Shar, Noor Hussain; (2024) Global Citizenship Education in Government Secondary Schools: A case study of government secondary schools in northern Sindh. Doctoral thesis (Ed.D), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

Focusing on social studies and Pakistan studies, this research explores the teaching of global citizenship education (GCE) in the secondary schools of northern Sindh, Pakistan. Using the qualitative case study approach, I collected three layers of data, i.e. a) document analysis, b) classroom observations, and c) interviews with teachers of social studies and Pakistan studies. The classroom observation and interview data were analysed using Blackmore's (2016) pedagogical framework for critical global citizenship education. According to national education policies, curricula and textbooks, GCE is part of secondary education in Sindh, Pakistan. However, the data reveal that teachers do not engage students in learning the concepts at a deeper level. The students are hardly engaged in critical thinking where they can verify the accuracy of their assumptions and question the historical causes of contemporary problems such as poverty, environmental degradation and political questions. The findings indicate, that the interventions aimed to enhance the quality of education through policy changes or modifications in curricula and textbooks may have minimal impact on classroom practices unless teachers possess a strong command of the content knowledge, employ subject-specific pedagogies and are adequately trained in utilising the textbooks. Current teaching practices do not engage learners in dialogue to know alternative approaches to see the world from others' perspectives and understand the complexities of relationships and perspectives. Since GCE is a transformative process and involves identity formation, it requires transformative pedagogies, which are not part of the pedagogical culture in these schools. Teachers use textbook reading and listening as the sole teaching methodology; therefore, the process remains unsuccessful in achieving the policy objectives of developing learners as responsible global citizens. Teachers’ content knowledge and pedagogy weaknesses highlight the knowledge and pedagogical gaps, making teaching-learning of GCE concepts ineffectual. These gaps account for the policy practice gap, making classroom teaching dull and unexciting for the learners. The policy practice gap, combined with the knowledge and the pedagogical gaps, have created a self-reinforcing loop of poor GCE teaching-learning practices that are difficult to escape.

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