Empowering global citizens: integrating social responsibility into school education

Eurydice has defined specific citizenship competences in a number of areas, including ‘Acting in a socially responsible manner’, which focus on the responsibilities we have to our social, cultural and natural environments. Schools have a key role to play in explaining the dynamics between local and global challenges to children, and in developing their sense of responsibility towards society as a whole.

Recent research on critical global citizenship education showed that secondary school students were able to analyse social problems mainly on a descriptive level, not on interpretative and critical levels. This highlights the need to pay more comprehensive attention to ethics and social justice.

From local to global

Local authorities can drive initiatives to foster global citizenship in schools, often linked with overall sustainability goals.

For example, in Spain, the Basque Education Strategy for Social Transformation (H)ABIAN 2030 is a programme that emphasises the importance of local activities in accomplishing global goals, adhering to the concepts of global citizenship education and integrating them into the larger framework of social transformation.

The PLATFORMA report shares several examples of how local governments’ active use of education can foster global citizenship. Among them, the CULPEER4change project used cultural peer-learning to integrate the Sustainable Development Goals into local and regional curricula in seven European countries.

Reinforcing teacher competences

Several Erasmus+ Teacher Academy projects are helping educators develop their proficiency in sustainability education, for example EduSTA and TAP-TS, which organise professional development and teaching materials. The CLIMADEMY project aims to establish a network of educators to help teachers understand the causes, effects and available mitigation strategies of climate change.

These projects give guidance on understanding the dynamics of social justice. This helps to develop strategies for use in teacher training and school citizenship education.