Research in Global Learning
Methodologies for global citizenship and sustainable development education
Douglas Bourn (Editor)
Young people around the world are calling ever more urgently on policymakers to address today’s global challenges of sustainability, structural inequality and social justice. So it is little surprise that learning in a global society, understanding sustainable development and being active global citizens are increasingly popular themes for education at all levels. Educational research makes a crucial contribution to knowledge that can address the great questions of our time, with evidence from diverse studies vital if we are to build a clear picture. Research in Global Learning showcases methods and findings from early career researchers who conducted illuminating studies around the globe, specifically in Brazil, China, Ghana, Greece, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Poland, South Korea, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, the United States and the United Kingdom.
The studies in this volume investigate four important themes: the relationship between policy and practice; opportunities and constraints in the education system and for the role of teachers; challenges for higher education; and the perspectives of young people and students. Flexibility of approach is crucial for successful educational research in varied environments, and is on show throughout this book. Depending on context, authors used case study, quantitative and qualitative research, participatory action research, longitudinal studies and analysis of textbooks through critical discourse analysis to demonstrate how learning about global learning and sustainability can inspire learners and contribute to quality education.
How Alex Bloom Built Radical Democratic Secondary Education in Post-war London
Michael Fielding, Mark Erickson,
01 September 2026
Creating a Framework for Developing Sessional Teachers in Higher Education
Neil Sutherland, Alex Standen,
24 August 2026
Bringing Powerful Knowledge into Classrooms
Mark Hardman, Marie Nilsberth, Mikko Puustinen,
02 July 2026
Co-production of Knowledge in Action
Cassidy Johnson, Vanesa Castán Broto, Wilbard Kombe, Catalina Ortiz, Barbara Lipietz, Emmanuel Osuteye, Caren Levy,
15 September 2025
Reading Randomised Controlled Trials
Robert Savage, Amy Fox, Anneka Dawson, Helen Gray, Clare Huxley,
03 March 2025
Research in Global Learning
Methodologies for global citizenship and sustainable development education
Young people around the world are calling ever more urgently on policymakers to address today’s global challenges of sustainability, structural inequality and social justice. So it is little surprise that learning in a global society, understanding sustainable development and being active global citizens are increasingly popular themes for education at all levels. Educational research makes a crucial contribution to knowledge that can address the great questions of our time, with evidence from diverse studies vital if we are to build a clear picture. Research in Global Learning showcases methods and findings from early career researchers who conducted illuminating studies around the globe, specifically in Brazil, China, Ghana, Greece, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Poland, South Korea, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, the United States and the United Kingdom.
The studies in this volume investigate four important themes: the relationship between policy and practice; opportunities and constraints in the education system and for the role of teachers; challenges for higher education; and the perspectives of young people and students. Flexibility of approach is crucial for successful educational research in varied environments, and is on show throughout this book. Depending on context, authors used case study, quantitative and qualitative research, participatory action research, longitudinal studies and analysis of textbooks through critical discourse analysis to demonstrate how learning about global learning and sustainability can inspire learners and contribute to quality education.
‘…Research in Global Learning manages to achieve its stated aims. For me, its greatest asset was the wide variety of contexts in which research was undertaken; the differing environments, outlooks and settings of each of the fifteen countries included in the text bring enormous richness to the perspectives offered, and provide an illuminating glimpse into places and systems that may well be unfamiliar to readers.’
Development Education Review
‘…its greatest asset was the wide variety of contexts in which research was undertaken; the differing environments, outlooks and settings of each of the fifteen countries included in the text bring enormous richness to the perspectives offered, and provide an illuminating glimpse into places and systems that may well be unfamiliar to readers.’
Policy & Practice: A Development Education Review
‘A valuable resource for researchers, educators and policymakers interested in global citizenship and sustainable education… The book’s strength lies in its emphasis on empirical research from various geographical and cultural contexts, offering a much-needed corrective to the traditional dominance of Western perspectives… Its global scope, emphasis on empirical research and focus on methodological diversity make it a significant contribution to the field.’
International Journal of Development Education and Global Learning
‘Research in Global Learning is a seminal reader in the key current issues in Global Education, including Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship Education. It marries vision, theory, policy and practice, and provides a broad global perspective on issues at the heart of current education, international cooperation and foreign policy debates. Many of the chapters in the book will become classics in the field. It sits on my desk as a source of hope, and I have used its inspiration and citation with diverse publics: policymakers in national administrations and international organisations, teacher and youth worker educators, school leaders, and broader audiences. I will continue to do so.’
Liam Wegimont, Executive Director Global Education Network Europe and Visiting lecturer, Trinity College Dublin, Bamberg University
‘This is an excellent resource both for teaching research and for reference by Doctoral and Masters students embarking on their thesis or dissertation. It is very clearly laid out using accessible language, with global authors giving an overview of research methodologies and theories related to their study. We are using it as a key resource in teaching critical research methods in our MA Education and Social Justice for discussion and inspiration from the global citizenship and sustainable development education research community.’
Angela Daly, Reader in Education and Global Learning, Liverpool John Moores University
‘This a must-read book. It is an outstanding record of the UCL Development Education Research Centre’s research activity on the topic of global education and learning. What makes this text unique and origina in comparison to the majority of books on the market on the same subject is that here global education and learning is addressed through rigorous empirical explorations. Thanks to the contribution of brilliant early career researchers and well established scholars, we now have a more comprehensive and deep insight of this timely and urgent topic.’
Professor Massimiliano Tarozzi, Unesco Chair of Global Citizenship Education, Bologna
‘There is a paucity of published work in the field of Global Education and Learning that develops research and outlines the necessary methodologies to undertake it. This book will be an important reference in my work and teaching to showcase the voice and significant contribution of early career researchers.’
Namrata Sharma, Adjunct Professor, State University of New York