GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION IN PRACTICE: TEACHERS PHILOSOPHICAL COMMITMENTS AND CLASSROOM ENACTMENT IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Global Citizenship Education (GCE) has been positioned by UNESCO as a central educational response to globalisation, social inequality, and sustainable development. Despite widespread policy endorsement, limited empirical research-particularly in Global South contexts-has examined how teachers philosophical commitments to GCE translate into classroom practice. Drawing on the Theory of Planned Behaviour and a values-belief-action framework, this study investigates (a) secondary school teachers philosophical commitments to GCE and (b) the extent to which these commitments predict classroom enactment of GCE practices in Punjab, Pakistan. Using a cross-sectional survey design, data were collected from 450 in-service secondary school teachers and analysed using descriptive statistics, correlation, and multiple regression techniques. Results indicate that teachers report strong philosophical commitment to GCE (M = 4.12), but only moderate classroom enactment (M = 3.27), revealing a belief practice gap. Philosophical commitment emerged as a strong predictor of enactment (B = .41, p < .001), with school type also exerting a significant effect. The findings advance GCE scholarship by empirically demonstrating how teacher belief structures shape pedagogical practice within constrained institutional contexts.Implications are discussed for teacher education, school leadership, and policy implementation aligned with SDG 4.7.