A sour taste in your mouth: consumer privileges and the socio-ecological imperatives of chocolate as pedagogy

This article describes how I use autoethnography as a methodological approach to display the multiple layers of my consciousness as a critical global sustainability educator. I use writing to demonstrate how my reflective processes on my work with chocolate as pedagogy in schools facilitate an exploration of the philosophical and pedagogical underpinnings of what it means and what it takes to educate for sustainability and global awareness and in culturally diverse settings. My desire here is to share insights by writing, describing, examining and theorising my experiences of using chocolate as a pedagogical resource for global education and socio-ecological learning to university students. By using autoethnography, I take the position that writing is a way of knowing, as well as a method of self-discovery and analysis. My aim, therefore, is simple: to use autoethnography as a processual avenue to demonstrate how I used cocoa production in Ghana, and chocolate consumption around the world, to deepen understandings of larger issues around production and consumption, as well as the linkages between learning, society and sustainability. In doing so, I foreground my personal reflective experiences in using chocolate as a teaching resource. Those experiences are objectified as the focus of the research, and I become the subject of research.

Decolonising development practice pedagogy: ways forward and persistent challenges in the synchronous online classroom

Although decolonisation is a pressing goal for many front-line instructors, there are few pedagogical resources for how to do this in the online environment. This article provides a set of strategic approaches that can help combat dominant power dynamics in the classroom and open opportunities for transformative learning. The research draws on instructor focus groups and student surveys from the synchronous, online Master of Development Practice programme at Regis University, USA. Six pedagogical approaches are described in light of their successes and remaining challenges: building community, learning from each other and co-creating knowledge, opening spaces for participation, de-centring Western voices and epistemologies, focusing on the critical thinking, reflection and action cycle and creating connection in virtual spaces.

The contribution of empathy-based pedagogy in global citizenship education: Kazakhstani context

This article is based on a research study that implemented an empathy-based pedagogy (EBP) in three schools in Kazakhstan with the aim of understanding how secondary school students can learn about global issues and what challenges the teachers faced. It reflects on findings which provide strong evidence that walking in the shoes of other people encouraged the students to participate in critical discussion, deepen their knowledge and become emotionally engaged with global issues. It also explores some of the challenges created by conceptual confusions related to the cultural features within Kazakhstani society.

Pedagogy of hope: global learning and the future of education

Global events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate emergency campaigns and the Black Lives Matter movements have recently posed challenges for educationalists about their role, particularly in relation to promoting positive visions of the future. Development education and global learning has a major contribution to make within these agendas, particularly if it brings into its practices the ideas of Paulo Freire and his concept of the pedagogy of hope. Hope can often be considered an idealistic and utopian term, but if it is grounded in real life issues and challenges, then it can provide a valuable approach to learning about global issues. Recent examples in the UK and the initiative by UNESCO on Futures of Education demonstrate ways in which questions can be posed about the future of education that can be empowering to all learners.

Ecological global citizenship education: a reframing

A reconceptualization of education for sustainability and global citizenship education (GCE) is proposed, considering evidence from the United Nations decade of education for sustainable development (ESD) and from research with policymakers and adult educators in Wales. In this reframing, global citizenship education is foregrounded, and the model is underpinned by an ecological ethos, where webs of interconnections are highlighted. The model is informed by critical and holistic adult education, and it includes a focus on relational learning and on the affective domain, where emotions are recognised and valued alongside the rational and cognitive. These elements are supported by an ethic of care, which is introduced as a starting point for making what can appear as abstract concepts or remote issues, immediate and relevant to learners’ lived experience. The synthesis of the various theoretical perspectives embodies an inclusive ‘ecological global citizenship education’, where educators and learners are supported to engage with difficult and emotive topics. Dialogue is proposed as the method at the centre of a pedagogy that is critical and humanistic, and that facilitates and supports the often-uncomfortable learning as we honestly and critically examine ourselves and our world within a learning community.

Global citizenship education in Nepal

The article explores how educational policy, curricula, textbooks and teaching have translated thinking about Nepal’s relationship with the rest of the world into global education practice in Nepalese schools in contemporary classrooms. Drawing upon the framework of a policy cycle approach, the article addresses the following research questions: What are the key contemporary messages about global education in Nepal within the ‘macro’ context of policy influence? How is the theme of global education communicated through the content of Nepalese textbooks at the ‘meso’ context of policy text production? What are the perceptions of Nepalese social studies teachers with respect to teaching and learning about global education themes at the ‘micro’ context of practice? Qualitative content analysis of textbooks and documents was conducted, while thematic analysis of interview data was undertaken to understand policy objectives and recommendations related to global citizenship education in Nepal. The findings indicate that educational policies primarily aim to socialise and nurture responsible citizens, while textbooks and teaching processes mostly emphasise the acquisition of knowledge. Some recommendations are made as to how the curriculum, textbooks and pedagogical approaches might be adapted to better support Nepalese young people seeing themselves as global citizens.

Table of Contents: International Journal of Development Education and Global Learning 13(2)

Issue information for International Journal of Development Education and Global Learning 13(2).