Purpose

In the face of the post-globalization situation, Taiwan is gaining new developmental opportunities because of international factors such as international relations, geopolitical dynamics, and the reconstruction of industrial supply chains. These new opportunities include investment in the economy that will drive demand for human resources and international mobility, language and cultural exchanges that will position Taiwan as an important country in providing Mandarin Chinese language learning, and enhanced economic and trade status that will further favor the developmental diversity of internationalization of Taiwan’s educational institutions. This study, set in the context of post-globalization, attempts to clarify “globalism/cosmopolitanism” and to delve deeper into the fundamental distinctions between “global citizen” and “cosmopolitan citizen.” Additionally, it utilizes the framework of dual ideal citizen images to address international education curriculum policies and practical issues. It also proposes the considerations of the international education anchoring concept and its transformational process.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopts theoretical research methods and documents analysis. On the one hand, it explores the changes in the world system from the discourse of “global unification” to “post-globalization” through analysis of globalization theories and related literature review; on the other hand, based on policy documents such as international organizations (UNESCO, OECD), Taiwan recent curriculum reform, and International Education White Paper, it constructs a development framework for international education facing 21st-century trends, focusing on “global citizens-world citizens.”

Findings/results

Through the conceptual framework of “global citizenship” and “cosmopolitan citizenship,” this study proposes the duality of international education concepts in a post-globalization context. On the one hand, it addresses the need for talent training on bilingual competencies and global competitiveness in the context of neoliberalism; on the other hand, it aims to cultivate future-oriented world citizens attuned to sustainable development and ecological justice. The researcher pointed out that the relationship between those two ideal concepts is not a contradictory binary opposition but rather a spectrum-like orientation of choices. Schools should consider cultivating both global competitiveness and civic responsibility toward sustainability when promoting international education.

Originality/value

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, the economic confrontation between the United States and China, and the Ukrainian-Russian War, the original “global unification” under the framework of the world system is no longer applicable. The researcher proposed a new perspective of “post-globalization” and that Taiwan has gained new developmental opportunities due to geopolitics and industrial chain restructuring changes. Although these changes make the internationalization of Taiwan’s school education more conducive to development, the issue of positioning local identity in the context of “demonstrating national value” should also be considered.

Implications for policy/practice

Based on the analysis of the distinction between global citizenship and cosmopolitan citizenship, an international education development framework that integrates global competencies and sustainable responsibility is proposed to help schools promote international education from a holistic person perspective.