Professional development perspectives on Global Citizenship Education in Ghana
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Date
2023
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Educational Research
Abstract
Background: Increasingly incorporated into curricula worldwide,
Global Citizenship Education (GCE) is a complex and evolving area
of education. As the significance of GCE in the classroom grows, so
does the need for insight into professional development for GCE
educators. Given that many approaches to GCE have typically
stemmed from ‘global North’ contexts, it is particularly important
to research this area from ‘global South’ perspectives. This paper
contributes by reporting on a study conducted in an initial teacher
education setting in Ghana.
Purpose: The study aimed to investigate prospective teachers’
viewpoints on GCE. It sought to explore aspects including how pre service teachers understood the orientation, meaning and rele vance of GCE teaching and their views on the debates surrounding
GCE’s underlying approaches and values.
Methods: Participants were 16 pre-service teachers who had taken
GCE courses during their degree programmes at a university in
Ghana. Data were collected through three focus group discussions
and analysed qualitatively.
Findings: In-depth analysis of the rich data suggested that partici pants had generally positive perceptions about GCE, whilst obser ving challenges and tension in the relationships between local,
national and global issues. Whereas some were of the opinion
that GCE had a neocolonial orientation, focusing on Western ele ments over other cultures, others expressed the view that GCE
content could be reoriented to address local issues as well.
Although participants felt that greater practical experience could
strengthen their learning, they believed they had obtained ade quate skills in terms of content and theory for the teaching of GCE.
Conclusion: The study draws attention to the need for educators to
be supported from an early stage and throughout their career
journeys with professional development in GCE that invites explora tion, critical thinking and challenge.
Description
Research Article
Keywords
Citizenship education, Global Citizenship Education (GCE), teacher education
Citation
To cite this article: José-Luis Parejo, Benedicta A. Lomotey, Miquel Reynés-Ramon & Maria-O Cortón-Heras (2022) Professional development perspectives on Global Citizenship Education in Ghana, Educational Research, 64:4, 407-423, DOI: 10.1080/00131881.2022.2135120