Initial Teacher Education Programs (ITEPs) and Global Citizenship Education (GCE): A Comparative Study in Italy and Ireland

This study examines how Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes in Italy and Ireland prepare future teachers for Global Citizenship Education (GCE). Although promoted internationally through SDG target 4.7 (UNESCO, 2015) and the Dublin Declaration (GENE, 2022), GCE remains unevenly integrated in teacher education. The research investigates two university contexts in Italy and Ireland, through a qualitative comparative case study combining document analysis, semi-structured interviews, and focus groups with 32 participants (pre-service teachers and teacher educators). Findings indicate that GCE is systematically embedded in Ireland, while in Italy implementation result in more fragmented approaches. Shared challenges include conceptual ambiguity and the persistent theory–practice gap. The findings also highlight the decisive role of teacher agency in mediating how GCE is enacted across contexts. The study offers actionable recommendations to embed GCE within ITE curricula, advancing critical global citizenship and socially just teacher education.