Bridging theory and practice: conceptualisations of global citizenship education in Dutch secondary education

Abstract

With the rise of Global Citizenship Education (GCE) in education systems worldwide, recent research has attempted to categorise its various types and orientations. There are, however, limited insights into how different education stakeholders perceive and implement GCE in pedagogical practice. To bridge this gap between theory and practice, we apply a social cartography of GCE types from a recent study to identify management staff’s, teachers’, and pupils’ perceptions of GCE in the context of Dutch (bilingual) secondary education. Based on a content analysis of 12 interviews and three focus groups with pupils, our findings indicate a clear dominance of a liberal orientation towards GCE, focusing on political and moral themes, but also evidence of a critical orientation, as well as liberal-critical and neoliberal-liberal interfaces. We propose that the reflections of practitioners and pupils presented in this study should be used to further develop (Dutch) GCE.