“It’s a Fine Line to Walk”: Gatekeeping and Global Citizenship Education in Rural Contexts

This qualitative case study investigates how three rural secondary social studies teachers conceptualize and enact global citizenship education (GCE) through curricular–instructional gatekeeping. Grounded in Thornton’s framework of teacher autonomy and constraint and informed by Pashby et al.’s typology of neoliberal, liberal, and critical GCE outlooks, the study draws on two rounds of semi-structured interviews in one southeastern U.S. district. Findings reveal that teachers favored pragmatic, community-compatible forms of GCE emphasizing empathy, perspective taking, geographic awareness, and workforce preparation. Political polarization and local conservatism created climates of constraint that encouraged moderation and avoidance of advocacy. State standards simultaneously limited time for deeper inquiry and offered protection when teaching controversial issues. Participants largely reflected neoliberal and liberal orientations, with critical outlooks absent. The study extends gatekeeping theory to rural contexts and highlights the need for teacher preparation that supports globally minded yet context-responsive instruction.