Case Study: Integrating Global Citizenship Education at UCC (2017-2024)

CASE STUDY

Integrating Global Citizenship Education at the University College Cork (UCC)

Who We Are

Institution: School of Education, University College Cork (UCC) has systematically embraced Global Citizenship Education (GCE) to enhance educational practices and student outcomes.

Project Leaders:

  • Dr. Stephen O’Brien: The principal leader for DE/GCE projects, Dr. O’Brien has spearheaded DE/GCE projects with a vision to deeply embed global citizenship and sustainable education practices within teacher education. His leadership has been pivotal in aligning the project objectives with UCC’s strategic educational goals and global educational standards.
  • Dr. Gertrude Cotter: Co-leader on many of the GCE projects, Dr. Cotter has been instrumental in operationalising the integration of GCE into the curriculum. Her contributions include developing specific modules, organizing exhibitions, and enhancing public engagement through media.
  • Ms.Seánín Hoy: Collaborating closely with Dr. O’Brien, Ms. Hoy has brought innovative pedagogical approaches to the projects. Her focus on creating interactive and student-centred learning environments has significantly enriched the GCE curriculum.
Dr Stephen O’Brien (middle) alongside student teachers, participating in a workshop

What We Did

The primary aim was to integrate Development Education (DE)/GCE into the fabric of teacher education, ensuring that future educators are well-prepared to teach and embody global citizenship principles. The objectives evolved to include more extensive pedagogical strategies and digital integration, especially in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Project Objectives:

  • Integration of DE/GCE into Curriculum: The primary objective was to seamlessly integrate DE and GCE principles into the core modules of the Professional Master of Education (PME) program. This included embedding these principles into existing courses like ‘Curriculum and Assessment’ and developing new modules specifically dedicated to DE/GCE. Given the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, a significant objective was the creation and implementation of online and blended learning options to continue DE/GCE education without interruption. This included piloting new online modules and adapting traditional in-person activities to virtual formats.
  • Enhancement of Teacher Capacities: Building the capacities of pre-service and in-service teachers to understand and deliver DE/GCE content effectively in their classrooms was a major focus. This objective aimed at ensuring that teachers are not only aware of global citizenship concepts but are also equipped to actively engage students in these discussions in their respective classrooms.
  • Professional Development and Learning Initiatives: Another objective was to provide ongoing professional development opportunities for faculty and staff, focusing on DE/GCE content, pedagogical strategies, and assessment methods. These included a series of workshops, seminars, and continuous professional development (CPD) for staff, focusing on DE theories, practices, and integration into existing curricula.
  • Research, Monitoring and Evaluation: The project’s impact was consistently monitored through student engagement metrics, feedback mechanisms, and the development of digital content, which allowed for a broader evaluation of learning outcomes. Conducting research to assess the effectiveness of DE/GCE integration and using this data to continually refine and improve the programs was a critical objective. This included evaluating the impact on student learning outcomes, teacher preparedness, and overall institutional adoption of GCE principles.
  • Advocacy and Outreach: Promoting DE/GCE principles beyond the university setting through advocacy, outreach programs, and collaborations with local and international partners was also a fundamental objective. Engaging the educational community and the public through workshops, exhibitions, and public lectures was also key to spreading the reach and impact of DE/GCE initiatives. The project featured extensive outreach efforts, including exhibitions at the Glucksman Gallery, interactive websites, and participation in community radio programs. These initiatives
    significantly increased public engagement and awareness of DE/GCE themes

Impact Achieved

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Student Engagement/Educational Impact: Over the duration of the DE/GCE projects, UCC successfully prepared hundreds of teacher candidates to integrate global citizenship concepts into their teaching. Surveys and feedback from these educators indicated increased competence in their ability to engage students with complex global issues. DE/GCE principles were incorporated into multiple core modules within the PME program, reaching all enrolled students. This systematic integration ensures that every student teacher at the School of Education, UCC receives foundational DE/GCE training, which they carry into their professional teaching careers.

I started the Global Teacher Award thinking it was about environmental change. I came out thinking about climate justice and also tax, trade and debt justice.
Student teacher
The impact Id Est has had on the development of my personal and professional identity as a teacher has been truly transformative in terms of my thinking, in my approach to teaching, in my world view and in my values and beliefs for present and future education.
UCC Quality Audit, 2020: Seánín Hoy, former PME student and Project Leader
We know from ongoing discussions with students that Development Education is important to them.  They (foundationally) understand that teaching is as much about nurturing identity (for oneself and others) as it is about facilitating informed truths.  With the DE work we do with student teachers we notice that they come to appreciate that teachers have an important (and wider) social and civic purpose and that their work has local and global significance.
Project Leader Dr Steven O’Brien
GCE has strengthened me as an educator in my use of active learning methods and in my flexibility and provided me with more vision because the more I practice, the more confident I am to let go and be more creative and innovative which is truly empowering. Reading literature in GCE, engaging with other professionals in GCE, exploring GCE with student teachers and school students has certainly had an impact on my values and my attitude in the sense that I see my role as a political obligation and participant in a collaborative move for justice.
Student Teacher
The Panel considered the submission for the UCC programmes to be exemplary. UCC have a demonstrably strong commitment to global citizenship, education for sustainable development and social justice across the college in general and within the school of education in particular.
Teaching Council Accreditation Review Panel, May 2023
In their post-lesson reflections, student teachers commented on their new understanding of DE/GCE, in their opportunities to invite DE/GCE into their respective disciplines and in the challenges that they encountered through this facilitation. They also commented that, in spite of such challenges, they felt more confident and more equipped to approach the teaching and learning of DE/GCE issues.
Project Leader Dr Steven O’Brien

Public Outreach and Engagement: Public exhibitions, interactive websites, and community radio involvement led to a greater public understanding of DE/GCE themes. Students engaged in diverse projects ranging from local community initiatives to international educational programs, which allowed them to apply DE/GCE concepts practically. The quality and creativity of these projects were showcased in annual university exhibitions and online platforms, receiving positive community and academic feedback.

Facilitating workshops on GCE as well as designing and implementing a new module for Transition Year students has been profoundly impactful on me as an educator and researcher.
Student teacher
The participants’ experience of learning has a powerful influence on their own implementation and motivation for teaching and learning therefore it was imperative that the course authentically reflected the values of Global Citizenship Education, values such  as ‘Empathy’ and avoiding traditional narratives of sympathy.
Project Leader Dr Steven O’Brien

Capacity Building: Ongoing professional development workshops and seminars have equipped UCC faculty and partner educators with advanced skills in DE/GCE, ensuring the sustainability of project initiatives. These efforts have fostered a robust community of practice committed to continuous improvement in DE/GCE.

In the workshops they [UCC faculty] commented on new learning, ‘unlearning’ and ‘relearning’.
Project Leader Dr Steven O’Brien

Research and Evaluation: Comprehensive evaluations involving external reviewers from the Ubuntu Network have validated the effectiveness of the DE/GCE projects, highlighting significant advances in teacher preparedness and student outcomes. Ongoing research initiatives associated with the project have contributed to the academic literature on DE/GCE, with several papers published on the effectiveness of DE integration in teacher education.

Student teachers were challenged and rewarded by their experiences with GCE. In the workshops, they commented on new learning, ‘unlearning’ and ‘relearning’. In their post-lesson reflections, student teachers commented on their new understanding of DE/GCE, in their opportunities to invite DE/GCE into their respective disciplines and in the challenges that they encountered through this facilitation.
Project Leader Dr Steven O’Brien

Student GCE outputs

Student GCE outputs

Student GCE outputs

Student GCE outputs

Vicky Donnelly leads a GCE workshop with the UCC Praxis Working Group 

What We Learned

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Sustainability of Initiatives: Long-term sustainability requires ongoing commitment, resources, and institutional support. The experience has underscored the necessity of embedding DE/GCE deeply within the curriculum and school policies to ensure lasting impact.

DE/GCE is of particular importance to me and I am committed to seeing teaching in another way.
Student teacher
It is important to note too that the deep learning which all participants (teachers and students alike) are invited to engage in, is a long process and requires constant evaluation and reflection and patience with reservation of judgement as individuals learn at different levels and paces.
Project Leader Dr Steven O’Brien
Overall the visceral feeling of creating an artefact can bring student teachers in touch with more profound and different understandings of their work in the classrooms.  The student teachers had to see, feel, think and hear differently and in so doing I gained new insights.
Project Leader Dr Gertrude Cotter

Community and Collaboration: Building a community of practice among educators and students has been invaluable. Collaborative efforts, both locally and internationally, have enriched the learning environment and broadened the scope of DE/GCE.

Meet, exchange ideas and collaborate with like-minded peers.
Student teacher
It made me think more about education as a human right, everyone deserves to learn.
Post-Primary student refection
I would like this project to encourage others to learn more about access to education around the world, not everyone is able to go to school, that is not fair.
Post-Primary student refection
The project reinforced the value of collaboration and inclusion in teaching and learning, working together to examine the real world we live in.
UCC Quality Audit, 2020: Seánín Hoy, former PME student and Project Leader

Reflection and Adaptation: The transition to online learning during the pandemic taught us the importance of flexibility and the potential of digital platforms to sustain educational continuity and innovation.

Creativity is very important in this critical and cultural work, being intrinsically motivated to create lessons and units of learning based on real world events and experiences and my research is very helpful in terms of learning from others and best practices, seeing how they can be adapted to potentially suit other learning environments.
Student Teacher
Student teachers were challenged and rewarded by their experiences with GCE. In the workshops they commented on new learning, ‘unlearning’ and ‘relearning’. In their post-lesson reflections, student teachers commented on their new understanding of DE/GCE, in their opportunities to invite DE/GCE into their respective disciplines and in the challenges that they encountered through this facilitation.
Project Leader Dr Steven O’Brien
Teaching through the lens of DGCE takes planning, preparation, commitment and a degree of humility to relinquish control.  It takes patience to allow multiple perspectives and multiple disagreements to occur, it takes a willingness to stand by your own morals and principles to say to colleagues, school management, parents and others that these conversations are not just worth having, they are essential.
UCC Quality Audit, 2020: Seánín Hoy, former PME student and Project Leader

This case study aims to showcase the transformative power of Development Education / Global Citizenship Education within the School of Education, University College Cork, highlighting the sustained efforts and innovations that have significantly shaped the educational landscape, influencing both policy and practice on local and global scales.

Case Study: Integrating Global Citizenship Education at UoG (2017-2024)

CASE STUDY

Integrating Global Citizenship Education at the University of Galway (UoG)

Who We Are

Institution: School of Education, University of Galway (UoG)

Project Leaders: Dr. Brenda Gallagher and Dr. Manuela Heinz supported by a multidisciplinary team including Kathryn Moore, Sean O’Grady, Sinead Ni Ghuidhir, and Dr. Kathy O’Sullivan.


What We Did

Our primary aim is to integrate GCE into the teacher education curriculum, enhancing student teachers’ capabilities to engage critically with global issues and thus prepare them to incorporate these perspectives into their future teaching careers.

Project Objectives:

  1. Integrate Global Citizenship Education (GCE) into the Curriculum:
    • Integrate GCE into the teacher education curriculum, enhancing student teachers’ abilities to engage with and teach global issues.
    • Ensure all student teachers are exposed to and engage with global citizenship concepts and practices throughout their teacher preparation.
    • Embed GCE in a variety of modules and teaching methodologies, ensuring a comprehensive approach that reaches all aspects of teacher education.
  2. Enhance Teacher Competencies in Global Citizenship:
    • Equip student teachers with the skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary to effectively bring GCE into their future classrooms.
    • Equip student teachers with pedagogical skills to implement GCE effectively in diverse educational settings.
    • Develop critical consciousness among student teachers regarding global challenges like sustainability, justice, and equity, and empowering them to foster this awareness in their pupils.
  3. Promote Reflective and Engaged Teaching Practices:
    • Encourage student teachers to incorporate GCE into their reflective practices and professional portfolios, ensuring that they consider global issues in their pedagogical reflections and teaching strategies.
    • Foster a reflective approach where student teachers critically assess their role as educators in a globally interconnected world.
  4. Foster Collaborative and Interdisciplinary Learning:
    • Facilitate collaborations between student teachers, faculty, and external partners (including NGOs) to enrich the learning environment and provide diverse perspectives on GCE.
    • Support interdisciplinary learning experiences that leverage the unique contributions of various academic disciplines towards understanding and teaching GCE.
  5. Community Engagement and Outreach:
    • Extend the impact of GCE beyond the university through community engagement projects, public exhibitions, and educational workshops that promote global citizenship themes.
    • Establish and strengthen partnerships with educational and community organizations to enhance the practical application of GCE in real-world settings.
  6. Sustained Impact and Scalability:
    • Ensure the initiatives are sustainable and can be scaled up to have a broader impact within and beyond the institution.
    • Secure ongoing support and recognition for the initiatives, both internally within the university and externally from educational bodies and NGOs, to continue advancing the integration of GCE.

Curricular Approach:

Integrated Curriculum: We infused GCE across various modules, ensuring that every student teacher engaged with GCE concepts through compulsory and optional activities.

Workshops and Seminars: Targeted workshops introduced student teachers to GCE, equipped them with necessary pedagogical skills, and encouraged them to apply these in diverse educational settings.

Dr Brenda Galagher (right) & Siobhan Farren (left)
Dr Brenda Gallagher (right), Siobhan Farren (left), School of Education, University of Galway
GCE Day 2024, School of Education, University of Galway
GCE Day 2024, School of Education, University of Galway

Professional Learning Initiatives:

Faculty Development: Regular workshops and seminars for faculty to deepen their understanding of GCE and to sustain its integration into teaching practices.

Student-Faculty Collaborations: Promoting joint learning and planning sessions to foster a community of practice around GCE.

Levels of knowledge, interest and expertise in the area of DE varies greatly among staff members. There is some work to be done to ensure that DE is integrated into all element of our ITE programmes, however, most staff members are interested in further continuous professional development (CPD), discussion and guidance in the area of DE.
Project Leaders Dr Brenda Gallagher & Dr Manuela Heinz

Monitoring and Evaluation:

Feedback Mechanisms: Utilising surveys, interviews, and reflection sessions to gather data on the effectiveness of GCE initiatives.

Being part of the GCE committee has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my time in the PME program. From the start, I was fascinated by GCE and the GCE week workshops were some of the highlights of my university journey. Joining the [GCE] committee this year, with the inspiring guidance of staff members, has deepened my passion for GCE and opened up new paths for my professional growth.
PME Student  
It made me think about the stereotypical way that I think.
PME Student  
It promoted me to consider every purchase, its necessity and its backstory.
PME Student  
Our student teachers have a unique and valuable role to play in the further development of the DE element of our programme; there is a need to further involve and listen to students as we plan the way forward.
Project Leaders Dr Brenda Gallagher & Dr Manuela Heinz 

Continuous Curriculum Assessment: Reviewing and updating curriculum components based on feedback to better meet educational goals and student needs.

Outreach/Advocacy:

Public Engagement: Organising public exhibitions and community workshops to extend the reach of GCE beyond the university.

Working collaboratively, student contributed to the interrogation of SDG related issues, while simultaneously developing as global citizens with the capacity for critical thinking and thoughtful action.
Project Leaders Dr Brenda Gallagher & Dr Manuela Heinz  
As a teacher, this series has really brought home the importance of integrating SDG’s and global citizenship education into lessons; while this is very possible with Geography, I must also consider its integration in English. I must look for “ins” in the curriculum and schemes of work, the chances to integrate global education into the classroom.
PME Student

Academic Conferences: Presenting our findings and approaches at national and international educational conferences to share best practices and enhance our visibility.

Impact Achieved

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Educational Innovation

I think as a geography teacher I need to approach every unit from a DE perspective, consolidating areas where I can make concrete connections to unit content and geographical content. I also ought to develop concrete and versatile resources for approaching these DE contents.
PME Student
As a TY student I certainly learned several worthwhile skills while participating in this project such as teamwork, public speaking and improving my own knowledge of global issues
TY Student
I learnt about how I can become an activist both locally and globally along with the importance of activism in our community.
TY Student
Not alone has DE provided an abundance of educational benefits to my students but it also devised a platform for I, as a student teacher, to become more involved with the extracurricular elements of the school.
Student Teacher
Since completing the seminars, my own behaviour has altered as a global citizen. I am more aware of positionality and understand my privileges in society. I will ensure that I do not allow my positionality to limit my view on the world as much as it used to since, admittedly, there have been moments when I had a subconsciously skewed viewpoint as I was not very aware of positionality perspectives since these seminars.
PME Student
Learnt some facts (and was shocked by some) and forced me to critically think more about the world we live in.
PME Student
….promoted a shared concept of how we can all integrate Global Citizenship Education into all aspects of our Teaching & Learning. This project will help embed a collaborative whole school approach to Global Citizenship Education within our school and will help instil the aim of GC (Ed) as a powerful vehicle through which we can better understand the world we live in and take action to change it as informed global citizens. Embedding Education for Global Citizenship within our classes will allow both teachers & students to gain the knowledge, skills and values required to act ethically and sustainably.
School TY Coordinator

Curriculum Integration: Over 2250 student teachers directly engaged with GCE through their training, demonstrating increased competence in addressing global issues in education.

We are delighted to be in the position to present the GTA to all our PME and MGO graduates. Moreover, this expansion has also led to increased interested in and participation on our GCE Committee; our student teacher voice in the area of GCE has continued to grow, resulting in graduates who will be active and resilient ambassadors for GCE hand.
Project Leader Dr Brenda Gallagher
Working with my group was fantastic as it showed me how small differences in people’s positionality can change their perspectives so drastically while remaining within the same realm of concerns at a basic level. It allowed me to hear differing opinions and ideas which I most likely would not have considered on my own, and which then added to my own knowledge on the subjects at hand.
PME Student
Our Dialogue Event proved very successful in term of the involvement of PME students who highlighted both their perspectives on DE, their learning from the DE component of the PME programme, the link between DE and their evolving professional identities, and their views on further integrating DE into their professional practice.
Project Leaders Dr Brenda Gallagher & Dr Manuela Heinz
Something that will stick with me is the variety of ways we can integrate important issues into our subject areas as it is something I had never considered before our development education workshops.
Student Teacher
Learn how to foster a culture in the classroom of the students working on development issues locally that will impact globally.
Student Teacher
Involving development education throughout my lesson plans has been an important element of my teaching throughout block 3 of school placement. Development education has become an important aspect of modern teaching.
Student Teacher
This programme documentation has many commendable features and includes some very good exemplars of student work. The programme places a strong emphasis on the importance of empathy, caring relationships and social justice as well as teacher professionalism.
Teaching Council Accreditation Panel Review, January, 2023

Community and Outreach: Numerous community projects and partnerships have been initiated, fostering broader societal engagement with GCE themes.

I enjoyed interacting with other students and learning more about climate change and development education in general.
TY Student
I really loved being able to use my voice to raise awareness in my school environment on development education by being part of the committee and working closely with other schools to compare and contrast schools.
TY Student
Through development education our students now have the skills to take action and have a positive impact on society. This bears witness to our own mission statement.
School TY Coordinator
GCE Days
GCE Day 2024, School of Education, University of Galway
GCE Day 2024, School of Education, University of Galway

What We Learned

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Importance of Structured Comprehensive Integration: Full integration of GCE into all aspects of teacher education is critical for sustained impact, necessitating ongoing commitment across all levels of faculty and administration.

A key learning this year (AY 2023/24) is that relevant knowledge and skills alone are not always enough when it comes to the successful integration of GCE into the classroom. Our experience suggests that, even when student teachers have a strong GCE knowledge base and are skilled in the facilitation of appropriate teaching and learning strategies, they sometimes fail to successfully integrate GCE into their lesson because of a ‘lack of awareness of self’ i.e. their positionality, values and biases. As a result, going forward, we have plans to embed within our initial teacher education (ITE) programmes opportunities that specifically require our student teachers to, not only interrogate their own positionality, values and biases, but also assist them in identifying how these concepts impact their professional practice.
Project Leader Dr Brenda Gallagher
A peer-to-peer workshop facilitated by 3 of our PME students on GCE Day was hugely successful and further highlighted the role and value of peer-to-peer teaching and learning in all areas, but most especially in areas such as GCE.
Project Leaders Dr Brenda Gallagher & Dr Manuela Heinz

Value of Collaboration: Collaborative efforts between universities, external NGOs, and community organizations enrich the learning experience and expand the impact of educational initiatives.

Peer-to-peer and multi-level learning (most especially dialogue and collaboration) are particularly powerful methodologies within GCE. Through our GCE Committee we will continue to provide opportunities whereby student teachers and staff can work together on GCE related concepts and tasks. We will aim to expand our GCE Committee membership to include MGO and BME/CSM students.
Project Leaders Dr Brenda Gallagher & Dr Manuela Heinz
It was a wonderful journey of self-discovery and growth
TY Student)

Adaptability and Responsiveness: Adapting our approaches in response to feedback and changing educational landscapes has been essential for maintaining the relevance and effectiveness of our programs.

The process of reaccrediting our PME programme highlighted that, to a large extent, GCE is well integrated across our programme. There is [however] a need to conduct a further joint deconstruction/analysis (staff/students – past and current) of our curriculum, so as to explicitly highlight where GCE is currently integrated and to identify where gaps exist. This information should be communicated/made explicit to all students and their input sought in terms of the further integration of GCE.
Project Leaders Dr Brenda Gallagher & Dr Manuela Heinz
Over the years our engagement with Development Education and Sustainability has grown and deepened incrementally form a series of lectures, to a significant programme encompassing introductory lectures followed by a development education day of workshops delivered by partners from schools and NGOs and subsequent subject-specific sessions where students explore and plan the incorporation of development education themes in lessons and schemes of work.
Project Leaders Dr Brenda Gallagher & Dr Manuela Heinz

Visual and Learning Artefacts

  • Workshop Materials and Lesson Plans: Documents and resources developed for GCE workshops provide a practical toolkit for educators.
  • Conference Presentations and Papers: These academic artefacts disseminate our findings and methodologies to a wider audience, fostering dialogue and development in GCE.
  • Student Reflections and Project Reports: These texts illustrate the depth of student engagement and the practical application of GCE in their training.

This case study not only underscores the achievements and learnings of the GCE initiatives at University of Galway but also serves as a model for other institutions aiming to incorporate global citizenship into their curricula. It highlights the transformative potential of integrating global education frameworks within teacher training programs, preparing educators who are equipped to foster global awareness and critical engagement among future generations.