Discourses of Global Citizenship Education: The Influence of the Global Middle Classes

Abstract

This chapter examines the intersections between a growing “global middle class,” their emplacement within national education systems, and subsequent changes within provision of education due to the emergence of this new prominent social group. We begin with an analysis of the discourses that call forth notions of global citizenship and global citizenship education – concepts often associated with both the experiences and needs of the global middle classes. We then examine how the growing presence of global middle-class students and their families across educational contexts may be shaping the provision of education and potentially altering its intended purposes in some cases. This argument is illustrated by a discussion focusing on the increasing prominence of International Baccalaureate programs worldwide, the integration of cosmopolitan values in local curricula, and a consideration of how mobilities reshape the imaginaries of future destinations.