In this communication we present the results of phase 1 (exploratory) of a wider project whose object is to promote a Global Citizenship Education (GCE) approach in higher education, specifically in the Infant Education degree in the University of Cantabria (Spain). The first phase of the research analyses the narratives of future teachers with regard to the concept of poverty in a global world, as well as the links that exist between education and poverty. In the second phase (yet to be developed) different activities will be designed, developed and evaluated aimed at promoting a GCE focused on challenging, destabilising and recognising the complexity of the narratives of student teachers based on the concept of the teacher as an agent of social change (Bourn, 2015). Our project proposes training that allows young people to experience transformation scenarios during their initial training, as well as experiencing situations politically committed to the pursuit of social justice (Brown, 2015; Fernández-Díaz, Rodríguez-Hoyos and Calvo, 2019). 

Our understanding of the GCE approach is based on a critical pedagogy and, therefore, is not only focused on the acquisition of values and skills, rather the aim is to organise a challenging and controversial university curriculum that allows the discussion of relevant social issues linked to globalisation, the relationship between global and local issues, the causes of poverty and inequality, as well as their multiple manifestations (Andreoti, 2009; Bourn, 2014; Blackmore, 2016; Hunt, 2017; UNESCO, 2015). It is a perspective that goes beyond a liberal approach and is one which adopts a political position, analysing unequal power relationships that permeate relations between countries, regions and collectives in the pursuit of social change with the objective of achieving greater social justice. In Spain this approach is known as fifth-generation Development Education (Calvo, 2017). 

Introducing a global approach in the university curriculum is a commitment to promoting education for global justice (Bourn, 2012), something which involves recognising two questions. The first is that the concept of social justice requires analysis, at least from the triple perspective proposed by Nancy Fraser (2009) in terms of distributive justice, recognition justice and participatory justice. The second is that the same concept of justice must be open to new reinterpretations depending on each context and each community, something which requires recognising the different voices and perspectives that feed it and making an effort to avoid West-centric visions (Sant, Davies, Pashby and Shultz, 2018). 

Introducing the GCE perspective in initial teacher training involves training future teachers to understand the complex globalised society in which they live, so that they question how globalisation affects educational processes, how children experience their childhood at school, in other words, it requires rethinking their work in situations characterised by a high degree of uncertainty and social injustice. It also means training to promote the possibilities of personal and social transformation, based on the perspective of education as a political act, in line with the broad approach of critical pedagogies (McLaren and Kincheloe, 2007). In short, it regards teachers as agents of social change within the classroom, within the wider school and within society as a whole (Bourn, 2015).

The research questions that guided this exploratory phase were: 

-What meanings do young people give to the problem of poverty? How do they define it? 

- What relationship do they establish between the existence of rich and poor countries, people and groups in the world? 

- Which social problems do young people associate with the existence of poverty? 

- What role do they give to education in the eradication of poverty, the pursuit of social justice and the development of global citizenship? 

The overall objective of the exploratory phase of our research is to understand what visions and concepts young people have about the problem of poverty in a globalised world. The exploration of these narratives places us in a GCE approach in which education puts reflecting on how globalisation affects our lives at the centre and enables future teachers to question the complex relationships that develop between territories and people located in the global North and South of the planet. The research methodology is qualitative (Denzin and Lincoln, 2000), given that it aims to explore the meanings that young people give to specific social problems. This methodology is consistent with the overall objective of phase 1 of our research. Its objective is to understand the narratives that young people have about poverty in a global world as well as the role that education plays in it. The data collection tool used in this first phase of the research was a questionnaire consisting of open questions which was administered online to 2nd and 3rd year students in the Teaching degree (Infant Education) at the University of Cantabria during the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 academic years. The total number of replies obtained was 195. The analysis of the narratives of the student teachers involved was carried out through a thematic analysis (Seal, 2016) using a system of inductive-deductive categories. In this regard, and before the analysis was carried out, a system of categories based on the theoretical framework was developed. In a second stage, when beginning the analysis which had a holistic attitude open to new meanings and problems highlighted by the students in their answers, this system was modified and enriched (Gibbs, 2012; Saldaña, 2019). The analysis was guided by the exploration of the multiple and complex meanings that these young people gave to the problems identified, and the analysis looked for representation of all their visions and perspectives.

The definitions of young people on the phenomenon of poverty can be classified in two main groups: 1) The lack of material goods, something which impedes covering basic needs and 2) The impossibility of accessing social services and opportunities like housing, education and health. Many of these definitions are accompanied by value judgements that allow the classification of their visions from more charitable-assistance positions to more political ones, from more individual or psychological ones to others which are more collective and social. When considering the relationship that exists between rich and poor countries and groups, some students demonstrate a humanistic vision when they affirm that all human beings are united through having the same basic needs and that they have the same rights and duties. A second line of argument points out that the difference between them derives from their resources, culture or their geographical situation; it is sometimes indicated that the causes of poverty reside in the specific characteristics of poor countries. A third vision, places power relationships at the centre, suggesting that the relation between them is one of abuse and exploitation. Some students question to what extent the richest countries or groups should help the poorest ones, why they should do so, if they are doing it as much as they should and through what means. With respect to the main social problems related to poverty, access to material resources, the differences in power, inequality, exclusion or education are highlighted as major factors. Another group of students analysed the phenomena from a more individual and personal perspective, putting the social dimension of the problem in second place. Regarding education, we find that it is understood as awareness, education in values and citizenship. There is also a meritocratic perspective which is more closely linked to human capital.

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