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Online Global Citizenship, Open Education and Civic Collaboration

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 April 2021) | Viewed by 14193

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Katherine Wimpenny

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Guest Editor

Research Centre for Global Learning: Education and Attainment, Coventry University, UK
Interests: International curriculum studies; internationalisation of the curriculum; inclusive curriculum; curricular experiences; global citizenship; internationalisation at home; collaborative online international learning; decolonising online education and research; Third Space learning

Prof. Dr. Daniel Burgos

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Guest Editor

Research Institute for Innovation & Technology in Education (UNIR iTED), Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (UNIR), 26006 Logroño, La Rioja, Spain
Interests: adaptive and informal eLearning; educational technology; learning analytics; open education; open science; educational games; serious games; gamification; elearning specifications
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Whilst contested and multifaceted terms, the notion of being ‘global ready’ and a global citizen are often viewed as key graduate attributes, featured in international education strategies as part of higher education service missions (Gaudelli, 2016; Yemini et al., 2018; de Hei et al, 2019). Some of these attributes relate to the world of work and are deemed as necessary to compete in the job market in an increasingly globalised workplace (Higher Education Academy, 2014; Jones & Killick, 2013; Killick 2015; Bourn et al., 2016; Scheunpflug et al., 2016; Algood & Green, 2018). Arguably more eminant attributes relate to encountering multiple ways of knowing, including ways to socially negotiate the unique and common qualities amongst diverse perspectives and ideas, linking notions of the local and global, the individual and collective, what is known and not known, what separates us and what binds us together (Landorf, Doscher, & Hardrick, 2018). These attibutes are vital to the sustainability of our specis and planet given the mutiple and complex (wicked) global challenges we are facing and will have to face in the 22nd Century. Indeed, a necessary connection between education, global citizenship and the critical action and reflection necessary for intercultural and transformative sense-making for addressing global challenges is required. And not least, in reclaiming focus of education towards interconnection and sustainability, rather than towards competition and economic imperatives.

As universities across the world mobilise their teaching operations online, in the midst of the global pandemic Covid-19, renewed emphasis is focused on the benefits of interconnected communicative (Third Space) learning environments. Along with the benefits and opportunities for the sharing of knowledge using Open Education practices, important discussions are required to examine and understand how sustainable collaborative online models of education delivery offer new scenarios to advance the mind-set and dispositions required for global citizenship as part of cross education-industry-community initiatives focused on common educational goals (Tam & El-Azar, 2020).

In this special issue we invite papers that analyse how curriculum infrastructure is responding to online collaborations in ways that propose new pedagogies that can respond to achieve sustainability goals, and in inclusive ways, which engender wellbeing. Further, as (Third) online spaces can also be experienced as destabilising, disquieting spaces, we ask what facilitation and follow-up is required when considering online exchanges, including ways in which knowledge traditions and assumptions can be safely challenged (du Preez, 2018). Moreover, how might action-orientated change through collaboration in the online space translate back into the learners’ locale for civic learning? We welcome international and comparative case studies as well as conceptual papers proposing innovative ways to bring cross and trans-disciplinary perspectives together including public collaboration.

Topics

Global citizenship
Education for sustainable development
Third Space learning
Intercultural communication
Open Education practices
Educational online methodologies
Global learning
Inter-cultural educational systems
Online learning
Online teaching
Online academic management
The inclusive curriculum
Collaborative online international learning (COIL)
Decolonising online education pedagogies and research
Transdisciplinary learning

References:

Algood, C., & Green, M. (2018). Creating a sustainable global learning model for minority-serving. Global education & minority serving institutions in us higher education, 35.

Blackmore, C. (2016). Towards a Pedagogical Framework for Global Citizenship Education. International Journal of Development Education and Global Learning, 8(1), 39-56.

Boni, A., & Calabuig, C. (2017). Education for global citizenship at universities: Potentialities of formal and informal learning spaces to foster cosmopolitanism. Journal of Studies in International Education, 21(1), 22-38.

Bourn, D., Hunt, F., Blum, N., & Lawson, H. (2016). Primary education for global learning and sustainability. UCL. Retrieved March 21st, 2020 from https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1475170/

de Hei, M., Tabacaru, C., Sjoer, E., Rippe, R., & Walenkamp, J. (2019). Developing intercultural competence through collaborative learning in international higher education. Journal of Studies in International Education. Advance online publication. https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.1177/1028315319826226

du Preez, P. (2018). On decolonization and internationalization of university curricula: what can we learn from Rosi Braidotti? Journal of Education, 74, 19 – 31.

Gaudelli, W. (2016). Global citizenship education. In Global Citizenship Education (pp. 41-72). Routledge.

Higher Education Academy. (2014). Internationalising the curriculum. Retrieved from https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/system/files/resources/internationalising_the_curriculum.pdf [30.08.2018]

Landorf, H., Doscher, S., & Hardrick, J. (2018). Making global learning universal: Promoting inclusion and success for all students. Stylus: Sterling, VA.

Jones, E., & Killick, D. (2013). Graduate attributes and the internationalized curriculum: Embedding a global outlook in disciplinary learning outcomes. Journal of Studies in International Education, 17, 165–182.

Killick, D. (2015). Developing the global student: Higher education in an era of globalization. Abingdon: Routledge.

Scheunpflug, A., Krogull, S., & Franz, J. (2016). Understanding Learning in World Society: Qualitative Reconstructive Research in Global Learning and Learning for Sustainability. International Journal of Development Education and Global Learning, 7(3), 6-23.

Tam, G. & El-Azar, D. (2020). 3 ways coronavirus pandemic could reshape education. World Economic Forum: Global Agenda, https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/03/3-ways-coronavirus-is-reshaping-education-and-what-changes-might-be-here-to-stay? [Accessed 27.03.20]

Yemini, M., Goren, H., & Maxwell, C. (2018). Global citizenship education in the era of mobility, conflict and globalisation. British Journal of Educational Studies, 66 (4).

Prof. Dr. Katherine Wimpenny
Prof. Dr. Daniel Burgos
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

International curriculum studies
Sustainable development goals
Collaborative online international learning
Third Space learning
Open Education Practices
Online learning
Online teaching
Online academic management

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 1409 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Virtualization of Higher Education during COVID-19: A Successful Case Study in Palestine

by Saida Affouneh, Zuheir N. Khlaif, Daniel Burgos and Soheil Salha

Sustainability 2021, 13(12), 6583; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13126583 - 09 Jun 2021

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3287

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to explore students’ and faculty members’ responses to universities’ migration from face-to-face to online instruction as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. To this extent, a qualitative approach was used for data collection and involved a number of qualitative methods: an open-ended question survey, focus group discussion, social media data, and university reports. Additionally, a thematic analysis was used for data analysis. The findings of the study reveal that students and faculty members were overwhelmed and stressed at the beginning, but as they started to acclimate to it, faculty members were satisfied. However, students seemed to be dissatisfied with this new approach to learning. Furthermore, faculty members and students both mentioned different challenges they had faced. The study reports on the technological tools used to mitigate the emerging challenges of both students and faculty members. Evaluating and assessing students was a main challenge for faculty members as the study analyzes the assessment and evaluation tools that they use in their online teaching. Comparative studies from Palestine and other countries are suggested for future research. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Online Global Citizenship, Open Education and Civic Collaboration)

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16 pages, 1451 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Virtual Exchange to Develop Cultural, Language, and Digital Competencies

by Said Machwate, Rachid Bendaoud, Juergen Henze, Khalid Berrada and Daniel Burgos

Sustainability 2021, 13(11), 5926; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13115926 - 24 May 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4090

Abstract

Many researchers have underlined the benefits of student mobility in strengthening their communication skills. Studying a foreign language and fostering knowledge about behavioural attitudes are the most common research cases. One of the major issues of mobility, by its very nature, is that it implies significant travel and accommodation costs. Virtual mobility, or Virtual Exchange (VE), can be introduced as a proactive alternative solution. This work presents an evaluation of a telecollaborative online course model organised as a VE between German and Moroccan universities. It was established to explore the benefits of integrating a VE experience by practicing some 21st-century knowledge elements as tools for the development of intercultural, language, and digital competencies from the perspective of mobility. In this paper, we present a VE model and its design, structure, and progress. Then, we evaluate this first experience to overcome some challenges that similar future experiences could face. We analyse the tools proposed in this design, the interactions between the different actors, and their feedback. The evaluative study shows the acquisition of awareness of cultural differences and the improvement of language skills through practice in addition to the development of some digital skills. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Online Global Citizenship, Open Education and Civic Collaboration)

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12 pages, 1288 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Case Study of Applying Open Educational Practices in Higher Education during COVID-19: Impacts on Learning Motivation and Perceptions

by Xiangling Zhang, Ahmed Tlili, Ronghuai Huang, Tingwen Chang, Daniel Burgos, Junfeng Yang and Jiacai Zhang

Sustainability 2020, 12(21), 9129; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12219129 - 03 Nov 2020

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 5243

Abstract

Open Educational Resources (OER) have been researched for a long time in the open education field. Researchers are now shifting their focus from resources to practices for delivering open education, an area called Open Educational Practices (OEP). However, there is little information in the related literature regarding the design of an OEP-based course or the impact of these types of courses. Therefore, this study designs a new OEP-based course at a public university for teaching family education during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also investigates its impact on learning motivation and teachers’ perceptions. In this context, a practical pilot experiment using both qualitative and quantitative methods was conducted. Specifically, 36 learners participated in this experiment. The obtained findings highlight: (1) an innovative design framework for OEP-based courses that teachers can refer to in their contexts; (2) that learners had a high motivation level in terms of knowledge achievements, individual connection and engagement when taking the OEP-based course; and (3) several advantages and challenges of the OEP-based course from the teacher’s and learners’ perspectives. For instance, the teacher reported the fear of losing control over the learning process when applying OEP. The findings of this paper can help researchers and educators in adopting OEP in higher education especially in times of crises, as well as increase the sustainability of OEP, hence contributing to open education development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Online Global Citizenship, Open Education and Civic Collaboration)

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