LAUSR

There has been a long tradition of demonstrating formal education’s direct relationship with many dimensions of development, including increased productivity, health, reduced mortality, population control etc. There has also been a literature looking particularly at the ‘democratic dividend’ from education, both through the lens of global citizenship as well as more generally through education’s influence on political participation. The successful securing of global citizenship education (GCE) within the ambitions of Sustainable Development Goal 4.7 in September 2015 was a further milestone in connecting social development with ‘democracy, good governance and the rule of law’. Accordingly, there are many telling examples of how GCE can be rolled out in school curricula, through many different school subjects, across the world. Arguably, however, the formal school system is far from being the only location where messages about citizenship, whether global, national or local, can be found. During the period, 2016–2019 in the USA and UK, with the huge rise in smart-phone usage world-wide, it has become apparent that there can be massive micro-targeting, through global platforms, of selected populations with multiple messages about citizenship, national identity, job security, migration threats, potential terrorism and a great deal else. Unlike the citizenship curricula and textbooks of formal schools which are easily accessible, a great deal of this new social media messaging is relatively inaccessible, using procedures that are a long way from traditional electioneering. They are also much less financially accountable, but it is clear that vast sums are now being spent on social media advertising, presenting an existential threat to democracy. The role and level of education in reacting critically to social media campaigning will need to be revisited in this new world of campaigning around global and national citizenship. It is no longer a discussion about education’s positive relationship with increased political participation, but whether current education levels are actually capable of dealing with the current threats to citizenship, at global, national and local levels.