‘Worldly’ pedagogy: a way of conceptualising teaching towards global citizenship

In this paper, we discuss the characteristics of a form of pedagogy capable of addressing differences across nations and cultures in ways that do not inflate differences. We suggest that those conceptual insights are particularly relevant to the teaching of ‘global citizenship’. We have labelled this a ‘worldly’ pedagogy, because of the connection to teaching in a global context, and with reference to Arendt's concept of ‘worldliness’ and the ‘worldly’ experience of human beings in their plurality sharing a ‘common world’. Our conceptual framework results from our analysis of a specific educational environment which we investigated through a small grant obtained from the Higher Education Academy (UK) that examined the pedagogies used to promote learning amongst two polarised (Palestinian and Israeli) communities. We carried out eight interviews with participants to this programme and report on the outcomes of this study. This paper contributes to the debate on tribal identities through the challenge it offers to positions on difference that display rigid essentialising identity readings and to homogenising discourses that fail to appreciate the differences within cultures/nations/groups.