A passage to global citizenship : considerations for policy and curriculum design

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to understand the journey of developing “global citizenship” among undergraduates at The University of Hong Kong (the “University”) as influenced by internationalization and globalization. The reality of the global village where modern communications and travel networks have overcome geography to enable people with different cultures, values, and ways of life to share resources and virtual spaces needs to be recognized and addressed. Globalization is a double-edged sword, creating new possibilities as it transforms the fabrics of societies even as it destabilizes common social understandings and practices in ways that impede the advancement and betterment of humanity. Struggling with these possibilities and uncertainties, universities face the challenge of developing “global citizens” capable of bringing positive change and increasing social capital across different levels of society in addition to their traditional academic role. Students are now routinely steered towards “global” experiences such as study abroad, travel, service learning, and participation in the global community locally and internationally. These experiences can facilitate the development of global citizenship helping students become culturally sensitive, interculturally competent, and socially conscious; thus understanding the needs of humanity from different value orientations and perspectives.

The University has interpreted and embodied the meaning of “global citizenship” as qualities and abilities that serve and improve humanity, and has attempted to develop students who are interculturally competent in the knowledge, skills and behaviour that contribute positively to societal needs. These interpretations are embedded in policy strategies and implementations, curriculum design and pedagogy, and are supported by activities that contribute to learning and making sense of “global citizenship” among students. Narrative inquiry solicits students’ experiences in “global” endeavours and elucidates the way they understand, embody and perform “global citizenship” as a process of becoming “global citizens.” The stories and their subtexts reveal current culture(s) and “identit(ies)” that are complex systems of social, political and personal nature. Four typologies of students emerged from these findings and analyses – the Achievers, Learners, Explorers, and Builders, which reveal the dispositions and characteristics of students’ attitudes, perspectives, affinities and behaviours in relation to “global citizenship.” As globalization challenges our understanding of our identities that are essentially concerned with who we are as individuals and as social beings, this research challenges the traditional understandings of “citizenship” and suggests that its cultural interpretations and enactments are performed individually and co-created socially. This thesis demonstrates the critical importance of mentorship and purposeful design of experience to most effectively enrich the sel(ves) and to facilitate the likelihood of students becoming integrated beings exemplifying global citizenship, amidst the complexities and controversies surrounding globalization.