Students’ Understanding of Global Civics in Philadelphia, USA and Istanbul, Turkey: A Framework for Improving Higher Civics Education

Abstract

Traditionally, civics has been defined as the study of rights and duties of citizenship within the context of a region or nation. In a world of increasing interdependence, the concept of global civics - the rights and responsibilities that people of one country have to another country - is gaining importance. Though the youth of today are poised to assume leadership roles and make decisions that will affect the future of our planet, the educational curriculum of most schools is lacking in teaching global civics. The objective of this paper is to determine how young people understand global civics and develop a framework for improving this understanding. By interviewing eight students (ages 17-27) from the United States and Turkey, we explored how young people understand global cooperation in three domains: environmental (climate change), economic (eradication of poverty) and political (mass atrocities). Our interviews show that in both countries, young people view global civics as essential to todays world though they express doubt regarding its feasibility. Important themes that emerged in this context were global self-identity, knowledge and empathy. Based on these themes, we present a conceptual framework for improving young peoples understanding of global civics. Our study provides critical information that can be used to design educational programs and curricula for improving young peoples understanding of global civics.