Purpose and scope of the handbook
This handbook is the second in a series of GCED advocacy and awarenessraising publications. The first was the joint publication by APCEIU and UNESCO(2021) titled Global citizenship education: a policymaking awareness and advocacy handbook.
This latest handbook aims to raise awareness among teachers in the Asia-Pacific region on GCED and to equip teachers with knowledge about GCED, its importance and how to teach it, using good practices, to enhance learners’ competences at the classroom level, for society’s overall benefit.
Recognizing that education policies, strategies and practices in the Asia-Pacific region reflect GCED in diverse ways, this handbook also seeks to provide a common regional understanding of what GCED is.
Who can benefit from this handbook?
The major beneficiaries of this handbook are teachers, educators and learners. Through explaining what GCED is and its outcomes, this handbook will enable teachers and educators to develop a deeper understanding of the benefits that GCED brings to learners. This handbook will also help teachers to themselves cultivate the necessary values, knowledge, skills and attitudes, and make the required behavioural changes, as one must become a responsible global citizen first in order to empower others to do so.
As a practical guide, this handbook also supports teachers to integrate GCED into their teaching. The handbook provides examples of good practices, compiled from the Asia-Pacific region, that teachers can easily adapt for use in their classrooms to boost GCED values, knowledge, skills, attitudes and behavioural changes, among learners of all ages. Resources listed in the annex provide teachers with additional support.
Policy-makers and school leaders can also benefit from this handbook; it serves as an additional reference to Global citizenship education: a policymaking awareness and advocacy handbook (APCEIU and UNESCO, 2021); to assist them in understanding what support teachers need in delivering GCED. This guide can also provide insights on how to foster resilience and rebuild education systems so that they are better equipped to deal with future crises.