The effects of a picture book-Based global citizenship education program on young children's multicultural awareness, global citizenship awareness, and sense of community

The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of a picture book-based global citizenship education program on young children's multicultural awareness, global citizenship awareness, and sense of community. The participants were 36 five-year-old children from two classes at S Kindergarten located in C City, with 18 children assigned to the experimental group and 18 to the comparison group. Both groups were read two picture books per week for eight weeks, selected for their relevance to global citizenship education. In addition to the read-aloud sessions, the experimental group participated in a structured picture book-based global citizenship education program. The results of the study revealed three main findings. First, the program had a statistically significant and positive effect on the improvement of multicultural awareness among children in the experimental group. Second, the children who participated in the program showed a greater enhancement in global citizenship awareness compared to those in the comparison group. Third, the experimental group also demonstrated a significant increase in their sense of community, particularly in cooperative behaviors and attitudes toward community participation. These findings highlight the educational value of implementing global citizenship education during early childhood, suggesting that picture book-based learning activities serve as a practical and effective approach for fostering empathy, multicultural sensitivity, and communal values among young children.