The Study Group “Engaging with Global Citizenship” pursued the overall goal of an interdisciplinary approach to global citizenship education, centering on issues of migration, language and culture, and identities. Instructors from the fields of English language education, literature, and history guided participants in developing their understanding of historical and contemporary migrations, and of transformative, culturally responsive pedagogy that empowers diverse learners. Course readings and activities were drawn from history and language education and guided students to critically examine (mis-)conceptions and ideas about migrations and identities, their impacts on communities and classrooms, and teachers’ strategies for communication and curriculum. The exchange with international fellow students, first online and then in person during the Summer School, was designed to deepen this learning experience. Some of the issues that were examined from different disciplinary perspectives included questions such as the following:
The Summer School week included reflection activities as well as classroom discussions on these issues and gave students the opportunity to explore three specific areas within Global Citizenship Education in international teams: 1) “hard history” and anti-bias pedagogy; 2) linguistic and cultural diversity in the classroom; and 3) voices, visuals, and the learning environment.
By the end of the Summer School, students were able to: