The Critical Global Educator

An acknowledged challenge for humanitarian democratic education is its perceived lack of philosophical and theoretical foundation, often resulting in peripheral academic status and reduced prestige. A rich philosophical and theoretical tradition does however exist. This book synthesises crucial concepts from Critical Realism, Critical Social Theory, Critical Discourse Studies, neuro-, psycho-, socio- and cognitive-linguistic research, to provide critical global educators with a Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) framework for self- and negotiated evaluation. Empirical research spanning six years, involving over 500 international teachers, teacher educators, NGO and DEC administrators and academics, traces the personal and professional development of the critical global educator. Analyses of surveys, focus groups and interviews reveal factors which determine development, translating personal transformative learning to professional transaction and transformational political efficacy. Eight recommendations call for urgent conceptual deconstruction, expansion and redefinition, mainstreaming Global Citizenship Education as Sustainable Development. In an increasingly heteroglossic world, this book argues for relevance, for Critical Discourse Studies, if educators mediating and modelling diverse emergent disciplines are to honestly and effectively engage a learner's consciousness. The Critical Global Educator will appeal to researchers, academics and postgraduate students in the fields of citizenship, development, global education, sustainability, social justice, human rights and professional development. Review: The author is to be applauded for the sharp integration of the many theoretical strands and perspectives that flow in and out of the various 'global educations' at work in the UK over the past decade. For educational scholars and practitioners concerned with sustainable development, human rights, and global citizenship, this book is a challenge to look deeper within the political and social structures underpinning and influencing pedagogy, and to embody such critically self-reflective practices in future work. Sam Mejias, London School of Economics and Political Science, London Review of Education This book offers an insightful window into the emancipatory potential of GCESD. The author's insistence on the transformative capacity of global education that is aligned with academic disciplines and rooted in philosophical and theoretical frames, resonates with the foundations and aims of the new Politics and Society programme for senior cycle in the Republic of Ireland (introduced from September 2016), generating a certain excitement about its transformative potential. Ultimately, this text sets out an optimistic framework for mainstreaming GCESD through critical teacher 'education' (as opposed to training), Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and the formulation of appropriate critical alliances. Majella McSharry, Dublin City, Policy and Practice