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Teaching & Learning Citizenship & Global Education - EDU00038M

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  • Department: Education
  • Module co-ordinator: Dr. Anna Bull
  • Credit value: 20 credits
  • Credit level: M
  • Academic year of delivery: 2022-23

Module summary

This module will give you an understanding of the central role education has in forging more tolerant and inclusive societies by encouraging young people to become informed, socially-connected, ethical and engaged global citizens. There will be a particular focus on teaching, learning and assessing that connects with the ambitions to educate people as global (and local and national) citizens.

Module will run

Occurrence Teaching period
A Autumn Term 2022-23

Module aims

To introduce students to key ideas about and practices for teaching and learning citizenship and global education (CGE).

Module learning outcomes

Subject content
Students will be able to:
1. Describe common issues that arise in teaching and learning global citizenship education
2. Critically assess research-informed approaches to addressing these issues
3. Apply theories and concepts relating to citizenship education and teaching to a range of real-world educational contexts
4. Critically reflect on the possibilities and limits of their role as teachers of global citizenship education across a range of contexts

Academic and graduate skills
Students will be able to:
1. Search and evaluate academic and non-academic sources for appropriateness, credibility, and quality
2. Summarise and critically analyse key ideas from reading
3. Use critical thinking to discuss and compare competing approaches
4. Organise and present complex ideas in writing
5. Manage time efficiently

Module content

Module Structure (seminar by seminar):
Week 2 - An introduction to the module.
We will introduce ourselves; come to terms with what you will have to do during the term and how you can prepare for assessment; and begin to consider the key ideas and issues associated with teaching and learning global citizenship education.
Week 3 - Student voice and Global Citizenship Education
Underpinning the idea of an active citizen is the concept of student voice. In this session we introduce theoretical models of student voice, explore critiques of these, and reflect on these models in relation to your own experiences of teaching and learning.
Week 4 – Active citizenship and student voice
This week we continue to explore the concept of student voice in relation to active citizenship, exploring ways in which teachers can facilitate the development of student voice in and outside the classroom.
Week 5 – Teaching Global Citizenship Education through community action and activism
Many children, young people, and teachers want to make change in the world beyond the classroom. We will discuss ways in which global citizenship education can take place (at least in part) through action in the community, on social media, or political activism, and explore how teachers can support their students in this.
Week 6 - Designing curricula for Global Citizenship education
Should citizenship be taught as a separate topic, or should it be taught as part of existing topics within the curriculum, such as history, science, English, or drama? Or can both methods be equally effective? This week we will discuss ways in which citizenship education can be incorporated into the curriculum.
Week 7 - Assessing Global and Citizenship Education/Reflective practice
How can teachers design assessments for Global Citizenship Education? We will explore the nature and purposes of assessment in this area and discuss whether assessment is even possible. This session will also introduce the idea of reflective practice in detail.
Week 8 - Critically analysing teaching resources for Global and Citizenship Education
We will review teaching resources such as lesson plans that have been produced in various countries. We will analyse their different approaches to Global Citizenship Education and practice critical thinking by analysing their contents.
Week 9 – Teaching sensitive or controversial issues.
In Global Citizenship Education, topics may be covered in class that evoke strong reactions in students and teachers, and these may include topics of which students and teachers have personal experience. Teachers therefore need to be prepared to set up safer spaces within the classroom and facilitate difficult or sensitive topics of discussion. In this session we will explore strategies for facilitating safer discussions with students.
Week 10 – Overview and conclusion.
We will review the work we have done throughout the term and try to draw some conclusions for the future development of global citizenship education. We will also practice evaluating ‘grey literature’ in this area, in order to be able to distinguish good quality from poor quality sources.

Assessment

Task Length % of module mark
Essay/coursework
3500 word essay		 N/A 100

Special assessment rules

None

Additional assessment information

3,500 word portfolio consisting of two parts (to be submitted and marked in one document): Part one: Critical analysis of a teaching resource relating to citizenship education (1500 words); Part two: Reflective account (2000 words).

Reassessment

Task Length % of module mark
Essay/coursework
3500 word essay		 N/A 100

Module feedback

Individual written feedback reports, with follow-up tutor meeting if necessary. The feedback is returned to students in line with university policy. Please check the Guide to Assessment, Standards, Marking and Feedback for more information.

Indicative reading

Open access resources:
Hart RA (1992) Children’s Participation: From tokenism to citizenship. UNICEF. Available at: https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/100-childrens-participation-from-tokenism-to-citizenship.html
You may wish to look at UNESCO’s resources on Global Citizenship Education: https://en.unesco.org/themes/gced/definition
UNESCO (2015) Global citizenship education: topics and learning objectives. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000232993
Crowley A and Moxon D (2017) New and innovative forms of youth participation in decision-making processes. Council of Europe. https://edoc.coe.int/en/youth-in-europe/7625-new-and-innovative-forms-of-youth-participation-in-decision-making-processes.html
FutureLearn. Promoting Democracy: A Guide for Teachers. Available at: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/promoting-democracy-a-guide-for-teachers
Further indicative reading:
Ayers W, Kumashiro K, Meiners E, et al. (2010) Teaching Toward Democracy: Educators As Agents of Change. London: Taylor & Francis Group.
Abdi AA, Shultz L and Pillay T (2015) Decolonizing Global Citizenship Education. Rotterdam: Brill.
Davies, I., Ho, L-C., Kiwan, D., Peck, C. L., Peterson, A., Sant, E., and Waghid, Y. (2018). The Palgrave Handbook of Global Citizenship and Education. London, Palgrave.


The information on this page is indicative of the module that is currently on offer. The University is constantly exploring ways to enhance and improve its degree programmes and therefore reserves the right to make variations to the content and method of delivery of modules, and to discontinue modules, if such action is reasonably considered to be necessary by the University. Where appropriate, the University will notify and consult with affected students in advance about any changes that are required in line with the University's policy on the Approval of Modifications to Existing Taught Programmes of Study.