Upcoming Courses
Contact: gertrude.cotter@ucc.ie
Explore our upcoming Global Justice Education courses at University College Cork. Select a course below to find out more.
Course 1: Global Justice Education – 10-Credit Fully-Accredited Master’s Module (January–May 2027)
Course 2: Engaging the World – Global Justice Education Digital Badge (November 2026–March 2027)
Course 1: ED6087 Global Justice Education – 10-Credit Masters Module
Ten free places for UCC staff and PhD students, funded by Irish Aid.
Full details @ UCC Book of Modules: https://ucc-ie-public.courseleaf.com/modules/?details&srcdb=2026&code=ED6087
Exploring our interconnected world, understanding global injustice, and bringing critical learning into practice.
The Praxis Project at University College Cork is delighted to introduce ED6087: Global Justice Education, a 10-credit postgraduate module offered through UCC’s School of Education from January to May 2027.
At a time of deepening global inequalities, conflict, forced migration, environmental crises and growing political uncertainty, education has an important role to play in helping us understand the world and consider how we might contribute to making it more just.
But what does it mean to educate for global justice? How are our everyday lives connected to wider political, economic, social and environmental systems? And how can we move beyond simply learning about global problems towards critical engagement, solidarity and meaningful action?
These are some of the questions at the heart of this new module.
Understanding the World
Global Justice Education encourages us to look beneath the surface of contemporary global challenges, examining their historical roots, structural causes and connections across different parts of the world.
Participants will explore issues including colonialism and its continuing legacies, poverty and economic inequality, conflict and displacement, gender justice, human rights, sustainability, migration, and the global systems that shape people’s lives.
The module also encourages critical engagement with different understandings of development, global citizenship, justice and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Rather than presenting simple answers to complex problems, the emphasis is on questioning assumptions, examining different perspectives and developing a deeper understanding of how power and inequality operate locally and globally.
From Understanding to Practice
A distinctive feature of the module is its combination of critical theory, participatory learning and practical application.
Alongside lectures and seminars, participants will engage in interactive workshops and explore creative, participatory and digital approaches to Global Justice Education.
They will consider how global justice perspectives might enrich their own work, whether through teaching, curriculum development, community engagement, research, advocacy or professional practice.
An important part of the learning experience will be the development of an Applied Global Justice Initiative, allowing participants to investigate a justice issue and design a research-informed or practice-based response relevant to their own interests and context.
This reflects the central idea of praxis: bringing critical reflection and action into an ongoing relationship.
Who Might Be Interested?
The module will be particularly relevant to educators, higher education staff, community and youth workers, NGO practitioners, researchers, and others interested in exploring global justice within their professional or community contexts.
It offers an opportunity to deepen knowledge of contemporary global challenges while developing approaches to engaging others in critical, thoughtful and potentially transformative learning.
Module at a Glance
- Module: ED6087 – Global Justice Education
- Credits: 10 ECTS (postgraduate level)
- When: January–May 2027
- Institution: School of Education, University College Cork
- Teaching: Lectures, seminars, participatory workshops and webinars
- Assessment: Two continuous assessment components, including an Applied Global Justice Initiative
- Module Coordinator: Dr Gertrude Cotter, School of Education, UCC
- Places: Maximum 20 participants
Find Out More
For the formal module description, including learning outcomes, assessment requirements and academic details, visit the UCC Book of Modules which will link you to ED6087 – Global Justice Education.
Details of enrolment, fees and registration arrangements will be made available through University College Cork.
The module forms part of the work of the Praxis Project, based in UCC’s School of Education and supported by Irish Aid, to strengthen critical Global Justice Education across higher education and beyond. The micro credential is a fully accredited 10 credit master’s module. There are ten free places for UCC staff and PhD studnets.
Course 2: Engaging the World – Global Justice Education in Practice
A 12-Hour UCC Digital Badge
How do we come to understand the world? How have histories, institutions and relations of power shaped contemporary inequalities? Whose knowledge and experience count, and how can we bring global justice perspectives into our studies, teaching and professional practice?
Global Justice Education is a critical and interdisciplinary approach to learning. It examines how historical and contemporary structures shape the distribution of resources, rights, risks, opportunities and voice within and across societies. It brings diverse forms of evidence, knowledge and lived experience into dialogue and supports informed, ethical and collective responses to injustice.
What Will the Badge Explore?
- How knowledge, maps, media and representations shape our understanding of the world
- Colonialism and the historical formation of the contemporary world
- Global inequality, political economy and the distribution of resources
- Conflict, migration, international power and human rights
- Story, creativity and multiple ways of knowing
- How Global Justice Education can inform meaningful action and professional practice
The programme will be participatory, interdisciplinary and connected to current global issues. No previous experience of Global Justice Education is required.
Course Structure
- Tuesday 3 November 2026, 4.00–7.00 pm: In-person opening workshop, North Wing Council Room
- Tuesday 10 November 2026, 6.00–8.00 pm: Online session
- Tuesday 17 November 2026, 6.00–8.00 pm: Online session
- Tuesday 24 November 2026, 6.00–8.00 pm: Online session
- Independent learning (one hour): A choice of specially selected films, radio programmes, podcasts or other creative resources
- Praxis Week, 8–12 March 2027: Two-hour in-person application and reflection gathering. Exact date and time to be confirmed
Putting Learning into Practice
Following the November sessions, participants will have an opportunity to apply their learning between December and March.
Staff might integrate a global justice perspective into their teaching, research, professional practice, community engagement or area of work. Students will have the opportunity to collaborate on an activity, resource, creative project or event that could be shared during Praxis Global Justice Education Week.
Global Justice Education Week will include other events and activities in addition to the Digital Badge. Badge participants will contribute to the week by sharing what they tried, created or learned.
Contributions may take the form of a short video, poster, written reflection, teaching resource, creative work, student-led activity or public event.
Who Can Participate?
The badge is open to UCC staff and students from every discipline, school, service and level of study. The diversity of participants will be an important part of the learning experience.
Registration and Further Information
To register or express your interest, please complete the online registration form:
Register for Engaging the World – Global Justice Education in Practice
Closing date for registration: 25 October 2026.
Once registered, participants will receive instructions on accessing the course through UCC Canvas.
For further information, please contact Dr Gertrude Cotter, School of Education, University College Cork, at gertrude.cotter@ucc.ie.