Global citizenship education: The competencies of teachers to promote the 2030 agenda through civic education

Abstract

In an era of violence and incoherence, which is a tangible expression of liquid modernity, it is paramount and dutiful to educate youths based on a vision of the concept of citizenship that tends toward the ethical renewal, one capable of displaying new social horizons and in line with the achievement of the 2030 Agenda goals. The need for renewed social resilience has led to new reflections on ethical, intercultural, democratic and global competences, deeply linked to models of global citizenship education. Educating for global citizenship and becoming globally informed citizens implies confronting the multiple instances of globalisation, plurality and multiculturalism, as well as strengthening the processes and skills that are agents for change and are at the core of educational ethos and of the very idea of citizenship. Globally competent teachers have the task of helping students to develop not only cognitive and critical skills, but also empathy, interconnectedness, ability to take on responsibilities, openness to other cultures, action-oriented attitude and lack of prejudices. The transversal curriculum of Civic Education (CE), articulated into Learning Units (LU), aimed at enhancing the dimension of co-ownership, which remains hardly achieved despite being largely sought for, raises a question: can the transversal teaching of Civic Education, introduced in all Italian schools of all levels, educate to the “true” Global Citizenship?

Keywords

• Agenda 2030 (SDGs 4)
• Global Citizenship Education (GCE)
• Teachers' competences
• Civic Education (CE)
• Learning Units (LU)