Learning to Unlearn: Moving Educators from a charity mentality towards a social justice mentality

Educators hold a potentially pivotal role in promoting a just and sustainable
world for current and future generations. However, in reality, for
many schools and educators, global learning begins with charity and fundraising
or what Andreotti (2006) likens to ‘soft global citizenship’. This
‘charity mentality’ can distort people’s perceptions of other countries or
peoples, particularly of those in the ‘South’. This chapter discusses the
possible negative outcomes of a ‘charity mentality’ and how, by engaging
in critical reflections into local and global injustices, especially from the
perspectives of others, educators can begin to disrupt the ‘myths’ about
our relationship with the global ‘South’ and ensure a more equitable educational
response to global issues based on social justice.
This chapter endeavours to explore the possibilities for educators to
move from a ‘charity mentality’ towards a ‘social justice mentality’ and
how we, as educators, can engender this ‘social justice mentality’ in ourselves
and our pupils. Drawing upon research and qualitative evidence
from my school-based action research study funded by the Global Learning
Programme (GLP) Innovation Funding in the UK, this chapter examines
interventions used in a professional development scenario designed
around the ‘learning to unlearn’ ideology to encourage a process of critical
and reflective learning to produce a transformative move towards a
social justice mentality.