Omani Research Project Examines Adoption of Global Citizenship Education

Muscat: ‘Promoting Global Citizenship Education (GCED) in the Sultanate of Oman: An Analysis of National Policies’ by principal investigator Dr. Khalaf Marhoun Al Abri, Associate Professor of Education Systems and Policies at the College of Education at Sultan Qaboos University, is one of the innovative research projects funded by the Block Funding Program of the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation.

For this research project, Dr. Khalaf Al Abri and his team aimed to explore the extent of the adoption of global citizenship concepts and principles in Omani education by analyzing the reality of including global citizenship concepts in national policies in Oman. More specifically, through this paper, Dr. Khalaf analyzed school education policies and plans in Oman in light of the requirements and objectives of the global citizenship education, studied the reality of the application of education for global citizenship in primary schools in Oman, and monitored the challenges facing the application of education for global citizenship in primary schools in Oman.

The research team also developed proposals that would enhance education for global citizenship in Omani schools, monitoring the knowledge, behavior and attitudes of both teachers and students in Omani primary schools towards education for global citizenship, and implemented a training program for Omani primary schools to promote education for global citizenship based on the analysis of educational policies and plans as well as its practical application.

Dr. Khalaf mentioned that the results of the study indicated the emergence of the principles of global citizenship in the visions and missions of the Omani schools, however the study confirmed that these visions and messages must be reformulated in a new way, as there is a weakness in their formulation, as well as their inclusion of these principles. The results also showed the Sultanate of Oman’s interest in education for global citizenship through the inclusion in policy documents of the principles and elements of global citizenship, and its focus on building a global citizen.

According to Dr. Khalaf, based on the results of the study, the research team developed a training program for teachers, which was applied to a group of teachers in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and the Omani National Commission for Education, Culture, and Science. The research team was able to promote this training program at the regional level, as it was adopted by the UNESCO office in Doha, and the program was implemented in April 2023 for a group of teachers at UNESCO affiliated schools in Kuwait. – ONA