Abstract:
Today, we face world issues related to inequality, illiteracy, and unsustainable environmental practices. This crisis challenges citizens worldwide to be critical thinkers who can make better decisions and reflect and act from their local context as they are able to make a global impact. This proposal aligns with the ethical aspiration vision from Habermas (1998) of global citizens, which goes beyond the boundaries of the nation-state (Johns, Mansouri, & Marotta, 2017) but transcends to the cultivation of humanity (Nussbaum, 1997) and the commonality that we all share a genuine concern for human beings and an interest in greater sustainability (Larson & Moja, 2010. p. 178). This paper reports on a participatory research project in which the researcher worked with a group of teachers in a literacy program that is implemented in five African countries (Sun Books) from an Australian NGO to study Global citizenship education (GCE) and story writing. The project aimed to identify how story writing is implicated in the teacher-writer’s identities who engaged with the initiative, and the implications for GCE. Teachers understanding and reflections regarding Global citizenship become essential as they are likely to shape the pedagogical intervention and resources created for literacy and global education. Self-reflection and dialogue are highlighted as key strategies from critical approaches and writing practices that might contribute to a better picture of how we are all implicated in issues and the solutions (Andreotti, 2016). This small-scale qualitative study involved a shared knowledge-production process that led to new insights for both the researcher and participants. The primary research strategy was participant interaction through dialogue that occurred during a focus group workshop. Participants were encouraged to reflect on their own stories, and they were included in the data analysis through theirs and others’ interpretations of these artifacts (stories). The reflections brought in the focus group indicated that story sharing opened opportunities to make visible and understand local issues and solutions. Participants also highlighted responsibility as a key-value as global citizens. This study's findings indicated that story writing and sharing from this multi-diverse context enhanced participant's engagement with self-reflection as active global citizens and as more critical story writers.