Heritage Education and Global Citizenship

Globalization And Social Changes

Two decades ago, in a comparative study of citizenship education, Kerr (1999) commented that we are witnessing unprecedented global changes that are posing challenges for countries, societies and education systems, and for the way that citizenship education is understood and produced. Kerr’s list (1999, p. 9) mentions the following challenges:

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  the rapid movement of people within and across national boundaries

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  a growing recognition of the rights of indigenous peoples and minorities

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  the collapse of political structures and the birth of new ones

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  the changing role of women in society

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  the impact of the global economy and changing work patterns

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  the effect of a revolution in information and communication technologies

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  an increasing global population, and

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  the creation of new forms of community

Two decades later and these challenges have materialised and generated significant impacts on the world. Other major challenges have also emerged, such as climate change, the rise of supranational institutions, the appearance of new financial actors on a global scale, the influence of social networks, the growing presence of artificial intelligence in our everyday lives, and so on. In this context, the education of a critical population seems to be an increasingly more pressing requirement and needs to be revised because, just like globalisation, the citizens’ roles reach way beyond national borders.