This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Worldwide, deep societal changes brought by globalization, the expansion of ICT (information and communication technology) and increased cultural and ethnic diversity have entailed an unprecedented rise in interest for post-national and global citizenship models. This has resulted in a growing body of literature from various fields such as education, psychology and philosophy. However, global citizenship seems to be both an attractive and contested concept. Attractive because we all seek to find answers as to how to better live together in a globalized world. Contested because it appears conceptually fragile and difficult to implement in national contexts (Dower & Williams, 2016;Pashby, 2015). In the first part of this editorial, we analyze how it has become a strong focus in educational, political and intellectual discourse. The second part addresses the lack of conceptual clarity as well as the conceptual divides associated with it. The third part describes the possibilities and opportunities of implementing global citizenship in educational landscapes.

In this concluding chapter, we first consider some common obstacles to achieving the implementation of global citizenship education (GCE) identified in the different national contexts presented in the book and reiterate how different contexts call for diverse designs and operating strategies. Second, we examine why GCE has become a highly contested concept, subject to multiple interpretations and in which a wide range of conceptions and objectives coexist. Third, we present considerations for implementing GCE in educational policies and suggest operationalizing GCE within three distinct fields: (a) education for sustainable development (ESD); (b) inter/multicultural education; (c) citizenship education. We argue that this strategy could help link these fields and broaden students' understanding of the interconnections between issues related to citizenship, democracy, participation, identity, inter/multiculturalism, global issues and sustainable development. Finally, we synthetize current research on GCE and conclude by calling for more comparative and critical research to challenge GCE's underlying assumption of the universality of Western paradigms and worldviews to embrace multiple ways of conceiving global citizenship.

In today's globalized and interconnected world, inequality, human rights violations and poverty still jeopardise peace and environmental sustainability. In response to these challenges, global citizenship education (GCE) has been identified as a means to prepare youth for an alternative, inclusive and sustainable world. Indeed, efforts to move along a sustainable development path may only be achieved by promoting global social justice. Therefore, schools have a fundamental role to play in empowering learners to become responsible and active global citizens. GCE has suddenly become a strong policy focus in international agendas, in particular in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit in September 2015. Its promising aim to empower learners to act responsively towards global issues draws attention to the pressing need to foster global citizens; thereby promoting more peaceful, inclusive and sustainable societies. Closely linked to human rights, it conveys values of respect, diversity, tolerance and solidarity (UNESCO 2015). However, this publication attests that GCE is a contested concept and subject to multiple interpretations. Despite the universal reach of its human values, the practice of citizenship is closely related to national context. GCE therefore requires an adaptation to regional, national and global dimensions of citizenship, making its operationalization in national educational policies challenging. This book aims to contribute to the international debate, question the relevancy of GCE's policy objectives and their possible articulation with local and national perspectives, ideologies, conceptions and issues related to citizenship education.

The article examined the impact of pre-primary education in Lao PDR on children’s school readiness and numeracy. Using a quasi-experimental research design, we compared children (ages 4 and 5, N = 445) in five districts across three groups: (1) attending a school with an NGO-government collaboration, (2) attending a school without an NGO-collaboration, and (3) not attending school. Quality was assessed using the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale. Results show that pre-primary schools with an NGO-collaboration were higher in quality than other schools. Children in a school with an NGO-collaboration scored higher on school readiness than both other groups of children; the impact on numeracy differs by age. Five lessons learned are discussed.

This critical review aims to question whether or not the enthusiasm around early childhood care and education (ECCE) programmes is producing premature models, ill-adapted to West African socio-cultural contexts. Reviewing research that investigates the impact of ECCE on cognitive development and school readiness, we first focus on the universal valuing of formal ECCE, supported by both scientific research and international education agendas. Second, we present a classification that provides a framework to grasp the multiplicity of ECCE programmes and models across West African countries and their relevance to local contexts. Based on the literature reviewed, we conceptualise a multilevel model of ECCE within a holistic and ecologic approach. In the third part, we present research that underlines the challenges for educators and their central role in the design of culturally relevant ECCE. The fourth part will draw from research findings and stress the need to rethink appropriate methods and research tools to assess the quality and outcomes of ECCE programmes in West Africa. We conclude by proposing to move away from ECCE perspectives in which marginalised communities are perceived as deficient towards locally relevant and socially just models.