Abstract
A review of school curricula approaches to citizenship formation in a sub-Saharan African education context reveals such practice is still largely focused on a traditional social studies approach. This approach to citizenship development may be limiting in terms of potential to foster students' civic competencies for addressing social injustice associated with the impacts of globalization that impinge on local realities. Drawing on a critical global citizenship education (GCE) framework and GCE core conceptual dimensions developed by UNESCO, this study assessed the critical dimensions of the social studies curriculum for secondary education in one sub-Saharan African country. Through interviews with teachers, focus groups with students and a review of the social studies teaching syllabus, the study revealed limitations in both content and the pedagogical approach to the delivery of Ghana's current social studies curriculum for senior high schools.
Highlights
The accelerated processes of globalization and the impacts these have on societies and economies around the world highlight the need for a global perspective to the delivery of education
The delivery of citizenship education in sub-Saharan African countries such as Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and Tanzania is pursued mainly through a social studies approach characterized by a limited focus on national development issues (Sigauke, 2011; Mhlauli, 2012; Eten, 2015), deriving from factors that pertain to the peculiar sociocultural context and colonial histories of these countries
In one of the few cases where a teacher reported he had heard of the term global citizenship, he elaborated that: The first time I heard about global citizenship was when a friend of mine asked me what social studies teachers were doing to introduce to our students the concept of global citizenship
Summary
The accelerated processes of globalization and the impacts these have on societies and economies around the world highlight the need for a global perspective to the delivery of education. This global perspective is relevant in citizenship education given the fluidity that characterize conceptions of citizenship, identity and culture, linked to increasing global mobility and the resultant intercultural contacts (Dei, 2004; Appiah, 2006; Rizvi, 2009). The delivery of citizenship education in sub-Saharan African countries such as Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and Tanzania is pursued mainly through a social studies approach characterized by a limited focus on national development issues (Sigauke, 2011; Mhlauli, 2012; Eten, 2015), deriving from factors that pertain to the peculiar sociocultural context and colonial histories of these countries
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