Being and becoming global citizens: Measuring progress toward SDG 4.7. Phase I: Monitoring teacher and school readiness to enact global citizenship in the Asia-Pacific region

Substantive work has been undertaken to define and frame global citizenship education (GCED). Global citizenship and related terms are included in the curricula and policy statements of many diverse nations around the world (Parker & Fraillon, 2016; APCEIU, 2020b), however, the education sector often struggles to enact and monitor GCED in ways that reflect the changing conditions of students and schools. This study responds to an identified need for enhanced tools and resources for schools and systems to monitor and evaluate GCED, in accordance with United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4.7. This need is particularly pressing in the primary school sector, where little research has examined staff or student interpretations of GCED, and the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, where despite significant interest, gaps in understanding and implementing GCED remain. This report presents a draft framework for monitoring effective GCED, which is relevant to systems, schools, and staff supporting upper primary school students. The framework has been developed from a review of existing instruments and research, including work undertaken to frame and assess global citizenship for the Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics (SEA-PLM). To develop this framework, we have also sought the input of GCED experts and teachers from the Republic of Korea, the Philippines and Australia to ensure relevance to these contexts. Accompanying the framework is a series of preliminary questions for systems, schools, and teachers designed to assist in exploring enabling conditions for the enactment of global citizenship, which is also underpinned by key findings and gaps from the literature.

This study is co-funded by UNESCO’s Asia Pacific Centre for International Understanding (APCEIU) and the Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Centre – a long term partnership between ACER and the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.