This study contributed to the broader scholarly discussion on global citizenship education by examining and documenting an inquiry into three secondary social studies teachers’ changing conceptualizations of teaching for citizenship in a globalized world. The study theorized that 1) Teachers change their conceptualizations of teaching for citizenship by shifting or recreating their identities and 2) Teachers’ identities are locations of agency for global citizenship and global citizenship education.
While thinking about, reflecting on, or constructing new understandings of the concept of citizen and teaching for citizenship in a globalized world was important to changing teachers’ conceptualizations, it was insufficient. Each teacher had a concept of what it means to be a citizen—an identity as a citizen—and this helped to define their understandings of teaching for citizenship. As the teachers are citizens themselves, change in their conceptualizations had ramifications for them personally. The findings indicate that teachers must fundamentally practice new forms of being and relating to others. The study concluded that teachers' identities are locations for making choices about who we are, how we want to relate to others, and what kind of world we want to live in.