Between screens and classrooms: how students engage with global issues

Education is increasingly expected to prepare young people to engage with complex global challenges through Global Citizenship Education (GCE). This article draws on 128 discussion groups with students across Australia, Italy, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States to explore students’ perceptions of global issues and the roles of schools and social media in shaping them. Across all five contexts, students demonstrated awareness of major global challenges, including climate change, poverty, inequality, gender rights and geopolitical conflicts, suggesting a shared baseline of global awareness. However, the depth, nuance and emotional significance attributed to these issues varied according to national context and students’ proximity or lived experience. Social media emerged as students’ primary source of information, while schools were perceived as providing fragmented and cautious engagement with controversial topics. Despite this, students consistently expressed a desire for schools to address global issues more openly. The findings highlight the need for more coherent, dialogic GCE that bridges students’ digital experiences and critical classroom learning.