If we cannot sit with the complexities within us, there is no chance we can hold space for the complexities around ourselves".

Vanessa Andreotti

Global citizenship education (GCE) has become a pivotal element of initial teacher education (ITE) in Ireland, urging educators to foster self-awareness and social responsibility among learners. Anchored in the recognition of teacher educators (TEs) as policy actors who are mandated by Irish national policy to integrate GCE as one of seven core elements that must underpin ITE programs (Teaching Council 2020, p.14), this longitudinal study investigates the development, process, and scaffolding of an international Community of Practice (CoP) focused on enhancing TEs' self-awareness for GCE.

The theoretical framework informing this study is critical GCE. Critical GCE highlights the importance of learners reflecting upon their own knowledge and assumptions, and “exploring the implications of their own ways of seeing and being in the world in relation to power, relationships, and the distribution of labour and resources (Blackmore, 2016, p.39). It is rooted in social justice (Giroux & Bosio, 2021), as it invites learners to examine preconceived values and perspectives in local and global settings and reflect upon their understanding of the world (Bosio, 2020, 2023). Critical GCE, therefore demands a learner-centred, autonomous approach, where learners reflect and build upon their own experiences and social contexts to develop their knowledge and understanding (Leicht et al., 2018). Embracing these approaches creates space for plurality of perspectives rather than a pre-determined formula for what learners should do or think. Developing these dispositions to learning, and the competences associated with critical GCE, therefore requires continued and critical self-reflection (Blackmore, 2016). The research question driving this inquiry is: How do TEs experience professional learning aimed at fostering self-awareness in the context of critical GCE and social justice education? This question underscores the need for TEs to engage in reflective practices that illuminate their capacities and challenges in integrating critical GCE into their pedagogical repertoire.

Central to this investigation is the operationalisation of the CoP, which serves as a reflective space and a crucible for innovation in pedagogical strategies. Lave and Wenger (1991) define CoPs as ”a system of relationships between people, activities and the world; developing with time, and in relation to other tangential and overlapping CoPs” (p.91). CoPs are viewed as a powerful way to examine TE learning (Patton & Parker, 2017). This collaborative approach leverages shared resources and a repository of activities to foster a deep engagement with the 'self' (personal and professional), employing pedagogies that push the boundaries of comfort to promote genuine reflection and growth. The CoP's collective expertise in teacher education, coupled with its commitment to critical GCE and social justice, provides a rich backdrop for exploration and experimentation with various pedagogical prompts designed to enhance self-awareness for GCE. The shared resources form the backbone of the CoP’s collaborative efforts. These resources encompass a conceptual framework for exploring TE identity (from the perspective of the professional and personal self), professional learning needs, and the nexus of GCE and self-awareness. The repository also includes a diverse array of activities and prompts shared to stimulate discussion, encourage self and co-regulation, and foster relationality in the learning space.

The contribution of this study lies in its potential to illuminate potential pathways through which TEs can deepen their understanding of self-awareness for GCE. By examining the lived experiences and reflective practices within the CoP, this research aims to offer insights into how educators can navigate the complexities of their internal landscapes to better engage with the external challenges of global citizenship and social justice education.

The methodology of this study is constructed to capture the dynamic and reflective nature of an international CoP (n=6) engaged in developing self-awareness and pedagogical strategies for critical GCE. The CoP comprises expertise from diverse fields: teacher education, GCE, social justice education, self-study, universal design for learning (UDL), equity, diversity, inclusion (EDI), and psychotherapy. Data were collected from October 2023 onwards through cyclical CoP Meetings (n=7) and written reflections (n=16) all supported by a designated macro-critical friend who prompted and challenged the CoP to delve deeper into their reflections and thoughts. This role was crucial in developing a safe, nurturing, and non-evaluative space reflecting Carl Roger’s core conditions of empathy, congruence, and unconditional positive regard. This role also ensures that the group stays focused with appropriate boundaries and supports while monitoring for the safety and emotional regulation of participants. Each participant is encouraged to share openly and honestly. This process provides an opportunity for individuals to be seen and heard in the group as individuals, making the implicit explicit. Each meeting within the CoP was recorded and transcribed to capture the rich dialogue and exchange of ideas. These meetings are the crux of data collection, providing insights into the pedagogical approaches and reflective questions aimed at exploring self-awareness for GCE and social justice matters. The CoP's schedule featured an alternating rhythm: hands-on pedagogical encounters focused on self-awareness prompts, individual written reflections and reflective dialogue meetings. Engaging with an individual reflection after each meeting was proposed by one member of the CoP and everyone agreed. This showcases the fluidity of the CoP and how it is developing and growing organically. Reflection is integral to our methodology. The individual reflections document CoP member observations, feelings, and engagements in response to the experiential activities. These reflections are then shared with all members via the CoP online platform. Each person’s approach is different, some like to write the reflection immediately, others like to ponder further and take a few days to write. The subsequent reflective group session allows for a consolidation process to occur reinforcing the cyclical process of what spontaneously emerged for participants, what they thought of it after and what now. CoP meeting transcriptions and member reflections were analysed using inductive thematic analysis to explore themes reflected in the data.

The study anticipates several key outcomes that will contribute to the discourse on teacher education and critical GCE: (1) an in-depth understanding of the self-awareness development process among TEs as they engage with GCE principles, (2) the identification of effective pedagogical strategies that facilitate self-awareness and its integration into teaching practices, and (3) insights into the cyclical process of reflective practice. It is anticipated that taken together, the three key outcomes listed here will inform the development of a model of professional learning for cultivating self-awareness in the contexts of critical GCE and social justice education that can be replicated in other educational contexts. The experiential learning cycle described in this paper supports the development of self-awareness and facilitates personal and professional growth. Participants become aware of personal unconscious bias, values, and belief systems within themselves along with insecurities (complexities) and begin to separate these personal aspects of self, from the values of critical GCE, and the professional self. Participants can also explore ways of integrating their personal self with their professional self in a healthy way. The process undertaken by the CoP highlights the value of reflective enquiry and the ethical responsibility of educators to engage with GCE and social justice matters. By providing a space for vulnerability, the CoP also addresses themes of safety, belonging, and imposter syndrome, which are vital considerations for TEs navigating the complexities of critical GCE. Through experiential practice, CoP participants will experience first-hand the universal difficulties and challenges learners experience when tasked with engaging in reflective practice in this way, thus enabling us to carve out paths that may make it a less daunting and scary task for others.

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