Do the conditions in Chinese secondary school education imply a need for global citizenship education? An exploration of six secondary schools in Jiangsu

Abstract

Global citizenship education (GCE), an educational advocacy for students to attain the competencies of being aware of and actively engaged in defending social justice, equity and sustainable development at both local and global levels, is difficult to achieve in practice. The failure can be attributed to inadequate knowledge of different effects of GCE when it is used to meet specific needs of local schools. Identifying local schools' needs for GCE may help educators put GCE to good use. However, few studies explore and justify the role of a local insight in assisting in GCE implementation, especially regarding the situation in China where inconsistencies are found across curriculum documents, research and educational practices. The present study fills the gap by investigating the schools' needs for GCE at secondary level within the Chinese education system. With the assistance of principals (n = 6) and teachers (n = 10) from six participating schools in an anonymous city in Jiangsu province, data were collected through semi-structured interviews and then analysed abductively using the grounded theory approach. Analysis was initially framed by employing criteria from a curriculum development method, namely situational analysis, based on which further analysis was conducted to synthesise more abstract themes. As a result, four general conditions emerged from the data, including three restrictive conditions that may prevent GCE integration (i.e. 'compliance and commitment', 'social mobility' and 'administrative constraints') and one condition that can encourage GCE implementation (i.e. 'competency-based education'). Since GCE is a complex idea linked to many possible applications, the four key conditions revealed from the small sample in the present study can enrich researchers' understanding of the potentiality of GCE implementation in similar moderately developed cities on the east coast of China.

University Students’ Perception toward Global Citizenship’s Knowledge, Skills and Values in the Sultanate of Oman

“…Together, these initiatives can assist in maintaining support for a more meaningful global citizenship education in the face of the many challenges of the current educational context. Hong (2020) The results showed that most respondents perceived CAS to have had a positive impact, particularly for developing individual skill sets. Respondents agreed that participating in CAS broadens their perspectives, but they reported little change in their behavior or worldview as a result.…”

How will a conceptualized GCE curriculum function within Chinese secondary schools?

“…Finally, from a pragmatist perspective, which is the third rationale, GCE is often acknowledged via a competency-based framework. Hong ( 2020 ) conducted a situational analysis through a selected case of six secondary schools on the east coast of China and found GCE implemented through competency-based education. However, based on the results of the situational analysis, GCE only offers subtle benefits to competency-based education—unsurprising given that a competency framework lacks the epistemic foundation (Ryen & Jøsok, 2021 ) for guiding teaching.…”

“…However, based on the results of the situational analysis, GCE only offers subtle benefits to competency-based education—unsurprising given that a competency framework lacks the epistemic foundation (Ryen & Jøsok, 2021 ) for guiding teaching. As Table 1 shows, this research case involved students with low socioeconomic status, and the schools prioritized improving academic performance to ensure social mobility (Hong, 2020 ). Asian societies that emphasize Confucianism tend to value meritocracy along with the moral aspect of GCE.…”

“…Parallel to the call for critical awareness, many cases across the world suggest that advocacy-oriented concepts of GCE can contribute to more comprehensive and tangible teaching (Cho & Mosselson, 2018 ; Hammond & Keating, 2018 ; Howard et al, 2018 ). These cases demonstrate “reverse outcomes of reinforced neoliberalism and post-colonialism” when social justice and equity were not prioritized (Hong, 2020 , p. 456). Therefore, the literature also offers evidence of GCE increasing student agency toward becoming active citizens (Andreotti, 2006 ; Davies, 2006 ).…”

“…A previously published article found that six secondary schools on the east coast of China selected a competency-based model to promote GCE (Hong, 2020 ). However, since a competency framework lacks the epistemic basis (Ryen & Jøsok, 2021 ), we need more information to understand educators’ rationale in conceptualizing GCE for practice in empirical settings.…”