GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP IN THE ERA OF CLIMATE CRISIS :SHAPING STUDENTS AS PIONEERS OF ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

Abstract

The escalation of the global climate crisis and environmental degradation demand an 
educational transformation that does not just transfer knowledge, but equips the young 
generation as sustainability pioneers. Global Citizenship Education (GCE) is a vital 
instrument, but its implementation is often constrained by the gap between theoretical 
understanding and real changes in students' behavior. This research aims to explore 
GCE's strategy in shaping students as agents of change who have ecological awareness 
and environmental justice. This study applies the Systematic Literature Review (SLR) 
approach by complying with the PRISMA protocol. The data search was conducted 
exclusively on the Scopus database with a publication range of 2020–2026, which resulted 
in 11 empirical articles selected after going through a rigorous selection process and 
deduplication. Data analysis was carried out thematically to map the pedagogical 
approach and contribution of the study to the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13. 
The findings show a shift in the educational paradigm from conventional teaching to the 
development of critical competencies and real action through a multidisciplinary 
approach. The strategy of integrating art, technology, and Socio-Scientific Inquiry-Based 
Learning (SSIBL) has proven to be significant in reducing eco-anxiety and turning it into 
constructive hope. In addition, the use of local wisdom and linguistic landscapes was found 
to be effective in internalizing global values without uprooting students' cultural roots. 
The effectiveness of change agent character formation is achieved through the CARE
KNOW-DO framework, which aligns empathy, scientific validity, and active participation 
in the Open Schooling model. However, fundamental challenges are found in a curriculum 
that is still anthropocentric biased and standardized global assessments that often ignore 
the local socio-economic context. Education is required to navigate these tensions by 
strengthening the dimensions of epistemic justice and crucial literacy such as Ocean 
Literacy. The climate crisis has destabilized students' psychological states, so GCE must 
evolve through action-based pedagogy and interdisciplinary curriculum reform. 

Keywords: Global Citizenship Education; The Climate Crisis; Environmental 
Sustainability; Systematic Literature Review; Agents of Change