Re-thinking Global Citizenship in Higher Education: from Cosmopolitanism and International Mobility to Cosmopolitanisation, Resilience and Resilient Thinking

Developing graduates as global citizens is a central aim of the internationalised university of the 21st century. International student mobility premised on notions of cosmopolitanism is regarded as a key component of the student learning experience. Yet there is little evidence to suggest the benefits of international mobility for intercultural understanding, which is an essential quality of the global citizen. This paper reports the findings of a Higher Education Academy-funded project exploring how students draw on their diverse backgrounds in developing resilience within multicultural learning environments. The research findings suggest that student diversity provides a rich source of lived experience that can be harnessed as a resource in developing graduates as global citizens. The paper therefore suggests that institutions re-conceptualise global citizenship as a concept embracing diversity, belonging, community and solidarity and support the development of pedagogies that embrace cultural biography and storytelling.