Scottish secondary schools and their links with developing countries: study

Appendix II – Global learning classroom materials

British council: On their website the British council provide a page where teachers can browse teaching resources for global learning. These resources are supposed to “give your class a glimpse into other cultures and provide a base to develop international partnerships”. They include a wide variety of topics, from international conflicts, to homelessness, infectious diseases, sea level rise and food security. They are aimed at different age groups, with most targeted the 7-11 and 11-14 year olds, and consist of background information, lesson plans and activities to do in the classroom. Some are linked to a specific subject, but most offer cross-curriculum activities. These resources are developed by the British council, together with other organisations.

Education Scotland: On the National Improvement Hub of the Education Scotland website teachers can find case studies of how other schools have brought global learning into their classrooms. These are resources to reflect on Learning for Sustainability^[2], case studies on project and activities and a few lesson packs^[3] on global citizenship, as well as case studies of school partnerships with countries all over the world^[4]. For specific teaching materials the hub refers to the British council website.

Learning for Sustainability Scotland: As with the Education Scotland National Improvement Hub the website of Learning for Sustainability Scotland mainly show case studies as inspiration. Part of the resources teachers can also find notes and presentations of previous workshops, as well as subscribe to a monthly bulletin

IDEAS: The website of IDEAS provide brief information on what global citizenship and school partnerships are, and then provide links to several other organisations that provide more specific information: the DECs, Signposts and Stride (IDEAS online magazine) for teaching resources, the British council for school partnerships and Bridge 47 on global networks and connections.

DECs: There are five Development Education Centres in Scotland. Each DEC has its own website, with their own lay-out offering different types of CPD courses. However, when it comes to learning resources for teachers they all refer to Signpost, the IDEAS global citizenship teaching resources website. One World Centre Dundee and Scotdec also provide some lesson material on their own website.

Scotland-Malawi Partnership: The SMP provides some lesson ideas to incorporate Malawi into secondary school lessons. Their booklet^[5] focuses on Malawian food and fair trade and includes some information and personal stories of farmers on the coffee making process.

Signposts: A website specifically for providing resources to teachers on global learning. It includes material on a whole range of topics, such as racism, slavery, trade, human rights, climate change, food and health and for a range of ages.. It also provides information on useful illustrations and stories and novels as well as links to guides to better understand what global learning is and aims for. These resources are made by several different organisations, such as the DECs but also Oxfam, ActionAid and the SMP.

Stride: a magazine, managed by the DECs that aims to “be a source of inspiration and support for teachers delivering education for Global Citizenship in Scotland.”^[6] It provides articles on global issues, school partnerships, news from NGOs and overview of training courses and events. It also has resources for teachers on critical analysis of news and media (images) in the context of global citizenship.

Oxfam: Next to more general guides and activities on global citizenship education and the sustainable development goals, Oxfam also provides resources on specific issues, such as the crisis in Yemen and Cyclone Idai as well as lesson material linked to specific Oxfam campaigns. Their guide to school partnerships will be discussed in the next subsection.

Global dimension – Reboot the Future: The global dimensions website it set up by Reboot the Future, a charity that promotes “a more compassionate and sustainable world”^[7]. The website aims to bring together resources, case studies and background information for teachers on global citizenship. They give some suggestion to teachers how to include global learning: exploring local, topical issues from a global perspective, look for the global dimension in how your school operates, consider the impact of your school’s buying on other countries, include professional development and reflection and promote optimism and action. The materials for in the classroom include specific topics and subjects but also cross-curricular activities. The materials are from a wide variety of different organisations. It is the website with by far the most lesson materials pooled together.