IMPACT OF GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO HIGHER EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The investigation reconnoiters the connection of Global Citizenship Education (GCE) and its impact in advancing higher education in Nigeria for sustainable development. The study was carried out in Imo State University, Owerri, Nigeria. Three research objectives and three research questions guided the study. The population of the study consisted of 286 lecturers from the faculty of education in Imo State University. The population was manageable, so there was no sampling. A structured questionnaire titled “Impact of Global Citizenship Education and Sustainable Development Questionnaire (IGCECSDQ)” were used as the instrument for data collection.  The instrument was structured on a four-point rating scale of Strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A), Disagree (D) and Strongly Disagree (SD) weighted 4, 3, 2 and 1 respectively. The instrument was face validated by three experts; two from the Department of Art Education, one from the Measurement and Evaluation Unit, Department of Educational management, all in the Faculty of Education, Imo State. The reliability was determined at 0.84 using the Cronbach Alpha which was considered high enough for the instrument utilization. The research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation scores. The findings of the study revealed that global citizenship education, GCE significantly enhanced students' understanding of sustainable development challenges, including poverty, climate change, and social inequality. It fosters critical thinking about these global issues and their interrelated nature within the sub-sector. The study equally uncovers a range of challenges impeding effective GCE implementation in Nigerian higher education. These challenges encompass curriculum resistance, financial constraints, and the need for teacher capacity building. The findings of the study identify strategies to improve GCE within Nigerian higher education. These strategies identified include institutional support, curriculum integration, diverse pedagogical approaches, teacher capacity building; virtual exchange platforms and service learning. The study also underscores the need for standardized GCE frameworks and guidelines to provide a clear pathway forward. The findings hold implications for policy development and institutional reforms to promote GCE as a vehicle for nurturing global citizenship and addressing pressing global challenges within Nigerian higher education sector.