ABSTRACT
One of the central claims of International Schools is that they have the capacity and the commitment to develop ideas and predispositions towards global citizenship among their pupils. But it is often unclear just what might be meant by global citizenship, both in theory and in practice. This chapter sets out to explore and expose the tensions between different agendas and calls for what is loosely called ‘global citizenship education’. While readers might be more familiar with related terms – such as international education, global education, development education, education for sustainable development and global understanding, or cosmopolitan learning – the term global citizenship education is used in part because it is increasingly visible in a number of educational fields and traditions (for a more in-depth discussion on this terminology debate see Marshall 2007). The arguments presented here are located within a UK context and many of the references reflect this, though much of what is said will also have resonance for those working in other international contexts.
