ABSTRACT
Effective global justice education must incorporate historical and geopolitical dimensions of study along with an examination of contemporary societal power issues, and it must counter and challenge manifestations of racism and injustice, both locally and globally. Northern thinking and teaching about Africa typically begins with enslavement in the 1600s: the arrival of White Europeans tends to be the starting point for teaching and learning about African countries. Interculturalism is widely understood to have emerged from European debates about assimilationism and multiculturalism. Intercultural education that fails to take a critical perspective can reinforce and perpetuate the superior views of White students towards those from the Global South, including towards Africans and people of African descent who are living in Ireland. A national roll out of the Yellow Flag programme, with its emphasis on social justice, anti-racism, and diversity awareness, would be invaluable in moving towards an educational landscape which prioritises critically informed social justice education.
