CITIZENSHIP


Act Global aims to develop critical thinking and action in


young people. Project manager Ade Sofola explains


A


T THE start of 2010, despite significant advances in technology we still face huge global issues: poverty, violent conflict, disasters, climate change, disease, prejudice and sustainability to name a few. Each of these issues is complex,


but it is within our grasp to manage or mitigate them. Act Global, a joint programme from the Citizenship


Foundation and Relief International UK, encourages young people to discuss these issues in a framework that allows for ambiguity. It enables young people to discuss and form opinions on the world and global issues. Act Global aims to co-create a world with students,


teachers and other citizens that is socially and environmentally safe, and just for all. To achieve this we believe that all members of the global community need to understand the causes, effects and issues surrounding poverty, as well as the responsibility and opportunities for change that exist for all. The project focuses on facilitating participants to


identify, assess and make sense of their footprints (a mapping of impacts or influence) before taking steps to minimise their negative influences and maximise their positive ones. Learning to think globally and act locally is a central


theme of Act Global’s work. Focusing on relevant, meaningful and personal activities, we encourage


Union address: Voice Where is the honesty?


Pupils and parents who do not accept authority can make teaching in and managing schools extremely difficult. But this is a problem that


politicians do not recognise, says John Till


WHEN PRESENTING the annual report of Estyn for 2008/09, the chief inspector in Wales commented on her concerns about the disappointing levels of achievement among the poorest, most deprived and most vulnerable young people in Wales. She said that more needed to be done to tackle this underachievement. In the discussion that followed there was much


nostalgic reminiscing about the days when every mining town and village had its miners’ institute to which men would go after completing their shifts to further their own education. It was suggested that the lack of a similar desire for self-improvement today was behind many of the problems faced by teachers. It is not a valid comparison. Most of those


heading to the miners’ institute had had no opportunity to progress beyond elementary education and employment as manual workers in the local industries. But many were intelligent men who could see no reason why they should be denied opportunities enjoyed by those from different backgrounds. They were sensible enough to take advantage of


what was available to them through local initiatives, co-operative movements, trade unions and political parties. Their great achievement was the 1944 Education Act. And, thanks to that, their children became the teachers, doctors and lawyers of the next generation, and did not need the miners’ institute anymore. But did all pre-war manual workers share this


desire for learning and self-improvement? Surely there were those who preferred other pursuits and had little time for the reading room or the WEA (Workers’ Educational Association) class. And do their descendants include those in the present generation who are so hostile and resistant to the educational opportunities secured for them? And to what extent are these negative attitudes responsible for the underachievement which concerns Estyn? Challenging those attitudes and overcoming that


resistance are perhaps the greatest challenges for the education service today, not just in Britain but in all developed countries.


What are schools to do with those who will not


accept the values and expectations of most parents and teachers and who, by their attitude and actions, prejudice the experiences and opportunities of others? Even with the most inspired and committed teaching there seem to be some who want none of it, and they are the ones who bring down the levels of achievement in the schools they attend. Now not all children from the poorest and


most deprived backgrounds are troublemakers. And troublemakers do not come exclusively from such backgrounds. But schools serving deprived communities do find it more difficult to reach the standards of attainment and behaviour achieved by schools in more comfortable areas. The reasons are well known, but chief among


them, surely, is the fact that they are likely to include enough pupils (and parents) who simply do not accept any authority, to make teaching in and managing such schools extremely difficult. Faced with constant challenge and disruption, it is not easy to create the kind of environment and relationships which will allow schools to make progress with those from deprived and vulnerable backgrounds. Dealing with the truly unbiddable is possibly the


most immediate problem for classroom teachers and headteachers. It affects their health as well as the reputation of their schools. Yet none of the political parties have shown any indication that this is a priority or even an issue which is recognised. We look for ways of avoiding contact with such


young people without actually saying so. We talk about restoring teachers’ powers to discipline pupils. And we embark on structural changes which are likely to push more of the most challenging pupils into the most challenged schools while deluding ourselves with the thought that a “pupil premium” will persuade the most successful and comfortable to open their doors to them. Where is the honesty?


• John Till is professional officer (Wales) with Voice. Visit www.voicetheunion.org.uk


Act Global


thinking about everyday interdependences through a rights-based lens. This equips students to become “change agents” and enables them to raise the profile of global poverty issues. The Act Global project has been designed for


students aged 13 to 14 and offers schools five main vehicles of learning: lesson plans, online networks, clubs, residential and CPD training. The lesson plans develop students’ ability to discuss


complex issues and develop solutions. Every half-term a new set of resources is created for teachers focusing on specific global issues, including violent conflict, sustainability and migration. The Act Global online networks (one for teachers


and one for students) provide a place for young people and teachers to meet and discuss global issues with their peers. The resources, to encourage young people to take


action on global issues, can be used to run extra- curricular activities or extended schools clubs. And there is an opportunity to take part in a residential training weekend. This builds on skills, knowledge and general awareness of global issues in local communities, and leads to Global Youth Activist projects that tackle key global issues (Global Youth Activists will be leaders in their local communities, championing increased awareness and understanding of global issues and the links between our communities and those issues). Act Global also offers free CPD training that


supports learning around developing tools for building knowledge and understanding of the global dimension in schools. We offer practical tools of engagement through e-learning and activities that lend themselves to a range of accreditation programmes.


Young people and Act Global


We have created Act Global resources to ensure that young people who participate in the lessons or the extra-curricular activities (or the Global Youth Activists in training) are able to attain a minimum number of skills, which can support their knowledge of global issues to bring about a level of engagement in these issues. Young people that take part in Act Global can expect


to develop skills on how they can challenge global poverty in their own (local) communities. They will also develop, among other things, influencing skills (at a range of scales depending on what part of the project they participate in). These skill sets will be useful for young people as they leave school, as they will be able to refer to them on their CVs, and are also very beneficial life skills. Act Global seeks to build links between young


people, between teachers, between schools and between countries. We offer schools the opportunity to work alongside international schools through the online network, using our resources or projects that other teachers recommend. For our participating schools, this provides a valuable framework for global learning and gives a solid basis for an equal partnership between schools.


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Global understanding: Act Global aims to help students to understand the causes, effects and issues surrounding poverty, as well as the responsibility and opportunities for change that we all have


An example of this partnership work was an activity


we ran early on in the autumn term. We started a group on both the student and teacher networks called “If I could change one thing”. Students were asked to think about what issue they


would change in their communities if they had the power. We received a range of submissions from UK students as well as from our international schools and this formed the basis of our celebration event at City Hall in London in October last year. At the event, participating students and teachers


came together with politicians and staff from the development sector to create a list of actions to tackle issues of global poverty. The students were able to present and celebrate the success of the campaigns they had been working, with the aim of inspiring others to take action.


What does Act Global offer to teachers?


While there are clear benefits for students who participate in the Act Global project, we have created a project that also delivers some tangible and clear benefits to participating teachers: • A tailored training session on the global dimension and the use of social networks in learning.


• A comprehensive toolkit for running Act Global lessons.


• Seven visits from the outreach officer (one pre-visit and then one visit per week for six weeks).


• A social network for contact with other facilitators. • Online support and mediation via the social network.


• A certificate/recognition for CPD folders. • CPD sign-posting to courses and events. This month, as part of our commitment to


supporting teachers’ and students’ understanding of the global dimension, we will be hosting the first Act Global talks in partnership with the Royal Commonwealth Society. The event is entitled “What if… there were no


borders?” and will be held in London on January 25, and will coincide with the launch of our five lessons on migration. The project is funded until March 2012 and we are


keen to engage teachers and students in the networks and give opportunities to schools to participate in the free CPD training, residential, and take advantage of the free resources to strengthen global learning.


SecEd • Ade Sofola is project manager at Act Global.


Further information For more information about the programme, contact Leila Nicholas, Act Global project officer, at Leila.nicholas@citizenshipfoundation.org.uk, or sign up to the network at www.teachactglobal.org


SecEd • January 13 2011


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