New Resource for ITET
World Studies Trust - Global Teacher Project

The Global Teacher Project has started work on a new publication which will provide guidance and support for ITET providers. The Project is working with a team of teacher trainers, global educators and a writer, and a basic framework has been developed. The resources will include definitions, practical examples of how key concepts can support ITET and models of practice.

We are now in the process of consulting a wider body of people. Suggestions, comments and examples are being sought via an email discussion.

If you would like to contribute to the consultation process, get in touch with Claudette Salmon: worldstudiestrust@leedsmet.ac.uk

From 2001 to 2004, Global-ITE, funded by DFID, brought together 3 universities: Gloucestershire, England, Egeston, Kenya, and Kapila Khandvala College of Education, India, in an innovative project to enable discourse between teachers, students and teacher trainers.

Here Jayashree Inbaraj and Subbalakshmi Kumar describe some of the work done by the Indian partners in this project.

Going to school should be an apprenticeship in citizenship and Global Citizenship is an integral and inseparable part of that. The ‘Global-ITE’ (Initial Teacher Education) programme is all about fostering Global Citizenship amongst the young people whom we meet in our classrooms.

In the Global-ITE project, global citizenship was represented by eight key concepts — citizenship, social justice, sustainable development, interdependence, diversity, values and perceptions, human rights and conflict resolution.

The project aimed to educate pre-service teachers and teacher-educators to bring the Global Perspective into their teaching. It used direct links between ITE institutions in three countries – Kenya, India and the UK.

Groups of trainees in each of the three countries, guided by one or more tutors, selected a theme related to one of the 8 key concepts mentioned above. The teachers then developed an ‘Action Research Project’ based on the issue and carried out citizenship lessons in the schools.

Most of the projects were discussed by the trainees from the three regions by communicating on the Global-ITE website. For instance the project on HIV Aids was carried out by the trainees in the three regions and presented as a holistic project at the UK Conference in 2003. This highlighted the similarities and differences between regions and the innovative ways in which the global dimension could be embedded within the respective curricula.

The long-term aim of the project was to add the global citizenship dimension into the teacher education curriculum, thereby ensuring its sustainability.

To summarize, the Global-ITE programme focused on four facets:
Building institutional support to make it sustainable
Introducing global perspectives through the curriculum,
Training teacher educators and student teachers
Providing a platform for collaborative learning through the website and exchange visits.

Participants in the programme felt that Global-ITE has provided them with experiences that help them
a) to appreciate the cause of global citizenship,
b) to assess the impact of global trends on the curriculum,
c) to create positive dispositions such as respect for self and others.

The project leaders have strived to make the Global-ITE process participatory, using skills such as communication, negotiation, listening, problem solving and cooperation. The trainees were also introduced to experiential learning, and were encouraged to make connections between the local and the global, and to design projects involving active local intervention.

The teacher trainees felt that the issue-based approach and working in partnership with an NGO made them more active and confident as entrants into the profession.

Jayashree Inbaraj
Lecturer and Global-ITE
Project Coordinator,
Kapila Khandvala College of Education,
Mumbai,

Subbalakshmi Kumar
Consultant for Education and Training and Project Manager for Global-ITE
Centre for Development Education,
Pune

For more information about Global-ITE: www.globaldimensiontrust.org

Northern Ireland is a society going through considerable change, not least within formal education. A full review of the Northern Ireland Curriculum is currently underway, with a focused commitment to meeting the needs of an ever-changing world. Current proposals emphasise the promotion of a variety of learning experiences, greater development of attitudes and dispositions, and increased skills and capabilities.

The phased introduction of the ‘Local and Global Citizenship’ curriculum is an exciting development at each level of the formal and non-formal education sector, and has implications for wider society. The University of Ulster/One World Centre project has played a central role seeing that development perspectives have been incorporated within this evolving curriculum and in advocating that any changes to schools curriculum must be reflected in Initial Teacher Education and beyond. We have advocated that Global Citizenship is crucial to young people’s development within an increasingly ‘globalised world’. and promoted the idea that learning about global issues can provide a building block to greater understanding of local citizenship issues, an important factor within the current political climate in Northern Ireland.

The Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment says the new curriculum proposals aim ‘to empower young people to achieve their potential and to make informed and responsible decisions throughout their lives’ . It emphasises the development of young people in three areas: as individuals, as contributors to society, and contributors to economy and environment. Teachers should provide young people with opportunities to develop concepts of personal understanding, moral character, citizenship, cultural, media, ethical, environmental and economic awareness, and sustainable development. Learning experiences that emphasise the importance of active and hands on learning, on-going reflection, development of critical and creative skills, mark a valiant departure from the content driven curriculum at present.

The phased introduction of Local and Global Citizenship shows dedication to producing a curriculum that meets the needs of an ever-changing world. These new proposals show a willingness to highlight Northern Ireland within the context of a globalised world and it now remains to be seen how they become fully implemented and realised.

One of the appealing features of the Learning and Teaching for Global Citizenship project at the University of Glasgow is that its aims and activities complement those of other developments currently running in the Faculty of Education. One such example, run by the Robert Clark Centre for Technological Education, is the NEWTECH project. This aims to develop intercultural education activities in initial teacher education courses and is an international partnership of teacher education institutions and schools from Romania, Belgium and United Kingdom, under the coordination of the Intercultural Institute of Timisoara. The project started from the need to provide teachers in the three countries with the methodology and pedagogical tools necessary to fully exploit the opportunities offered by the new information and communication technologies (ICT) for intercultural education.

These opportunities were expressed recently when both Projects collaborated on two Professional Development days for BEd and Post Graduate Primary students. The theme, “Listening to Children’s Voices”, provided a platform for pupils from Milngavie Primary School to present their thoughts to student teachers over two sessions. The young people from Milngavie, fresh from exchanging and critically analysing information posted on a shared website for schools in Romania and Belgium, stimulated debate on such as children’s rights, the environment and fair trade. Their Powerpoint presentations were very well received and the activity was of great benefit to pupils, students and staff.

It is the intention of the Projects to build on current work and develop this thinking across all teacher education courses at the University of Glasgow. Building the principles of global citizenship into the philosophy and practice of courses continues to be a principal ambition.

The “NEWTECH-The new technologies of information and communication” project was developed with the support of the Socrates-Comenius Programme of the European Commission. Dr Jane Magill can be contacted at j.magill@elec.gla.ac.uk or at 0141 330 3093.

The Learning and Teaching for Global Citizenship project was developed with the support of the Department for International Development and features a partnership between the Faculty of Education and the International Development Education Association of Scotland (IDEAS).

Harry Blee can be contacted at h.blee@educ.gla.ac.uk or at 0141 330 3424.

Following the success of this year's conference, the Global Teacher Project staff are now busy planning for the third and final conference in May 2005. Global Issues, Global Challenges will be held on 6th and 7th May next year, this time in London.

In the final year of the Global Teacher Project, the conference aims to provide inspirational models of good practice for bringing global perspectives into ITET and to
create sustainable networks between all those involved in promoting the global dimension in ITET. The conference is for those who work in ITET, those who have responsibility for supporting trainee teachers in schools, and those who seek to support teacher educators to deliver the global dimension and global citizenship in ITET.

Friday's keynote speaker will be Hugh Starkey, a well respected writer and lecturer in the field of human rights and global citizenship education. He is currently teaching at the University of London Institute of Education. He will be presenting his thoughts on the challenges for ITET in a global community. Margot Brown of the Centre for Global Education, in York , and Hilary Claire, key member of PENAC and lecturer at London Metropolitan University, will deliver presentations on the second day of the conference, drawing on their own experience in global and citizenship education and networking and collaborating in the field. Workshops will present innovative ideas for introducing the global dimension into ITET, and for collaboration, partnerships, networking and support.

We have been lucky enough to secure the Methodist International Conference Centre, in London. This fantastic venue not only offers excellent accommodation and catering just minutes walk from Euston Station, but also gives us the opportunity to organise some cultural and social events in central London. Trips to the theatre, or a musical event are options on top of socialising locally or in the hotel itself.

For further information check the Global Teacher Project website www.globalteacher.org.uk or contact Becky Moore on 0113 2832600 ext 5180, worldstudiestrust@leedsmet.ac.uk