| Teaching Civic Engagement Globally is the result of collaborative work spanning scholars from multiple disciplines, fields, and careers. Political scientists, educators, and students have joined to produce important, timely research. |
Chapter 12: Re-centering Global Civic Engagement through a Critical Lens: A Collaborative Center Approach
by Nicole Webster, Pennsylvania State University
Global civic engagement (GCE) is frequently discussed in higher education as a type of educational activity that is intended to enhance students’ overall educational experiences. Many programs, despite the fact that they are beneficial to students, are developed with only a minimal inclusion of the perspectives, context, and voices of communities, resulting in an incomplete and limited understanding of the community’s context and perspective. Rather than allowing students to be limited by this type of GCE environment, the author proposes approaches to developing global civic engagement experiences for college students that are more transformative in nature. This chapter, based on a university partnership in Western Africa, investigates a more inclusive model for GCE that emphasizes the community’s unique perspectives, histories, and narratives in order to enhance critical teaching and learning. Using a narrative structure, the author explains how intentionality in program design helps to create a framework for teaching and learning that cultivates global civic engagement within the African context. The author concludes by providing resources for scholars to support teaching from this particular framework.
About Teaching Civic Engagement Globally
Educators around the globe are facing challenges in teaching politics in an era in which populist values are on the rise, authoritarian governance is legitimized, and core democratic tenets are regularly undermined. To combat anti-democratic outcomes and citizens’ apathy, Teaching Civic Engagement Globally provides a wide range of pedagogical tools to help the current generation learn to effectively navigate debates and lead changes in local, national, and global politics. Contributors discuss key theoretical discussions and challenges regarding global civic engagement education, highlight successful evidence-based pedagogical approaches, and review effective ways to reach across disciplines and the global education community.