Introducing global citizenship education into classroom practice: A study on italian 8th grade students

Abstract

The implementation of global citizenship education (GCE) represents a challenge for the school system in Italy in terms of curriculum planning, teaching methods and contents. After a thorough overview of the Italian educational scenario on GCE, this article aims to present a learning unit on GCE related issues implemented in an Italian 8th-grade class. The study then highlights the educational implications in translating GCE international models into the Italian classroom practice. Its main assumptions focus on the key elements for students’ effective learning and on the limitations that characterise the Italian educational system in relation to GCE at the curriculum, school and teaching levels. The implications highlighted in this article are strongly intertwined with the need to plan and implement GCE jointly, within a whole-school approach, and the relevance of the modalities in which GCE instructional contents are selected and presented.