Reimagining the Future of Global Citizenship Education through Pancasila

Abstract

Global Citizenship Education (GCED) confronts conflicts between particular national responsibilities and obligations toward people beyond national borders. This study examines how an integrated interpretation of Pancasila can justify these obligations and inform educational practice. The conceptual reconstruction combines analysis of Indonesian constitutional, educational, and historical sources and UNESCO guidance with an interpretive synthesis of philosophical and critical GCED scholarship. The analysis develops five dimensions: ethical responsibility, relational humanity, rooted plural solidarity, deliberative participation, and justice-oriented collective action. Their contribution concerns how conviction, political attachment, representation, and justice constrain the justification of civic decisions. Particular responsibilities toward fellow citizens remain morally significant, while national advantage alone cannot justify serious, avoidable harm to others. A hypothetical conflict involving domestic employment and transboundary pollution examines competing basic interests, uncertain evidence, and differentiated remedial responsibilities. The framework identifies reasons that decisions must address without determining a single policy independently of contextual evidence. Educational implications concern inquiry into contested claims, assessment of reasoned disagreement, and civic projects that distinguish learners’ contributions from institutional obligations. The reconstruction offers a situated account of civic judgment within GCED; its interpretive premises remain contestable, and its educational applications require empirical examination.