How can we be aware of the global dimension in our own teaching programme?
The global dimension (including global interconnections and global citizenship) is already represented as a statutory component of national curricula in the UK. In the National Curriculum for geography in England, for instance, there is direct reference to a study of global citizenship, and it is similarly represented in the national curricula for other countries. It is also part of the GCSE criteria for geography. In England, the KeyStage3 (KS3) and KeyStage4 (KS4) programmes of study for citizenship contain many geography-related examples. Read the following two quotes and then work through the activity on the right.
Global issues are part of young people's lives in a way that they never were for previous generations.
(DfEE, 2000, p. 2)
Underlying the notion of a global dimension to the curriculum are eight key concepts. These underpin subject areas and help us clarify what the global dimension means.
(ibid., p. 8)
Activity Resources:
- Images
- Interactive
- Sound
- Text
- Video
Activity
- Click on the Text icon and complete the 'Key concepts' table by identifying two examples of how your current teaching develops each of the eight concepts.
Consider these questions.- Which two concepts feature most frequently as part of your teaching? Is there a variation between the key stages?
- Which two concepts feature least frequently as part of your teaching? Is there variation between the key stages?
- Are there opportunities to develop these concepts as part of your teaching?
- Reflect on examples of the global dimension in practice by exploring the following websites and identify examples that you might be able to build into your current schemes of work. National Curriculum National Curriculum in Action QCA DfES Standards Site AQA Edexcel WJEC OCR
