Global citizen education (GCED) is a strategic area of UNESCO's education sector program and builds on the work of peace and human rights education. It may prove to be a key area of focus for school education services around the world. India has always been a key stakeholder in implementing the SDGs in its policies. The education sector plays a pivotal role in realizing the SDG targets, and GCED curriculum implementation plays are strategic roles in realizing this target of achieving SDG in education. India has played an active role in making efforts to implement GCED in school education. This chapter focuses on GCED practices, traces its origin, its prospective arrival in the Indian education scenario, and the state of affairs at present in terms of its implementation in prominent states around the country. Therefore, the chapter describes GCED implementation in Indian school system and its contribution to making the school education system a delightful and sustainable practice.
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Regardless of how chaotic the world may be becoming more connected, human rights violations, inequality, and poverty continue to pose a threat. The solution proposed by UNESCO to address these issues is global citizenship education (GCED). It functions by enabling students of all ages to see that these are global concerns rather than local ones and to take an active role in promoting more harmonious, tolerant, inclusive, secure, and sustainable communities.
The work of peace and human rights education is built upon by GCED, a strategic component of UNESCO's Education Sector Program. Creativity, innovation, and a commitment to peace, human rights, and sustainable development are among the principles, attitudes, and behaviours it strives to instill in students.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Education 2030 Agenda and Framework for Action, specifically Target 4.7 of the Sustainable Development Agenda, the Recommendation concerning Education for International Understanding, Co-operation and Peace and Education relating to Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (1974), and the World Programme for Human Rights serve as the foundation for UNESCO's work in this area.
UNESCO has a number of unique themes under the GCED banner, including: educating people to stop violent extremism, providing information on genocide and the Holocaust, the use of foreign languages in the classroom and the promotion of international law
The UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP), the International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA), the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), the Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Cooperation, and other regional organisations are among the many intergovernmental and regional organisations that UNESCO works with to spread GCED.
The goal of global citizenship education (GCED) is to equip students of all ages to actively contribute to the creation of societies that are more serene, tolerant, inclusive, and secure on a local and global scale.
The three learning domains of cognitive, socio-emotional, and behavioural are the foundation of GCED:
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Cognitive: the knowledge and reasoning abilities required to comprehend the world and all of its complexities.
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Socio-emotional: Beliefs, attitudes, and social abilities that support students' emotional, psychosocial, and physical growth as well as their ability to coexist peacefully and respectfully with others.
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Behavioral: include involvement, performance, behaviour, and performance.
The three learning domains listed above serve as the foundation for the key learning outcomes, key learner traits, subjects, and learning objectives indicated in GCED. They are connected and included in the educational process.