Prague seminar
10/11 June 2010
Aims and expectations for the
workshop sessions
• Sharing experiences
• Practical ways of measuring attitudinal
change
• Embedding Global Citizenship (GDE) in
schools
• Evaluating this process
Global Citizenship is about
Action for change
Locally & globally
Social justice
Sustainability
Global Citizenship:
Key Concepts
•
•
•
•
•
Interdependence
Human rights
Diversity
Peace and conflict
Sustainability
www.oxfam.org.uk/education/gc/
A Global Citizen is someone who…
• is aware of the wider world and has a
sense of their own role as a world citizen
• respects and values diversity
• has an understanding of how the world
works
• is outraged by social injustice
• participates in and contributes to the
community at a range of levels from local
to global
• is willing to act in order to make the world a
more equitable and sustainable place
• takes responsibility for their actions
Oxfam 1997 and 2006
Global Citizenship is…
• asking questions and developing critical
thinking skills
• equipping young people with the
knowledge, skills and values to participate
• acknowledging the complexity of global
issues
• revealing the global as part of everyday
life
• understanding how we relate to the
environment and each other as human
beings
Global Citizenship is not…
• too difficult for young children to
understand
• mostly about other places and peoples
• telling people what to think and do
• providing simple solutions to complex
issues
• an extra subject in a crowded curriculum
• about raising money for charity
Global Citizenship:
across the curriculum and throughout
the school
Music
PE
ICT
Geography
Maths
TAs
PSHCE
Wider community
RE
Parents
Pupils
D&T
Whole School Ethos
Teachers
MFL
Governors
Other staff
English
Art
History
Citizenship
Science
3 key messages which underpin
Global Citizenship
1. Focus on similarities before differences
2. Challenge narrow and stereotypical
views of people and places
3. Present a balanced view and compare
like with like
Before embedding Global
Citizenship across the
curriculum and throughout
the school ethos pupils
focused on differences:
‘His house is different, he
has no electricity, he’s in a
hot place’
‘He’s not wearing shoes and
his face is different, he’s got
different clothes to us’
‘He’s homeless and he has to
sleep on the floor. He’s too
poor to go to school’
‘He lives in Africa, he has no
mum or dad’
Two years later, after
Global Citizenship was
embedded in their schools,
pupils focused on
similarities, as well as
differences
‘He is busy, he has the same
sort of clothes, likes flying kite’
‘He has the right to play’
‘He’s happy, has a religion,
we’re both human, we’re
children’
‘He’s absorbed, he likes playing,
he likes and cares for his toys’
‘He’s got a home, he’s a
member of a community’
Traditional home, Uganda
Traditional home, UK
Flats, UK
Flats, Uganda
Detached suburban home, UK
Detached suburban home, Uganda
Why is Global Citizenship
important?
Pupils’ attitudes to global learning
Ipsos MORI research with 1,955 pupils from 82
UK schools in 2008
• Only 50% of pupils think it’s a good idea to have
people of different backgrounds living in the
same country together
• 19% have not discussed news stories from
around the world at all at school
• Only 42% believe that what they do in their own
lives affects people in other countries
Our Global Future: DEA 2008
A 21st century curriculum should prepare
young people to recognise their roles and
responsibilities as members of this global
society. They need to be able to understand
the global context of their local lives,
examine their own values and attitudes in
relation to the challenges they face and see
how they might play an active role in
responding to these challenges.
www.qca.org.uk
Measuring attitudinal change
in Global Citizenship
RISC
(Reading International Solidarity Centre)
Liz Allum
Barbara Lowe
Louise Robinson
One activity asks: What do pupils
know about Africa?
Their initial responses focus on the
natural environment
•
•
•
•
•
Natural environment
Built environment
People & society
Culture & history
Energy, transport &
communications
• Economic activity
• Countries & features
40%
12%
18%
5%
4%
8%
13%
Built environment
changes in the responses over 4 years
2004
houses, mud huts,
schools, taps
2006
some huts made of
hardened mud, shanty
houses, buildings just
Like here, flats, bricks
And cement,
skyscrapers,
churches, mosques,
offices
2008
houses made of mud in
this area here (pointing to
Sahara), small schools,
football stadiums, towns,
villages – lots of African
people live in villages,
cities, some parts of Africa are
city, loads of shops train
stations, hospitals, wells, water
pumps, skyscrapers, big
buildings, tall buildings, hotels,
churches, mosques
Energy, transport and communication
changes in the responses over 4 years
2004
No electricity, cars
(crossed out), carrying
bundles on their heads
2006
People putting pots of
water or fruit on their
heads, cars
2008
Cars, taxi, train track to
the beach, bicycles,
people walking, trams,
planes, boats, ships,
jeeps, tv
3 approaches in supporting schools as
they integrate and embed Global
Citizenship
1. Through cross-curricula work, e.g. using
Christmas as an opportunity to deliver the key
concepts of Global Citizenship
2. Through curriculum based work, e.g. in Art,
through studying contemporary artists from the
Majority World www.octobergallery.co.uk/participate
3. Through raising controversial issues, e.g. issues
relating to charitable giving e.g. work on fair
trade presents an alternative
http://www.risc.org.uk/education/guidance_leaflets.php
Christmas: an opportunity to challenge
some assumptions
Christmas is a British/European festival
No, Christmas is a global festival celebrated
around the world
In Britain/Europe we all celebrate Christmas
– it’s a holiday
No, not everyone in Britain/Europe
celebrates Christmas
Christmas is an opportunity to
explore the concepts of
diversity
sustainability
fairness
peace and justice
Global Citizenship Education at
RISC
www.risc.org.uk