The concepts of Development Education, Global Education and Global Citizenship have become prominent in discussions about Education worldwide. They are all distinct but overlapping fields, each with its own particular emphasis. All share an emphasis on participative methods and highlight the need for teacher education in order to be effective in schools.

Development Education encompasses the themes from the other two concepts and depends “upon the practitioner being knowledgeable and aware of development issues in their own subject area, but also being skilled in active and experiential learning. There is an emphasis on the educational process of reflection, analysis and action”. (Clarke, Clynes, Drudy & Healy, 2010)

Marshall regards Global Education as being associated with critical thinking; participatory and holistic learning; values relating to human rights and social justice; and issues relating to global interdependence (Marshall, 2007). It is suggested that the study of Global Citizenship

“…goes beyond simply knowing that we are citizens of the globe to an acknowledgement of our responsibilities both to each other and to the Earth itself. It is about valuing the Earth as precious and unique and safeguarding the future for those coming after us. It includes understanding the need to tackle injustice and inequality, and having the desire and ability to do so actively.”(Oxfam, 2003, p.5).

Thus, young people need to be better prepared to deal with issues such as diversity, equality and interconnectedness at the local, national and international context. Teacher education has the potential to play a key role in fostering and promoting Global/Development Education issues (Le Roux, 2001).

The School of Education at UCD has been researching the implementation of development education on the PDE course, with a focus on the student teachers, for a number of years (Clarke and Drudy, 2006; Drudy and Clarke, 2007; Bryan, Clarke and Drudy, 2009a; Bryan, Clarke and Drudy, 2009b). Development education issues are now at their most relevant in Ireland since the establishment of the State, due to the financial crisis. Education has suffered because of the crisis, as have all other spheres of life (Drudy, 2009). Funding available to Irish Aid and other NGOs has been diminished at a time when issues of poverty, injustice and human rights have remained at the core of the international agenda (Regan, 2002)

It is widely accepted that teacher education can play a key role in engaging with and promoting sustainable development education in the fight against local and global poverty and injustice. The aims of this research project were to examine the perceptions of PDE methodologists and supervisors at the School of Education, UCD with regards to a) development education and social justice issues across the curriculum and b) approaches to teaching and learning. Furthermore, the study wanted to gauge whether student teachers implement development education lessons in their specialist subject area and whether they employ active, interdisciplinary and team teaching approaches in the classroom.

Blaxter, L., Hughes, C. and Tight, M. (2009). How to research (3rd ed.). Glasgow: Open University Press. Borg, W. R. and Gall, M. D. (1989). Educational Research: An introduction (5th ed.). London and New York: Longman. Bryan, A., Clarke M. and Drudy, S. (2009a). A study of student teachers’ perspectives on social justice and development education. http:/www.ubuntu.ie/ubuntu_e-book2009.html Bryan, A., Clarke M. and Drudy, S. (2009b). Social Justice Education in Initial Teacher Education: A Cross-border Perspective. Electronic Publication: http:/www.scotens.org Clarke, M., Clynes, M., Drudy, S., Healy, C. (2010). Development Education and Active Learning in Second-Level Schools: An exploration of Teaching Practice Contexts, University College Dublin, Dublin. Clarke M. and Drudy, S. (2006). Teaching for Diversity, Social Justice and Global Awareness. European Journal of Teacher Education, 29(3), pp. 371-386. Drudy, S. (Ed.) (2009). Education in Ireland: Challenge and Change. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan. Drudy, S. and Clarke M. (2007). “Social Justice in Initial Teacher Education: Student Teachers’ Reflections on Praxis” In: Bhatti, G., Gaine, C. and Leeman, Y. (Eds). Social Justice and Intercultural Education: an Open-ended Dialogue. London: Trentham Books. Le Roux, J. (2001). Re-examining Global Education’s Relevance Beyond 2000. Research in Education. 65, pp. 70-80.