Citizenship Education and Adult Learning and Education (ALE)

Abstract

There is hardly a concept, paradigm or topic that is used, promoted and advocated as much as citizenship education, while remaining so vaguely defined and differently understood. Presenting ICAEs concept, discourse and understanding of citizenship education, together with the examples from various regions, this paper shows clearly that citizenship education, especially understood as global citizenship education, is an urgent issue in the contemporary world. The core meaning of global citizenship education is recognized in ICAE’s mission: [... ]to promote learning and education for adults and young people in pursuit of social justice within the framework of human rights in all its dimensions, to secure the healthy, sustainable and democratic development of individuals, communities and societies (ICAE, 2020). Citizenship – or civic – education has always been part of national education systems and has been defined by national discourses about what constitutes a good citizen. In situations where educational programmes promote exclusionary nationalism, school climate is generally authoritarian and repressive, which is not conducive to the development of civic competency. There are also longstanding traditions of marginalizing minorities and women and widespread unease with growing diversity (Bassel and Ghosn-Chelala, 2018). In these circumstances, adult learning and education, especially within the civic sector, becomes increasingly important. While countries involved in conflicts, troubled by persistent poverty and large numbers of fleeing people tend to nationalist discourses in education, civil society makes tireless efforts to promote participatory, inclusive and cross-country programmes, and pays special attention to vulnerable groups, to the rights of women, youth, people with disabilities, and others. Civil society organisations (CSOs) often use Freirean approaches and related emancipatory and transformative educational practices. CSOs incorporate the ideals, approaches and values of global citizenship education to enhance civic responsibility and political competencies at the country-level where the struggle occurs to reconcile traditional values with modern approaches to achieving a just and equal society for all. Global development in the 21st century has not only added more topics to citizenship education but has also sharpened the critique of existing curricula. This is based on the recognition that the world has become a global village in terms of means of communication, and a global market where goods and services of one country can be purchased or sold in other corners of the world, while the mobility of people is still limited, often in the service of narrow political and economic reasons. In education, this was accompanied by an awareness that large groups were left behind economically through globalisation, especially in lower-income countries, while inequalities increased within upper- income countries (Milanović, 2016). The dominant modern idea of citizenship was linked closely to the emergence of individuals endowed with entitlements or rights in relation to the governments of territorial sovereign states, but numerous changes re-shaped this understanding. The nation-state no longer [has] absolute claim over the individual as belonging to a particular state as individuals now have dual or even multiple citizenships because of states’ membership in extra-national organizations (Nwaogu, Nwaogu, 2009). There is also increased movement of people across national borders for political or economic reasons. Financial crises, armed conflicts, the alarming effects of climate change and environmental degradation, and several waves of pandemics– most recently COVID-19 – has strengthened both the feeling that the world is very much connected and that national boundaries are increasingly meaningless. It is civil society that can fulfil new needs and close the gap that traditional education providers leave when confronted with these new challenges. New political structures and relationships, new connections between the local, regional and global (especially the complex interdependency and interconnectedness of political, economic, social and cultural norms and decisions), and new ways of community organising all require providers that will not only offer relevant knowledge, but also foster informed decision-making and constructive engagement in these dynamic processes. Civil society is a traditional provider of education for vulnerable and marginalised groups – exactly those who might have additional interest in citizenship education as a means of empowerment and transformational engagement to improve their lives. Representing a broad network of civil society organisations, ICAE promotes education and learning that deal with the most pressing problems facing humanity. ICAE members address nearly all elements of the modern understanding of active, global citizenship, in a contextualised manner, responding to local needs and urgent issues, while being guided by global goals and universal human values. In this paper numerous practical examples illustrate a very organic way of dealing with problems in an intersectoral manner in ALE, understanding them in their real-life complexity. Examples include: – COVID-19, health and learning in times of crises – Democracy, human rights and political literacy – Community learning, neighbourhood and youth – Gender, indigenous population and diversity – Peace, international understanding and the fight against racism – Citizenship education, skills, private sector and employment Ultimately, Global Citizenship Education (GSE) cannot simply advocate for new approaches and measures that are suitable for upper-income countries and communities. Instead, it needs to take into account the global context and what these initiatives, new forms of behaviour, and new approaches to learning mean for other regions. Recent research shows that even when global inequalities are decreasing, inequalities within countries are increasing (Milanović, 2016). Further research should inform the evolving global aspects of citizenship education. Careful analysis of the advantages and failures of the process of globalisation is needed. Citizenship education must be clearly conceptualized; include relevant knowledge, skills and behaviours; be contextualized in the global and the local; and be pedagogically informed by de-colonising, feminist, Freirean and Indigenous perspectives. ALE alone will not rewrite our collective narrative. But without ALE, it will be exceedingly difficult to achieve the kind of world that we want. A new collective narrative must reflect a renewed commitment to participative democracy, recognize the imperative to reverse the causes of climate change, question the consequences of unlimited economic growth, and promote respect for diversity and all forms of life. Just as we have been promising Education for All, since Jomtien in 1990, we now need to reaffirm that education for all is a prerequisite for democracy and that sustaining life is a prerequisite for both.