Global Citizenship

June 28th, 2012

Citizenship education in Europe and Scotland

nickmorgan

Comments: none Tags: Tags: citizenship, europe
 : Categories citizenship, curriculum areas, europe, international

The European Commission’s Eurydice Unit has published a thematic report titled “Citizenship Education in Europe“, which makes very interesting reading. It comments on aspects of educational policy and pratice in schools across the EU, in areas such as curriculum aims, student participation, and support for teachers – which are all important influences on the nature, extent and quality of citizenship education. A press release picks out key points, in particular a need for specialist training for teachers in some countries.

 Our team would argue that the situation for Citizenship education in Scotland is actually considerably more positive than revealed in the report, and compares very well with the best in Europe. Our ‘Curriculum for Excellence’ is strongly values-based, and covers the age range 3-18, giving our young people a real head start in becoming “responsible citizens” and “effective contributors” to society. Global citizenship themes are embedded across the whole curriculum framework, giving many opportunities for teachers to address citizenship in some way with their students. We take the holistic view of global citizenship, and encourage teachers to adopt any relevant and effective route into these areas of life.

In recent years Scottish schools have made substantial progress in their development of global citizenship, supported by organisations like our own Education Scotland (previously Learning and Teaching Scotland) working with local authorities and third-sector partners. In particular, specialist training and opportunities for professional learning on Citizenship themes have been widely available to Scottish teachers, helping us to make progress together. External programmes such as Eco-Schools and UNICEF’s Rights Respecting Schools Award, and national developments such as the growth of Pupil Councils, have provided ways for young people to get really engaged with global citizenship and become more active participants in their learning and lives. Charities such as the Red Cross and Oxfam have produced high-quality educational resources which make it easier for teachers to facilitate discussion of complex issues with their students.

Global citizenship education in Scotland is a work-in-progress, but we’re delighted with the momentum already built up by Scottish teachers and pupils and look forward to doing more in the years ahead.

In the meantime, let’s all enjoy a good summer vacation (Scottish schools close this week for the holidays).

June 24th, 2012

Rio+20 Outcome – The Future We Want

imenzies

Comments: none Tags: Tags: action, events
 : Categories biodiversity, community, outdoor learning, renewables and climate change, sustainable development

From 20-22nd June 2012, over 100 world leaders and heads of state journeyed to Rio de Janeiro to conclude negotiations at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. The world is clear about what was at stake but what has been achieved and has the conference lived up to expectations and the success of the original Earth Summit in 1992?

Visit the official Rio+20 Conference site: http://www.uncsd2012.org/index.html

Read the full Rio+20 outcome document entitled ‘The Future We Want’: http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N12/381/64/PDF/N1238164.pdf?OpenElement

Read commentary on Twitter at #Rioplus20 #Futurewewant

See below for excerpts relating to young people and education:

50. We stress the importance of the active participation of young people in decision-making processes, as the issues we are addressing have a deep impact on present and future generations, and as the contribution of children and youth is vital to the achievement of sustainable development. We also recognize the need to promote intergenerational dialogue and solidarity by recognizing their views.

230. We recognize that the younger generations are the custodians of the future and the need for better quality and access to education beyond the primary level. We therefore resolve to improve the capacity of our education systems to prepare people to pursue sustainable development, including through enhanced teacher training, the development of sustainability curricula, the development of training programmes that prepare students for careers in fields related to sustainability, and more effective use of information and communications technologies to enhance learning outcomes. We call for enhanced cooperation among schools, communities and authorities in efforts to promote access to quality education at all levels.

231. We encourage Member States to promote sustainable development awareness among youth, inter alia by promoting programmes for non-formal education in accordance with the goals of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, 2005-2014.

232. We emphasize the importance of greater international cooperation to improve access to education, including through building and strengthening education infrastructure and increasing investment in education, particularly investment to improve the quality of education for all in developing countries. We encourage international educational exchanges and partnerships, including the creation of fellowships and scholarships to help achieve global education goals.

233. We resolve to promote education for sustainable development and to integrate sustainable development more actively into education beyond the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.

234. We strongly encourage educational institutions to consider adopting good practices in sustainability management on their campuses and in their communities with the active participation of, inter alia, students, teachers and local partners, and teaching sustainable development as an integrated component across disciplines.

June 24th, 2012

National Sustainable Schools Conference

imenzies

Comments: none Tags: Tags: CPD, events, school improvement
 : Categories biodiversity, community, early years, outdoor learning, primary schools, renewables and climate change, secondary schools, sharing practice, sustainable development

Date: 11th July
Venue: Baden Powell House, London

Let’s get straight to the point. At a time when cuts are being made in all areas – sustainability can save your school money. This alone should be enough to convince you to attend this event.

Just as important though is the fact that 85% of children and young people (7-14yrs old) have stated that they want to learn more about sustainability. They know it is going to be crucial to their futures.

The 2012 National Sustainable Schools Conference agenda has now been confirmed. It will bring together inspiring speakers, films, projects, young people, teachers and students to acquire skills; share resources; learn from successes and then make plans to become more sustainable. Every teacher can bring students and you can also connect with the event online.

There are still places available for this popular SEEd event. To register, please visit: se-ed.co.uk/nssc2012.

June 20th, 2012

One school’s path to sustainability

imenzies

Comments: none Tags: Tags: climate and energy, food, nature, school improvement, water
 : Categories biodiversity, community, leadership, learner voice, outdoor learning, primary schools, sharing practice, sustainable development

Lawthorn Primary has applied for its fifth green flag from Eco-Schools Scotland and has also received a gold award from the Woodland Trust, the United Kingdom’s leading woodland conservation charity. Over the last ten years, Lawthorn School has worked hard to earn these accolades, with support from UNESCO, WWF Scotland and other organisations such as Education Scotland and the Carbon Trust. Now the school’s success is being featured on UNESCO’s website ahead of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development being held in Rio de Janeiro,  20-22 June 2012.

A major part of the school’s work has been to reduce its global footprint. Schools across Scotland now have access to the School’s Global Footprint resource – a handbook for teachers – and an interactive footprint calculator, which, through a series of questions relating to buildings, energy, food, transport, water and waste, gives an indication of carbon footprint and ecological footprint.

Action has come in many forms but most importantly the children are enthusiastic and passionate, with principal teacher Amanda Milne talking of having to rein the children in. “They wanted to ban all cars from coming into the playground” she says. “And they were convinced we weren’t planting enough trees.”

Visit the UNESCO site to read more, see the video and get the full case study>>

June 19th, 2012

Watch again – Rio+20 Glow meet

imenzies

Comments: none Tags: Tags: action, climate and energy, democracy, events, human rights, learner voice, natural disasters, nature, poverty, water
 : Categories biodiversity, community, learner voice, outdoor learning, renewables and climate change, social studies, sustainable development

On Tuesday 19 June, schools from across Scotland linked up direct with Stewart Stevenson MSP, Minister for the Environment and Climate Change who is in Rio as part of the official UK delegation to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development.

 Over 100 heads of state and world leaders are gathering in Rio de Janeiro from 20-22 June 2012 for crucial talks at this summit, referred to as Rio+20.

During the Glow Meet learners from primary and secondary schools were able to put questions to the Minister about the conference and about Scotland’s efforts to tackle climate change. Learners were also encouraged to share their green dreams for the future and the practical steps they have been taking within their schools to make them more sustainable.

All Glow TV events are recorded so if you missed taking part you can still access the recording of this Glow Meet from the Watch Again section of Glow TV.

 A copy of the Minister’s PowerPoint presentation can be downloaded from the Developing Global Citizens Glow group at: http://bit.ly/DGCresources

For a list of useful Rio+20 classroom resources and web links visit our global citizenship blog.

June 19th, 2012

Food and global citizenship

nickmorgan

Comments: none Tags: Tags: food, nutrition
 : Categories health and wellbeing, international, renewables and climate change, social studies, sustainable development

Food is a great subject with which to engage young people with issues of contemporary society, with health, rights and sustainable development as key aspects. Everyone has views about food and its roles in our lives, giving it immediate relevance and real-world connections. Education can help young people to develop more informed viewpoints about food, its production, distribution and consumption, which we hope will lead to healthier lifestyles and choices which are more environmentally friendly.

Today Education Scotland launched its new ‘Food for Thought’ resources for schools, which aim to support learning about food and drink in a range of curriculum areas and to raise the profile of food and health education in Scottish schools. The resources comprise a mindmap illustrating different ways we engage with and learn about food, and a poster which assists planning around interdisciplinary learning. Both are available online, and will also be distributed to schools.

Discussion and activity centred on ethical issues around Fair Trade and Rights are other well-used ways to stimulate thinking among pupils. Around the world many millions of  people do not have ‘food security’, and international organisations address this directly. The right of access to Food is enshrined in Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger is the first of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals. The UK government’s Department for International Development is supporting programmes which help in these key areas. 

Non-governmental organisations and charities have been active in producing educational resources to support teachers who want to address issues of food security and rights. Here are a few picks from the wealth of material available online.

Action Aid created resources for schools to tie in with the ‘Rio plus 20′ UN conference on Sustainable Development, at which politicians and experts will discuss progress on dealing with the effects of climate change. The Action Aid resources include presentation slides and background documents on food rights and possible solutions to the problem of hunger.

Oxfam has a series of materials on Food, with guides and activities on topics such as the world food crisis.  And Scotland’s own Co-operative Education Trust Scotland has produced a new resource for primaries on the Farm to Food cycle from the perspective of cooperatives.

Finally, resources for secondary teachers who will be working on the new National qualifications in Science; N4 support materials on Food Security and N5 Biology Food security guidance available on the Education Scotland website.

June 12th, 2012

Glow Meet: Ready for Emergencies? Friday, 15 June, 11.30 – 12.30

kmayer

Comments: none Tags: Tags: emergencies, Glow Meet, water
 : Categories citizenship, curriculum areas, ICT, Uncategorized

 This Glow meet  follows the launch of our new Ready for Emergencies wesite and will be an  interactive session with opportunities for learners to hear from people who deal with emergencies, share their thoughts and experiences.  Learners will also engage in  and reflecting on emergencies and ask questions in relation to key topics such as emergency situations arising from severe weather, flooding and security preparations such as those for the Olympic Games and Torch relay by the police forces across the country.

Presenters on the day will include the Stewart Borthwick (Strathclyde Emergency Coordination Group), Paul Hendy (Scottish Flood Forum) and Sally Dempsey (Red Cross) who will be providing exiting background information on a variety of national as well as international approaches to emergency situations and will answer any questions on the issues arising.
This Glow TV event is aimed at learners from upper primary to upper secondary (but relevant for senior school as well)
Sign up and join us

June 11th, 2012

Anti-Sectarian education

nickmorgan

Comments: none Tags: Tags: sectarianism
 : Categories citizenship, expressive arts, languages, learner voice, religious and moral education, social studies, technologies

North Lanarkshire Council secondary schools have been involved in a video-making project about the hatred and bigotry associated with sectarian behaviour in Scottish society. Students from Bellshill Academy and Cardinal Newman High School worked together to make a video about this form of prejudice and hate-crime, to deliver an anti-sectarian message to young people in the same age group. A NLC news release provides background and details.

BBC Scotland reported on the launch of this video which encourages tolerance of diversity and the eradication of sectarian actions and beliefs.

Glasgow’s ‘Sense over Sectarianism‘ programme continues to work in partnership with schools and community groups to improve the lives of local citizens.

June 7th, 2012

Join our Glow meet from Rio

imenzies

Comments: none Tags: Tags: action, climate and energy, community, democracy, events, human rights, learner voice, natural disasters, nature, poverty, water
 : Categories biodiversity, community, curriculum areas, learner voice, outdoor learning, religious and moral education, renewables and climate change, sciences, social studies, sustainable development

11am – 12pm, Tuesday 19 June 2012

WATCH again: See our Glow meet live from Rio+20 where young people from across Scotland put questions to Stewart Stevenson MSP, Minister for the Environment and Climate Change.What are your green dreams for the future?

What message will you send to world leaders?

How can Scotland become more sustainable?

What can we expect from this globally important event?

Over 150 heads of state and world leaders will gather in Rio de Janeiro from 20-22^nd June 2012 for crucial talks at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. Stewart Stevenson MSP, Minister for the Environment and Climate Change, will be one of those travelling to Rio as part of the official UK delegation.

Education Scotland, through Glow, is giving you the chance to link with the Minister live from Rio to learn more about the event and the hopes and expectations of the UK delegation.

The conference, referred to as Rio+20, will mark 20 years since the historic Earth Summit in the same city in 1992 which put issues such as climate change and the protection of biodiversity on the map and gave birth to Agenda 21 – an action plan for a sustainable future which was adopted by national governments, cities and local authorities across the world. Rio+20 will focus on seven priority areas including: decent jobs, energy, sustainable cities, food security and sustainable agriculture, water, oceans and disaster readiness.

Rio+20 provides an opportunity to move away from business-as-usual and to take bold steps to end poverty and address environmental destruction.

This will be an interactive Glow meet so get your questions, messages, ideas and green dreams ready for Rio!

• What is Scotland doing to protect the environment and promote sustainable development? What more could we be doing?
• What are your green dreams and ideas for the future? What should we have achieved by the time Rio+40 comes around?
• What messages would you like the Minister to pass onto other government officials and world leaders when he meets them for discussions?

This Glow meet will be suitable for learners in primary and secondary schools.  

Free Rio+20 resources are available at: http://bit.ly/JxZr5G

June 7th, 2012

SLF 2012 programme ‘live’ for visitors

nickmorgan

Comments: none Tags: Tags: slf2012
 : Categories citizenship, games and sport, health and wellbeing, learner voice, outdoor learning, religious and moral education, sciences, sharing practice, social studies, sustainable development

Education Scotland has published the seminar programme for the Scottish Learning Festival 2012, SLF 2012, our annual conference and exhibition for educators. The event takes place in Glasgow on Wednesday 19th and Thursday 20th September 2012, and we’ll be expecting thousands of education professionals to join us at the SECC from across Scotland, the UK and the world. Free to attend, the programme offers a wide range of keynotes, seminars and opportunities for professional dialogue. The overall theme this year is ‘Creative Learning, Creative Thinking’, and delegates will be exposed to creativity in many forms.

Global citizenship themes are well-represented among the seminars. Among the list of inclusions are sessions on educational work relating to Homophobia, Sectarianism, Games legacy, environmental projects, ‘pupil voice’, and international links. The full list of sessions, with the codes necessary for booking, is provided on the event site and also in the online interactive version.

In the Exhibition hall you’ll find many organisations involved in Scottish education, from the public, commercial and voluntary sectors. These exhibitors offer support for educators in many forms, and our team will also be running a ‘developing global citizens’ stand again this year – a chance for delegates to meet us and talk about how global citizenship is developing in Scotland.

Come and join us! We will add further updates about SLF 2012 to this blog as the dates get closer.