Abstract

The paper identifies some crucial goals for the future of intercultural and global education and discusses the possible role that civic education can have in achieving these goals. The paper moves from discussing the idea of education to otherness proposing a conceptual delimitation rooted in the theories of social recognition. The paper examines three key qualities referred to this educational area (namely perspective taking, respect and interest in other cultures) using PISA 2018, which adopts the global education framework to investigate adolescents’ competences. The analysis points to critical levels of the three dimensions among Italian 15-year-old students. School factors that are statistically associated with the three global competences considered include the teaching styles, school climate, and the availability of opportunities to meet people from other cultures. The paper concludes that the inclusion of otherness in education should be declined more in a procedural than declarative sense.