'To Benefit the World by Whatever Means Possible': Adolescents' Constructed Meanings for Global Citizenship

Y

20

Citizenship; Citizenship Education; International Studies; Global Approach; Beliefs; Interviews; Essays; Group Discussion; Content Analysis; Adolescent Attitudes; Summer Programs; Hermeneutics

10.1080/01411920902989219

0141-1926

This article reports on the ways that 77 students in an international studies programme constructed meanings for global citizenship. The focus was on their personal meanings for the topic and how they articulated a global identity with their national civic beliefs. Data were collected from online discussion boards, written essays and 20 interviews. A key finding was that the students' political language for global citizenship, examined here in terms of purpose, membership and relationship with national citizenship, was predominantly a moral commitment framed in universal language. A second finding was that the students understood global citizenship as a heterogeneous and complex affiliation shaped by a range of sources. The implication is that citizenship education emphasizing a narrow notion of patriotism may encourage students to disengage from civic life because it does not represent their lived experiences and identities. Insights for making citizenship education practices more inclusive are discussed. (Contains 2 tables, 1 figure and 4 notes.)

As Provided

53

2010

EJ883482