Global citizenship education in Colombia: an experience from higher education

Abstract

Despite the richness of theoretical debates on global citizenship, especially in the global north, there remains a notable lack of studies from the global south that promote experiences of Global Citizenship Education (gce) through critical-decolonial approaches and participa-tory methodological proposals. This article seeks to address the following question: How can we promote gce through a Participatory Action Research (par) experience in a Latin American university? The par experience discussed in this article took place in 2023 and was developed using a reflective dialogic pedagogy in a class aimed at student teachers. The par experience included the identifying global/local problems, researching these issues, constructing collective actions and conducting semi-structured interviews with participants. The findings indicate that the par experience enhanced students’ critical thinking, sense of global belonging, and empathy with others. The article concludes by identifying challenges for future gce experiences in the university context, emphasizing the importance of more closely connecting gce efforts with social, community and political processes.