Left, right then left again : educators at the intersection of global citizenship education, technology and academic literacies

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to critically consider the roles that academic literacy facilitators fulfil in exposing students to Global Citizenship Education (GCE). In university disciplines, literacies are primary tools that students employ to interact with global events, knowledge, theories and problems. As such, multimodal literacies including written, audiovisual and cyber texts facilitate students’ access to the world through critical communication. Consequently, the authors construe GCE as disciplinary instruction that connects students to lived experiences beyond their own national borders. To demonstrate GCE, the authors employ the following methods for accessing, interpreting and generating knowledge: Firstly, a literature review is conducted. In doing so, key concepts and theories that define academic literacy and GCE are identified. Secondly, by combining reviewed literature that highlights GCE methods and scholarship pertaining to multimodal literacies, the authors make recommendations for integrating GCE into disciplines. In conclusion, the authors emphasise academic literacies, including digital discourses, as effective conduits for GCE principles and make further recommendations for future studies and methods that may be applied towards uniting literacies with international course content.