Shaping Tomorrow’s Educators for a Globalized World: How Institutional Factors Foster the Implementation of Transformative Global Education

• In Event: Educational futures in a global world

Proposal

With the introduction of the term ‘transformative education’ by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the integration of international perspectives, global competence, social justice, equity, equality, and critical thinking has emerged in academic systems worldwide (International Commission on the Futures of Education, 2021). In alignment with this vision, the revised 1974 UNESCO Recommendation identifies Global Citizenship Education (GCED) as a key framework for advancing just, inclusive, and sustainable societies by embedding its principles into school practices worldwide (UNESCO, 2024). However, the effective realization of GCED in classrooms depends fundamentally on the quality of teachers’ pedagogical preparation. Amidst these realities, the integration of global competencies and transformative pedagogies into teacher education remains underexplored in both higher education practice and research.

Guided by a conceptual framework combining UNESCO’s GCED dimensions (UNESCO, 2015) and Paulo Freire’s principles of Critical Pedagogy (Freire, 1970; 1973), this study addresses two questions: 1) How is transformative pedagogy within the global citizenship education framework integrated into teacher preparation at higher education institutions in the United States? 2) What institutional factors facilitate or hinder the implementation of these practices?

To answer these questions, this presentation will analyze compulsory coursework in selected teacher preparation programs in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia to examine how pedagogical approaches associated with transformative, global learning are employed to cultivate the cognitive, socio-emotional, and behavioral dimensions of GCED, and to identify the institutional factors that enable or restrain their effective implementation. The study employs a qualitative exploratory design, including in-depth semi-structured interviews with 28 faculty members from teacher education programs at 15 higher education institutions. Interview transcripts and supportive institutional documents, such as curricula, course catalogs, and strategic plans, were coded thematically using both deductive codes derived from the conceptual framework and inductive codes emerging from the collected data, enabling a systematic analysis of curricular practices and institutional conditions.

By examining teaching and learning from both curricular and institutional perspectives, this study contributes to discussions on the role of higher education in preparing globally competent, socially conscious educators, while underscoring the institutional conditions that influence pedagogical transformation. The paper challenges the notion that GCED can be uniformly applied across contexts, showing instead that institutional missions, degrees of autonomy, and strategic priorities significantly mediate how GCED is operationalized.

The emerging results reveal both promising practices and critical gaps in the integration of transformative global education principles. Some programs embed themes of social justice, cultural responsiveness, and global perspectives directly into foundational coursework, ensuring that teacher candidates are consistently exposed to GCED-related content throughout their academic training. Others, however, demonstrate only a fragmented engagement with frameworks. The findings further highlight the role of faculty development, leadership support, and international partnerships as enabling factors, while limited institutional commitment to internationalization and imposed political structures act as barriers. These disparities suggest that effective integration of transformative pedagogy is shaped not only by curricular design but also by specific institutional contexts and policy commitments, which are outlined in this paper.

Reference

Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. London: Penguin Books.
Freire, P. (1973). Education for Critical Consciousness, London: Bloomsbury Publishing.
International Commission on the Futures of Education. (2021). Reimagining our futures together: A new social contract for education. UNESCO. https://doi.org/10.54675/ASRB4722
UNESCO. (2015). Global citizenship education: Topics and learning objectives. UNESCO. https://doi.org/10.54675/DRHC3544
UNESCO. (2024). Recommendation on education for peace, human rights and sustainable development: An explainer. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Author

• Kseniia Tishkus, Columbia University Teachers College