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The notion of ‘global citizenship’ has recently gained prominence in international development discourse with the recently-adopted United Nations Secretary-General’s Global Education First Initiative (2012). Among the three priority areas outlined in this global initiative, the third aims to ‘foster global citizenship’.

The notion of ‘global citizenship’, however, remains very broad, if not contested, and consequently difficult to operationalize in education. There are two possible reasons for this. Firstly, it is unclear whether the very notion of ‘global citizenship’ is a metaphor, a contradiction of terms, or an oxymoron (Davies, 2006). Secondly, when applied to education, the notion of ‘global citizenship’ implies a certain degree of confusion. 

This paper discusses the following questions. 

What does ‘global citizenship’ possibly imply both from a legal perspective, as well as from that of collective identity, sense of belonging, and civic engagement? 

Is ‘global citizenship education’ (or ‘education for global citizenship’) merely an expression of a fundamental purpose of education systems? Does it also refer to a broad area of teaching and learning? If so, what are the contours of this domain? How does it relate to other often overlapping areas of learning associated with civic and political socialization?