The United Nation’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) recognise that quality education requires the integration of global citizenship education (GCE) into school curricula. A powerful way to integrate a global citizenship perspective in primary education is by harnessing the motivational power of stories in English-language learning (ELL) as a way of developing young learners’ global consciousness and global competencies. This article explores how story-based instruction can develop intercultural and ecological awareness, alongside reading and writing skills, by incorporating the vision and values of global citizenship education through a careful selection and use of picture books and storytelling practices in the primary English-language classroom.
Die Agenda 2030 der Vereinten Nationen mit ihren Zielen für nachhaltige Entwicklung erkennt an, dass eine qualitativ hochwertige Bildung die Integration von Global Citizenship Education (GCE) in die Lehrpläne der Schulen erfordert. Eine wirkungsvolle Möglichkeit, die Perspektive der Weltbürgerschaft in die Grundschulbildung zu integrieren, ist die Nutzung der motivierenden Kraft von Geschichten im frühen Englischunterricht, um bei jungen Lernenden ein globales Bewusstsein und globale Kompetenzen zu entwickeln. In diesem Beitrag wird untersucht, wie ein auf Geschichten basierender Unterricht neben den Lese- und Schreibfähigkeiten auch ein ökologisches und interkulturelles Bewusstsein entwickeln kann, indem die Vision und die Werte der Global Citizenship Education durch eine sorgfältige Auswahl und Verwendung von Bilderbüchern und Geschichtenerzählungen im englischsprachigen Klassenzimmer einbezogen werden.
Gli Obiettivi di Sviluppo Sostenibile (OSS) 2030 delle Nazioni Unite riconoscono che un’istruzione di qualità richiede l’integrazione dell’educazione alla cittadinanza globale nei programmi scolastici. Un modo efficace per integrare una prospettiva di cittadinanza globale nell’educazione primaria è quello di sfruttare il potere motivazionale dei racconti nell’apprendimento precoce della lingua inglese come modo per sviluppare la coscienza e le competenze globali nei giovani allievi. Questo articolo esamina come la didattica narrativa possa sviluppare la consapevolezza interculturale ed ecologica insieme alle abilità di lettura e scrittura, incorporando la visione e i valori dell’educazione alla cittadinanza globale attraverso un’attenta selezione e l’uso di albi illustrati e di pratiche di narrazione nella classe di lingua inglese primaria.
Today’s world is characterised by interdependence, complexity, and unprecedented transnational challenges. Schools play an important role in preparing new generations to understand this reality and to assume a conscious role as citizens working for social transformation. Drawing on a selection of children’s picture books, this article explores how intercultural and ecological discourses related to global citizenship values can be introduced in the primary English-language classroom. In the first section, a definition of global citizenship education is provided along with an overview of its articulation in international policy frameworks. The power of picture books for citizenship education is then examined in the second section. Thirdly, examples of suitable picture books for exploring global issues are presented. Picture books can act as building blocks not only for literacy development, but also for constructing a culture of care based on democratic principles from the earliest stages of learning.
Global citizenship education (GCE or GCED) is a form of civic education that involves students’ active participation in projects that address global issues of a social, political, economic, or environmental nature. The Global Citizenship Foundation defines GCE as “a transformative, lifelong pursuit that involves both curricular learning and practical experience to shape a mindset of care for humanity and the planet, and to equip individuals with global competencies to undertake responsible actions aimed at forging more just, peaceful, secure, sustainable, tolerant and inclusive societies” (
Global citizenship education is a new name for a familiar concept that emerged following the end of the Second World War as European governments met with the aim of rebuilding their education systems once peace had been restored. The establishment of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) by the UN General Assembly on 16 November 1945 was designed to “encourage the intellectual and moral solidarity of mankind” through education. Key moments that have since helped to shape the evolution of an international perspective in education include the 1948 UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the 1959 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), the 1960 Convention against Discrimination in Education, the 1974 Recommendation on Education for International Understanding, Co-operation and Peace and Education relating to Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the 1994-1995 Declaration and Integrated Framework of Action on Education for Peace, Human Rights and Democracy (ICE), the 2012 Global Education First Initiative (GEFI) for access to quality education for all children, the 2000 United Nations Millennium Declaration and adoption of the Millennium Development Goals, and the 2015 adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The underlying premises of GCE remain acutely relevant today and are seen as a defence against the rise of violence, racism, sexism, ethnocentrism, extremism, xenophobia, discrimination, and intolerance of all kinds. The growing heterogeneity in schools since the late-twentieth century underlines the importance of learning to live together in increasingly diverse, complex, interconnected, and democratic societies that aim to promote justice and peace, social responsibility and the development of critical awareness and civic engagement (c.f.
The overarching aim of GCE – to empower students to “act as competent and effective democratic citizens” (
A key articulation of global citizenship in international policy frameworks is found in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), notably in target 4.7, “Education for sustainable development and global citizenship”, of SDG 4, “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”. UNESCO’s
To this end, UNESCO proposes a model of global citizenship education that adopts a multi-layered approach that involves: (1) learning critical thinking and developing understanding and reflection on local and international issues; (2) developing a sense of belonging and fostering values such as empathy, solidarity, and respect for diversity; (3) forming responsible, tolerant, and peaceful citizens. These key learning objectives are based on three interrelated domains of learning: cognitive, emotional, and participatory. Schools are called on to provide civic education through which students can learn how to create a better world from a holistic approach that integrates these three domains. Educational institutions can promote global citizenship by fostering in educators and learners a recognition that they belong to a local-global nexus of interconnected lives and can use their knowledge and skills to contribute towards the betterment of local and translocal communities.
Drawing on Singleton’s (
Fig. 1: Expected learning outcomes and learner attributes in GCE (
The UNESCO guidelines (
How can schools embed GCE values and goals in their curricula? What specific competences are needed by young people for effective participation in a complex, diverse and interconnected world? To assist teachers, UNESCO provides a ‘can do’ list of specific learning aims for lower and upper primary learners, delineated according to broadly defined topics that can be easily embedded across the curriculum regardless of national context (c.f.
Tab. 1: UNESCO learning objectives for GCE in primary education across the three domains of learning (
1. Local, national & global systems and structures | Describe how the local environment is organised and how it relates to the wider world, and introduce the concept of citizenship | Identify governance structures, decision-making processes and dimensions of citizenship |
2. Issues affecting interaction and connectedness of communities at local, national, and global levels | List key local, national and global issues and explore how these may be connected | Investigate the reasons behind major common global concerns and their impact at national and local levels |
3. Underlying assumptions and power dynamics | Name different sources for information and develop basic skills for inquiry | Differentiate between fact/opinion, reality/fiction, and different view- points, perspectives |
4. Different levels of identity | Recognise how we fit into and interact with the world around us and develop intrapersonal and interpersonal skills | Examine different levels of identity and their implications for managing relationships with others |
5. Different communities people belong to and how these are connected | Illustrate differences and connections between different social groups | Compare and contrast shared and different social, cultural and legal norms |
6. Difference and respect for diversity | Distinguish between sameness and difference, and recognise that everyone has rights & responsibilities | Cultivate good relationships with diverse individuals and groups |
7. Actions that can be taken individually and collectively | Explore possible ways of taking action to improve the world we live in | Discuss the importance of individual and collective action and engage in community work |
8. Ethically responsible behaviour | Discuss how our actions and choices affect other people and the planet and adopt responsible behaviour | Understand the concepts of social justice and ethical responsibility and learn how to apply them in everyday life |
9. Getting engaged and taking action | Recognise the importance and benefits of civic engagement | Identify opportunities for engagement and initiate action |
Kenyon and Christoff (
A powerful way for primary school teachers to address GCE in early learning is by embedding it in language education through a careful selection of children’s picture books which represent a diversity of individuals and groups, are sensitive to a broad range of cultural experiences, and emphasise relations of care between people and the environment (c.f.
The use of picture books for citizenship education offers teachers the potential to work with young learners across the three domains of learning – cognitive, socio-emotional, behavioural – through communicative interaction in reading, telling, and sharing stories. When approaching the theme of diversity, Osler and Starkey (
Global citizenship values and learning aims can be readily integrated in foreign-language education where attention is naturally directed to linguistic and cultural diversity and the world beyond the classroom through a focus on the acquisition of foreign-language competences for intercultural communication (c.f.
As a rich source of high-quality language input, children’s picture books lend themselves to language and literacy work in children’s first and additional languages through storytelling practices. Ghosn (
As authentic stories are highly motivating and rich in language experience, Wright (
An interactive or dialogic reading of a picture book involves the teacher (or other competent reader) pausing for clarification, sign-posting key actions and events, drawing children’s attention to the images and graphic elements of the book to help them follow the storyline and acquire key words. Ellis and Mourão (
Kümmerling-Meiburg (
Picture books are multimodal resources which offer a dual-decoding experience since the text carries meaning that is enhanced by images and peritext, which help young learners unlock narrative meaning in the target language. Sipe defines the picture book as the text form in which pictures, words, and peritext (e.g., cover, endpapers, title page) interact to tell a visual story (
Immersive and participatory story worlds encountered through picture books enable children to receive, reproduce and produce new stories. Kress (
In addition to providing affordances for language learning, story-based instruction also provides affordances for the development of intercultural awareness and communicative competence (c.f.
While strategies for supporting learners’ skill development in areas such as empathy, self-regulation, and conflict resolution can be integrated across the curriculum, the English-language classroom is considered a natural environment to engage children in social and emotional learning (SEL). The Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (
the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions (
Using picture books and children’s literature for SEL is a well-established practice in English-language teaching and teacher education, and publishers make available a range of quality resources to support it.
By presenting cultural values and customs, stories help children understand their own reality, as well as diverse realities which shape their world (c.f.
Nussbaum signals the ethical force of stories which help to cultivate a “narrative imagination”: through imaginary encounters with difference, readers can develop an ethical orientation by thinking about “what it might be like to be in the shoes of a person different from oneself, to be an intelligent reader of that person’s story, and to understand the emotions and wishes and desires that someone so placed might have” (
The imaginary encounters which take place through the telling and receiving of stories facilitate an engagement with other perspectives from the horizon of one’s own position and experience, making self-awareness and critical distance an integral part of self-other narrative encounters. Edward Said reminds us that identities are dialogically constructed through difference: one defines oneself based on the recognition of what one is not in relation to others; thus,
The cultivation of empathy and solidarity with others through the use of picture books for intercultural citizenship education (ICE) is the focus of a recent European Erasmus+ project, “Intercultural Citizenship Education in Primary English Language Learning – ICEPELL”, which counts among its intellectual outputs a series of eighteen “ICEKits” or teaching packs to be used with picture books for intercultural learning in the English-language classroom
Gaining knowledge about global citizenship at the cognitive level involves students first learning about rights and responsibilities, about social justice and sustainability, through an examination of situations which place human rights at risk and endanger human life; in this way, they acquire knowledge about structural and social inequalities and the dominant discourses that shape them. This knowledge frames a
Second, for students to develop global values they must go beyond a cognitive assimilation of information about structural inequalities towards understanding the interrelationships between collective and individual responsibility through a sense of solidarity with others based on mutual recognition, respect, and empathy. Recognising one’s own role in supporting human rights issues, environmental sustainability and intercultural understanding contributes to global awareness and provides an impetus for direct engagement with global issues. Third, students must be given opportunities to respond to contemporary issues of poverty, social injustice, persecution, exploitation, or environmental concerns through initiatives that enable them to seek solutions to current problems and to enact change, possibly within their local communities or through broader networks. This process involves channelling knowledge and empathy into concrete actions through participatory engagement with initiatives that seek a transformational impact in society (
While recognising the importance of all three domains of learning, Lorenzini (
This section addresses how global citizenship values can be incorporated in a storytelling framework, drawing on Ghosn’s (
Fig. 2: The storytelling cycle according to Ghosn (
In the
The
The
Stories can be a powerful pedagogical tool for navigating issues of identity and inclusion in the primary classroom, especially with well-chosen books which present diversity in affirming contexts and elicit intercultural reflection and discussion guided by the teacher. This is the premise of a new course in multilingual and intercultural teacher education being developed at the Free University of Bolzano to support primary school teachers in addressing issues of diversity with the use of picture books for global citizenship education in second language (L2) teaching and learning. The course is part of a Erasmus+ KA2 project, “Diversity in Action – a cross-border online space for training teachers through multilingual and multicultural experiences”, involving five strategic partners located in border territories marked by multilingualism and multiculturalism – University of Primorska (Slovenia), Free University of Bolzano (Italy), University College of Teacher Education Vienna / PH Wien (Austria), Juraj Dobrila University of Pula (Croatia), and University of Trento (Italy). This collaboration seeks to develop hybrid initiatives (online and onsite) for pre-service and in-service teacher training in a transnational context to prepare teachers to adequately respond to the richness and complexity of multilingual and multicultural classrooms in innovative ways that promote inclusion.
Drawing on examples of children’s picture books for GCE in upper primary education (ages 9–12), the section below explores how picture books can be used in the English foreign-language classroom to help children acquire knowledge of global issues and intercultural awareness. Two books by Canadian indigenous authors have been selected for their thematic content which offers teachers opportunities to introduce children to linguistic and cultural diversity through a focus on ‘Canada’ as a cultural unit of study.
This exposure is intended to deepen learners’ understanding of diversity by drawing on new sources of information which can foster their plurilingual and intercultural awareness, as well as knowledge of global issues. Gaining knowledge about global citizenship at the cognitive level involves first learning about social justice through an examination of situations which place human rights at risk; in this way, students acquire knowledge about structural and social inequalities and the dominant discourses that shape them. The two texts examined below can be used to build knowledge of linguistic and cultural diversity, thus contributing to learners’
The illustrations by Julie Flett evoke a sense of space and wonder as the boy is introduced to places and stories that hold meaning for his family. The drawings depict sparsely populated villages, thick woods, lakes, rocky shorelines, eagles, beaver dams, and camp life in dark, muted colours which seem to seep from the landscape itself: forest green, sky blue, muddy brown, slate grey. The text is spare and surrounded by blank space, allowing the eye to move calmly between words and images, not overwhelming the reader with intersemiotic complexity. A sense of slowness is further enhanced as the grandfather recalls life on the trapline, a remembrance of things past underscored by the presence of Swampy Cree words inserted in the text; this use of Cree vocabulary items slows down the reading and prosodic rhythm, creating space for thoughts and emotions.
Fig. 3:
Appearing at the end of each page, the Cree words act as a summary of key themes that emerge across the story. This position highlights the Cree expressions, giving them a resonance that lingers in the reader’s mind.
Robertson, who is a member of Norway House Cree Nation and a Governor-General award-winning Canadian writer, provides a glossary of eighteen Swampy Cree words and a pronunciation guide at the end of the book. The words appear in the peritext in the same order in which they were presented in the story, thus encouraging readers to review them. Although definitions are integrated into the main text in English, the presence of the Cree words and their repetition in the glossary provide reinforcement, adding to the book’s educational potential. Commenting on his deliberate choice to use Cree words in the text, Robertson explains:
In one sense, I wanted to use Cree as a way to continue to work toward language revitalization, to have our language represented in mainstream literature. The other thing was to display the beauty of the language to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous readers. It also added so much breadth to the emotions, the meaning, the tone of every page. I used the language very carefully and very intentionally. What I love about Cree is that one word can mean so much. Cree is such a beautiful language. (
When Moshom and the boy finally reach the trapline in the story, the Elder’s eyes light up: “‘That’s my trapline,’ he says. Kīwēw means ‘he goes home’”.
By inviting readers to learn about Cree language and traditions through the intergenerational relationship depicted in the story, the book not only activates the cognitive dimension of intercultural learning but the socio-emotional dimension as well, presenting “different levels of identity” through the boy’s relationship with his grandfather, “different communities people belong to and how these are connected” through traditional indigenous customs depicted, and helping readers cultivate “respect for diversity” through the story characters and the use of Cree words in the text (
Daly and Short (
In addition to its educational potential in enhancing intercultural awareness, Robertson’s book presents opportunities for young readers to develop ecological awareness through the depiction of the natural world and the protagonists’ relationship with the land which changes according to the temporal past and present of the story. The boy finds himself imagining what life was like two generations ago through his grandfather’s stories, a life that appears to be both different from and similar to his life now.
Fig. 3:
This understated exploration of memory, loss and change evokes the close connection with the land and a traditional lifestyle which the grandfather experienced in his youth then lost through colonialization, a traditional way of life which his grandson’s generation has never known.
This confrontation with difference through the moshom’s recalled experience of fishing, trapping, and foraging enables a reflection on the value of nature and healthy ecosystems, helping children think dynamically about ecological relationships or the interconnectedness of different forms of life (c.f.
We stop to fish on the way back. Moshom’s friend catches lots of fish. Moshom catches some. I almost catch one, but it gets away.
“Why are you so good at fishing?” I ask.
“We used to fish on the trapline too,” he says.
Moshom tells me that we can share. On the trapline everybody shared with everybody else.
Natenamakēwin means “sharing”. (
A discourse of environmental sustainability emerges across the story as the grandfather teaches the child about how to be a good custodian to the land and share its resources with others. By facilitating a discussion of how human choices and actions affect other people and the planet, Robertson’s picture book is an effective tool in guiding young readers towards ecological literacy. As Parsons (
While the loss of indigenous language and culture is signalled indirectly in
The poem and picture book reference the author’s first-hand experience in the Shubenacadie Residential School in Nova Scotia where she lived from ages 12 to 16, forced to speak English instead of Mi’kmaq, an Eastern Algonquian language. The story explores what it means to
The title of Joe’s book is poignantly accompanied by a colourful image on the cover illustration by Pauline Young which juxtaposes the picture of an indigenous girl in traditional dress in bright yellow with that of a schoolgirl donning the standard short haircut and residential school uniform in a faded brown tone, emphasising the link between language and identity. The central theme of linguistic and cultural erasure is also conveyed through the orange end papers which repeat the title “I lost my talk” framed by chalk drawings which indicate the symbolic systems of representation that have been lost through enforced use of the English language in schooling. This message is repeated on the first page of the picture book with the accompanying text, “Which you took away”. The subsequent pages further evoke the absent ‘you’ – the interlocutor (i.e. colonizer) responsible for linguistic and cultural erasure – as the narrator is forced to “create like you”. The text ends with a direct appeal, “Let me find my talk”, which conveys the need for aboriginal language preservation and strengthening, the book’s main theme.
Fig. 4:
Word-image interactions can change over the course of a picture book, giving rise to different types of textual-visual interanimations across a story, and the teacher needs to provide contextualisation and disambiguation to guide children’s understanding. Throughout Joe’s book, the language is simple and straightforward, and the images reinforce the story’s message by offering visual scaffolding that supports textual meaning. As Moya Guijarro (
Schools and teachers must decide on the best time and pedagogical approach for teaching historically difficult subjects such as the abuse of indigenous populations and genocide. In this case, teachers need to evaluate what kind of contextual information to provide about European contact and colonization of the Americas based on the cognitive and emotional maturity of learners, but picture books such as Joe’s and Robertson’s are valuable multimodal resources to assist them in addressing difficult themes, helping learners make text-to-life and life-to-text connections through literature (c.f.
Drawing on texts and thinking from a range of cultures and traditions by selecting books that intentionally address themes of diversity and social justice can help teachers stimulate conversations with learners which can deepen their intercultural understanding (c.f.
Global citizenship education plays a vital role in the important process of cultivating democratic consciousness and encouraging democratic participation from the earliest stages of learning (c.f.
Embedding global issues in foreign-language learning is a pedagogical response in line with current research and international policy frameworks which emphasise the urgency to enrich concrete educational practices for developing students’ citizenship competencies through knowledge of global issues, intercultural awareness, and turning empathy into action. To this end, Johnston and Bainbridge (
Children grow into narrative contexts from an early age and acquire knowledge and competencies related to language and literature, to self and world, by imagining “possible worlds” through narrative (
For further information, see UNESCO’s “Education milestones”:
The Miller-Seller model focuses on three “metaorientations” in curriculum development: transmission, transaction, and transformation. Each metaorientation is linked to philosophical and psychological theories which determine the teacher’s approach to teaching and learning (c.f.
A hidden curriculum refers to the unspoken or implicit values, behaviours, procedures, and norms that exist in an educational setting. While such expectations are not explicitly written, ‘hidden curriculum’ is the unstated promotion and enforcement of certain behavioural patterns, professional standards, and social beliefs while navigating a learning environment (c.f.
For further details, please see the ICEPELL project website:
For information on efforts to revitalize indigenous languages in Canada, please see the Canadian federal government website: