Model United Nations in Greece: senior high school students’ perspectives on global citizenship

[摘要] A Model United Nations School Conference is a brief role-play simulation, during which senior high school students take on the roles of delegates in various UN Committees. This thesis presents the findings from a qualitative longitudinal research study which followed 26 MUN senior high school delegates, in Athens, Greece, during their preparation and actual participation in three consecutive MUN conferences, from December 20 I 1 to March 2013. The research explored and exposed the MUN participants' perspectives on global citizenship in terms of knowledge, values , attitudes and skills the students saw themselves as developing, in light of their prolonged engagement in MUN. A range of data collection techniques were used, including participant observation and semi-structured interviews where the photo-elicitation technique was employed. The research in this thesis suggests that the senior high school students who participated in MUN were able to identify global citizenship as a potential citizen status, which entailed the acquisition of global knowledge, development of a sense of moral concern about and responsibility for addressing global issues, and a commitment to take collective action for a sustainable future. It also demonstrated that students had varying conceptions of global citizenship , mostly depending on the length of their engagement in MUN. The students who participated in all three MUN conferences related their experience to their development as global citizens, in terms of preparation for active citizenship in the future and a stimulus' for changing their own attitudes and perspectives in this regard. Preparation for and participation in this role play simulation seemed to have provided an ideal opportunity for the students to develop independent research and critical thinking skills, as well as public speaking, team working and problem-solving in an engaging, active learning, out-of-school environment.

[发布机构] University:University of Birmingham;Department:School of Education

[关键词] J Political Science;JF Political institutions (General)