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Changing Horizons in Geography Education - HERODOT Network ...

Changing Horizons in Geography Education - HERODOT Network ...

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dropp<strong>in</strong>g litter. There is circle time <strong>in</strong> some schools. Political literacy however is notdeveloped <strong>in</strong> either the primary or secondary curriculum. The children are encouragedto know about and to take an active part <strong>in</strong> their own communities.Contacts were made dur<strong>in</strong>g the first year of research with 10 primary schools <strong>in</strong>England to determ<strong>in</strong>e how they have prepared to <strong>in</strong>clude the citizenship programmeof study. Discussions revealed that all the schools had well developed Personal, Socialand Health <strong>Education</strong> plans and that they were aware of the need to enhance theiractivities to <strong>in</strong>clude other aspects of citizenship. Currently the global dimensionis under represented and the European dimension virtually non-existent. At KS2,ages 7 to 11, <strong>in</strong> depth knowledge of local services, local and national governmentis weak.Dur<strong>in</strong>g the first year contacts were also made with organisations such as Oxfam,Warchild, Centre for <strong>Education</strong> <strong>in</strong> World Citizenship (CEWC) the GeographicalAssociation and the International Geographical Union (IGU). These agencies aredevelop<strong>in</strong>g relevant resources to support teach<strong>in</strong>g and learn<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> citizenship andthe IGU organised a British conference on Citizenship <strong>in</strong> Geographical <strong>Education</strong><strong>in</strong> 2003 (Kent and Powell 2004). Contacts with several European universities werealso established with a view to collect<strong>in</strong>g further relevant data dur<strong>in</strong>g the project.Further advice on citizenship education has been provided by Walk<strong>in</strong>gton (1999),Flew (2000) and Grunsell (2002). The Development <strong>Education</strong> Association (1999)<strong>in</strong> their publication on human rights consider the possibilities of how to <strong>in</strong>cludecitizenship issues <strong>in</strong> the primary curriculum.It was anticipated that the end product of the project will be to develop guidancefor schools on how to implement effectively aspects of citizenship <strong>in</strong>to the geographycurriculum. The strategy to achieve this aim will be by produc<strong>in</strong>g resources,organis<strong>in</strong>g events such as a Model United Nations General Assembly (MUNGA) forprimary schools and provid<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>-service tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g. L<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g with the CEWC will helpto further develop ideas to support our work with students and teachers.<strong>Education</strong> and citizenship <strong>in</strong> Kerala, IndiaThe visit to India was a culm<strong>in</strong>ation of our research project on the role of globalcitizenship education <strong>in</strong> the primary curriculum. The aims of the visit were:• To <strong>in</strong>vestigate the teach<strong>in</strong>g of citizenship at the University of Kerala, State TeacherTra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g College and <strong>in</strong> primary and secondary schools,• To <strong>in</strong>vestigate the national curriculum for citizenship <strong>in</strong> Kerala,• To engage <strong>in</strong> dialogue with prom<strong>in</strong>ent educationalists whose <strong>in</strong>terests are <strong>in</strong>develop<strong>in</strong>g global citizenship,• To visit schools <strong>in</strong> the cities of Trivandrum and Kochi.• To visit geographical sites <strong>in</strong> Kerala such as the Backwaters, Farm<strong>in</strong>g projects,Rural self help Projects, hill stations and plantations.• To determ<strong>in</strong>e if an understand<strong>in</strong>g of citizenship differs between rural and urbanareas <strong>in</strong> Kerala.• To <strong>in</strong>vestigate whether the people of Kerala see themselves as global citizens..272

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