EIU Best Practices Series No. 49: GCED for Social Justice and Development; A Case from Uganda

Creating a peaceful, trusting and supportive learning environment is a strong driver for a nation’s sustainable development. Any society whose citizens have no cognitive, socio-emotional and behavioral values like respect for self and humanity, is doomed for chaos. The concepts of Education for International Understanding(EIU) and Global Citizenship Education(GCED) in this programme emerge from the need for harmonious living in the society. Sustainable human and economic development is built upon the successful dissemination and implementation of EIU/GCED practices. To understand this better, let’s use the analogy of a bird that gains its momentum to fly from its feet, lungs and wings.

The contributor uses this analogy to illustrate that EIU/GCED is the foundation that exerts momentum for social development.

The contributor saw it necessary that for any sustainable development to flourish in Ugandan society, pragmatic values have to be perfectly blended with public awareness for they serve as the foundation of all economic, social, cultural and political efforts. The national value system should be based on a strong foundation on which all national efforts are rooted. The social aspirations of the citizens should be the ones that propel development needs and national priorities.

To effect sustainable development, we need to see schools as strategic intervention points. Recent times have, however, witnessed that the level of discipline and value inculcation gradually declined to near extinction. The distortion of the social setting that inculcated the ethical values in the young generation has called for a need to remedy the gap. The EIU/GCED is strategically tailored to inculcate Table of Contents moral principles and values in the children through the direct contact and support of the teachers of Early Childhood Development (ECD), both primary and postprimary levels.

The Nakaseke Core Primary Teachers’ College (PTC) is mandated to mainstream and promote the social uprightness of the community being a primary stakeholder in the integration of EIU/GCED in the Ugandan Primary Schools (PS) and Primary Teachers Education (PTE) Curriculum. Consequently, the training programmes were designed to enhance the capacity of PTC’s administrators, tutors and support staff, pre-service student teachers, district education officers and primary school teachers to inculcate the EIU/GCED moral values and principles among the learners. Students are then expected to apply EIU/GCED principles to their families and communities, and uphold the values of integrity, honesty, justice, responsibility, respect for humanity, hard work, unity and creativity.