Publication details
Addressing diversity and global issues in the public primary education: Global Storylines approach and its effects on learners and teachers
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| Year of publication | 2015 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | Finalizing the third year of the projects aimed to implement the Global Stroylines approach in the Czech educational environment, we would like to summarize the effects it has on the pupils and teachers as well. In this 3-years project, funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and run by an NGO „NaZemi“, a cohort of teachers (25 participants) is being trained in the Global Storylines and are piloting this approach in their everyday work. Within the research part of the project, conducted by the Institute of Research on Inclusive Education at Masaryk University, the continuous observation and data gathering (by researchers, as well as by involved teachers) are realized, focusing on the impact of the approach on the learning environment, the teachers and pupils. The paper will focus on the following questions: What are the main pitfalls and potentials of the Global Storylines, as experienced by the Czech teachers and learners? To what extent is the Global Storylines an effective tool to promote (1) inclusion in primary schools, (2) participatory learning and critical thinking as the inherent part of everyday school praxis, (3) working with complex and global issues in schools? The first phase of data analysis hase shown that the project increases the participation of learners in a learning process as it provides more incentives to do that that “normal” schoolwork. It increases the willingness to cooperate and the abilities to solve the conflicts in teams and to direct the cooperation to the desired aims. GSL approach contributes to the involvement of the imagination of the teachers and learners and it increases the self-confidence on both sides.Learners get easily used to their influence on the process of learning and are empowered by various means and in various contexts. GSL improves the class climate and shifts the teacher-learners relationship towards partnership. |