A philosophy must criticise the individualistic illusion if it is to think of social life starting from the institution. However, it is in order to raise the question of the institution that it is necessary to introduce concepts such as ‘tradition’ and ‘education’. Here we do not have a particular feature of certain societies nor an optional philosophical ideal, but rather a social necessity which affects any system based on the transmission of its institutions through the educational route, in other words, any human society: this system will have to impose on individuals a conception of the collective good, and this even in the case of an individualistic society whose definition of the common good would be the imperative to ensure the autonomy of each person.
DESCOMBES (2013, p. 154)
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In this first part, we analyse the complexities of the multifaceted concept that is global citizenship, by using a threefold approach that sheds light on its historical foundations, theoretical frameworks, and contemporary implications. The stage for discussing Global Citizenship Education is set by exploring the historical tensions within the International Bureau of Education during the interwar period. This historical context prompts us to examine conceptual tensions through a philosophical perspective, thus giving a new impetus to education and training sciences.
Indeed, as long-term promoters of international education and of a form of global citizenship, the nascent Education and Training Sciences greatly contributed to the prefiguration of UNESCO. Certainly, at the beginning of the 20th century, their institutionalisation was not as developed as it is today. However, the great thinkers of education, Jean Piaget and John Dewey, were precursors of the ideals of UNESCO, which still have very current resonance through the promotion, increasingly affirmed and shared over time, of global citizenship education. Nevertheless, to go beyond the simple defence of a supposedly common ideal, we must dare to enter the debate around this vague notion by firmly reconnecting Education and Training Sciences to classical sociology and political philosophy. It is in fact on this condition that cosmopolitanism
This then brings us to exploring the identity of Education and Training Sciences within the realm of Human and Social Sciences. Through comparative analysis, we examine the challenges of maintaining the integrity of Education and Training Sciences amid evolving educational landscapes. Lastly, we investigate the essence of the concept of citizenship in social sciences, focusing on collective decisions and the empirical reality of global citizenship. By examining the interplay between critical republicanism and political liberalism, we seek to understand the dynamics of freedom, citizenship, and the role of the state.