Educating for global citizenship: Australia as a case study

Abstract

Twenty-first-century teaching prepares students for a globalized existence. The long-established goal of schooling to prepare a responsible citizenry who strive for the benefit of the community must now be extended, assisting students to become global citizens, equipped to deal with global issues. This article investigates how civics and citizenship education is addressed in curricula; in particular, to what extent the ongoing issue of supporting a critical citizenry, locally and globally, is addressed. Using Australia as a case study, we present an analysis of selected Australian primary school (ages 5–12) curriculum documents to determine the extent of commitment to educating for global citizenship specifically. While intentions are good, work is needed to ensure that these are enacted within schools.