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The Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and APCEIU conducted the first capacity-building training for 65 GCED Lead Teachers, selected from 17 provincial and metropolitan education offices. This training took place from January 21 to 23 in a face-to-face format and included remote training on February 21. It aimed to lay the foundation for GCED, broaden perspectives on various issues through special lectures, and provide opportunities for sharing classroom practices and developing future activity plans as GCED Lead Teachers.

The first day of the face-to-face training began with an orientation session for participants to get to know each other, followed by a lecture on GCED. Mr. Jaehong Kim, Head of Education and Training, shared the theoretical background and practical cases of GCED, emphasizing the discomfort that can arise during the process of expanding one’s identity as a global citizen and how to internalize these experiences. In the afternoon lecture, Dr. Seung-mi Lee from the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation introduced the common ground between the 2022 revised curriculum and GCED, sharing ways to incorporate GCED into the current curriculum. This provided an opportunity to reflect on the position of GCED within the national curriculum and its future direction.

Subsequently, there were lectures on key issues related to GCED and sharing of classroom cases. Professor Hyo-je Cho of SungKongHoe University, who has conducted in-depth research on the relationship between “climate crisis and human rights”, emphasized the importance of fostering a sense of responsibility and solidarity as global citizens in the context of global crises. He encouraged reflection on the mindset needed to coexist with climate refugees and the importance of proactive education in addressing climate issues. Additionally, a lecture on “AI Literacy and Citizenship” provided insights into the demands of global citizenship in the age of artificial intelligence and explored the current state of education using AI. This was followed by a time for exploring various themes and methodologies of transformative education through the sharing of diverse teaching and learning practices by former GCED Lead Teachers.

A workshop was also conducted to introduce and apply teaching materials that can be effectively utilized for GCED. The “Becoming a Global Citizen in the Classroom” workshop helped teachers come closer to lessons focused on Sustainable Development Goals. In particular, “Becoming a Global Citizen through Geographical Imagination,” the recently published resource by APCEIU at the end of last year, was introduced to cover interconnected global issues from a geographical perspective. Through these processes, the participants established directions for activities in their respective provinces throughout the year and subsequently collaborated with their affiliated education offices to develop more specific plans.

During the follow-up remote training, the GCED Lead Teachers shared drafts of their operational plans, seeking additional activities and collaboration between provinces. Additionally, through a special lecture by Young-mi Kim, a specialized PD in reporting on international conflicts, participants reflected on the significance of GCED informed by insights gained from experiences in war and disaster contexts, recognizing the necessity of media literacy for global citizens.

Having completed the first training, the GCED Lead Teachers will receive certificates of appointment from the Ministry of Education and collaborate with their affiliated education offices and local lead teachers to carry out various activities aimed at promoting GCED throughout the year. The activities from each province will be presented at the second capacity-building training scheduled for July, as well as during the year-end review meeting.

Since 2015, APCEIU has trained over 60 GCED Lead Teachers annually through the capacity-building programme, and as of 2025, more than 620 National Lead Teachers and approximately 6,000 Provincial Lead Teachers continue to engage in GCED activities tailored to local contexts.

URL: https://www.unescoapceiu.org/post/5294