Deconstructing neoliberalism in global citizenship discourses: an analysis of Korean social studies textbooks

Yoonjung Choi, Yeji Kim

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

32 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study explored ways in which official social studies textbooks in South Korea promote global citizenship given the dominant neoliberal ideology in the field of education. Employing soft versus critical global citizenship education (GCE) and critical discourse analysis, this study analyzed 12 middle-school (seventh to ninth grades) social studies textbooks that are mandatory in Korean public schools. The findings of this study demonstrate the prevalence of a neoliberal agenda and nationalist rhetoric in the global citizenship discourses in the textbooks. We discussed the extent to which themes for GCE including globalization, cultural diversity, peace, sustainability, and associated skills and dispositions were instrumental in perpetuating neoliberal economic values and nationalism while marginalizing social justice and multiculturalism in official textbooks.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)464-479
Number of pages16
JournalCritical Studies in Education
Volume61
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 7 Aug 2020

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Keywords

  • Critical discourse analysis
  • global citizenship
  • neoliberalism
  • social studies curriculum
  • textbook analysis

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Deconstructing neoliberalism in global citizenship discourses: an analysis of Korean social studies textbooks'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this