I’m quite often asked about what global citizenship is and why it matters. It’s a great question, but the answer is both simple and complex.
The simple answer might sound like something lifted straight from a policy document: “Global citizenship education develops the skills, knowledge and values that pupils need to be active global citizens.”
In practice, however, it’s more complex. It’s about young people who can recognise and challenge injustice, feel genuine solidarity and take meaningful action.
Interconnectedness of issues
It also involves questioning our own ability as educators to think critically about how global systems operate, the structures that sustain poverty and inequality, and about our shared responsibilities in creating and challenging them.
So, before we rush towards promoting and being active global citizens, we must take time to understand the “why” and the interconnectedness of the issues on our shared earth. Some of these issues, such as war or the climate crisis, you may already talk about in the classroom because they make the headlines. But other crises unfold quietly, away from the glare of the media.
One such crisis is happening in South Sudan, where a humanitarian emergency has continued largely in silence.
It is a nation grappling with the long-term consequences of conflict, displacement and underinvestment in education - particularly for children living with disabilities. This crisis may be forgotten in the Western media, but it should not be forgotten in our classrooms.
Here, then, are practical ways to spark global citizenship education in your school:
1. Make space in your planning
Build global citizenship education into your school improvement plan, helping to ensure whole-school commitment and create opportunities for collaboration across staff, pupils, parents and local communities.
2. Make the links
Break out of siloed thinking. Global citizenship education doesn’t belong to one subject area. Look for natural intersections across subjects, including art, music, RE/RMPS (religious education/religious, moral and philosophical studies) and health and wellbeing.
Global citizenship becomes more relevant when pupils see connections between their local context and themes that extend across the world.
3. Create time for critical reflection
Dedicate time for critical reflection not just on global issues, but on our own worldview, values and sustainable choices. Build space for tough questions, challenge assumptions and explore the systems that sustain inequality in your reflective practice.
This critical lens is essential for us to engage our pupils with global issues, not just intelligently, but also emotionally and ethically.
Collective action leading to change
At SCIAF, we love to talk about all things global citizenship and sustainable development and can offer and .
We’ve seen how upper-primary pupils are keen to explore the rights of the child to an education in South Sudan. Even at this age, it’s not necessary to shy away from difficult truths, like the fact that over 90 per cent of children with disabilities in the world’s poorest places will never attend school.
Another way that schools take meaningful action is through fundraising to help children abroad, for example, through our fundraising appeals. Endeavours like this enable young people with disabilities to access education and challenge negative stereotypes about gender and disability, as well as to build more inclusive communities.
These are powerful examples of how collective action sparked in Scottish classrooms can lead to lasting change.
Elaine McGinlay is development education officer at Scottish international aid charity SCIAF
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