Educating Malaysia’s Multi-Ethnic Youth for Global and Ecological Citizenship: Climate Change, Identity and Social Change

Abstract

This paper explores multi-ethnic Malaysian students’ perceptions of global citizenship and ecological citizenship as components of global competence, examining how these concepts instill civic responsibility and environmental stewardship in the context of climate change. It also assesses the impact of competing and common “nation-of-intent” – differing visions of national identity – on these students’ orientations toward global environmental issues. Primary data were collected via a questionnaire survey (n = 238; 122 Malay and 116 Chinese undergraduates at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia) and follow-up in-depth interviews with 12 students. Results indicate that Malaysian youth lack a clear conception of citizenship, especially ecological citizenship, and that understandings of good citizenship diverge between ethnic groups. Many students emphasize responsibilities and community participation over rights, and display limited engagement with environmental action, revealing a need for more explicit citizenship education. The findings suggest that Malaysia’s nation-building vision has yet to fully integrate a unified civic identity that encompasses environmental responsibility. The study concludes that citizenship education in Malaysia should be reformed to explicitly cultivate global and ecological citizenship values—such as empathy, justice, and respect for diversity to better prepare youth as active contributors to social change and environmental sustainability.