Chapter 4: Developing Global Citizens: Secondary Students’ Experiences With ICONS

Communication technologies have become an increasingly ubiquitous feature of efforts in the field of international education to teach adolescents about the world and their role as citizens in the 21st century (Dower, 2003). In much of this work, the concept of global citizenship is used to frame the learning goals of such educational practices and programs. The concept evokes the ways that social, political, and economic globalization has spurred a feeling of interconnectedness among and responsibility toward peoples across the world. However, in educational research, the concept of global citizenship has typically lacked an operational definition and coherent learning outcomes (Tsolidis, 2002). Furthermore, there is scant research documenting the impact of such programs on students’ world understanding, knowledge, and consciousness (Zong, Wilson, & Quashiga, 2008). As a result, it is challenging for educators to understand which of these curricula and programs are working and what effects they are, and are not, having on students.