From Local to Plural Locality: Reconceptualizing Global Citizenship Education in Thailand and Asean
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
This article examines the reconceptualization of Global Citizenship Education (GCE) within Thailand and the ASEAN context, advocating for a transformative and critical approach. It argues that current ASEAN curriculum initiatives, while ambitious, often adopt a content-oriented approach that fails to adequately promote critical thinking or recognize diverse identities. Drawing on Andreotti’s framework (2006, 2011) of soft versus critical GCE, the article proposes a shift towards a more reflexive, power-aware, and solidarity-focused educational model. The study explores four interconnected themes: evolving concepts of citizenship, the importance of plural locality in fostering global perspectives, curriculum inquiry approaches for GCE implementation, and the role of teacher agency. By integrating place-based education principles with critical GCE frameworks, the article suggests strategies for balancing local identities with global awareness. It critically examines the challenges and opportunities in implementing such approaches across the diverse ASEAN region, including the need to decolonize educational discourses and empower teachers as agents of change. The article concludes that effective GCE in Thailand and ASEAN requires a delicate balance between regional coherence and local adaptation, emphasizing the importance of context-sensitive strategies that respect cultural diversity while working towards shared educational goals. This approach not only enhances the effectiveness of GCE but also contributes to broader goals of ASEAN integration and global citizenship.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
References
Abdi, A. A. (2017). The rhetorical constructions of global citizenship and the location of youth: A critical analysis. International Journal of Development Education and Global Learning, 8(2), 37–52. https://doi.org/10.18546/IJDEGL.8.2.04
Andreotti, V. (2006). Soft versus critical global citizenship education. Policy and Practice: A Development Education Review, 3, 40–51. https://www.developmenteducationreview.com/issue/issue-3/soft-versus-criticalglobal-citizenship-education
Andreotti, V. (2011). (Towards) decoloniality and diversality in global citizenship education. Globalization, Societies and Education, 9(3–4), 381–397. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767724.2011.605323
Anui, & Arphattananon, T. (2021). Ethnic content integration and local curriculum in Myanmar. Austrian Journal of South-East Asian Studies, 14(2), 155–172. https://doi.org/10.14764/10.ASEAS-0060
ASEAN Secretariat. (2012). ASEAN curriculum sourcebook. USAID.
Chanbanchong, C., Thongthew, S., Boonsombuti, S., & Sangnapaboworn, W. (2015). Citizenship education and education for ASEANness in Thailand: Case study. Regional contexts and citizenship education in Asia and Europe. Routledge.
Chen, K. H. (2010). Asia as method: Toward deimperialization. Duke University Press.
Gaudelli, W. (2009). Heuristics of global citizenship discourses towards curriculum enhancement. Journal of Curriculum Theory, 25(1), 68–85.https://journal.jctonline.org/index.php/jct/article/view/GAUDHEU
Giroux, H. A. (1992). Border crossings: Cultural workers and the politics of education. Routledge.
Gruenwald, D. A., & Smith, G. A. (2014). Place-based education in the global age: Local diversity. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315769844
Hanvey, R. (1982). An attainable global perspective. Center for Global Perspectives.
Jaikrasen, P., & Ketsing, J. (2025). Cultivating sense of place through place-based education: An innovative approach to education for sustainability in a Thai primary school. Education Sciences, 15(11), Article 1456. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15111456
Jatuporn, O. (2022). Decolonising the “Thai-ness” discourse in education. Decolonising curriculum knowledge: International perspectives and interdisciplinary approaches. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-13623-8_6
Jatuporn, O., Youngwan, S., Wu, C., & Li, J. (2026). Culturally responsive curriculum and pedagogical practices for ethnic minority students in the northern province of Thailand. Kasetsart Journal of Social Sciences, 47(1), Article 470106. https://so04.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/kjss/article/view/287916
Jungck, S., & Kajornsin, B. (2003). “Thai wisdom” and glocalization: Negotiating the global and the local in Thailand’s national education reform. In K. M. Anderson-Levitt (Ed.), Local meanings, global schooling: Anthropology and world culture theory (pp. 27–49). Palgrave Macmillan.
Kamput, K. (2018). A study of learning achievement of ASEAN studies using the ASEAN curriculum sourcebook and levels of student competency in 21st century skills: Case study in buffer schools of Thailand. Journal of Education and Innovation, 21(2), 34–53. https://so06.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/edujournal_nu/article/view/117790
Kennedy, K. (2012). Global trends in civic and citizenship education: What are the lessons for nation states? Education Sciences, 2(3), 121–135. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci2030121
Kirkwood, T. F. (1995). Teaching from a global perspective: A case study of three high school social studies teachers. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Florida International University.
Lin, A. M. Y. (2012). Towards transformation of knowledge and subjectivity in curriculum inquiry: Insights from Chen Kuan-Hsing’s ‘Asia as Method’. Curriculum Inquiry, 42(1), 153–178. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-873X.2011.00571.x
Merryfield, M. M. (2000). Moving the center of global education: From imperial world views that divide the world to double consciousness, contrapuntal pedagogy, hybridity, and cross-cultural competence. In W. B. Stanley (Ed.), Critical issues in social studies research for the 21st century (pp. 179–207). Information Age Publishing.
Na Lee, A. (2016). Negotiating indigenous knowledge based education in Northern Thai public school. RSU International Journal of College of Government, 3(1), 32–40. https://ssrn.com/abstract=3043284
Nguyen, H. T. M., & Bui, T. (2016). Teachers’ agency and the enactment of educational reform in Vietnam. Current Issues in Language Planning, 17(1), 88–105. https://doi.org/10.1080/14664208.2016.1125664
Nguyen, N. T., & Chia, Y. (2023). Decolonizing research imagination: A journey of reshaping research epistemology and ontology. Asia Pacific Education Review, 24(2), 213–226. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-023-09822-8
Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (2011). Partnership for 21st century learning frameworks and resources. Battelle for Kids. https://www.battelleforkids.org/insights/p21-resources/
Priestley, M., Biesta, G. J. J., & Robinson, S. (2015). Teacher agency: An ecological approach. Bloomsbury Academic.
Rapoport, A. (2015). Global aspects of citizenship education: Challenges and perspectives. In B. Maguth & J. Hilburn (Eds.), The state of global education: Learning with the world and its people (pp. 37–54). Routledge.
Ross, E. W. (2018). Humanizing critical pedagogy: What kind of teachers? what kind of citizenship? what kind of future? Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies, 40(5), 371–389. https://doi.org/10.1080/10714413.2019.1570792
Saito, E., Saejea, V., Yip, S. Y., & Anunthavorasakul, A. (2026). Responding to multicultural classrooms in Bangkokian schools based on school as learning community (SLC). Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2026.2643261
Sameephet, B. (2025). Decolonising the TESOL curriculum in Thailand through global Englishes: A wake-up call. LEARN Journal: Language Education and Acquisition Research Network, 18(2), 594–632. https://doi.org/10.70730/OONQ6505
Sapphasuk, W., & Nawarat, N. (2019). New actors and space contestation for ideology representation in a Thai-Laos border school: A case study of Chiang Rai province. Connexion: Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 8(2), 87–106. https://so05.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/MFUconnexion/article/view/241042
Standish, A. (2014). What is global education and where is it taking us? The Curriculum Journal, 25(2), 166–186. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585176.2013.870081
Thai Bureau of Administration of Secondary Education. (2010). Approaches for learning management in international standard schools. Agricultural Cooperatives of Thailand.
Thongthew, S. (2013). ASEAN literacy development. Journal of Education, Naresuan University, 14(3), 95–106.
Torres, C. (2017). Theoretical and empirical foundations of critical global citizenship education. Taylor and Francis.
UNESCO. (2014). Global citizenship education: Preparing learners for the challenges of the 21st century. http://www.unesco.org/new/en/global-citizenship-education
Valdez, P. N. (2020). Research in critical pedagogy: Implications for English language classrooms in Asia. PASAA, 60(1), 222–236. https://www.culi.chula.ac.th/Publicationsonline/current_volume_p1.php?journal_id=74
Wichaidit, S. (2025). Exploring teacher agency through ecological approach: Insights from teacher networks. Teacher Development. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/13664530.2025.2568668
