and moral responsibility and community involvement in schools, with the aim of empowering students to participate in society effectively as active, informed, critical and responsible citizens (Pykett 2007) on local and global levels (Starkey 2018). The conceptual framework adopted by the Crick Report was deeply influenced by the Conservative political context of the 1980s and early 1990s (Kerr 2003). At that time, "the Conservative Government championed the individualism of the free market and placed an emphasis on the importance of civic obligation or active citizenship" (Hurd 1988; Macgregor 1990, cited by Kerr 2003, p. 3). The definition of citizenship education put forward in the Crick Report is also in line with the philosophy of 'New Labour' which placed emphasis on 'civic morality' and individual civic responsibilities (Kerr 2003).

Since its introduction in the National Curriculum, citizenship education has become a much-debated political issue which reflects the tension between multicultural and national perspectives. The eruption of racial tensions in Northern England in 2001 and the terrorist attack in London in 2005 lead to the publication of the Diversity and Citizenship Curriculum Review (Ajegbo et al. 2007) and a National Curriculum reform the following year that gave impetus to teaching about diversity (Davies and Chong 2016). The National Curriculum guidelines "advocated a global and multicultural dimension which incorporated to a limited extent the notion of a European dimension" (Faas 2011, p. 488). However, a policy shift took place in 2014 towards a more conservative approach to citizenship education which included the obligation to promote 'Fundamental British Values' of democracy, rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance for those of different faiths and beliefs (Department for Education 2014) as part of the anti-radicalization 'Prevent Strategy' (Starkey 2018). A strong focus on character education was equally part of the reform (Davies and Chong 2016).

As confirmed by Kerr (2003), "the debates about citizenship education in schools in England are a microcosm of the broader debates about citizenship in society" (p. 3), as political agendas have direct implications for educational policy (Wilkins and Olmedo 2018). Since its introduction into schools as a matter of national policy, it has given rise to questions about the definition, purpose, and intended outcomes of such education (Heater 2001). More generally, this educational policy change has encouraged "debate about the meaning of nationality, national identity and citizenship and the extent to which individuals and groups from both majority and minority communities feel a sense of belonging to the nation and State" (Osler and Starkey 2006, p. 288). Subsequently, such debates have intensified, as the government is turning towards citizenship education as a means to fight against terrorism and radicalization. In this tense political context, "the constitution of British-ness has been an increasingly visible part of the political discourse throughout this century, in response to concerns about population movements, integration of minorities, cohesion and terrorism" (Vincent 2019, p. 17).

Overall, this section reaffirms that approaches to citizenship education are closely linked to their historical and political national contexts. As suggested by Osborne (2005) "historical struggles and political debates over its meaning have made citizenship an arena where competing interests and philosophies contend, to the point that one might reasonably claim that the essence of citizenship is to be found in the continuing debate over what it means to be a citizen" (p. 13).

\*\*\*

In France, citizenship education has its roots in the need to consolidate national identity (Osler and Starkey 2001) and is closely related to the principles of universalism. However, in today's multicultural society, the French educational system seems to struggle to find a balance between the desire to build national unity and growing demands to promote and recognize the country's cultural pluralism, creating tensions connected to the design of citizenship education curricula.

Citizenship education in Switzerland has equally evolved from a patriotic perspective that emphasized the importance of formal knowledge about the state and its political institutions to a more active approach that encourages social and political participation as well as global consciousness.

In England, the more recent history of citizenship education is linked to a perceived lack of civil participation in society and the issue of the connection between citizenship and cultural identities in a multicultural society (Heater 2001). Indeed, in today's multicultural European societies, traditional nation-centric conceptions of citizenship are requested to respond to the diversity of the school population.

In recent educational reforms, France and England have placed a strong focus on 'national values' in an attempt to prevent and counter Islamic radicalism. However, this has generated controversy and questions have been raised concerning the risk of intensifying "processes of 'othering' through the marginalisation and degradation of minority groups and communities (in this case young Muslims)" (Bamber et al. 2018, p. 437).

#### **Providing a More Global Dimension in Citizenship Education Curricula**

Although the concept of global or cosmopolitan citizenship transcending national boarders can be traced back to Ancient Greek philosophy, it has had up until now little provision in curricula. Indeed, "despite the way in which globalization is affecting traditional conceptions of citizenship within the contours of the nationstate, the notion of 'global citizenship' remains a metaphor" (Tawil 2013, p. 3).

In this section, our analysis shows that current global challenges seem nevertheless to exercise a certain influence on national educational policy with both national and global levels being catered for in national curricula.

#### *France*

As stated above, citizenship education in France is a sensitive issue and is in many ways shaped by political and social changes. In France's current National Curriculum, citizenship education is structured around four curricular areas: (1) *a common set of core skills and culture*; (2) *moral and civic education*; (3) *eleven measures for a broad mobilization of schools towards* '*French Republican Values*'; (4) *democratic bodies* (in which students can participate). These areas contribute to

the key objectives that Chauvigné (2018a) summarized as: capacity for judgement; critical thinking; engagement; participation; and sense of national belonging. She further states that France's current National Curriculum is based on a "deliberate articulation between knowledge, values and practices" (Chauvigné 2018a, p. 4, translated from French) that reflects the difficult balance between the search for national unity and self-emancipation.

In line with Roux-Lafay (2018), Husser (2017) and Douniès (2018) work, the current National Curriculum has adopted an ethical approach to discussion (*logique d'éthique de la discussion*) based on Jürgen Habermas' philosophical thinking which allows students to assimilate values through reflection, judgment and the development of 'discursive competence' (Husser 2017).

However, although the present National Curriculum seems to have moved away from the historical approach to citizenship education, authors such as Chauvigné (2018a, b) and Grimault-Leprince (2018) offer a more nuanced picture. Indeed, Chauvigné (2018b) notes that citizenship education in the French educational system still relies on transmissive instructional methods. Furthermore, Grimault-Leprince (2018) demonstrates that tensions between normative conceptions of citizenship and more active approaches that promote greater citizen evolvement remain present.

The new strategy to implement the *eleven measures for a broad mobilization of schools towards 'French Republican Values'* show a clear political will to restore the central place of 'national values' in the curriculum. This policy direction heightens tensions between the objectives of individual emancipation and political socialization.

Even though there is no explicit reference to the concept of GCE, related objectives such as solidarity, cooperation, responsibility, critical thinking and engagement are integrated into the National Curriculum (Ministère de l'éducation nationale 2015) and globally oriented aims such as the development of a global awareness and a global sense of belonging are included in the 'Civic Path' (*Parcours Citoyen*) framework of citizenship education (included in the *eleven measures for a broad mobilization of schools towards 'French Republican Values'*):

Schools are both the place where the knowledge and the skills required to live and be integrated into society are acquired and where common practices and habits are put in place, giving each child and adolescent the chance to become a free, responsible and involved citizen of the planet we all share (Ministere de l'Education Nationale, 2016, para. 1, translated from French).

[…] understanding of human-environmental interdependences and eco-responsible behaviors (Ministere de l'Education Nationale, 2016, para. 2, translated from French).

Nevertheless, despite France's National Curriculum integrating to some extent global dimensions of citizenship, it still mainly "focuses on assimilation, encouraging all students to adopt the national narrative and culture" (Goren and Yemini 2017, p. 119) as well as civic knowledge about topics such as the role of the French military and the tax system.

#### *Switzerland*

As Switzerland has a decentralized educational system and regional curricula, approaches to citizenship education very across the country (Haeberli 2007; Audigier and Haeberli 2004; Oser and Reichenbach 2000). However, over the last decade, harmonization reforms have taken place in most Swiss cantons and regional curricula have been designed ('*Plan d'études Romand*' for the French-speaking part of Switzerland; '*Lehrplan 21*' for the German-speaking part of the country *Piano di Studio* for the Italian-speaking part).2

Despite their many differences, the '*Plan d'études romand*' and the "*Lehrplan 21*" both integrated citizenship education as a transversal subject (Education 21 2019a; Ziegler and Schneider 2011). In the '*Plan d'études romand*', citizenship education covers three subject areas: (1) *citizenship and public institution*; (2) *citizenship practices in school*; (3) *citizenship and societal issues* (Marc 2017). The importance given to each subject area varies depending on the level of schooling with a key focus on *citizenship practices in school* in the first years. In the second half of primary school, *citizenship and societal issues* is gradually introduced. In secondary school, there is a balanced approach that integrates all three subject areas into the curriculum (Marc 2017). Given that citizenship education appears as a transversal subject in curricula, it is developed in many subjects and disciplines (Audigier 2011; Fink and Audigier 2008).

As stated above, global dimentions of citizenship have mainly been integrated in Swiss curricula within the topic of sustainable development, which includes economic, social and environmental dimensions (Education 21 2019a). In this respect, Steinhäuslin3 (2010) argues that the curriculum of the French-speaking part of Switzerland is in line with GCE objectives (even though the concept as such is not mentioned) and is designed to prepare pupils for a complex world (Steinhäuslin 2010). Cognitive and social skills such as openness to otherness, multi-perspectivity, debating skills and responsibility can be found in both the Swiss curricula (CIIP4 2016) and UNESCO's framework for global citizenship.5 The focus on global interdependencies found in the objectives for sustainable development and citizenship education may therefore represent an opportunity to promote global citizenship in Swiss schools.

Nevertheless, despite these global orientations, citizenship education in Switzerland is still rooted at a national level (Marc 2017) and many authors have raised concerns about the gap between curriculum theory and practices, especially concerning matters of migration and cultural diversity, and the ability of teachers to effectively address cross-cutting issues (see: Ziegler and Schneider 2011; Fink and Audigier 2008; Heimberg 2007).

<sup>2</sup> In this part of the chapter, we only focus on the *Plan d'études Romand* and the *Lehrplan 21*.

<sup>3</sup>Member of the "Education 21" foundation, which is a strong partner of the Swiss Confederation regarding education for sustainable development.

<sup>4</sup>Conférence Intercantonale de l'Instruction Publique de la Suisse romande et du Tessin.

<sup>5</sup>See: UNESCO (2015).

#### *England*

Although citizenship education was only introduced in England's National Curriculum at the turn of the twenty-first century, it is important to note that global education and world studies have been promoted in British schools by funded curriculum projects since the 1970s. Although not directly referred to as GCE, these programs were designed to teach about global interdependence and cultural diversity through participatory learning and experimentation of values (Davies 2006) with a focus on many different though overlapping levels of reality (Ballin et al. 1999, quoted by Davies 2006).

In the same vein, Oxfam, a United Kingdom based charity, first designed a Curriculum for Global Citizenship: Oxfam's Development Education Program in 1997. This pioneering project was aimed at promoting values and attitudes to build a more just and equitable world (Douglas and Wade 1999).

Ever since, there has been "a reasonable consensus on the importance of global citizenship, and on the listings of knowledge, skills, values and behaviors which would characterize the area" (Davies 2006, p. 22) and the Department for International Development has made funding available to NGOs, to provide support to schools on teaching about global issues (Hicks 2003). The practice of citizenship education in a globalized context has therefore been developed in thousands of schools in England that have adopted the NGO-initiated Rights Respecting Schools Award. This project asserts a commitment to global and cosmopolitan citizenship, placing international human rights standards at the center of the curriculum (Starkey 2018).

In England's most recent National Curriculum, citizenship education is a compulsory subject for pupils aged 11–16 (key stage 3 and 4). The National Curriculum for citizenship aims to ensure that all pupils:


The scope of citizenship education varies depending on the levels of schooling, with a focus on the United Kingdom for pupils aged 11–14 (key stage 3). References to Europe, the Commonwealth, the United Nations and the wider global community appear in the last two years (key stage 4).

The recent decision to include 'Fundamental British Values' as part of pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development seems therefore somewhat inconsistent with the country's history of global education and appears as a strategic attempt to require schools to privilege national narrative over global dimensions of citizenship (Elton-Chalcraft et al. 2017). This situation "reflects the

political debate as to whether the struggle against terrorism requires discussion of political options rather than the closing of space for considering identities and diversity in the context of living together in the UK" (Starkey 2018, p. 160).

As argued by Breslin et al. (2006), attempts to promote 'British values' without being able to reach consensus on the definition of 'Britishness' runs the risk of promoting a "narrow, fixed, uncritical and intolerant nationalism" (p. 21) and ethnocentric rather than inclusive conceptions of national identity.

The discourse of civic nationalism which purports to accommodate plurality (and herein lies the contradiction) serves to exclude the very members of its society that are constructed as the terrorist 'other' within and whose religious identity is racialised and conceived as the binary opposite against which the discourse of civic nationalism is constructed (Lander 2016, p. 276).

In the years to come, it will be interesting to see how the debate on citizenship education evolves following the United Kingdom's decision to leave the European Union. Ross and Davies (2018) believe that an emphasis on national citizenship education will be strengthened at the expense of GCE.

\*\*\*

Our overview of these three national contexts highlights that current issues related to student diversity, globalization and environmental sustainability are slowly transforming citizenship education curricula. Nevertheless, there is a strong political will to uphold 'national' norms and values, especially in France and England.

In France, the seemingly ethnocentric nature of citizenship education has nevertheless embraced wider global dimensions and integrated competency-based objectives associated with GCE. In Switzerland, citizenship is considered a transversal theme in current curricula with global citizenship being a core part of learning sustainability. In England, although global education and citizenship education have evolved separately, notions of multicultural identity and global views have been integrated into citizenship education.

Nonetheless, as GCE finds its place in school curricula alongside more traditional national approaches to citizenship education, it may encounter similar challenges. First, while modern conceptions of citizenship education are moving away from knowledge-based models, the complexity of its objectives call for a more transversal integration. However, despite the rich opportunities that transversal integration offers, it requires improvements in teacher training (Tsankov 2017). Second, more research is needed to effectively translate the intentions of empowering students to become active and responsible citizens in the school context. Third, GCE will have to rise to the challenge of not becoming dogmatic and overcoming normative discourse. Finally, the biggest challenge may be to overcome the opposition between global and national citizenship in what UNESCO (2018) qualifies as "taking it local", allowing for a greater national and local ownership of GCE.

#### **Educating About and for Global Citizenship**

Although GCE has been put forward as a means of building competence for a democratic and inclusive society, it is nevertheless subject to divergent political and ideological views. In the current political climate marked by growing divides on questions relating to immigration and multiculturalism (Tarozzi and Torres 2016), there are opposing viewpoints and tensions between those who believe the primary purpose of citizenship education is to build national identity and those who wish to promote cosmopolitan citizenship and global solidarity.

It is important to realise that citizenship education is highly politicized and very much determined by the nature of national political agendas and public policy decision-making processes. Consequently, the introduction of a concept like 'global citizenship' in international education discourse is inevitably viewed with mixed feelings.

Nevertheless, with a growing need to prepare students for a rapidly-changing global world, we have seen that GCE related content has gradually been introduced in national curricula. Ross and Davies (2018) identify four significant trends of global citizenship in the overall European context: (1) *developmental citizenship*; (2) *global environment issues*; (3) *universal human rights* (4) *global identities*.

We argue that French, Swiss and English educational systems have to various degrees responded to the first three trends but show resistance towards global identity models that imply recognizing hybrid and multiple identities. This can be explained by the fact that the conceptualization of global citizenship is closely related to "the dynamic critical approaches that deconstruct identity and challenge a neutral conceptualization of citizenship and national identity" (Pashby 2018, p. 281). In other words, the concept of GCE challenges the very idea that national identity is the basis of citizenship. Keeping this in mind, a critical approach to citizenship and identity may be viewed as an essential prerequisite to implement *sociopolitical global citizenship* described by Veugelers (2011), promoting global social justice and respect for diversity.

#### **Conclusion**

Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, citizenship education has stimulated interest at both national and international levels (Banks et al. 2005), especially in nation-states characterized by diversity (Osler 2011).

The comparative approach adopted in this chapter has shown that although France and England have historically taken divergent approaches to citizenship education, their policy directions have converged in response to domestic terrorist attacks and show important similarities. In both contexts, education has been placed at the center of the government's response to terrorist threats and has become an instrument in the fight against radicalization through the promotion of 'national'

and democratic values labeled as 'French Republican Values' in France and 'Fundamental British Values' in England. This policy strategy raises questions about the politicization of the teaching profession and the expectation that teachers should become state instruments of surveillance (Elton-Chalcraft et al. 2017). Perhaps, in Switzeland, the tradition of direct democracy and the decentralization of educational systems allow for more flexibility in the debate on citizenship education.

More generally, this chapter has confirmed that citizenship education approaches in multicultural societies still strive to strike a balance between local, national and global belonging that ensure both national unity and a sense of global responsibility. In this respect, global citizenship may provide an opportunity to value multiple identities and cultural diversity and build competences to navigate cultural differences.

We hope this chapter will provoke a discussion on the need to carefully balance universalism and diversity in multicultural societies. In the three national contexts presented in this chapter, and more broadly in culturally diverse countries, there is a need to include citizens from all cultural, ethnical, linguistic and religious backgrounds. The diversity of society must be reflected in state-run institutions and political representative bodies in order to strengthen a culture of inclusive and participatory democracy. It is however essential to tie values of diversify with overarching values of unity such as justice and equality.

Multicultural societies are faced with the challenge of creating nation-states that recognize and incorporate the diversity of their citizens *and* embrace an overarching set of shared values, ideals, and goals to which all citizens are committed. Only when a nation-state is unified around a set of democratic values such as human rights, justice, and equality can it secure the liberties of cultural, ethnic, language, and religious groups and enable them to experience freedom, justice, and peace. Citizens who understand this unity-diversity tension and act accordingly do not materialize from thin air; they are educated for it (Banks et al. 2005, p. 7).

#### **References**


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## **Part VII International Education and Innovation**

## **Chapter 13 International Schools and Global Citizenship Education**

#### **Conrad Hughes**

**Abstract** This chapter defines the construct of the international school by pointing out the somewhat contradictory nature of its ideological and administrative purpose. In analyzing the troublesome construct of the international school, emphasis is placed on the relationship such schools tend to have with their local communities, showing there is a gap between discourse and practice. This opens the debate on the construct of global citizenship and global citizenship education (GCE). The two tensions that run through all of these different notions (international school, global citizenship, GCE) are, on the one hand, tension between local and global affiliations and, on the other, tension between a human rights rhetoric dedicated to sustainability and privileged cosmopolitan elitism. The chapter concludes with examples and suggestions of international school curricular directions that have the potential to unify the local with the global, thereby reducing the distance between mission and reality.

**Keywords** International school · Multiculturalism · Global citizenship

#### **Introduction**

This chapter grapples with the tension between models of local citizenship and global citizenship through an analysis of the construct of the international school, something I explore critically. Part of this criticality consists of problematizing the identity of the international school. Indeed, depending on the lens one holds up to international schools, one might see not only sustainability, a celebration of diversity and mindfulness but likewise local action and respect for state citizenship.

C. Hughes (\*)

International School of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland e-mail: conrad.hughes@ecolint.ch

<sup>©</sup> The Author(s) 2020 177 A. Akkari, K. Maleq (eds.), *Global Citizenship Education*, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44617-8\_13

However, one might also see a seed bank for hyper-capitalistic neo-liberal world domination and rootless "third culture kid" cosmopolitanism, disdaining and overriding local institutions and efforts at citizenship. Thus, the chapter explains that the role of international schools in the vision for a just, peaceful and sustainable world is complex if not highly ambivalent. The chapter ends with some discussion of the implications of the idea of an education that transcends notions of "international" and looks more at competences and planetary challenges, very much in the vein of global citizenship education (GCE).

#### **The International School: A Problematic Construct**

#### *What Exactly Do We Mean by International Schools?*

As far back as 1962, seven different types of international school were recognized (Knight and Leach 1964) and since then, we could easily argue that there are even more models.1 The operational structure of these schools ranges from private, forprofit (the majority) to state-funded.

There is an equally diverse (or sporadic, depending on how you wish to view the matter) number of accrediting agencies and international school organizations: the Alliance for International Education, the International Schools Association, the European Council of International Schools, the Council of International Schools, the International Baccalaureate and so on.

Efforts have been made to synthesize this into a manageable typology: Leach (1969) whittled it down to four points whereas Hayden and Thompson (2013) took it down to three. However, no one has been able to come up with a central, allencompassing definition as definitions vary across authors and contexts. Walker has complained that it should be possible to define international schools but only does so tentatively himself:

An international school is an organization that offers its students an international education through the medium of its curriculum, its' planned learning. An international curriculum is the thread that connects different types of international schools be they formally associated with the United Nations; be they state or privately funded, profit or not-for-profit; be they multicultural in terms of staff and students; be they located in the northern or southern hemisphere, housed in a medieval castle or on a concrete and plate-glass campus. And just as it is possible to describe the essential elements of a good scientific education, or a musical education or a holistic education or a Montessori education, so it must surely be possible to describe the essential elements of an international education (Walker 2015, p. 79)

<sup>1</sup>Take for example, the United World Colleges Movement, British or American International Schools, United Nations International Schools, schools belonging to the International Schools Association, schools accredited by the Council of International Schools, International Baccalaureate Schools, bi-national or bilingual schools and so on.

More saliently, there is something of a fundamental rift that is not just a differentiating factor, it is a divisive factor, for International Schools can be viewed in two very different ways, in terms of their mission and their operational morphology.

The philosophy of most international schools is noble, driven by values and concerned with social impact. It is made up of the following assertions:


This is echoed in Ian Hill's Utopian definition:

Emphasis should be laid in a basic attitude of respect for all human beings as persons, understanding of those things which unite us and an appreciation of the positive values of those things which may seem to divide us, with the objective of thinking free from fear or prejudice (Hill 2012, p. 11).

However, the operation of many, possibly most, international schools paints a rather different picture, namely that of:


This picture can be summarized by this not entirely positive definition by Tristan Bunnell: "elite-class reproducing institutions growing in demand as the English language has been impinging […] on labor markets" (Bunnell 2014, p. 76).

Interestingly, Bunnell argues in this study that the trend is growing and that the original Utopian vision is being rapidly overtaken by the latter as we move from 70s idealism to twenty-first century neoliberalism. Indeed, International Schools are growing at a hefty pace and for pragmatic rather than idealistic reasons. A 2018 report indicated that a growth of 6% over the last 5 years left the world with over

9600 English medium international schools with huge growth in the United Arab Emirates (ICEF 2018). The report goes on to speculate that there will be 16,000 international schools across the globe in 2028, grossing a combined sector revenue of US\$95 billion. Interestingly,

Approximately 20% of [international school] students are the children of expatriate families who are seeking a school offering the language of learning and curriculum from their home country. However, the vast majority of international school students today are the children of local families choosing, what they consider to be, the best possible education close to home to prepare their child for university overseas and global careers (ICEF 2018, para. 11).

Another report speculates that there will be 7 million international school students worldwide by 2023 (Civinini 2019).

A world Education News & Reviews reports paper explains market drivers:

The internationalization of labor, the rapid growth of academic mobility at the higher education level, and the increasing dominance of English as the language of business have played perhaps the most significant roles in the growth of the international schools market (Clark 2014, para. 14).

And goes on to remind readers of socioeconomic parameters:

The other main driver of growth within the international schools market is ability to pay. In the United Arab Emirates, for example, top schools charge in excess of US\$25,000 a year, while the most expensive schools in the big Chinese metro markets top \$40,000 annually, essentially the same as what parents might expect to pay in tuition fees at top Western universities (Clark 2014, para. 16).

Importantly, the matter of not being able to produce a consistent definition of an international school is not just a problem of taxonomy, but a problem of ideology. What this dual carriage (expensive expat/wealthy islands on the one hand, education for a better world on the other) can create is a mish-mash of the two whereby highly privileged and entitled groups with accelerated global opportunities claim to be acting for world peace, for a better world and for interculturality. But are they?

To play devil's advocate (as I am not suggesting this is entirely true but more pointing out that it is something that can be perceived), one might view International School students and alumni as privileged armchair revolutionaries or "gauche caviar" (to use the rather splendid French idiom). One might view them as an entitled class of hyper-networked cosmopolitans who, as they progress from their international schools to top universities, will go on to earn several hundred times more than those at the bottom of the organizations they will invariably run.

To continue with this hypothesis, the disparaging onlooker might imagine these individuals flying business class around the world to attend conferences on sustainability and as they buy up companies as venture capitalists to sell them off at a whopping profit, using the skills they have gleaned through their schooling as they do so, white collar skills such as negotiation, confidence, networking, teamwork, etc. They would then send their children to international schools too.

On the surface, this would be because of the heart-warming values of tolerance, humanity and peace they would wish their children to embrace but deeper down, to perpetuate the global ivory tower, giving their children access to the privileged network of the socially enabled, allowing them in turn to float across the stratosphere that looks down on the wretched of the earth. As Bunnell says, this is a case of "elite class reproduction". And after all, who can blame parents sending their children to school to offer them the best possible opportunities for social mobility.

The effect of this potential hypocrisy can be rather off-putting to say the least and helps one understand the less glamorous resentment of populists who look at international schools with scorn or those trapped in the modest dimensions of their nation states, people who toil the earth, work in rapidly disappearing factories or low-end functionaries being laid off due to globalization and singularity. How they must view such misty heights of the internationally educated "globetrotters" with headiness, with envy, perhaps with hatred. And who can blame them?

#### **International Schools and the "Local Community"**

If there is a defining factor that cuts across this unfortunate dichotomy and unites the purpose and structure of international schools, it is possibly the relationship with the "local" culture. In Leach's early definitional work, he sets out criteria for international schools and starts with the notion that "no one government nor national grouping should control the school […], this particularly excluded the host nation" (1969, p. 10). The purpose of the international school is not so much to allow young people to be at home in the host country, but to "be at home in the world anywhere". McKenzie has argued that among most International School teachers, there is very little "genuine or sustained contact with their ambient societies" (McKenzie 1998, p. 250). Cambridge and Thompson (2004) speak of "enclaves" whereas Pearce speaks of "cultural bubbles" (1994).

It should not surprise us that the overall intent and purpose of an international school is to be separate from the local national state system, which is why we are talking about international education and not national education. The most explicit expression of this notion is the "Overseas" school (as Leach puts it): in other words, a school for expatriates of one country operating in another (French, Dutch, American, British Schools in, say, China or Ghana etc.). These institutions explicitly turn away from the local culture to offer an education from somewhere else. This idea is reflected in the pay scheme of many international schools: a two-tiered system is common whereby expatriate hires receive higher salaries and better benefits than local hires (Cottrell 2015).

In more recent years there has been some effort to turn international school towards local interests. Mantras such as "think globally act locally" pepper a number of mission statements.

A random Internet search brings up statements in the same vein as these (I will not reference them for the aim here is not to single out institutions):

The combination of an international outlook and close ties to the local community empowers our students

Going on field trips or partnering with the local community

We will be establishing a Community Service program which will be of great benefit to the local community

Bunnell's (2005) paper looks the nature of international school involvement with "the local community" in some detail, to come to the conclusion, essentially, that degrees of engagement depend on factors of intent and leadership.

Without being gratuitously cynical, one does wonder if the terms "international community" and "local community" are not bandied about emptily in these statements. What exactly do we mean by local community after all? When is someone a member of the local community and the international community? Are we referring to expatriates versus local nationals, to local clubs and societies versus school clubs? Surely everyone is rooted in a local community and, in the twenty-first century, everyone is somehow connected to the international community?

Worse, the feeling that emanates from these statements, not intended but somehow palpable, is that the local community is the recipient of acts of charity, a backwater community still wallowing in the twentieth century who, if they are lucky, might expect a visit from the star-studded international jet set. One well-meaning website makes it quite clear what this relationship is, through its title: "Getting involved – how schools can help their local community" (Teacher Horizons 2019). Indeed, most International School websites speak of "serving" *the* "local community", *not that the* "local community" can consider, with caution, their expensive offering since it is somehow presented as a service.

And if the mission of an international school really is to prepare students for the "local community", then one would expect that this would mean explicit educational steps in that direction: courses in local history, local languages, local political systems. But if the curriculum is filled with this then surely these schools become national and where is the space left to deal with "international" culture, languages and history, whatever those might be? So, it is problematic and somewhat contradictory to suggest that international education's mandate is actually to prepare students for national settings.

Hence, we are left with another dichotomy straddling any possible cohesive definition, on the one hand the idea that an international school is resolutely turned to global matters: "international education programs and schools are ideally situated to prepare youth to make sense of the complexities of current world realities by studying globalization" (Myers 2010, p. 153). But on the other hand (although I would argue that this is more of a theoretical aspiration that one that actively materializes in International Schools), the idea that despite being called "international", international schools should focus on integrating students into so-called "local" culture: "in research in cross-cultural psychology, international education is largely understood as an 'adjustment' to host country norms and institutions, a notion that prioritizes social order and stability" (Marginson 2014, p. 6.).

#### **Global Citizenship**

The philosophical underpinning of this tension between local and international is at the heart of another construct: global citizenship.

The philosophical debate about whether the role of education should be about reinforcing local, nation-state lines of identity or opening students to a more cosmopolitan world view goes back at least (though we could take it all the way back to Diogenes) to the so-called "*querelle du peuplier*" at the turn of the twentieth century in France. In 1897, Maurice Barrés, the popular French author, published "*Les Déracinés*" ("The Uprooted") to much critical acclaim. He stated in this hymn to nationalism that remaining rooted in local culture was vital to the development of the self, culture and the nation. André Gide retorted in a lively fashion in a famous 1903 article where he suggested that, on the contrary, it was important to be mobile, to explore the world, or at least other regions of the same country and not to be trapped in a parochial straightjacket. The quarrel is called that of the *"peuplier"* because it evokes, as an analogy, the idea of a tree (a poplar in this case) being trained to grow in one direction or another and to what extent one might cut off branches and plant them elsewhere.

Hence it is something of a philosophical chestnut that has no right answer: whether it is better to remain in one's community and culture or to expand experience into other areas remains open to debate and is a question that has been raised by most areas of the social sciences.

Like the idea of an international school, there is something of a taxonomical problem with the appellation global citizen. "No clear definition of global citizenship – or as otherwise referred to, cosmopolitan or world citizenship – have been concisely articulated" (Szelényi and Rhoads 2011, p. 22). This said, the various definitions of global citizenship are similar and point in roughly the same direction as the values-based philosophical missions of international schools: tolerance, peace, human rights, sustainability and some degree of responsibility for the planet.

Reysen and Katzarska-Miller (2013) define global citizenship as "global awareness, caring, embracing cultural diversity, promoting social justice and sustainability, and a sense of responsibility to act" (p. 858). Detailed reviews of the various definitions of global citizenship include those by Goren and Yemini (2017), whereas Veugelers (2011) points out the various types of global citizenship that we might consider (open, moral and political).

Oxfam (2006), leaning even more in the direction of social justice, describes a global citizen as someone who:


One might critique some of the elements of global citizenship, mainly the idea that we are rooted less in one nation or one place and are somehow more connected to the entire planet, as an unrealistic position. One can be a citizen of a country but it is impossible to be a citizen of the world as Arendt (1951) pointed out in numerous writings. She also expressed the subtle position that supranational sentiments leave something curiously unattainable and vacuous in their trail:

The conception of human rights, based upon the assumed existence of a human being as such, broke down at the very moment when those who professed to believe it were for the first time confronted with people who had indeed lost all other qualities and specific relationships—except that they were still human. The world found nothing sacred in the abstract nakedness of being human (Arendt 1951, p. 299).

Thus, universal principles that operate at a macro-level run the risk of speaking to everyone and no one. The human condition becomes generic, bland, colorless and perhaps even meaningless. This opposed to the sharper contours of nation state identity where people are united (and indeed divided) by language, history, along with civil and fiscal responsibilities. A strong advocate of this line of thinking is Tate (2017) who points out just how feckless and decadent globalized identity can be in the adventurous and even polemical Conservative Case for Education: Against the current, Smith (2013b) describing her own experience as an international school student, laments somewhat the feeling of rootlessness that can come with multiple identities but no central identifier:

Students like me are uniquely rootless; we don't belong anywhere and we can't describe ourselves as any one thing. Some find that they make their home wherever their family is. Some just accept the inherent loneliness that comes with the lack of concrete ties to any single place (para. 4).

Torres (2017) argues that global citizenship is co-extensive with national citizenship and that essentially it adds value: we need not see the two as dichotomous. One is a local, national citizen with rights, responsibilities and allegiances at that level but, at the same time, one is preoccupied with the welfare of the planet as a whole, another way of saying act locally but think globally. To come back to the image of the "peuplier" or poplar, perhaps we could say that the image is misleading as human beings are not trees with roots that do not allow for growth elsewhere: we travel and can keep our roots unlike the shoot of a tree that grows entirely new roots.

#### **Global Citizenship Education**

GCE is preoccupied with equipping students with the knowledge, tools and attitudes needed to address planetary phenomena while still respecting their national identity*.* Emanating from the United Nations' 2012 Global Education First Initiative, UNESCO defines the construct of GCE as a tool to create a better world:

Global Citizenship Education aims to empower learners of all ages to assume active roles, both locally and globally, in building more peaceful, tolerant, inclusive and secure societies (UNESCO 2018, para. 1).

UNESCO goes on to explain that GCE is based on three domains of learning:


Clearly, the tenets of GCE go back to the earlier mission-driven vision of what an international school should be. In fact, the notions of sustainability and social justice, even more humanitarian in flavor, feature more forcefully in definitions of GCE than they do in early definitions of international schools.

Indeed, one finds some resonance of GCE in the goals of the International Baccalaureate:


Some International Schools promote the concept of global citizenship explicitly, for example Yokohama International School (one of the world's first international schools) offers a "global citizen diploma" with an emphasis on "communications, global perspectives and community engagement" so as to "provide them with the academic and social skills that will enable them to fulfill their human potential as responsible global citizens" (Yokohama International School 2019, para. 3).

Sotogrande International school runs a Global Citizenship Program based on four pillars: global mindedness; social entrepreneurship; service learning; environmental sustainability (Sotogrande International School 2019).

How does this philosophical definition of GCE, much aligned to the thinking behind the mission of international schools, play out against the socioeconomic operationalization of these ideas in global organizations? In other words, might we be facing a similar dilemma to that of international schools where on the one hand we talk about issues of social justice but on the other perhaps perpetuate global wealth disparity? As Torres (2017) points out, "Global citizenship education should play a major role in challenging neoliberalism, but as any other concept, it could become a sliding signifier, and hence it could be co-opted and implemented following a neoliberal rationality" (para. 24).

The term "global citizen" enjoys some currency outside the well-meaning halls of non-governmental institutions and international schools to describe citizen-byinvestment schemes called "global citizenship" (PWM 2019), meaning that in some countries, if a person is wealthy enough, (s)he can buy citizenship. There is also, of course, the connotation of the word "global" with the construct of "globalization", which resonates with the neoliberal practices of off-shoring, capitalist mergers and outsourcing that are not exactly in line with the humanitarian aspirations of GCE.

Given the socio-economic level of their students, are international schools more in line with the OECD's concept of "global competency" rather than "global citizenship"? Global competence is described more as an attitude or approach with a general praxis around sustainability than an active act of citizenry that implies legislative and political parameters:

Global competence is the capacity to examine local, global and intercultural issues, to understand and appreciate the perspectives and world views of others, to engage in open, appropriate and effective interactions with people from different cultures, and to act for collective well-being and sustainable development. (OECD 2018, para. 1)

Therefore, one might argue that this ideology suits better the profile of the international student as opposed to the more politically engaged idea of global citizenship.

#### **Conclusion**

What I have explored in this chapter is two constructs: international schooling on the one hand and global citizenship on the other.

I have argued that the international school is a troublesome construct for three main reasons:


3. The relationship that international schools tend to have with the nation states in which they operate is superficial and perhaps even disingenuous: many international schools claim to be part of the "local community" (and I've suggested that this is a slightly disparaging term) but what exactly that means, outside of charitable acts towards neighborhood social endeavors, is difficult to fathom.

Global citizenship also suffers from definitional fuzziness but is more coherent as a notion than international school. In essence, it means that the social consciousness of students should be geared towards sustainability, justice and peace. Although a strict dichotomy between the global and local citizen was suggested by philosophers such as Barrés and Arendt, (admittedly before the idea of global citizenship had been coined in its modern iteration), one can, through time, be both and adhere to nation state citizenship and have a broader global social impact.

While some international schools refer to GCE explicitly in their mission statements, I would suggest that the tenets of GCE should be brought to the fore of all international schools and national schools in order to reinforce the early ideals of international education and express a clear purpose for schools across the planet to look at global problems squarely and boldly with sensitivity to all of the issues evoked in the United Nation's 2030 Sustainability Goals.

In my work on global challenges for the twenty-first century (Hughes 2018), I suggest seven areas that all schools should tackle, irrespective of their status and mission. They are: mindfulness, singularity, sustainability, terrorism, post-truth politics, knowledge and character. These are planetary issues that are felt at local levels and need to feature in educational programs. Schools can look to the work of UNESCO's International Bureau of Education to develop future-proof, life worthy global competences that can operate in any school for individual, collective and public good. They are: lifelong learning, self-agency, interacting with others, interacting with the world, interactively using diverse tools and resources, multiliterateness and trans-disciplinarity (Marope et al. 2018). These to me are clear examples of GCE.

In the end, we should look beyond the term "international" to aim for an education that is relevant and holistic. GCE, international schools and any learning environment should operate at micro and macro levels, through individuals, local environments and beyond.

However, to come back to the image of the poplar tree and to reflect upon the relationship between the seed and the tree, let us not forget that these broad, sweeping agendas operating at "global", "international", "world", "supranational" and even "national" or "community" abstractions should not forsake one of the most powerful forces an education can muster: that which operates in the individual. It is from that genesis that collective impact will come, through thoughts, values and action. The German philosopher Wilhelm Von Humboldt puts it poignantly:

Now, whatever man receives externally is only like the seed. It is his own active energy alone that can turn the most promising seed into a full and precious blessing for himself. It is beneficial only to the extent that it is full of vital power and essentially individual. The highest ideal, therefore, of the co-existence of human beings seems to me to consist in a union in which each strives to develop himself from his own innermost nature, and for his own sake. … [T]he exertions of such spontaneous agents succeed in exciting the highest energies. (Van Humboldt n.d., cited by Smith 2013a, para. 22)

In the specific contexts of international schools, a concrete project that has been implemented to drive the big idea behind this quotation and, in many ways, the overarching notion of GCE, is the International School of Geneva's Universal Learning Program (ULP) (Ecolint 2019), a school program that focuses on developing character, passion, mastery and collaboration with competence-related assessment. The ultimate aim of the program is to lead to greater social impact on individual, collective and public platforms. It is an educational model that envisages the outcome of education and not just the constituent elements or immediately academic, scholarly outputs that schools tend to emphasize.

By developing a number of salient competences such as accountability, responsibility, balancing freedoms with respect, responsible consumption, global awareness and environmental custodianship, the ULP develops approaches from the inner moral core of each student to lead them to socially responsible actions. Every ULP student must engage in service learning and therefore shows a level of accountability to local and social parameters that further drives the mission of GCE.

#### **References**

Arendt, H. (1951). *The origins of totalitarianism*. New York: Schocken Books.


**Open Access** This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, duplication, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, a link is provided to the Creative Commons licence and any changes made are indicated.

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## **Chapter 14 Creativity and Global Citizenship Education**

**Vlad Glăveanu**

**Abstract** This chapter explores the conceptual connections between two increasingly popular concepts nowadays, creativity and global citizenship. It starts by distinguishing between mainstream and critical approaches to both and argues for a sociocultural framework that places open-mindedness, dialogue, ethics and participation at the heart of educating for creativity and global citizenship. Five guiding principles for such an education are outlined and discussed in turn: (1) seeking differences; (2) valuing multiplicity; (3) promoting dialogue; (4) increasing participation; and (5) acting ethically. In the end, the challenges and opportunities associated with fostering creativity and global citizenship from a critical, sociocultural perspective are reflected upon.

**Keywords** Creativity · Global citizenship · Global citizenship education · Sociocultural perspective · Critical perspective

#### **Introduction**

Creativity and global citizenship have more than a few elements in common. From the start, one can appreciate the fact that they both designate highly complex phenomena, involving a system of personal and social attributes and processes. Secondly, they are relatively modern concepts or, at least, concepts that have become highly popular over recent decades as key markers of our globalized, interconnected, and fast-changing world. Thirdly, the two notions have largely positive associations and are considered as something to be cultivated, particularly in education.

© The Author(s) 2020 191 A. Akkari, K. Maleq (eds.), *Global Citizenship Education*, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44617-8\_14

V. Glăveanu (\*)

Webster University Geneva, Bellevue, Switzerland e-mail: glaveanu@webster.ch

At the same time, there are also notable differences between the two, key among them being the fact that creativity is often studied as an individual, intrapsychological attribute leading to novel and useful outcomes, while global citizenship is widely regarded as a social, political, and educational construct understood both as a set of skills and as a process. In this chapter, I will move from surface associations and advance the argument that creativity and global citizenship are equally grounded in a similar set of processes having to do with alterity and difference, open-mindedness, flexibility, and responsibility. As a consequence, critical forms of education focused on creativity and global citizenship need to engage with these issues first and foremost.

There are very few studies, to date, investigating the relationship between creativity and global citizenship, and the ones that do tend to find a significant association between these constructs (see Tidikis and Dunbar 2017; Divsalar and Soleymanpour 2014). Other lines of research examine how creative forms of expression can be used to implement global citizenship education (GCE) (see Lengelle et al. 2018). However, these initial explorations leave open the theoretical question of what creativity and global citizenship have in common and why the former necessarily has to contribute to GCE. In this chapter, I start by distinguishing between mainstream and critical approaches to this topic and argue for a sociocultural framework that places open-mindedness, dialogue, ethics and participation at the heart of educating for creativity and global citizenship. In order to identify commonalities, I will outline and discuss five principles that are, in my view, foundational for both phenomena: (1) seeking differences; (2) valuing multiplicity; (3) promoting dialogue; (4) increasing participation; and (5) acting ethically. Finally, I will briefly reflect on the challenges and opportunities associated with applying these principles to education.

#### **Creativity and Global Citizenship: The Good, the Bad, and the Promising**

The literature on both creativity and global citizenship is extraordinarily diverse, partially due to the fact that they designate phenomena sometimes referred to by other names. In the case of GCE, there are a series of similar (yet not identical) constructs that received sustained attention in the past such as "citizenship education", "education for democracy", "education for world education", "international education", as well as a number of related skills, e.g., "global competence", "intercultural competence". Creativity, in turn, is part of a diverse literature including the notions of "genius", "innovation", "imagination", "discovery", and "improvisation", as well as a focus on "creative giftedness" in education. This chapter concentrates on work done on creativity, global citizenship, and GCE. Moreover, it is not my aim here to do an extensive review of the existing literature but a selective one (those interested to read comprehensive reviews of global citizenship should consult Goren and Yemini 2017).

This selection aims to address the issue of the shared conceptual basis between creativity and global citizenship. To this end, it is interesting to note from the start that these two concepts have a great number of supporters but, equally, groups of vocal critics. This is largely because their broader promise of personal and societal growth finds itself easily hijacked by neoliberal and capitalist discourses that turn creativity into the engine of production and consumption and global citizenship into the poster concept for all forms of globalization, some of them carrying extremely negative consequences for minorities and marginalized communities. What is required is an account of creativity and global citizenship that neither romanticizes nor turns them into normative standards to be applied without any consideration for context. At the same time, it is important to reflect on how and when people are creative as well as what is fundamental for global citizenship. As we will see by the end of this section, the "promise" embedded in the two notions is a shared one.

But, before unpacking this level, let us first focus on what is considered "good" about being creative and being a global citizen, in other words, why there is considerable optimism from both academics and practitioners about the power of these phenomena to change the world for the better. If we take the notion of global citizenship first, typical definitions of it in the literature include qualities such as: "awareness, caring, and embracing of cultural diversity, while promoting social justice and sustainability, coupled with a sense of responsibility to act" (Reysen and Katzarska-Miller 2013, p. 858). In short, global citizenship becomes something close to a panacea for today's problems. The connections with diversity and responsibility further demonstrate its assumed ethical and societal underpinnings. These associations are also reflected in the way GCE is conceived. UNESCO, for example, offered the following formulation:

Global Citizenship Education aims to empower learners to engage and assume active roles, both locally and globally, to face and resolve global challenges and ultimately to become proactive contributors to a more just, peaceful, tolerant, inclusive, secure and sustainable world (UNESCO 2014, p. 15).

Once more, the strong belief in the positive contribution GCE has to make in the current context of heightened globalization is obvious. In fact, this type of education is not only seen as responding to the needs of this historical context, but as a clear sign of it. Hence the association it has, among educators, to cosmopolitanism, global consciousness, and world citizenship – values associated nowadays with living in many societies. And yet, it is precisely these kinds of associations that have exposed the entire project to criticism. Beside its inherent ambiguity (indeed, the UNESCO statement seems less like a definition and more like a wish list), GCE has been accused of promoting Western assumptions and views (Roman 2003) and, ultimately, upholding the West's hegemony. One of the major dangers associated with turning global citizenship into a normative and prescriptive notion within education is the fact that it could lead to the creation of different citizens: global, on the one hand, and non- or even anti-global, on the other. The former are more likely to represent elite groups within society and, as such, global citizenship risks increasing inequality and fomenting societal divisions.

In this context, it becomes important to distinguish between different levels or forms of global citizenship. Veugelers (2011), for example, explored the difference between three categories of global citizenship education: open, moral, and political. The first one merely recognizes that nation states are becoming more and more interdependent and promotes surface level cultural diversity. The second one focuses our attention on equality and human rights, while the third form deals with an open contestation of hegemonic political power. As Veugelers notes, the former is a shallow form of global citizenship and, for Andreotti (2006), it is also an uncritical one. She proposed two main approaches to this topic: a "soft" and a "critical" stand. The soft version provides knowledge without a deeper engagement as it mainly pays lip service to the notion of tolerance and the value of diversity. This is because it lacks a transformative ethos, one in which global challenges are not only noted, but addressed. In many ways, Veugelers and Andreotti are attempting to re-claim global citizenship for social change and prevent it from becoming a new form of colonialism on a worldwide scale.

A similar project is underway concerning creativity. Despite the fact that humans have always dealt with each other and their environment in a creative manner, the word "creativity" is a recent historical invention and its popularity is mainly the legacy of the second half of the twentieth century (Mason 2003). What has made creativity famous up to now is the more or less implicit assumption that it is a process that generates economic value as evidenced by the emergence and growth of creative industries. While creating can have a number of far-reaching consequences, among others for mental health, what makes it one of the main "buzzwords" of today, together with innovation, is the assumption that creativity is the engine behind consumerism and the market economy. And yet, just as in the case of global citizenship, this kind of appropriation is only one of the many narratives we tell about this phenomenon.

To recover more of its meanings, we need to consider its definition. According to Plucker et al. (2004), creativity concerns "the interaction among aptitude, process and environment by which an individual or group produces a perceptible product that is both novel and useful as defined within a social context" (p. 90). This formulation brings to our attention the fact that creativity is not only a personal attribute, but also the result of the dynamic interaction between person and context, including culture (Westwood and Low 2003). Secondly, that it leads to the production of perceptible products: a wide category of outcomes from expressed ideas to crafted objects. Last but not least, it mentions the classic binary criteria of originality and usefulness (or value) as key markers of creativity within a social context. Indeed, something is never original or valuable, in and of itself, but always in relation to a given task, situation, historical time, and group of reference (Glăveanu 2011).

The underlying dichotomy between global and local lies at the heart of discussions on global citizenship. For most of its history creativity has been riddled by a (false) opposition between the individual and social. One of the oldest representations of creative individuals is that of the genius: highly eminent, revolutionary and visionary, mostly alone, and almost always male (Montuori and Purser 1995). This essentialist, gendered and elitist conception runs the risk of creating a split between

creators and their society and culture, making creativity itself something remote and hard to achieve. In contrast, contemporary views of what it means to create tend to be much more "democratic", as least where creative potential is concerned. In 1950, Guilford launched a call to fellow American psychologists to study and educate the creative personality of each and every individual (Guilford 1950). This democratization did not achieve, however, a socialization of creativity. It is only after the 1980s, when systemic and sociocultural models started to emerge, that a true recognition of the social, material and cultural dimensions of creativity became possible (see Glăveanu 2014). This also paved the way for a critical theory of creativity.

Such a theory is not only concerned with the social-psychological processes of creating, but the social impact of creativity as well. For example, Sierra and Fallon (2017), from a decolonial perspective, distinguished between oppressive creativity and the creativity of resistance and social transformation. The former designates all the innovative ways used by local, national, and international elites to exploit the labor and natural resources of marginalized communities across the world. The latter is often a response to such forms of oppression and exploitation. Another way of thinking about creativity critically is to question the ways in which its scientific definitions and practices can invite participation and empower all levels of society instead of glorifying the practices of a few (Glăveanu and Clapp 2018).

It is against this complex background that acknowledges both the bright and dark sides of global citizenship and creativity that we should consider their relationship. The few studies to date that examine this relationship have found, unsurprisingly, positive correlations between the two. For instance, Tidikis and Dunbar (2017) reported that global citizenship makes a unique contribution to five types of creative expression (self/everyday, scholarly, performance, mechanical/scientific and artistic) in addition to its role in openness to experience. Why might this be the case? According to the two authors, "similar to multicultural experiences, global citizenship values may foster a greater acceptance of diverse ideas from differing cultures and, thus, to different ways of perceiving the world" (p. 2). Not only can global citizenship values boost creativity, creativity is also deeply involved in the making of global citizens. Lilley et al. (2015) propose markers for global citizens, for example, that list features typically associated with creativity such as "leaves comfort zone" and "thinks differently". Their research reveals the key characteristics of the global citizen "openness, tolerance, respect, and responsibility (self/others/planet)" (p. 231).

These preliminary conclusions lead us to question what might be at the root of both creativity and global citizenship and a recent theory of creativity – the perspectival model (Glăveanu 2015) – can offer us a hint. This model postulates that creativity emerges out of difference, in particular differences of perspective between self and other. What is meant by perspective here is not merely an idea or point of view, but an action orientation towards the world. We all have various such orientations arising from the multiple positions and roles we adopt in our physical and social environment. In essence, the creative process is harnessed when these different perspectives or orientations are placed in a reflective dialogue with each other. In other words, we become capable of taking other perspectives – the

perspective of the other – and engaging with them in ways that transform our own understanding of the world. This dynamic can be applied to all sorts of creative activity, from art and business to education. And in particular GCE seems to resonate most with the perspectival model briefly described here. Indeed, GCE also requires the existence of multiple positions (e.g. local, national, global) from which to understand and act on the world. It is premised as well by the dialogue between the perspectives emerging from these positions, and it is concerned with how dialogues can be infused by critical forms of reflexivity and lead to positive social transformation.

From this theoretical basis, I have identified five principles that are shared by creativity and GCE, at least in view of the critical and sociocultural approaches proposed for both. They are: seeking differences, valuing multiplicity, promoting dialogue, increasing participation, and acting ethically. I will show how each one of these principles plays a fundamental role in being creative as a global citizen, which does not mean that they necessarily play this role in the practice of creativity or global citizenship at all times and in all contexts. As noted here, there are many ways to construct these two phenomena beside critical, sociocultural and political approaches.

#### **Seeking Differences**

Difference is at the heart of both creativity and global citizenship. In the case of creativity, there are a series of generative "gaps" that lead to the emergence of novelty: the difference between self and others; between the material and the symbolic; between past, present and future (see Glăveanu and Gillespie 2015). In the perspectival model referenced above, the difference of perspective between self and other takes priority. This is largely because a world in which people hold identical beliefs, types of knowledge and sets of skills would be one in which there is no possibility for novelty or emergent processes to define creativity. Differences present us with the possibility of tension, which leads to the prospect of learning new things through interaction and communication.

A similar argument can be made about global citizenship. In this case, the difference between "us" and "them" and the need for a broader, more encompassing category are indispensable and require creative thinking and solutions. It is by noticing and exploring the tensions between local, national, and global identities (O'Byrne 2004) that the promises of GCE can be accomplished. This education ensures awareness of differences and how they can be used as resources rather than barriers to communication and mutual understanding. Global citizens are intrinsically heterogeneous at an identity level, and it is precisely this heterogeneity that calls for reflexivity, ethical reasoning, and social responsibility.

According to this principle, creativity and global citizenship grow out of what Glăveanu and Beghetto (2017) called "openness to difference" – the active search for meaningful differences. Openness to difference is not an individual level trait, like openness to experience, but the result of personal differences that interact with environmental conditions. GCE has an important role to play in this by creating opportunities for learners to experience and learn from difference.

#### **Valuing Multiplicity**

A direct consequence of fostering difference is the diversity of positions and perspectives creators and global citizens are forced to contemplate. Being open to difference leads to a multiplicity of understandings, practices, and identities. What remains essential is how this multiplicity is approached. Valuing difference encapsulates another essential characteristic of creativity and global citizenship: the appreciation of different points of view and different positions in the world. Without this appreciation, there can be no authentic dialogue (see the next sub-section) established between self and others. At the same time, valuing should not be mistaken for concurring (Matusov 1996). One can be open to the perspective of the other without accepting it in an uncritical manner.

More than this, one must maintain multiplicity and, in doing so, resist the everpresent temptation to appropriate the perspective of the other. This "domestication" of the other (Levinas 1996) not only undermines the very premise behind creativity and global citizenship (when theorized from a critical standpoint), but amounts to a new form of colonialism and oppression. It is therefore not only every view that needs to be appreciated, first in its own right and then in relation to those of others, but the idea of multiplicity itself should be valued and reflected upon.

One of the main outcomes of dealing with multiple positions and perspectives is the possibility of becoming flexible in one's thinking and action. This is of paramount importance for creativity which, as a process, requires taking distance from the here and now of one's own position to include experiencing the position of others. Moving between positions and exchanging perspectives leads to self-awareness as well as new (and potentially creative) meanings about the world (Gillespie and Martin 2014). This movement is central to GCE inasmuch as it tries to make students aware of other ways of experiencing the world. Research into creativity and global citizenship often advocates processes such as empathy and perspective taking requiring multiplicity as a starting point but also helping to value and to maintain it.

#### **Promoting Dialogue**

The benefits of engaging with difference and multiplicity can only be brought about through constructive dialogue. In the case of creativity, these dialogues involve considering a problem from different positions as well as putting the resulting perspectives in relation to each other. Take as an example relevant to global citizenship the notion of "democracy" along with the multiple perspectives that can be applied to it, from social and political to economic and ethical, including various national perspectives from cultures as different as India and the United States. New and creative understandings of democracy emerge when these perspectives are considered together, when they "meet" and "clash" in ways that both reveal and amplify the complexity of democracy itself.

This dynamic has been discussed at length by the father of dialogism, Mikhail Bakhtin (1981), who considered the tension between different voices in dialogue as something to be cherished rather than ignored. His views have a lot to contribute to a sociocultural theory of creativity, in particular to our view of the creative process as relational, continuous, and emergent. Dialogism also adds to GCE due to the fact that it requires reflexivity and critical thinking. Promoting dialogue, in this context, can maintain the open-mindedness and tolerance that are commonly seen as the hallmarks of global citizens.

More than this, dialogism can also stimulate social and political activism (as the following sub-section will also argue). This is illustrated by the legacy of critical pedagogy, in particular the dialogism promoted by Paulo Freire (1970). He considered dialogues to be an essential part of the processes of "conscientization" or achieving a deeper understanding of the world in and through action. The same premise applies here as it does in the case of creativity: that promoting dialogue between distinct voices or perspectives makes us aware, individually and collectively, of what is possible and empowers us to explore it further. The critical consciousness associated with such dialogues is particularly useful in fighting oppressive creativity and the negative effects of globalization.

#### **Increasing Participation**

Another important consequence of dialogue is increased participation. In a Bakhtinian sense, authentic dialogues take place between equals and this prevents power relations from turning them into monologues. We know however that, in the real world, such equality rarely exists. Nevertheless, both sociocultural accounts of creativity and critical forms of GCE strive towards this ideal by paying attention to and trying to learn from diverse positions and perspectives that are neglected or marginalized.

In creative work, it is the participation of marginal positions (people and ideas) that gives creators a better chance to go beyond the conventional and towards the construction of unique perspectives. Distributed and participatory models of creativity (see Glăveanu 2014; Hanchett Hanson 2015; Clapp 2016) are particularly focused on developing open, dynamic and inclusive systems for creativity in education and other applied settings. Of special concern here are the scientific constructions of creativity that turn it into an exclusive attribute of elites (e.g., geniuses or highly gifted individuals) and, in doing so, restrict the participation of others (e.g., women, children, Indigenous, rural, poor).

GCE should share the same premise. Increased participation means, in this context, allowing a variety of positions and perspectives to address the concept of "global" (as well as "citizenship", for that matter) instead of relying on hegemonic and singular understandings. This ethos is at the heart of efforts trying to link GCE and education for democracy through a focus on social justice (see Carr et al. 2014). Social justice cannot be conceived outside a framework of equal participation, which, as I argued here, can lead not only to a more democratic decision-making process, but also to an increased level of creativity. Conversely, reducing participation in the context of GCE not only eliminates its critical edge – it misses important opportunities for creative expression.

#### **Acting Ethically**

In the end, the four principles above, taken together, substantiate the fifth one: acting ethically. There are surprisingly few discussions in the literature on creativity and global citizenship that refer explicitly to the topic of ethics (for a few exceptions see Moran et al. 2014; Dower 2002). And yet, ethical issues and concerns are implicitly referenced in both types of literature given the fact that, ultimately, both to create and be a global citizen are social phenomena embedded within self-other relations.

In the case of creativity, its scientific definition often includes the notions of value, utility or appropriateness. Creativity is one of the few phenomena dealt with by science that supposedly has positive consequences, in terms of morality and values, included in its definition. Indeed, this positive bias makes researchers and practitioners enthusiastic about cultivating creative expression and think that the more we have of it, the better. However, in recent decades, studies have increasingly been dedicated to "malevolent creativity" (Cropley et al. 2008) or the creativity engaged in with the intention of harming others. Whether this is done "for the greater good", in the creator's imagination, is irrelevant – the consequences of such creativity speak for themselves.

In the case of global citizenship, acting ethically is reflected in the responsibility of global citizens towards themselves, other people, and the environment (UNESCO 2014). Assuming or not this kind of responsibility makes the difference between open and moral forms of global citizenship in Veugelers' (2011) typology. Still, this does not mean adhering to particular ethics, for example Western ones, at the expense of all others, but requires a substantial reflection on what is ethical and why, in any given situation.

#### **Conclusion: Opportunities and Challenges for Education**

In this chapter, I argued that creativity and GCE share much more than being two "buzzwords" often combined in education. A sociocultural reading of creativity and a critical account of global citizenship are both rooted in issues that have to do with alterity and difference, dialogue and participation, ethics and responsibility. In order to unpack these further, I discussed five common principles for educating, at once, creativity and global citizenship. There is, indeed, some preliminary evidence that stimulating one can lead to advances in the other. For example, Dziedziewicz et al. (2014) found that a program meant to foster intercultural competences led to a considerable increase in creativity. As already mentioned, Tidikis and Dunbar (2017) brought evidence that global citizenship helps explain variance in creativity beyond one of its main predictors, openness to experience.

These studies, and others like them, are certainly important but they should also invite a critical reflection on how we conceive of and measure creativity as well as the more recent construct of global citizenship. The former tends to be assessed with the help of divergent thinking measures, even if divergent thinking itself is not the same as creativity (Runco 2008). The latter is evaluated using specific instruments like the Global Citizenship Scale (see Morais and Ogden 2011), which includes three dimensions: social responsibility, global competence, and global civic engagement. Interestingly, the authors of this instrument qualify global competence as being "understood as having an open mind while actively seeking to understand others' cultural norms and expectations and leveraging this knowledge to interact, communicate, and work effectively outside one's environment" (p. 4). Openmindedness, another strong link with creativity, can be explained with the help of the perspectival model.

Cultivating open-mindedness, however, is certainly easier said than done. The five principles outlined in this paper aim to offer a practical map for educators interested in developing creative and global citizens within and outside the classroom. Seeking differences, valuing multiplicity, promoting dialogue, increasing participation, and acting ethically sound like relatively straightforward aims. Both creativity and global citizenship can be fostered in education by engaging students in activities that require listening to one another, becoming curious about the experience of others, having to collaborate in order to achieve common goals, being asked to reflect on how diversity can be used as a resource and to consider the consequences of their actions on others, on the environment, and within society. And yet, one of the main risks here is turning these five principles into a normative list that invites box-ticking exercises without any deeper reflection as to how they work together in particular settings. Creativity and GCE resist simple formulas and invite multiplicity in an effort to keep the dialogue going and to extend participation in it.

When it comes to opportunities, there is a lot of room for hope regarding the relationship between creativity and global citizenship. As Tidikis and Dunbar (2017) note:

The implications of this research are important, because as never before, people must overcome social, political and cultural fragmentation in order to work together on creatively solving both everyday challenges and issues such as global warming, pollution and resource scarcity, among others. Developing global citizenship prosocial values may help us find creative solutions for these problems (pp. 4–5).

Indeed, reflecting on these two notions together is not a luxury or empty intellectual exercise, but a necessity in a world full of challenges that require both. Neither creativity nor global citizenship can solve the planet's pressing problems without adequate forms of education, personal motivation, and institutional resources and

support. But they do hold the key to transforming education, people, and institutions in the right direction. Considering and cultivating them together rather than separately increases their benefits exponentially. Today, this can help us develop engaged citizens capable of the complex and creative thinking, two indispensable qualities for the world of tomorrow.

#### **References**


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## **Part VIII Conclusion**

## **Chapter 15 Rethinking Global Citizenship Education: A Critical Perspective**

**Abdeljalil Akkari and Kathrine Maleq**

**Abstract** In this concluding chapter, we first consider some common obstacles to achieving the implementation of global citizenship education (GCE) identified in the different national contexts presented in the book and reiterate how different contexts call for diverse designs and operating strategies. Second, we examine why GCE has become a highly contested concept, subject to multiple interpretations and in which a wide range of conceptions and objectives coexist. Third, we present considerations for implementing GCE in educational policies and suggest operationalizing GCE within three distinct fields: (a) education for sustainable development (ESD); (b) inter/multicultural education; (c) citizenship education. We argue that this strategy could help link these fields and broaden students' understanding of the interconnections between issues related to citizenship, democracy, participation, identity, inter/multiculturalism, global issues and sustainable development. Finally, we synthetize current research on GCE and conclude by calling for more comparative and critical research to challenge GCE's underlying assumption of the universality of Western paradigms and worldviews to embrace multiple ways of conceiving global citizenship.

**Keywords** Globalization · Citizenship education · Critical approach · Education policy

A. Akkari (\*)

K. Maleq University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland e-mail: kathrine.maleq@unige.ch

Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland e-mail: abdeljalil.akkari@unige.ch

This book presents a multi-voiced examination of global citizenship education (GCE) from an international and critical perspective. The authors explore how the concept of GCE resonates in different national contexts in relation to their historical backgrounds, conceptualizations of citizenship, constructs of national identity and levels of democracy. In addressing these perspectives, some patterns emerge:

First, the concept of global citizenship takes on a particular significance in relation to national minorities' (Indigenous Peoples and ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities) citizen rights and political representation. Despite notable differences between the national contexts presented in this book, the chapters on Brazil, Paraguay, Japan, Kazakhstan, Australia/New Zealand, and Canada/U.S. address the issues of systemic discrimination in education and social injustice experienced by national minorities. Hence, the debate on national and global citizenship in these contexts must not only address the issue of national minorities' civil and political rights, but also their economic, social and cultural rights.

Second, the chapters included in the African and North African sections point out that the concept of global citizenship should be cautiously approached in these formerly colonized contexts. The ongoing search for a cohesive (postcolonial) national identity, incomplete processes of democratization, pressures of economic modernization and ineffective access to citizen rights means that the concept of citizenship resides primary in the need to build a sense of national consciousness through a national narrative and a common vision for the country. As reported by the authors, in many African countries such as Algeria, Tunisia and Niger, economic difficulties and political upheavals are creating political divides between those who wish to promote more conservative and inward-looking attitudes and those who wish to embrace globalization. These chapters, along with the chapter on West Africa, remind us of the danger that GCE is perceived to embody Western privileged perspectives and unwelcome external interference, thereby undermining it potential relevance and effective adoption.

Third, many countries facing immigration such as England, France, Switzerland, Canada and the U.S. are witnessing a crisis of citizenship resulting from two major factors: a decline in political participation and a migration crisis. Although these countries rely on immigration to provide for ageing populations and compensate for declining birth rates, nationalism and anti-immigration discourses are on the rise. In these contexts, GCE may provide an opportunity to value multiple identities within national citizenship and move away from the view that membership of a nation-state is earned through cultural assimilation rather than an acquired right.

Fourth, after considering the inherent tensions between local and global citizenship in international education, the two final chapters encourage us to open new perspectives. In the end, we cannot just think of GCE as providing solutions to global issues but we have a responsibility to educate youth to imagine creative solutions to existing problems and future challenges.

Overall, today's globalized world presents opportunities but also poses risks that can no longer be met exclusively by individual states. Active civil societies with engaged citizens are therefore required to develop new ideas and approaches that

will help create a fairer and just global society. The strength of GCE comes from the fact that it takes a long-term root cause approach to the social problems we are experiencing today and aims to enhance critical and creative thinking, develop analytical capabilities and encourage responsible participation and action at local, national and global levels. Its inherent fragility however is that, in order to be relevant, in must be connected to local needs and realities.

#### **Global Citizenship Education: Conflicting Discourses**

By combining the terms *citizenship* and *globalization*, two multidimensional and complex concepts, it is evident that the concept of global citizenship poses conceptual and practical problems.

On the one hand, citizenship traditionally refers to the membership of a nationstate and the rights and obligations that this membership entails. Considering the principle premise of citizenship is the nation-state, its transposition to a global dimension raises the obvious question of whether the concept of GCE is simply an abstraction or a legitimate framework for action (Davies 2006). As the basis of citizenship implies a principle of exclusion and the acceptance of differences in political treatment, global citizenship may be viewed as theoretically impossible (Policar 2018).

On the other hand, globalization has not only deeply impacted societies, the world economy, information and communication technologies but also the field of education. As current challenges are rarely confined to national boundaries, schools are increasingly called upon to foster active and engaged global citizens.

The growing body of literature and ongoing debates surrounding GCE over the last decade prove its increasing relevance to contemporary educational systems. However, being a highly politicized topic, the many definitions, interpretations and frameworks have made GCE "a highly diverse conceptual arena" (Torres and Bosio 2020, p. 2).

Even though in has taken pride place in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted in 2015 by the international community, the concept of GCE has not generated a consensus within the scientific community. Consequently, GCE remains a controversial concept (Gacel-Avila 2017), caught between the spirit of solidarity and global market competition (Torres 2002). Indeed, the ideological tensions that underlie GCE's different approaches have made it a source of contestation (Richardson 2008).

As suggested by Dill (2013), there are two competing features in GCE: (i) global competencies that include skills and knowledge for economic success in global capitalism; and (ii) a global consciousness that includes an awareness of other perspectives, a vision of oneself as part of a global community, and a moral conscience to act for the common good of the world. In a simplified manner, we can distinguish two main approaches to global citizenship: instrumental and critical.

The instrumental approach is notably present in the authors who speak of the global skills or competencies necessary to be developed in twenty-first century learners. By promoting global competencies, defined as a "capacity and disposition to act and interact appropriately and effectively both individually and collaboratively when participating in an interconnected, interdependent and diverse world" (OECD 2015, p. 46), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is clearly in line with instrumental approachs to global citizenship. The OECD (2018) divides global competency into four primary dimensions (knowledge, values, attitudes and skills) and then targets four primary rationales: to live harmoniously in multicultural communities; to thrive in a changing labor market; to use media platforms effectively and responsibly; and to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Framework for global competencies is divided in four dimensions:


An example of an instrumental and neo-liberal approach to GCE can be seen in South Korea's educational system in which "textbooks equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary to perform as human resources capable of expanding Korea's economic profits and socio-cultural superiority in the global marketplace" (Kim 2019, p. 182). Furthermore, in official curricula, minorities are presented "in deficient light through invisibility, exclusion and stereotypisation without critically interrogating and challenging global unequal power-relations, which contributes to the reinforcing of imperial domination and subordination" (Kim 2019, p. 190). The case of South Korea is in fact representative of the larger Eastern and South-Eastern Asian contexts in which nationalist and neoliberal discourse remains dominant (Alviar-Martin and Baildon 2016). The main focus of GCE is on skills that will prepare learners to work productively in national and global economies, thus learning English is prioritized (Goren and Yemini 2017). The complex issues of human rights, religious tolerance, cultural diversity, social justice and environmental sustainability are largely disregarded (Alviar-Martin and Baildon 2016).

In this respect, many scholars contest this neoliberal instrumental conception of GCE and call for a more critical and transformative approach, which questions how education can promote global solidarity, social justice, and sustainable development rather than "serve the interest of the global corporate agenda" (Lapayese 2003, p. 494). This approach aims to encourage a sense of shared responsibility towards inequalities and injustices in the world (Misiaszek 2019).

It is compellingly evident that Paulo Freire is often cited in relation to critical approaches to GCE in reference to what he considered the highest value of education: critical consciousness. In his writings, the way to emancipation is described as becoming critically aware of social injustices and the contexts which create and maintain them (Freire 1970, 2018). In this respect, the role of education is defined

as enabling learners to understand the world and empowering them to transform it through a denunciation and annunciation dynamic.

We need to be able to understand power in order to denounce it, and by denouncing it we create an interruption, a critical space in which to build counternarratives of human flourishing, annunciation, which, in turn, releases the collective determination to act for change. In this sense, critiquing the status quo opens the space to transform the present into a better future (Ledwith 2017, p. 51).

Accordingly, the critical approach to global citizenship is often constructed through a postcolonial or decolonial perspective that emphasizes justice and social transformation (Andreotti 2011; Torres 2017; Swanson 2015). Unlike neo-liberal approaches, which promote progressivism and capitalism, the postcolonial perspective on GCE seeks to:

Understand the historical and structural roots of power relations caused by colonialism and to challenge both neoliberal and Western-centered approaches to GCE that reinforce unequal power relationships as well as the reality of Western supremacy prevalent in the global society (Kim 2019, p. 179).

It could be argued that both UNESCO and the Council of Europe are midway between an instrumental and a critical approach. UNESCO (2014) defines GCE as:

Global Citizenship Education aims to empower learners to engage and assume active roles, both locally and globally, to face and resolve global challenges and ultimately to become proactive contributors to a more just, peaceful, tolerant, inclusive, secure and sustainable world (UNESCO 2014, p. 15).

The need to build students' global citizenship competencies as well as enabling learners to understand global issues and empowering them to take action have been important features of the Council of Europe's policies over the last two decades. The Council of Europe, a pioneering organization in the field of human rights and intercultural education, have adopted a European Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education (EDC/HRE) in 2010 (Tibbitts 2016). The main objective being to prepare young people to become democratic citizens and learn to live together in a multicultural society (Council of Europe 2016).

Given the European Council's long tradition of democracy and human rights advocacy, the concept of EDC/HRE is in keeping with their policy. The Council of Europe has not aligned itself to the Global Education 2030 Agenda and does not use UNESCO's terminology, nevertheless, the concept of GCE is used in the Global Education guidelines of the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe.

In keeping with its chosen strategic orientation, the Council of Europe has since 2014 provided a strategic approach and a conceptual model of competences which they identified as essential to learners "if they are to participate effectively in a culture of democracy and live peacefully together with others in culturally diverse democratic societies" (Council of Europe 2016, p. 9). This model includes a list of twenty specific values, attitudes, skills, knowledge and understanding which enable an individual to participate effectively in a culture of democracy (Council of Europe 2018).

A key feature of the Council of Europe's framework is the concept of culture of democracy that associates both democratic and intercultural dimensions.

The term "culture of democracy" rather than "democracy" is used in the present context to emphasize the fact that, while democracy cannot exist without democratic institutions and laws, such institutions and laws cannot work in practice unless they are grounded in a culture of democracy, that is, in democratic values, attitudes and practices. Among other things, these include a commitment to the rule of law and human rights, a commitment to the public sphere, a conviction that conflicts must be resolved peacefully, acknowledgement of and respect for diversity, a willingness to express one's own opinions, a willingness to listen to the opinions of others, a commitment to decisions being made by majorities, a commitment to the protection of minorities and their rights, and a willingness to engage in dialogue across cultural divides (Council of Europe 2016, p. 15).

This framework is similar to many conceptualizations of global citizenship in that it calls on individuals to act responsibly and efficiently in a democratic and divers world as well as involving components of empathy, intercultural understanding, critical thinking and social inequality. We believe the Council of Europe's emphasis on democracy is a relevant approach, focusing on both active democratic participation in public and political life, and values of respect, freedom and dignity. This approach has the advantage of being clearly less divisive and conceptually fragile than GCE.

#### **Implementing Global Citizenship Education in Education Policies**

As previously stated, an effective and sustainable implementation of GCE needs to be consistent with local traditions, culture and history and establish effective links between global, national and regional issues. It cannot therefore be founded on a top-down approach or a standardised model (DVV International 2015). It requires drawing up local implementation plans, considering local political and geopolitical contexts, specific challenges and requirements and different conceptions of citizenship.

Besides the need for tailor-made models, the Education Above All (2012) has identified certain requirements that contribute to successful implementation of GCE programs:


A key element in this list is obviously pre-service and continuing in-service teacher training. The transmission of knowledge, values and skills related to GCE such as critical thinking, ethno-relative perspectives and respect for diversity require teachers to be trained in "transformative pedagogy1 " (Education Above All 2012).

UNESCO has established a policy framework to guide the implementation of GCE programs in national educational systems and enable them to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Developement (SDG) 4.7 target (see *introducation* chapter). This framework was designed to be flexible and adaptable to different national and regional contexts and is based on three dimensions: cognitive, socio-emotional and behavioral. It identifies three learner attributes: informed and critically literate; socially connected and respectful of diversity; ethically responsible and engaged (UNESCO 2015).

The European Council's approach differs from UNESCO's framework and focuses more on promoting an active role for democratic citizens. This approach follows the current liberal tendency aiming to empower young people and valuing entrepreneurship (Hartung 2015).

As for the implementation in school curricula, both organisations suggest three strategies: (1) transversal integration, (2) a separate course or (3) integrated within a "carrier" subject (Council of Europe 2016; UNESCO 2015). Although transversal integration offers a chance to draw links between various subjects and to build a global perspective, this strategy offers less visibility and is less likely to be integrated into syllabi than the other two strategies.

In addition, Education Above All (2012) advocates for a "spiral curricula2 " as it allows for fostering values, acquiring skills and behaviors to become responsible global citizens.

In essence, the implementation of GCE in education policies requires strong involvement from education policy-makers, community members and teachers. The substantial investment required for its implementation poses a challenge to many developing countries, where increasing access to GCE for all must be without detriment to quality.

As a relatively new field, GCE still struggles to find its place in national curricula and teaching programs. This can be explained by the 'immaturity' of the concept and the proximity to many other related subjects such as civic education, inter/ multicultural education and global education. Consequently, when considering

<sup>1</sup> "Transformative pedagogy is defined as an activist pedagogy combining the elements of constructivist and critical pedagogy that empowers students to examine critically their beliefs, values, and knowledge with the goal of developing a reflective knowledge base, an appreciation for multiple perspectives, and a sense of critical consciousness and agency" (Ukpokodu 2009).

<sup>2</sup> In which students will see the same topics throughout their school career, with each topic increasing in complexity.

GCE as an instrument of educational change, informal education may offer interesting possibilities to engage with communities on a local and global level (Akkari and Maleq 2019).

In formal educational systems, there has been over the last decade an increase in new specializations in education such as education for health, peace, global citizenship, intercultural and interreligious dialogue, human rights and sustainable development. Despite the diversity of their themes, the competences developed within these separate fields are similar and even, in some cases, identical. The many overlaps require us to reflect on a coherent framework that explores the linkage between them.

Despite the holistic nature of GCE and its opportunity to draw connections between various education fields, the nature of these links is subject to much debate. The Maastricht Global Education Declaration3 presents GCE as an umbrella term covering a wide spectrum of education fields (North-South Centre of the Council of Europe 2012). Yet, GCE and other related fields such as inter/multicultural education and education for human rights also come under the umbrella of education for sustainable development.

Faced with this ambiguous situation, we suggest operationalizing GCE within three distinct fields: (a) education for sustainable development (ESD); (b) inter/ multicultural education; (c) citizenship education. Each of these approaches can be subdivided into a further subset of approaches. ESD may include education for development and environmental education; inter/multicultural education can focus on inclusive education, social justice and equality, and promoting respect for cultural, religious and linguistic diversity; and citizenship education can cover human rights education, education for gender equality, and civic and moral education. Evidently, there are clear links between these three approaches, but we believe that this division will bring more clarity to the concept of GCE for teachers and educators.

Figure 15.1 displays the need to anchor GCE curricula not only in ESD and inter/ multicultural education, but also in citizenship education that is long established in most educational systems. In this way, GCE could help link these fields and broaden students' understanding of the interconnections between issues related to citizenship, democracy, participation, identity, multiculturalism, global issues and sustainable development.

First, an integration of GCE objectives into education for sustainable development frameworks is crucial, as efforts to promote sustainable development can only be successful when combined with the promotion of global solidarity. Second, as many schools have established inter/multicultural education as part of school curricula, the input of GCE could challenge traditional conceptions of "competency" (i.e., knowledge, skills, and attitudes) and foster a critical awareness and commitment to addressing issues of social justice. Third, the implementation of GCE,

<sup>3</sup> In 2002, the Council of Europe adopted the Maastricht Global Education Declaration. This European strategy framework aimed to improve and strengthen GCE by 2015 (North-South Center of the Council of Europe 2012).

alongside traditional citizenship education in school curricula can introduce a new perspective to the long-standing tradition of civic and moral education, thereby providing an opportunity to value hybrid and multiple identities.

Finally, it is important to reflect on how to schools can encourage students to see themselves as global citizens. Katzarska-Miller and Reysen's (2019) study shows that global citizenship identification is related to a wide variety of positive outcomes such as intergroup empathy, valuing diversity, social justice, environmental sustainability, intergroup helping, and a sense of responsibility to act for the betterment of the world.

#### **Research on Global Citizenship Education**

Goren and Yemini (2017) have conducted a systematic review of empirical studies on GCE published over the last 10 years, providing a mapping of the current research landscape and highlighting both the dominant themes and possible lacuna in the existing body of research. One significant conclusion of this study was the identification of a gap between the increasing call from the scientific community for more critical approaches to GCE and the apparent lack of critical discourse within educational policy and empirical studies. Furthermore, the review pointed out that a large number of articles on GCE not only fail to account for the heterogeneity of society, they do not address issues of class and context within their theoretical framework.

Overall, it is clear that GCE has received unprecedented attention from academics, educators, and policymakers around the globe. A recent comparative UNESCO study gives clear indications of an increasing presence of GCE in official educational policies and curricula (Cox 2017; UNESCO 2015). However, further research is required to fill the gap in scientific knowledge about the educational implications of translating GCE's international models into classroom practice (Eidoo et al. 2011; Guo 2013; Damiani 2018).

In addition, empirical studies are needed to assess the impact of GCE programs on school climate, discrimination, prejudice towards minorities or awareness of sustainable development issues.

The cognitive impact will be relatively easy to assess through tests on the students' acquisition of certain sets of information and knowledge. The assessment of the acquisition of socio-emotional and behavioral skills and competences may require different methods that allow us to measure development and formation of certain attitudes in students, as well as mindsets and behavioral patterns as part of their development as individuals (UNESCO 2016, p. 4).

Finally, it is crucial to not only assess the level of integration of GCE in curricula and its impact but also explore how teachers conceptualize and make sense of global citizenship. Research conducted in Canada by Leduc (2013) indicates that teachers believe in the need to foster active citizenship and civic global responsibility but seem to mainly focus student's learning on the symptoms of global inequalities while ignoring global interdependence. Conclusions from this research demonstrate once again the need for more critical approaches in schools.

Drawing on the example of Australia, Reynolds et al. (2019) point out that more efforts are required to fully realize the potential of critical GCE:

To enact global citizenship education, teachers require opportunities from a curriculum. Although the Australian curriculum supports teachers to address some aspects of global citizenship, there is much more it could do to require teachers to advocate for a better world, and to address key issues such as justice and equality, and both individual and collective identities on a global scale (p. 114).

Furthermore, proving that the development of GCE can only be achieved alongside teacher training, a study carried out in the U.S. indicates that teachers struggle to teach GCE as their understanding of the concept is limited (Rapoport 2010).

#### **A Call for Further Comparative and Critical Research**

This book, consistent with other comparative research (see: Swanson and Pashby 2016; Kitamura 2017; Engel et al. 2016; Galegher et al. 2019), pinpoints that the current threats to citizenship rights, social cohesion and social inclusion, brought about by unregulated neo-liberal globalization, cannot be tackled by a universal approach to GCE. Rather, GCE must be rooted in historical legacies and processes of national citizenship building. Approaching this concept in diverse national contexts also allows us to assess and discuss the relative merits of GCE (Sharma 2020).

We believe it is equally important to counterbalance the prevailing Western discourse on GCE by welcoming new ideas and approaches from the Global South, particularly from Indigenous Peoples. As rightfully stated by Stein et al. (2019), reflecting on alternatives for building a more just world is essential to both broaden the spectrum of possibilities and prevent "the same mistakes that reproduce the colonial division of the world, the results of which now threaten all our planetary futures" (p. 295). If research on GCE does not open to alternatives voices in the years to come, the dominant discourse may serve to perpetuate ongoing legacies of colonialism and silence the call for Indigenous sovereignty (Sabzalian 2019).

We hope that going forward, GCE will seize the opportunity to challenge the underlying assumption of the universality of Western paradigms and worldviews to embrace multiple ways of conceiving education, schooling and global citizenship.

#### **References**


**Open Access** This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, duplication, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, a link is provided to the Creative Commons licence and any changes made are indicated.

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