Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
4.8
2.5
Journals
Education Sciences
Special Issues
Fostering Global Citizenship and Intercultural Education “Otherwise”
share announcement

Fostering Global Citizenship and Intercultural Education “Otherwise”

A special issue of Education Sciences (ISSN 2227-7102). This special issue belongs to the section "Language and Literacy Education".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (2 May 2025) | Viewed by 3360

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Susana Pinto

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Education and Psychology, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
Interests: plurilingual and intercultural education; language education policies; language policies in scientific research; intercultural supervision
Dr. Mónica Lourenço

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Coimbra, 3000-214 Coimbra, Portugal
Interests: global citizenship education; teacher education; plurilingual education

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In an era marked by rapid globalization and mobility, the concepts of global citizenship and intercultural education have gained traction in educational discourses worldwide (Byram, 2021; Lourenço, 2018; Pinto, 2018; UNESCO, 2014). With the turn of the millennium and as societies became increasingly interconnected, facing constant major challenges related to migration, conflict, and other crises, fostering global citizenship and promoting intercultural understanding have been proclaimed indispensable for building inclusive, peaceful, and sustainable societies.

However, intercultural education and global citizenship are not consensual concepts and have been critiqued for prioritizing Western and Eurocentric perspectives and knowledge systems and promoting essentialisms that reify difference and deny heterogeneity (Andreotti and Souza, 2012; Bosio and Waghid, 2023). This has led some scholars to advocate for critical and decolonial approaches to global citizenship and intercultural education that provide alternatives to dogmatism, romanticization of alternatives, paternalism, and absolute relativism that create intercultural inertia and other barriers to enacting global justice and social change (Andreotti et al., 2018; Holmes and Corbett, 2023; Suša et al., 2021).

In light of these critiques, the main aim of this Special Issue is to provide a platform for interdisciplinary dialogue and innovative research to discuss and imagine the concepts of global citizenship and intercultural education otherwise. Researchers are invited to submit literature review papers, conceptual pieces, and original empirical research, addressing (but not limited to) the following topics:

  • The multifaceted concepts of global citizenship and intercultural education, including their theoretical underpinnings, definitions, and implications for more socially just societies;
  • The role of civil society organizations in enacting global citizenship and intercultural education;
  • Experiential and service-learning experiences aimed at developing intercultural awareness and global citizenship locally or in international contexts;
  • Curricula development at different educational levels for intercultural education and global citizenship;
  • Experiences in (pre-service and in-service) teacher education to develop practitioners’ critical intercultural awareness and global citizenship;
  • Classroom practices that encourage learners to scrutinize their biases, challenge dominant narratives, and actively contribute to social change at different educational levels;
  • Internationalization at home and internationalization of the curriculum to promote intercultural learning and global citizenship;
  • Critical intercultural pedagogy, critical global citizenship, and decolonial approaches to social justice.

Andreotti, V. de O., & Souza, L. M. (2012). Postcolonial perspectives on global citizenship education. Routledge.

Andreotti, V., Stein, A., Pashby, K., Susa, R., Amsler, S. & Gesturing Decolonial Futures Collective (2018). Mobilising different conversations about global justice in education: Toward alternative futures in uncertain times. Policy & Practice: A Development Education Review, 26, 9-41.

Bosio, E., & Wagihd, Y. (Eds.). (2023). Global citizenship education in the Global South: Educators’ perceptions and practices. Brill.

Byram, M. (2021). Teaching and assessing intercultural communicative competence. Revisited. Multilingual Matters.

Holmes P., & Corbett, J. (Eds.) (2023). Critical intercultural pedagogy for difficult times. Conflict, crisis and creativity. Routledge.

Lourenço, M. (2018). Global, international and intercultural education: three contemporary approaches to teaching and learning. On the Horizon, 26(2), 61-71. https://doi.org/10.1108/OTH-06-2018-095.

Pinto, S. (2018). Intercultural competence in Higher Education: academics’ perspectives. On The Horizon, 26(2), 137-147.

UNESCO. (2014). Global citizenship education: Preparing learners for the challenges of the 21st century. UNESCO.

Suša, R., Andreotti, V., Stein, S., Ahenakew, C., Čajkova, T., Siwek, D., Cardoso, C., & Kui, N. (2021). Global citizenship education and sustainability otherwise. In S. Saúde, M. A. Raposo, N. Pereira & A. I. Rodrigues (Eds.), Teaching and learning practices that promote sustainable development and active citizenship (pp. 1-23). IGI Global.

Dr. Susana Pinto
Dr. Mónica Lourenço
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Education Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • global citizenship
  • intercultural education
  • social justice
  • decolonial approaches
  • educational practices

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

19 pages, 458 KiB  
Article
Envisioning Global Education in Rwanda: Contributions from Secondary School Teachers
by Abiud Bosire, Luís Grosso Correia and Dalila Pinto Coelho
Educ. Sci. 2025, 15(5), 619; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15050619 - 18 May 2025
Viewed by 64
Abstract
Global education (GE) has become important in education due to heightened global interconnectedness and interdependence, with its incorporation into school materials aimed at preparing learners to navigate global challenges. In implementing GE, teachers are considered critical agents to transform normative GE into knowledge [...] Read more.
Global education (GE) has become important in education due to heightened global interconnectedness and interdependence, with its incorporation into school materials aimed at preparing learners to navigate global challenges. In implementing GE, teachers are considered critical agents to transform normative GE into knowledge in classrooms. This study examines Rwandese teachers’ knowledge, awareness, and perceptions of challenges they face in implementing GE in schools. In a quantitative design, 208 teachers from 15 participating secondary schools completed a survey. The study findings reveal that the teachers had moderate to high levels of knowledge and awareness of global education, with most of the teachers recognising GE to be important in preparing learners for the future and stated the need to incorporate it within the curriculum in Rwanda. This study underscores the need for teacher training and professional development to enhance GE integration, and the provision of necessary resources and materials to enable the implementation of GE in schools in Rwanda. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fostering Global Citizenship and Intercultural Education “Otherwise”)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

13 pages, 255 KiB  
Article
Developing Digital Citizenship in the Foreign Language Classroom with an Emphasis on the Intercultural Dimension
by Ana Raquel Simões and Carolina Brás
Educ. Sci. 2025, 15(5), 584; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15050584 - 7 May 2025
Viewed by 577
Abstract
There has been an increase in the number of users on digital platforms. Similarly, technology is prevalent in the daily lives of young people, therefore, it is crucial to address the topic of digital citizenship with them, ensuring they use technology in a [...] Read more.
There has been an increase in the number of users on digital platforms. Similarly, technology is prevalent in the daily lives of young people, therefore, it is crucial to address the topic of digital citizenship with them, ensuring they use technology in a responsible and healthy manner. The present study argues that the foreign language classroom constitutes a privileged space for the promotion of digital citizenship. To address this research gap, the present study examines digital citizenship within the context of foreign language education, with a particular focus on its articulation with the intercultural dimension, and explores its impact on participants’ knowledge, attitudes, and opinions. More specifically, this study aims to determine the effectiveness of a five-session didactic intervention in developing students’ knowledge, attitudes, and opinions regarding digital citizenship within an intercultural dimension in an EFL secondary classroom. The research question formulated is: how can digital citizenship be developed in conjunction with the intercultural dimension in the English language classroom in secondary education, namely concerning students’ knowledge, attitudes, and opinions? With the intention of addressing this question, an intervention project was implemented with a class of 11th-grade students at a school in the Aveiro district, Portugal. The didactic project consisted of five sessions conducted in the English classroom, in a total of 450 min. Through the content analysis conducted on the collected data, it revealed significant improvements in students’ understanding of online rights and responsibilities, and a positive shift in attitudes toward intercultural interaction. While some initial prejudices persisted, the project fostered increased awareness of diverse cultural perspectives in the digital world. These findings suggest that targeted interventions integrating intercultural awareness within digital citizenship education can be effective in promoting responsible digital engagement and intercultural sensitivity in EFL secondary education. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fostering Global Citizenship and Intercultural Education “Otherwise”)
19 pages, 300 KiB  
Article
Critical Considerations for Intercultural Sensitivity Development: Transnational Perspectives
by Asuka Ichikawa and Sarang Kim
Educ. Sci. 2025, 15(4), 515; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15040515 - 21 Apr 2025
Viewed by 609
Abstract
Intercultural sensitivity is crucial in today’s diverse society, and accurate assessment is key to developing effective intercultural programs in educational institutions and beyond. The Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) is widely used for this purpose, yet its applicability to transnational individuals—those navigating multiple cultural [...] Read more.
Intercultural sensitivity is crucial in today’s diverse society, and accurate assessment is key to developing effective intercultural programs in educational institutions and beyond. The Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) is widely used for this purpose, yet its applicability to transnational individuals—those navigating multiple cultural and social systems—remains underexplored. This gap is important to address given the interconnected nature of our global society, where individuals frequently move across borders. To address this issue, this conceptual paper critically examines the underlying assumptions of the IDI regarding culture and identity through three interrelated frameworks: transnationalism, relational ontology, and intersectionality. Drawing on existing literature on these frameworks and the IDI, our analysis highlights how integrating these perspectives into the IDI and, by extension, other intercultural assessment tools can more accurately capture the complex, fluid, and dynamic nature of transnational experiences. This integration also shifts the discourse on intercultural assessment from a focus on individual competence to an emphasis on shared responsibility in fostering equitable, relationally grounded intercultural spaces. Implications for future research and practice are also discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fostering Global Citizenship and Intercultural Education “Otherwise”)
15 pages, 273 KiB  
Article
Challenges and Possibilities of Social Justice Language Education in a Difficult Context in the Global South
by Melina Porto
Educ. Sci. 2025, 15(4), 492; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15040492 - 15 Apr 2025
Viewed by 426
Abstract
This article describes the challenges and possibilities of implementing social justice language education in a difficult context in the Global South. Six Argentinian English language university teachers and tutors developed and implemented a social justice project during 2017–2018 in a nongovernmental organisation (NGO) [...] Read more.
This article describes the challenges and possibilities of implementing social justice language education in a difficult context in the Global South. Six Argentinian English language university teachers and tutors developed and implemented a social justice project during 2017–2018 in a nongovernmental organisation (NGO) in Argentina. The project aimed at challenging the ‘conditions of possibility’ of underserved children aged 8–12 who attended the NGO for school support and extra-curricular activities. Data comprise reflection logs written by the university teachers and tutors during project implementation and a survey applied after project completion. Qualitative data analysis reveals two specific difficulties involved in enacting social justice language education locally, namely a disconnection between theory and practice and difficulty in grasping local conditions and developing sensitivity to the context. The analysis also led to the identification of two areas with potential to impact positively on social justice language education: an experientially grounded project and teachers’ self-perception as moral agents. Implications for social justice teacher education are discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fostering Global Citizenship and Intercultural Education “Otherwise”)
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-4
Back to TopTop