Ubuntu Network: Advancing Global Citizenship & Sustainable Development in Initial Teacher Education

Dr Joanne O'Flaherty; Deirdre Hogan

Submitted Case Studies

114 Ubuntu Network: Advancing Global Citizenship & Sustainable Development in Initial Teacher Education

Dr Joanne O'Flaherty and Deirdre Hogan

Description

Context

The imperative to address global challenges such as climate change, sustainability, and wealth inequality reinforces the urgent need for ESD and GCE in formal education. If education is to motivate and empower learners to become informed, active citizens who take action for a more sustainable future, ESD must be a core element of education

Since its establishment in 2005, the Ubuntu Network has become a national Centre of Excellence focused on embedding Global Citizenship Education (GCE) and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) into post-primary Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes in Ireland. Funded by Irish Aid (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) and located in the School of Education, University of Limerick, it is guided by three underlying principles

Community – it fosters a supportive and collegial community of educators from Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), working together to integrate GCE/ESD into ITE in a practical and interdisciplinary manner.
Care for people and planet – members stand in solidarity with victims of inequality and injustice, while also being driven by the fragility of ecological systems and the urgency of environmental conservation.
Striving for excellence – it uses experience and evidence to shape transformative practice, while continually adapting and critically reflecting to enhance GCE/ESD.

The Ubuntu Network’s goal is to enhance the provision of high-quality, evidence-based GCE/ESD into ITE curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment. It targets teacher educators in the 15 HEIs nationwide involved in post-primary ITE (67 programmes in total), supporting them to embed a living understanding of, and commitment to, global citizenship, sustainable development, and social justice in their work. This results in graduates entering the profession as active global citizens who integrate into their teaching and the schools where they work, perspectives that foster engagement in building a more just and sustainable world.

Relevant policy developments include Ireland’s ESD to 2030 Strategy which outlines measures to transform learning environments for ESD; the Irish Aid GCE Strategy 2021-2025 which seeks to increase the public’s understanding of global issues in formal and non-formal education; and the Teaching Council’s Céim: Standards for ITE (2020) which moved GCE and ESD from the margins to the mainstream of teacher education.

Purpose
The Network promotes education that:

reimagines knowledge, content, and curriculum to include global justice, sustainability, and human rights.
nurtures skills, attitudes, and ethical values that student teachers need to engage critically with complex global issues.
supports ongoing professional development and reflective practice among teacher educators.
fosters institutional cultural change that embeds GCE/ESD at a systemic level.

To achieve this, the Network has four interconnected core areas of work:

Curriculum: It embeds GCE/ESD in ITE teaching, learning, and assessment by funding and supporting multi-annual partnerships and annual projects.
Educators: It builds the capacity of teacher educators to embed GCE/ESD in their teaching through Ubuntu-facilitated professional learning events, Communities of Practice (CoPs), research projects, and working groups.
Research: It ensures that GCE/ESD provision in ITE is informed by and contributes to the evidence base.
Outreach: It disseminates learning and advocates for GCE/ESD with relevant stakeholders to ensure a more just and sustainable vision for Irish education.

Significance
The Ubuntu Network plays a vital role in advancing GCE/ESD in Ireland through a holistic, collaborative model. It provides a collegial, supportive space for higher education educators to share, research, and explore how justice and sustainability can be meaningfully embedded in ITE curricula. Drawing on diverse expertise and disciplinary perspectives, the Network ensures GCE/ESD is embedded through interdisciplinary, transformative approaches that foster meaningful dialogue and innovative practice in teacher education.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Engagement with the Ubuntu Network initiative is designed to deliver clear and measurable learning outcomes for teacher educators and student teachers. Participants will:

develop critical global citizenship competences (knowledge of global issues, empathy, and critical inquiry);
understand and apply sustainable development and global justice concepts within educational contexts;
cultivate reflective, ethical, and action-oriented teaching practices that empower learners to address complex social and ecological challenges;
embed GCE/ESD meaningfully within both subject-specific and cross-curricular teaching;
strengthen self-awareness and the capacity to navigate controversial issues, fostering inclusive and brave learning spaces;
apply interdisciplinary and student-centered pedagogies that link theory with classroom-ready strategies;
evidence impact through contributions such as research outputs, AoLs, and EoPs Practice; and
engage collaboratively in CoPs and professional learning.

Teaching and Learning Approach

Ubuntu’s pedagogical approaches actively embody transformative education principles, promoting active and critical pedagogies, for example

Arts-based methods that involve the creation and exhibition of art installations inspired by critical reflection on socio-ecological issues, e.g., the NCAD Change Lab.
Dialogic teaching – using strategies such as debate, Socratic questioning, and storytelling to foster critical thinking e.g., UCD critical questioning.
Place-based and experiential learning, which feature in community-oriented projects that promote engagement beyond the classroom, e.g., ATU St. Angela’s and ATU Connemara’s community-based sustainability projects.
Collaborative learning models that encourage peer-led initiatives such as interdisciplinary workshops, e.g., the MU Shared Learning Days on innovative approaches to ESD/GCE.
Creative Media: projects use diverse media to showcase students’/educators’ learning journeys, e.g., animations, podcasts, and graphic harvests.

Assessment Strategy

Each Ubuntu supported partnership and project is initially assessed by the project lead using qualitative and quantitative methods that are appropriate to their context.

Impact measures include Artefact of Learning (AoL)*, Exemplar of Practice (EoP) *, reflective journals, project-based assignments, peer-to-peer evaluations, action research projects, case studies, and critical self-assessment tools measuring student engagement with sustainability and social justice themes.

* An AoL is a sample of work created by a student teacher (e.g., digital media presentations, creative exhibitions, critical essays) that demonstrates their engagement with a GCE/ESD intervention and an accompanying narrative on how GCE/ESD was situated within that module.

* An EoP is a document/output that showcases a teacher educator’s approach to integrating GCE/ESD in post-primary ITE. It provides a structured narrative of the curricular approach and student teacher engagement.

Impact and Outcomes

The Ubuntu Network significantly advances the integration of GCE/ESD in post-primary ITE. Since 2021, student teacher engagement with GCE/ESD has risen from 2,071 to 3,595 (73%), and teacher educator participation from 42 to 77 (83%). Member HEIs report deeper, more critical engagement, with AoLs and EoPs reflecting stronger philosophical and pedagogical grounding.

Teacher educator capacity is evident in AY2024/25 outputs: 17 conference presentations, 5 journal articles, 6 MEd theses, 4 Final Year Projects, 1 book chapter, and 3 PhDs (in progress). Professional learning was further supported through 4 Ubuntu-led events, 4 CoPs, and 12 member-hosted CPD sessions, collectively reaching over 3,000 participants.

External evaluations affirm Ubuntu’s role in cultivating educators who recognise their agency in creating socially just learning environments. As the Teaching Council (2024) stated: “The significant contribution of the Ubuntu Network … is noteworthy in embedding Global Citizenship Education within programmes of ITE.”

Collaboration, Partnerships & Student Participation

The Ubuntu Network exemplifies robust collaboration across institutions, disciplines, and sectors, engaging students, educators, policy makers, NGOs, and community partners to advance GCE/ESD. Student teachers play an active role, with many leading GCE/ESD committees in their HEIs to plan activities and projects. Interdisciplinary events and CoPs promote student-led research and peer learning. In AY2024/25, over 3,000 participants attended member-hosted capacity-building events, many co-designed by student teachers.

Impact assessments show student teachers engaging positively with GCE/ESD content and methods. Their reflections consistently highlight shifts in worldview, stronger ethical commitments, and greater pedagogical confidence in addressing global issues. One student noted: “Without having learned to view these interactions (controversial conversations) through a social justice lens, I would have perpetuated the issue I was first exposed to when I was a student: silencing difficult conversations” (MU PME student teacher).

Student Engagement

With 20 years of experience, the Ubuntu Network has built a robust network of educators for global citizenship and sustainability across post-primary Initial Teacher Education (ITE). In the period from 2016 to 2025, it engaged over 21,000 student teachers across 14 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), spanning 37 Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes and 45 distinct modules. With the active contribution of 120+ academic and professional members, the Ubuntu Network continues to foster and support sustained, high-quality engagement among educators and student teachers, advancing the integration of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and Global Citizenship Education (GCE) across the post-primary ITE sector.

Disciplines

Arts and Humanities
Education
Teaching and Learning

Programmes

Professional Master of Education (UCD)
Professional Master of Education (UCC)
Professional Master of Education (UL)
Professional Master of Education (NCAD)
Professional Master of Education (MU)
Professional Master of Education (Hibernia College)
Professional Master of Education (ATU-SAC)
Professional Master of Education (DCU)
Professional Master of Education (UoG)
Professional Master of Education (TCD)
Bachelor of Science Education (MU)
BSc in Education (Design, Graphics and Construction) (ATU Connemara)
BEd in Art, Design & Communication Graphics (ATU Connemara)
BEd in Home Economics and Biology (ATU-SAC)
BEd in Home Economics and Religious Education (ATU-SAC)
BEd in Home Economics and Irish (ATU-SAC)
BEd in Home Economics (ATU-SAC)
Bachelor of Education in Sports Studies and Physical Education (UCC)
Maistir Gairmiuil san Oideachas (MGO) (UoG)
BA Mathematics and Education (BME) (UoG)
BA Education Computer Science and Mathematical Studies (CSM) (UoG)
MSc Education, Maths and Science (UCD)
BEd Languages (UCD)
Bachelor of Education in Languages (UL)
Bachelor of Science (Education) in Biology with Physics or Chemistry or Agricultural Science (UL)
Bachelor of Science (Education) in Mathematics and Computer Science (UL)
Bachelor of Science (Education) in Physical Science with Chemistry & Physics (UL)
Bachelor of Science in Physical Education (UL)
Bachelor of Technology (Education) in Materials & Architectural Tech (UL)
Bachelor of Technology (Education) in Materials & Engineering Tech (UL)
BA in Education, Business Studies and Accounting (MIC-Thurles)
BA in Education, Business Studies and Religious Studies (MIC-Thurles)
BA in Education, Gaeilge and Religious Studies (MIC-Thurles)
BA in Education, Gaeilge and Business Studies (MIC-Thurles)
BA in Education, Maths and Gaeilge (MIC-Thurles)
BA in Education, Maths and Business Studies (MIC-Thurles)
BA in Education, Home Economics and Business Studies (MIC-Thurles)

Best Practices & Resources

Top Tips

Co-Designed and Cross-Disciplinary Approaches to ESD/GCE: Engage students, NGOs, and faculty early to ensure initiatives are context-relevant and dynamic. Co-designed processes, such as UCC’s student-led exhibitions and peer learning groups, demonstrate how authentic collaboration strengthens outcomes. Embedding GCE/ESD creatively across disciplines, beyond foundation modules into subject-specific pedagogies like English, Business, and Home Economics, further enhances relevance and impact. For example, NCAD’s use of gallery installations deepens experiential learning, while the University of Galway integrates GCE/ESD seamlessly across Professional Practice, Research, and Methodology courses. UCD’s use of Special Interest Groups (SIGs) deepens thematic engagement and promotes cross-disciplinary GCE/ESD.
Build Sustainable Communities of Practice and Partnerships: Formalising relationships at senior leadership level secures systemic, long-term integration of GCE/ESD within and across institutions. Equally, supporting educator capacity through dialogue and Community of Practice (CoP) models sustains professional engagement and innovation. These professional communities, grounded in themes such as self-awareness, equity, and sustainability, extend impact beyond one-off interventions, ensuring GCE/ESD remains embedded across curricula and practice. Leveraging digital dissemination (e.g., research repositories, podcasts, newsletters) extends reach beyond immediate participants.
Prioritise Creative, Reflective, and Evidenced Approaches: Using reflective and creative methodologies (e.g., storytelling, place-based learning) fosters deeper engagement with complex global issues. Artefacts of Learning (AoLs) provide a powerful means of evidencing such engagement: capturing multimedia student outputs, whether artworks, digital portfolios, or research reflections, not only supports assessment but also enhances visibility and transformative potential. Examples include NCAD and UCC portfolios, which serve both as pedagogical tools and as public outreach resources.

Useful Resources

www.ubuntu.ie (Ubuntu Network Website)
https://ubuntu.ie/resources/ (Ubuntu Resources Page)
https://ubuntu.ie/news/ (Ubuntu News Page)

Funding Details

The Ubuntu Network is funded by Irish Aid Strategic Partnership 2022–2025 (Contract No. GCE/SP/Ubuntu/2023)

About the authors

name: Dr Joanne O'Flaherty

institution: University of Limerick

Ubuntu Network, School of Education, University of Limerick

name: Deirdre Hogan