Global citizenship education and social justice for immigrant students: Implications for administration, leadership, and teaching in schools

Abstract

Accelerating global migration and geopolitical instability has resulted in a dramatically increasing number of immigrant and refugee students in schools and classrooms in Western democracies. The greater diversity in schools charts the governments and schools an important task of building a welcoming, inclusive, just, and equitable educational system and an environment for all students, particularly for the immigrant and refugee students who are often underserved by the existing education systems and praxis. Educational leaders and practitioners are challenged to adopt meaningful and practical ways to ensure all students, who differ in their backgrounds, languages, identities, frames of reference, abilities, interests, and belief systems, have equal opportunities and resources to participate and succeed in the current education systems. This chapter introduces critical global citizenship education as an inspiration and a framework to empower policy-makers, leadership, and educators to promote greater equity and social justice for immigrant and refugee students through culturally responsive policy, leadership, and praxis. The chapter concludes with discussions and implications of critical global citizenship education on culturally responsive educational policies, leadership, and praxis.