What is GCE?
Global Citizenship Education (GCE) is an educational approach that aims at educating citizens so that they can be made aware of the complexity of today’s problems and capable of attitudes and behaviours oriented towards their resolution. GCE can find application in formal education settings, at schools, as well as in non-formal ones.
UNESCO describes Global Citizenship Education as a practice that develops a sense of belonging to a wider community and common humanity, and highlights political, economic, social and cultural interdependencies and the interconnection between local, national and global contexts.
UNESCO believes that the objectives of the GCE should invest the different areas of learning in the three fundamental educational dimensions:
- cognitive: to acquire knowledge, understanding and critical thinking on global, regional, national and local issues and on the interconnection and interdependence of different countries and populations;
- socio-emotional: to develop a sense of belonging to a common humanity, share values and responsibilities, promote empathy, solidarity and respect for differences and diversity;
- behavioural: to learn how to act effectively and responsibly at local, national and global levels, for a more peaceful and sustainable world.
According to UNESCO, GCE is supposed to be transformative, as it helps students acquire the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes they need to help make the world more inclusive, just and peaceful.
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