An Exploration of Teachers' Perspectives Regarding Global Citizenship Education: Case of Selected Rwandan Secondary Schools
Keywords:
Global Citizenship Education, Sustainable Development, Teachers' PerceptionAbstract
This study examined teachers' perceptions of Global Citizenship Education (GCED) in selected Rwandan Secondary Schools. It took a qualitative approach and was guided by two theories: Bourdieu's theory of practice (1972) and Mezirow's theory of transformative learning (1978). A case study research design was adopted. The target population included all teachers from ten selected Rwandan secondary schools. Purposive sampling was employed to choose ten teachers (one from each school) to complete an open-ended questionnaire, five of whom participated in semi-structured interviews. Primary data was collected using open-ended questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, and thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. The findings revealed that teachers have positive perceptions towards GCED. Teachers learned about GCED through self-documentation, which led to differing understandings and interpretations. Respondents also acknowledged GCED as an important thing that should be taken into consideration in the journey of implementing global sustainable development through educating students to be good global citizens and having an appropriate understanding of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The challenge highlighted by respondents is the lack of appropriate common documents and techniques to be used for integrating GCED into teaching and learning practices in line with the Rwandan Competence-Based Curriculum. This study concludes that teachers’ positive perceptions of GCED are found to be good and helpful when it goes hand in hand with the National Curriculum Framework explicitly, to facilitate its integration into teaching practices. The study recommended that the Ministry of Education (MINEDUC) through The Rwanda Basic Education Board (REB) and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) in charge of education should provide training and teachers’ guides to harmonize their understanding of GCED and techniques of integration into teaching practices. It is also recommended that during the incoming curriculum revision, GCED should be integrated into the Curriculum explicitly, either as a course or as a crosscutting issue. Future studies should expand the scope of the study and highlight the interdependence of GCED and the implementation of global sustainable development.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Jeremie Habumugisha, Martin Bazina, Ir. Dominique Mvunabandi

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