Publication details
Promoting an inclusive learning environment by the Global Storylines: case study of Czech primary schools
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| Year of publication | 2014 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | Global education is an educational perspective which arises from the fact that contemporary people live and interact in an increasingly globalised world. Global dimension in education is involved in official curriculum in many countries. It creates the opportunity to implement not only new contents in the curriculum (social, ecological, political and economic issues), but to promote more participatory and inclusive learning environment for critical reflexion and discussion on the complex relationships and the role of an individual in a globally interconnected society. Global storylines approach, originated in Scotland, offers an opportunity to work with the global dimension in education in primary schools. Global Storylines combine traditional interdisciplinary methods of Storyline, with values-based research, process drama and deep reflection. Learners “become” characters within a community affected by a particular global issue and they have to work together to tackle various problems they face, e. g. and unknown and strange element (giant) interrupting their everyday life; the lact of natural sources (water) affecting community, the demand of help to another community etc. This experiential and participatory learning provides the motivation for teachers and learners to research the issue outside of the story and to make connections to what is happening in the real world, both locally and globally. Such approach has a strong potential not only to share the knowledge, but to involve and motivate all learners, nevertheless the level of their performance in other school activities or their actual position within the class. It is a way of elaborating inclusive educational environment as it is learner-centred and offers a space for flexibility needed to meeting the needs of children with special education needs needs (Bell, S., Harkness, S., White, G. 2007; Wals, A. E. J., Blaze Corcoran, P. 2012). Global storylines stress the partnership between teachers and pupils and help to create the free forum for sharing the ideas and developing new relationship to the others, nevertheless how foreign they actually are (Bell, S., Harkness, S., White, G. 2007). The aim of following paper is to present the process of implementation of the global education in the environment of primary schools with the use of Global Storylines approach withing the context of the Czech Republic. In the 3-years project, funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and run by an NGO „NaZemi“, a cohort of teachers is being trained in the Global Storylines and are piloting this approach in their everyday work. |