INTRODUCTION

Implementing integrated curriculum poses several challenges. Faculty members have

concerns about transitioning to an integrated curriculum and about students' ability to
engage in self-directed learning. Providing early clinical exposure to students and
organizing activities and practical sessions are also challenging aspects of
implementation. Additionally, developing student skills for critical appraisal of scientific
literature and establishing closer links with the community and the health system are
areas that require attention. The language and lack of consensus surrounding
integrated curriculum contribute to uncertainty and resistance to change. Furthermore,
implementing an integrated curriculum requires significant time and resources, including
teacher training and cooperation. Overall, the challenges of implementing integrated
curriculum include faculty apprehensions, logistical considerations, the need for skill
development, and the requirement for adequate support and resources.

Global Citizenship Education (GCED) is one of the targets of the United Nations
Sustainable Development Goal. Implementing a curriculum can be challenging due to
various factors. One challenge is the readiness of teachers, including their attitudes,
knowledge, and behavior. Also, another challenge is the structural and cultural
constraints that can hinder the successful management and implementation of the
curriculum.

Every curriculum is based and covers the cultural universal, cultural specialties and
cultural alternatives. These are reflected in the school curricular. Other factors include
beliefs about the importance of learning about other countries, how countries relate to
each other, speaking a foreign language, social media use, and attitude towards
participatory citizenship are also associated with global competence. factors such as
global community concept, multinationalism, general citizenship, and national identity
also contribute to cultural competency. These factors highlight the importance of
knowledge, skills, attitudes, gender, social interactions, and awareness of global issues
in developing global citizenship competencies.
Additionally, there may be challenges related to the availability of instructional materials
and resources, as well as the need for coordination among teachers for integrated
courses. The modular approach to curriculum implementation also presents challenges,
such as the need for teachers to adopt new teaching strategies and students'
approaches towards deep learning. Furthermore, administrative challenges, such as
inaccurateness and improperness in implementation, can also hinder the effective
implementation of a curriculum.
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Statement of the Problem
The study aimed to determine the challenges on GCED implementing integrated
curriculum.
Specially the following problems were answered.
1. What are the potential benefits of implementation an integrated curriculum?

2. How these benefits compare to challenges faced by educators and students?

3. How does the integration of different subject areas in curriculum impact

students?

4. What are the best practices for designing and implementing an integrated
curriculum?

5. How can these practices be adapted to different educational settings and

context?

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Significance of the Study

This study is significant because the findings serve as the basis an intervention
program. Specially, the effects would be beneficial to the following Individuals:

School Administrators. The results of this study will provide insight into the
quality of current curriculum implementation. And the study’s implications may
eventually guide revision of classroom practices and curriculum development under
GCED.

Curriculum Planners. The findings will help the curriculum planners to have an
appropriate guide and recommendation to be considered in the formation of
implementation of GCED curriculum. Any subject or learning area needs a professional
understanding of what problem is to be analyzed. A strong curriculum support system is
necessary to produce holistically-developed GCED curriculum.

Students. Information drawn can be very helpful and beneficial in enabling he

student to be more focused and proficiency will allow them to determine their personal
strength s and weaknesses in school.

Future Researcher. The information and insights that will be gained from this
study may serve as guide for other researchers.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Curricula integrating global citizenship education (GCED) can be a driver toward
achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2015–2030
because of the connection between SDG targets and GCED ideals. GCED empowers
learners to address global challenges and to “become active promoters of more
peaceful, tolerant, inclusive, secure and sustainable societies” (United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization [UNESCO], 2019).The SDGs
espouse aligned ideals; for instance, Goal 16 emphasises promoting just, peaceful,
and inclusive societies with strong institutions to support sustainable development.
Goal 4 promotes inclusive, equitable and quality education; target 4.7 specifically
lists human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-
violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity as essential in
education. Ideals underlying GCED have been labelled as global mindedness and
global consciousness; these link to intercultural competence whereby intercultural
understanding, international mindedness and agency is key (Barker, 2000; Perry &
Southwell, 2011). GCED also fosters appreciation of human rights, diversity,
cosmopolitanism, our interconnectedness with, and impact on, the world at large
(Harshman & Augustine, 2013; Tawil, 2013; United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), 2017a, 2017b).

More traditional approaches to citizenship education predominantly focusing on the

nation state, patriotism, and one national level of identity often conflict with GCED.
GCED focuses less on teaching about one’s national status and rights to include
broader citizenship values and skills for global mindedness and agency.
Nevertheless, the goal of GCED would not be to alienate students from the sense of
a nation, but to foster a balance of levels of cultural, national and global
identifications. This “allows students to maintain attachments to their cultural and
ethnic communities while at the same time helping them to attain the knowledge
and skills needed to participate in the wider civic culture and community” (Banks,
2001, p. 8). Teaching practices can support or undermine impactful GCED.
Progressive teaching approaches, meaning authentic, learner-centred approaches
for higher-order cognitive and affective development supporting agency and
decision making are desirable for GCED, as opposed to traditional teaching, which
tends to focus on direct knowledge transmission and lower-order skills (Tawil, 2013;
UCL Institute of Education, 2017). A teacher’s conceptual knowledge of GCED is also
important for practice; however, research indicates teachers often lack training in
GCED topics (Amadeo, Torney-Purta, Lehmann, Husfeldt, & Nikolova, 2002; Larsen &
Faden, 2008; Schulz et al., 2017; UCL Institute of Education, 2017). This is
problematic because GCED themes are more effectively integrated when practiced
in a cross-curricular fashion with connections among disciplines, which requires
well-trained faculty to work together. Sustainable success in supporting teacher
education for global themes is also linked to the vision of faculty (Roberts, 2007).
Simultaneously, a teacher’s affect, or personal mindset, for GCED and sustainable
development influences impact in that global mindedness and enthusiasm towards
GCED themes support effective practices (Harshman & Augustine, 2013; UCL
Institute of Education, 2017).
Conflict-affected societies struggle to provide quality education (Quaynor, 2012),
and could benefit from developing local approaches to work toward SDG 4 with
GCED as a mechanism. Writing on citizenship education in conflict-affected Northern
Ireland, once a locus of much sectarian violence, Gallagher and Duffy (2016)
stressed the value of more comparative work on lessons learned in other conflict-
affected areas to build an effective curriculum. Lebanon is one conflict-affected case
where extreme sectarian violence marked the civil war of 1975–1993. Lebanon has
committed to the SDGs but challenges in education reform, sectarianism, public
governance, and infrastructure further exacerbated by impacts of the Syrian
refugee crisis are ongoing (Lebanon Voluntary National Review (VNR) on SDGs,
2018; United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), 2018). The Lebanese
Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE) is still working towards updating
the mandatory Lebanese National Curriculum (LNC) and textbooks after the last
reform in 1997.
Lebanon has faced multifaceted contextual challenges in developing the LNC.
Teaching approaches in the Arab region are often characterised as authoritarian,
focusing heavily on direct knowledge transmission for nationalistic aims (Akar &
Ghosn-Chelala, 2015). Although civic education curricula in the West may share this
problem (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004), efforts toward more international and
progressive approaches have been more apparent, such as in Canada, Finland,
Ireland, and Scotland (UCL Institute of Education, 2017) than in the Lebanese case.
Direct knowledge transmission does not align with learner-centred teaching to foster
higher-order thinking, agency, or cross-disciplinary competencies desirable for
GCED (e.g. (Tawil, 2013; UCL Institute of Education, 2017)). For Lebanon, outdated
civics textbooks from 1997 promoting authoritarian direct knowledge transfer
(Shuayb, 2015) leave little room for progressive teaching and research on teachers
and their development is scarce (CEAR, 2013).
The issues surrounding the LNC reflect a fragile political landscape somewhat
paralysed by its past. For example, attempts to produce a standardised history
textbook covering Lebanon’s civil war period were unsuccessful owing to the
absence of political agreement upon its content (Abouchedid, Nasser, &
Blommstein, 2002). Religion, a critical factor in Lebanon’s civil war, is excluded from
the LNC but is important for reconciliation and building intercultural understanding
in diverse communities (Abouchedid, Nasser, & Blommestein, 2002; Barb, 2017;
Gallagher & Duffy, 2016). Although the civics curriculum - the LNC program for
teaching citizenship - espouses themes connected with GCED such as human rights,
world development and conflict resolution, the aligned textbooks require updating
for relevant contemporary themes, including peace education (Shuayb, 2015) and
digital citizenship (Ghosn‐Chelala, 2018). Dating from 1997, the LNC also has no
formal digital technology component, which would be key to preparing public school
students in Lebanon for participation in today’s globally interconnected, digital
world (Ghosn‐Chelala, 2018). Curricular revision has proven difficult as well-
established mechanisms for quality curriculum development and teacher
development are lacking (Zakharia, 2011).
More research for supporting GCED in non-Western countries is needed (e.g. UCL
Institute of Education, 2017; Zaval & Cornwell, 2015)), especially for conflict-
affected cases like Lebanon. In summary, relevant studies indicate that:
 1)
GCED supports SDG achievement, which are particularly important for developing
and conflict-affected countries such as Lebanon (UNESCO, 2017a).
 2)
Teacher practice and mindset are pivotal to GCED impact (UCL Institute of
Education, 2017).
Literature on Lebanon’s case informs us that:
 1)
The LNC aims espouse GCED constructs, but authoritarian and direct knowledge
transmission teaching practices are prevalent, as opposed to progressive
approaches favoured for GCED (Akar & Ghosn-Chelala, 2015).
 2)
LNC content is influenced by national challenges including conflict-related tensions
(Abouchedid et al., 2002), which can undermine GCED; this highlights the criticality
of the teacher’s role in supporting GCED.
 3)
Research on LNC teachers is highly limited (CEAR, 2013).
This work takes Lebanon as a case in point guided by the research question: What
are the implications for GCED associated with teachers’ views and contextual
challenges at Lebanese public schools? Focusing on implications for GCED, it
presents a qualitative, exploratory study on Lebanese public-school teachers’ views
regarding 1) aims and priorities of citizenship education, 2) best teaching practices,
and 3) perceived contextual challenges. It draws upon the literature to identify
contextual challenges and parallels for conflict-affected contexts. This research is
significant for its focus on GCED as a lens for analysis in relation to challenges in a
non-Western, conflict-affected country and its comparably large sample of 56 public
school teachers in Lebanon.
The literature first outlines broad constructs of GCED. It then highlights
recommended teaching approaches and the role of teacher practice and mindset in
supporting GCED in the classroom. Finally, it provides an overview of citizenship
education in Lebanon as a conflict-affected country and related contextual
challenges, focusing on implications for GCED. Parallels are drawn with other
conflict-affected states.
In contrast to a citizenship education prioritising national identity and patriotism,
GCED espouses a broader conception of citizenship. (Wintersteiner, Grobbauer,
Diendorfer, & Reitmair-Juárez, 2015). It promotes appreciation for, and commitment
to, universal values, including interconnectedness, intercultural understanding and
diversity, multiple levels of identity, social justice, peace, and sustainability. It aims
to foster collective and long-term wellbeing among communities through a global
and local, or ‘glocal’, focus. Ultimately, GCED can support the achievement of the
SDGs: for instance, Goal 16 emphasises promoting just, peaceful, and inclusive
societies with strong institutions to support sustainable development. Goal 4
promotes inclusive, equitable and quality education and, through target 4.7,
emphasises human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and
non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity (UNESCO,
2017b; United Nations, 2015).
While GCED implementation is not a well-defined process and has no ‘one-size-fits-
all’ (Palmer, 2018), for impactful teaching of GCED progressive practices are
recommended. The aim of impactful GCED is to promote cognitive and affective
learning that is meaningful, sustainable and lifelong. Students learn to value
universal constructs as well as empathise and act with others beyond and within
national borders. This requires an intercultural competence with international
understanding, international mindedness and agency (Barker, 2000; Perry &
Southwell, 2011). Students not only understand their interconnectedness with
others and impact on the world at large but are motivated to act to solve ‘glocal’
problems while maintaining their own cultural identities alongside broader levels of
citizenship (Banks, 2001; UNESCO, 2017b). Progressive approaches would not only
foster authentic, learner-centred activities that promote higher-order thinking to
equip learners with cognitive skills, but also foster affective skill development
important for agency and decision-making within communities (Dewey, 1897; Tawil,
2013; UCL Institute of Education, 2017). This is not limited to any one discipline. For
instance, finding solutions to injustices towards the natural environment, or
protecting a community’s right to a healthy environment, involves natural and
applied science, civics, and geography among other disciplines. Underlying
approaches would emphasise dialogue, cross-curricular integration, developing
thinking skills, teaching students how to learn, fostering teamwork, exploiting
technology to support learning, and stimulating creativity (Saavedra & Opfer, 2012),
shifting away from traditional knowledge transmission and rote learning.
Particularly, definitions and standards for digital citizenship have transformed to
espouse progressive approaches to learning through encouraging the application of
digital technology in a transcendental fashion whereby students aim to solve social
problems and improve communities (Casa-Todd, 2017; ISTE, 2018; Magaña, 2017).
These definitions align well with GCED and characterise a learning approach with
sustainability in mind. In the prominent International Society for Technology in
Education (ISTE) standards, Standard 7 for students, ‘Global Collaborator’, expects
students to “use digital tools to broaden their perspectives and enrich their learning
by collaborating with others and working effectively in teams locally and globally”.
Within the standard broadening mutual understanding, examining issues from
multiple viewpoints, and investigating solutions to ‘glocal’ problems are all target
outcomes. In ISTE Standard 3 for teachers, ‘Citizen’, teachers are expected to
“Create experiences for learners to make positive, socially responsible contributions
and exhibit empathetic behaviour online that build relationships and community”
(ISTE, 2018).
The next section presents literature on challenges to effective GCED, particularly for
conflict-affected contexts, and highlights the importance of the teacher’s role.
In practice, challenges to providing impactful GCED exist. Teaching for recognition of
global challenges, awareness of increasing inter-connectedness of peoples and
places, and the need and motivation to act across national boundaries to develop
solutions is challenging (UNESCO, 2017b). A focus on nationalism in education
policies has limited the attention given to global interconnectedness in favour of
fostering patriotism and single national identities (Akar, 2012; Banks, 2001). Local
and national considerations tend to be the focus of teaching in many countries
(Arthur, Beecher, Death, Dockett, & Farmer, 2008). “It is in the training of teachers
… that there are perhaps the most important openings to address the lack of
learning about global citizenship in the classroom. The Global Goals on ‘Responsible
Consumption and Production’, Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions and ‘Reducing
Inequality’ should be on the curriculum of these subjects” (UCL Institute of
Education, 2017, p. 24). Education in Arab countries shares these characteristics
(Akar & Ghosn-Chelala, 2015). Nationalistic aims tend to put aside diversity and the
human perspective such that “practices and outcomes of citizenship education
reveal degrees of social exclusion … and infringement on intellectual freedoms”
(Akar & Albrecht, 2017, p. 547). Exacerbating this, accountability in teaching is
often measured by official exams requiring memorisation of predominantly
nationalistic and authoritarian constructs on the part of students (Akar & Ghosn-
Chelala, 2015; Tawil, 2013). According to Westheimer and Kahne (2004), “the
narrow and often ideologically conservative conception of citizenship embedded in
many current efforts at teaching for democracy reflects not arbitrary choices but,
rather, political choices with political consequences” (p. 1).
Teacher global mindedness and personal motivation towards GCED can support
classroom practice and should be addressed in teacher education (UCL Institute of
Education, 2017). Teachers need to be both able and willing to integrate a ‘glocal’
perspective, or mindset, into the classroom. To do so, they need help developing
such mindsets for themselves (Barker, 2000). Some suggestions for achieving this
include strengthening focus on GCED themes in teacher education, exchange
programs, and cross-border online communication with peers as professional
learning communities (PLCs) (Barker, 2000; Harshman & Augustine, 2013). In a
review of research on the impact of PLCs for teachers, Vescio, Ross, and Adams
(2008) find positive collective results on teaching practice and student
achievement. Teacher development in cross-disciplinary teaching is also needed for
impactful GCED, but in traditional teacher education programmes, teachers focus
on learning to deliver the content of their individual disciplines. Practice examples
from 17 countries found that GCED themes are often addressed in a parallel way
per discipline rather than through cooperative means among fields (UCL Institute of
Education, 2017). Moreover, the teacher’s role in fostering higher-order thinking is
especially critical in conflict-affected countries where contextual realities highly
deviate from ideals promoted in citizenship education. In conflict-affected countries,
students are often exposed to political corruption and discrimination as well as poor
quality curricula; teachers must help students to reconcile ideals and realities
(Quaynor, 2012). Research from conflict-affected contexts and beyond has been
calling for dialogic teaching, which promotes inquiry and critical thinking through
student-centred discourse (Akar, 2016; Sedova; Sedlacek, & Svaricek, 2016).
Prevalent indicators of dialogic approaches include student-initiated questions,
student talk time, and teacher use of open-ended and complex questions about
student perspectives and sophisticated feedback or questioning of student
responses (Molinari & Mameli, 2013; Nystrand, Wu, Gamoran; Zeiser, & Long, 2003).
To achieve this, teachers would need to be competent in approaching discussions.
In the spirit of a Freirian ‘conscientization’ (Freire, 1970), teachers well-prepared in
GCED mindsets and progressive teaching approaches could support learners in
acquiring values and skills to emancipate themselves, and others, from corrupt
realities and poor curricula towards achieving SDG targets. Teacher education has
yet to meet this challenge, and in conflict-affected contexts quality training and
resources are often lacking (CEAR, 2013; Quaynor, 2012). The next section
describes Lebanese contextual realities pertaining to the LNC and implications for
GCED. It also notes some pertinent similarities to other conflict-affected states.
Lebanon’s history of Pan-Arabism, sectarianism, civil war, and identity conflicts is
rooted in diversified political parties and 18 officially recognised religious sects. The
nation’s turbulent history has impacted curricular reform. The last major curricular
reform was in 1997 and was in response to the devastation of the 1975–1989 civil
war. The need for social reconstruction alongside a dual Lebanese and Arab identity
for Lebanese citizens was key to this change (Akar & Ghosn-Chelala, 2015).
Since the implementation of the 1997 reform, revised curricular aims included
fostering some founding principles aligning with global citizenship as part of the
compulsory civics program (see Ministry of Education and Higher Education [MEHE],
1997; or (Shuayb, 2015)). These aims underscore not only citizenship constructs
such as nationalism, patriotism and Lebanese-Arab identity, but also broad GCED
themes including human rights, conflict resolution, equality, diversity, world
development, and critical debate. However, LNC civics textbooks date from 1997,
and some related contemporary themes are absent. For instance, peace education
as a theme is not part of the texts (Shuayb, 2015). Digital citizenship learning
themes explicitly aligning with the SDGs and GCED are absent (Ghosn-Chelala,
2018) and no formal information and communication technology (ICT) curriculum is
present (Zakharia, 2011). These shortcomings challenge achieving LNC aims, GCED,
and quality education. For instance, lack of an established ICT curriculum deprives
students of quality, contemporary learning opportunities for global citizenship in
today’s interconnected digital world. An integrated program for digital citizenship is
key to this kind of learning (Ribble, 2015).
Like other conflict-affected states where struggles for quality education, human
rights, democracy, social cohesion, and social justice are particularly acute
(Quaynor, 2012; United Nations, 2015), Lebanon not only struggles with revisions
for quality and timely curricula, but also with its current national civics curriculum
that exhibits contention between narrow and broader types of citizenship. Shuayb
(2015) characterises Lebanon’s curriculum as having “fluctuation and sometimes
paradoxical emphasis on both human rights and nationalism … between global and
local citizenship education” (p. 147). For instance, despite appreciation of diversity
and conflict resolution being mentioned in the aims, one way of inculcating a
common national identity has been the avoidance of classroom discourse on the
various groups and identities within Lebanon (Zakharia, 2011). This is reported in
research on citizenship education in other conflict-affected countries as well,
including Northern Ireland and South Africa (Quaynor, 2012). Furthermore, a highly
nationalistic focus on a unified identity in LNC content contends with GCED, “which
promotes the concept of a citizenship beyond borders and nation-state” (UNESCO,
2017a, p. 18). In related discourse on education regarding world citizenship,
Friedman (2000) states that although education focusing on group identity can be
divisive, temporary divisiveness and recognition of group-based privileges and
burdens can motivate change and sacrifice in the pursuit of a more just world.
Recommended GCED practices include the promotion of higher order thinking in
tackling authentic issues for the collective good, including beliefs about levels of
identity (Akar, 2016; Quaynor, 2012). For Lebanon as a conflict-affected state with a
history of religious persecution, this is crucial. It is also important to note the
dissatisfaction shown by Lebanese teachers regarding corruption exhibited by their
political leaders. When interviewed, teachers expressed that political powers act in
contention with democratic ideals of citizenship (Akar, 2007). Similar attitudes
about corruption in governance are found in citizenship education research in Serbia
and Bosnia-Herzegovina, which experienced violent sectarian conflict (Quaynor,
2012). In Lebanon’s Voluntary National Review (VNR) on SDGs (2018), corruption
was also cited as an impediment to achieving sustainability. The ongoing refugee
crisis, leaving over one million Syrian refugees registered in Lebanon, Lebanon’s
strained resources (UNHCR, 2018) and its violent past, underscore the urgency of
critical dialogue and GCED as a sustainable way forward.
Despite this urgency and the rather democratic aims of the LNC that fit with GCED,
pedagogy and assessment generally focus on the ability to recite knowledge
dictated by the government, thus civics classrooms see more direct instruction for
content memorisation than progressive approaches. A study of LNC civics textbooks
confirms promotion of direct approaches (Shuayb, 2015). Practices of citizenship
education, similarly to other Arab countries, thus reveal foundations of
authoritarianism (Akar & Ghosn-Chelala, 2015). To add, Lebanon has failed to
produce a standardised history textbook to cover the civil- and post-civil war period
and meet the approval of all local parties. Akar and Albrecht (2017) note the gravity
of this as it denies students opportunities for historical thinking and analysis. The
LNC also excludes religious education due to sectarian tensions rather than seeing it
as an avenue for building deeper reconciliation (Abouchedid et al., 2002). This
exclusion limits the scope of education and “… excludes important aspects of the
lived experience” (McKinney & Zannoni, 2015, p. 5). These issues again allude to
contextual tensions impacting the curriculum; they support a culture of avoidance
rather than diversity, dialogue and acceptance.
The available research calls for transforming the curriculum (Akar, 2016; UNDP,
MEHE, & CDR, 2008; Zakharia, 2011). Teacher development in progressive
approaches would be instrumental to delivering a transformed curriculum. A study
of South African pre-service teachers showed their teacher training was mostly
lecture-based, and they were not sufficiently prepared to lead students in a
discussion on civic issues. Lebanon has very few trainers and there is not enough
research on teachers’ exposure to professional development (CEAR, 2013). The little
available research on civics teachers reveals complex inter-relations among
nationalist conceptions of citizenship, pedagogies of rote learning, emotional
repercussions from controversial topics and limited opportunities to think critically
and engage in classroom dialogue (Akar, 2012). With no well-defined, formal
mechanisms to transform curricula and teaching (Zakharia, 2011), the Lebanese
educational landscape is entrenched in the challenges of a conflict-affected state.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has
led local and global initiatives aiming to mainstream GCED and sustainable
development. Key Lebanese achievements for 2015–2017 include training 60
faculty members at the Lebanese University in GCED teacher preparation, training
135 teachers and education personnel in sustainable development, and training 400
students in conflict resolution. Further research into the efficacy of GCED related
efforts is needed, as well as measurement for the values and competencies they
aim to teach. Strategic goals for 2018–2019 established by UNESCO, working
closely with the MEHE, include in their targets improved access to quality education,
educator training in leadership, teaching, and assessment, and “enhanced learner
knowledge, values and skills to prevent violent extremism and promote social
cohesion and global citizenship” (UNESCO, 2017c). These moves toward
mainstreaming require aligned teaching approaches and curricula for public schools
in Lebanon. Several private schools have become International Baccalaureate (IB)
World Schools. The International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO) aims to
mainstream intercultural learning with a focus on culture, diversity, and global
issues in its IB program. These themes are integrated in a cross-curricular, learner-
centred approach that encourages critical thinking, dialogue, and inquiry learning
(IBO, 2018). The IB track is not available in public schools because the LNC is the
only and mandatory curriculum. This widens the gap between public and private
schooling for Lebanon.
Many schools may lack the necessary resources to procure high-quality instructional materials. For
example, financial limitations and technological infrastructure for digital resources can make it
challenging to access resources.

Teachers may not have the adequate knowledge implementing curriculum and training necessary to
use the materials effectively, especially with advanced or technology-based resources.

[5]
. Overall, addressing these challenges requires regular training for educators,
provision of necessary resources, involvement of teachers in curriculum
development, and revision of policies to support curriculum implementation
PD provides educators with the necessary skills to effectively utilize instructional materials, whether
by giving them a better understanding of the materials, aligning them with curriculum standards or
seamlessly integrating them into lessons.

2.https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1207325.pdf
3.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/
262600405_Global_citizenship_as_education_for_peacebuilding_in_a_divided_society
_structural_and_contextual_constraints_on_the_development_of_critical_dialogic_dis
course
Research and knowledge Phased implementation with feedback and
significant evaluation strategies: for a subject such as GCED, where
transformative teacher training is necessary, it is recommended to conduct
a phased implementation with feedback that allows a training that is not
based on ‘cascade’ methods. Monitoring and evaluation processes are of
special importance but need to go beyond learners’ knowledge of facts to
also include assessment of skills, values and attitudes. It can be conducted
in different ways, taking into consideration different aspects such as the
inputs (e.g. educators’ competencies, resources, tools, and learning
environment), process (eg teaching practices, types of actions, and learners’
engagement) and outcomes (eg knowledge, values, attitudes, skills, and
impact on communities). Sometimes, new teaching materials are difficult to
use, and some teachers may not be able to handle certain activities despite
training. As a result, even the production of resource materials should be
seen as an iterative activity, with revisions based on feedback.

10. https://www.haiti-now.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/42-Robiolle.pdf
Research and knowledge Phased implementation with feedback and
significant evaluation strategies: for a subject such as GCED, where
transformative teacher training is necessary, it is recommended to conduct
a phased implementation with feedback that allows a training that is not
based on ‘cascade’ methods. Monitoring and evaluation processes are of
special importance but need to go beyond learners’ knowledge of facts to
also include assessment of skills, values and attitudes. It can be conducted
in different ways, taking into consideration different aspects such as the
inputs (e.g. educators’ competencies, resources, tools, and learning
environment), process (eg teaching practices, types of actions, and learners’
engagement) and outcomes (eg knowledge, values, attitudes, skills, and
impact on communities). Sometimes, new teaching materials are difficult to
use, and some teachers may not be able to handle certain activities despite
training. As a result, even the production of resource materials should be
seen as an iterative activity, with revisions based on feedback.
And therefore, it must be across the classes, across disciplines. School
leaders need to chalk out the vision, agenda, purpose, and objectives. And
then they need to create a strategic initiative group which will be part of the
core leadership group, train members, and then bring the teachers to drive
the GCED program,’ Pandey tells Teacher.

Partnerships with non-government organisations enabled Pandey to work in

collaborative GCED programs for schools. As part of the Council for Global
Citizenship Education of the Global Citizenship Foundation (GCF), Pandey
has made contributions to the development of:

4.https://www.teachermagazine.com/in_en/articles/implementing-a-global-
citizenship-education-program-in-your-school

Previous literature found that once GCE is established in a country, teachers play a
pivotal role in applying GCE to classroom regardless of how it was codified into
official objectives of the curriculum (Rapoport, 2010;Reilly & Niens, 2014). When the
goals or policy of GCE are absent or vague, teachers' agency and willingness to
teach GCE is more often than not driven by their own experiences, resistance and
dispositions (Goren & Yemini, 2016, 2017. ...
... As Rapoport (2010) indicated, teachers' perceptions and practice in GCE can be
summarized as teaching with what they are unfamiliar with -The study found an
aversion to teaching GCE among social studies teachers as they themselves lack
the knowledge of global citizenship. Schweisfurth (2006) and Reilly and Niens
(2014) revealed similar struggles in the US context. It is also possible for the
students' characteristics to shape teachers' partiality in the other way round. ...

https://typeset.io/questions/what-are-the-challenges-in-implementing-a-curriculum-518jc9dp74 INTRO

5. https://typeset.io/questions/what-are-the-factors-of-global-citizenship-competencies-3yxthypo

Review of related LETERATURE

Munir (2016) mentions several types of digital learning resources developed by
educators, namely computer software, interactive media and online resources (e-
books, websites, youtube channels, interactive videos) [10]. The wide availability
of these types of technology-based learning resources in various formats offers
the possibility to make a profound difference in education [11]. Digital learning
resources are not only used to transmit and access information but are seen as
materials that provide wide opportunities for anyone, including educators and
students, to be able to create and express themselves. Besides that, digital
learning resources also have main benefits, namely (1) Having the ability to
customize experiences for students through interactivity, feedback and
constructive engagement; (2) Has a variety of presentations to meet the needs of
students through a choice of alternative materials; (3) Digital resources can also
combine various media into one scope through a combination of text, video,
sound and graphics [12].
Furthermore, with interactivity skills, visualization and feedback from digital
learning sources have a positive impact on improving the quality of learning
related to motivation, retention, learning styles, and students' creativity [13] In
order for learning resources to function properly, users' ability to maximize the
characteristics of these learning resources is required. Educators' ability to use or
develop a digital learning resource needs to be owned in the current era,
especially in the pandemic era where learning is carried out with an online
system.
There are many applications or software that teachers can use to create their
own learning resources. Some of the benefits that can be obtained by developing
their own learning resources are the results of learning resources that are made
according to the needs of the material being discussed and teachers can adjust
what types of learning resources are most suitable for their students. In addition,
it is more economical if the teacher is able to make it himself and is able to
increase his role as a professional teacher.

The GCED program for any school needs to be a whole school program. And
therefore, it must be across the classes, across disciplines. School leaders need to
chalk out the vision, agenda, purpose, and objectives. And then they need to create a
strategic initiative group which will be part of the core leadership group, train
members, and then bring the teachers to drive the GCED program,’

Implementing integrated curriculum poses several challenges. Faculty members have

concerns about transitioning to an integrated curriculum and about students' ability to
engage in self-directed learning . Providing early clinical exposure to students and
organizing activities and practical sessions are also challenging aspects of
implementation . Additionally, developing student skills for critical appraisal of scientific
literature and establishing closer links with the community and the health system are
areas that require attention . The language and lack of consensus surrounding
integrated curriculum contribute to uncertainty and resistance to change .
Furthermore, implementing an integrated curriculum requires significant time and
resources, including teacher training and cooperation . Overall, the challenges of
implementing integrated curriculum include faculty apprehensions, logistical
considerations, the need for skill development, and the requirement for adequate
support and resources .

This study aimed to identify the main problems faced by teachers in developing learning
resources, and to provide recommendations for these problems. A qualitative
descriptive approach was used. This study’s paticipants were recruited randomly, and
included 55 teachers of SMP, SMA, and SLB. Data were collected through an online
survey with a digital questionnaire instrument. Data analysis was carried out through
three steps: data reduction, data presentation, and concluding. The results showed that
there are three main problems that teachers face in developing learning resources: 1)
the technical ability to use tools and devices to create digital learning resources; 2) the
strategy of organizing learning materials to be applied to learning resources; and 3) the
lack of skills in managing learning materials to be applied to digital learning resources.
Based on these findings, it is recommended that teachers collaborate with educational
technologists who are masters of learning resource development. Keywords: teachers’
difficulties, learning resources, instructional strategy

6. https://knepublishing.com/index.php/KnE-Social/article/view/10024/16469
7. https://typeset.io/questions/what-are-the-challenges-of-implementing-
integrated-1nm7616t20