The Value and Implementation of Global Citizenship Education

Abstract

Under globalization, global issues such as climate change have become prominent, challenging the ability of human collaborative governance. Global Citizenship Education (GCE), as a path of educational innovation, aims to cultivate individuals' global perspectives, sense of responsibility, and collaborative abilities that break through regional and ethnic limitations. Its value is reflected in the enhancement of individuals' cross-cultural literacy and critical thinking, the cultivation of social inclusiveness, and the promotion of global governance and sustainable development. Currently, China's GCE is facing challenges: cognitive biases in concepts, insufficient coverage of global issues in curriculum (climate change and other content in textbooks account for only 12%, far lower than the EU's 50%), single practice and low participation in international exchanges (only 8% of high school students participate), less than 5.2% of full-time teachers, and a lack of systematic training. This article is based on the UNESCO GCE framework (with the core of cultivating the knowledge and values necessary for "fairness, peace, and sustainable development"), drawing on the experiences of France, the United States, and the United Kingdom (French phased curriculum, American lifestyle infiltration, and British national curriculum positioning), and combining with China's education reality, exploring the strategies of timeliness and localization from five dimensions, and providing support for cultivating new era citizens who participate in global governance and practice a community with a shared future for mankind.