by Daniel Casey-Dunn
Global citizenship is a key buzzword in all our schools and has been for the past 15 years. But what does it really mean? And how can we ensure that the students we work with are truly becoming global citizens?
The Framework
For me, this graphic is the clearest way to conceptualise global citizenship. From unaware to actively involved, we all fall somewhere along the spectrum. In our schools, the hope is that effective education pushes our students to the right – becoming active citizens.
Does this program, course, or CCA move students along the continuum? Is it designed for those at one end? What about the majority who fall somewhere in the middle? How do we help them move further to the right? And do we operate in contexts – political, economic, or otherwise – that allow us to use this framework with our stakeholders?
As I work with international schools around the world to craft impactful educational programs, these are the questions I return to daily.
Where Experiential Learning Comes In
When I was in school, I vividly remember my classmates complaining to our math teacher that what we were learning would soon be made obsolete by calculators.
Our math teacher’s response?“You won’t always have a calculator in your pocket.”
I think about that often now. With ChatGPT and AI on the rise, almost all of our students effectively do have a “calculator” in their pocket for nearly every subject. What they are learning in school today is not the same as what I learned, and the skills they need are certainly not the same.
What separates the people I hire is their soft skills, their ability to work in teams, and their flexible approach to learning and work. I worry that our students, especially in international schools, have amazing hard skills – from STEM subjects, the arts, and everything in between – but lack the soft skills and resilience to navigate difficult situations outside of the classroom.
I often find that the highest academic achieving students I work with struggle to complete a challenging hike, to contextualise why poverty exists in certain settings, or to grapple with the ethical implications of AI for factory workers in rural areas.
That’s why experiential learning is so important. Putting students in real-world situations where they can apply their knowledge and build resilience and empathy is key to developing global citizens.
The Service Connection
If we believe the main aim of our education systems should be to produce global citizens (yes, schools have 1,000 different aims, but I would argue this one is essential), then how should we structure learning both inside and outside the classroom?
First, I don’t think there is a one-size-fits-all model for experiential or service learning for our schools. Some schools travel once a semester with a strong emphasis on service. Others prefer summer trips abroad but keep trips short and close to home during the academic year. Others only run Duke of Edinburgh programs, prioritising outdoor education with no service element at all.
Personally, I think schools should approach trips the same way they (ideally) approach their curriculum: with flexibility, and with an emphasis on growth and continuity across school years.
Far too often, we see schools run just one program for one year group, with little alignment across grades. Outcomes are mismatched, providers are swapped every season, and schools are left wondering why their goals for out-of-classroom learning aren’t being met.
To ensure that students are on the right path to global citizenship, I fundamentally believe that every school should have a service-learning component built into their curriculum—and that programming outside of the classroom should be central to it.
It’s great to have trips that prioritise outdoor education or cultural competency, but I also believe that the more time we spend thinking of how to help others, the happier we become. For students, this effect is even more powerful as their brains are still developing.
In fact, I would argue that the best way to help students grow is through service programs that are not primarily about their own growth. Ironically, when the focus shifts to others, students gain the habits, ethics, and perspective that most effectively shape them into true global citizens.
By centring service and real-world experiences, schools can move students further along the global citizenship continuum – transforming knowledge into action, and empathy into responsibility.
The Roadblocks to Great Experiential Ed Trips (and How We Overcome Them):
Even with the best intentions, schools often face challenges when designing service learning and experiential programs. Here are some of the most common challenges that come up, and how we address them.
Roadblock 1: Overemphasizing Student Outcomes
Of course, student outcomes matter. But in service programs especially, the focus shouldn’t be solely on whether students are having fun or learning new skills. The deeper lesson is that service is contributing to others.
When students shift their perspective from“What am I getting out of this?” to “How can I be helpful?”, they develop humility, empathy, and a stronger sense of responsibility.
How we overcome it: We work with schools to design service opportunities where the emphasis is on meeting real community needs. Pre-trip framing and guided reflections help students reorient from personal achievement to genuine contribution. And the irony is – when service isn’t centered on them, students often grow the most, becoming more resilient and globally minded.
Roadblock 2: Reinforcing Stereotypes Instead of Breaking Them
Without careful framing, cultural and service programs can unintentionally highlight differences between students and the communities they visit. This can leave students feeling separate rather than connected – undermining the very goal of global citizenship.
How we overcome it: We build in strong facilitation before, during, and after trips. Pre-trip preparation helps students enter with curiosity instead of assumptions. On-site, experienced leaders and teachers guide discussions that highlight shared humanity. And post-trip reflections encourage students to process what they’ve seen in a thoughtful way. Together, these steps turn cultural differences into opportunities for empathy and understanding.
Roadblock 3: Limiting Definitions of Service
Schools sometimes arrive with strict parameters – “Our students can’t do manual labor,” or “They shouldn’t interact directly with locals.” While these concerns are understandable, they can narrow what service learning looks like and reduce its impact.
How we overcome it: We encourage schools to approach communities and partners with openness and flexibility. Service can mean building, yes, but it can also mean environmental restoration or supporting education. By showing students the wide range of ways to contribute, we broaden their understanding of service and help them see that small, authentic acts of support are truly valuable.
Roadblock 4: Turning Experiential Education into a Checklist of Curriculum Links
Curriculum connections are important. They give students a clear academic anchor for their experiences and help schools see tangible outcomes. But when every single activity is forced to tie directly to a unit of study, the greater potential of a program often gets lost. Students end up focusing on thetask instead of the growth.
How we overcome it: We design programs that balance curriculum links with a variety of experiences. Some activities may tie neatly to science, history, or literature. Others may stretch students in new, less predictable ways. This mix is essential because global citizenship isn’t built through one subject lens – it grows when students encounter diverse challenges and perspectives that come together to shape their worldview.
Roadblock 5: Letting Perfect be the Enemy of Good
It’s easy for schools to hesitate – wanting every program to be flawless before moving forward. But waiting for “perfect” often means opportunities are missed, and students lose the chance to learn through experience.
How we overcome it: We remind schools that the real value lies in the process. A program doesn’t have to be perfect to be transformative. When students try, reflect, and improve, they learn the lesson that growth comes through action. Modeling this mindset shows them that making an effort to contribute – even imperfectly – is better than not trying at all. That is ultimately how they begin to live as global citizens.
Get Your Students Out Into the Real World
At the end of the day, what matters most isn’t whether a trip runs perfectly smoothly or if a lesson plan checks every box – it’s whether our students are moving further along the continuum of global citizenship. When they come back from a program not just more knowledgeable, but more empathetic, more resilient, and more willing to serve others, that’s success.
Experiential learning gives students the chance to practice these qualities in real-world contexts. It pushes them outside of their comfort zones, challenges their assumptions, and helps them see themselves as part of something larger.
That, to me, is the real joy of this work: helping schools create programs where students can step into the world, learn from it, and begin to understand what it truly means to be global citizens.
LYIS is proud to partner with WildChina Education
Daniel Casey-Dunn is the COO of Beyond Classrooms and has been facilitating student experiences for the past 15 years. His work ranges from designing semester-long service-learning programs for Michigan State University in Detroit, Michigan, to leading weeklong ancient home restoration projects in Vietnam. Read on to discover his thoughts on how experiential education and service learning develops global citizenship. Above, he is pictured hiking in Kyrgyzstan, where he would love to take a student group.
To sign up for Daniel’s upcoming PD, scan the QR code below:
