Enriching a critical emancipatory approach to global citizenship education: Conceptual reflections on using Oskar Negt’s “creation of context” as leitmotif

Abstract This conceptual article aims to enrich critical emancipatory perspectives on global citizenship education by drawing upon the meta-competence “creation of context” introduced by German social philosopher and adult educator Oskar Negt (1934–2024). Negt is well-known in Germany (though not so much elsewhere) for his landmark work on critical theory (in the context of the so-called “Frankfurt School”), social sciences and (adult) education. The authors of this article discuss his seminal perspective with reference to two other theoretical approaches that are also widely discussed in Germany but have yet to enter the debate in education and social sciences elsewhere. First, they address the critical theory on education and liberation proposed by Heinz-Joachim Heydorn in his paper on the contradiction between education ( Bildung ) and domination. Second, they elaborate on the social diagnosis of the imperial mode of living proposed by Ulrich Brand and Markus Wissen, which features in contemporary discourse on the emancipatory power and potential of education in Germany. Both help to underline why “creation of context” might serve as a leitmotif for a critical emancipatory approach to global citizenship education.