Global Education for the Twenty-First Century:
Designing a Global Citizenship Course
Fernando M. Reimers, Vidur Chopra, Connie K. Chung,
Julia Higdon, and E. B. O’Donnell

Global citizenship education is essential for creating a world with sus—
tainable peace—a world without poverty or hunger and where all have
health and education. A world where women and men have the same op—
portunities, where all have clean water and sanitation, where we use renew-
able energies, where there are good jobs for all, and where there is economic
growth and prosperity created by industry and innovation. A world where
we reduce inequalities and create sustainable cities and communities and
where we consume responsibly and no longer behave in ways that change
the climate or harm life on this planet. A world where we honor and protect
life underwater and on land. A world of peace and justice for all. These are
the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the compact adopted by the
United Nations in 2015 to advance sustainable global well—being (United
Nations, 2015). Quality education for all is not only one of those goals
but also central to the achievement of all of the other SDGs (Reimers 86
Villegas'Reimers, 2015).

If the purpose of education is to empower all students to become global

citizens, we must elevate our aspirations of what it means to educate chil—

dren well. The urgency to educate all students to become global citizens

xix