Can Global Citizenship Be Taught In The Foundation Stage?

[Guest]

Hi all, I'm not sure if I've posted this in the right place, still trying to get my head around the site, sorry.

Anyway, I've raised the question 'Can Global Citizenship be taught in the Foundation Stage?' as this is going to form the basis of my dissertation in September and wanted to get the opinions of people who work in different settings day in day out with children.

For anyone who doesn't know Global Citizenship pulls together history, geography and R.E and focuses on teaching these aspects with a link to the global dimension. It also covers issues of sustainability, human rights, poverty etc.

It is quite a complex topic and even though it is said that it can be taught and incorporated in to the foundation stage, I was wondering does it work on a practical level for such young children, as these are big issues to comprehend even for us adults.

If you are using/ teaching with a global aspect what kind of things do you do? I read the topic "What is food for?" relating to using foodstuff as part of play whether this is right or wrong? I'd love to hear what you all think. Thanks

[Steve]

Hi Reeza -

Can't answer the question I'm afraid, I'm just letting you know I've moved your query as I think it will find more readers in the research forum area than in the introductions one.

[HappyMaz]

Hi ReezaRee

 

I'm not sure if I've welcomed you before: but it not - warm welcomes!

 

I think my initial answer to your question is to say I don't know! I'm guessing you're thinking about children who spend their Foundation stage in a classroom rather than a pre-school setting?

 

If I had to answer a question about how we tackle these issues I'd point to things like taking part in the Feed the Children campaign at harvest, and working hard to promote children's self esteem so that they feel able to stand up for themselves assertively, etc etc. Small things that, when co-ordinated, can add up to a bigger picture but I'm not really sure it would meet your criteria.

 

How are you going to carry out the research? Do you know settings or schools that claim to be teaching global citizenship to very young children? If so will you be able to observe their practice? And I wonder how much existing literature there is around this topic?

 

It does sound like a really interesting area of research - and one final question I have is to ask how you'll know whether the answer to your research question is 'yes, no or maybe'?

 

Maz

 

No doubt you've seen "Growing up Global"?

[Guest]

Thank you, I'm still getting used to how to post things. Many thanks Steve

[Guest]

Thanks for the reply and welcome.

It is a tricky question and one I probably won’t be able to give a straight answer too. However I do know of schools that are trying to introduce a global aspect to their teaching; however it is not easy and is a rather complex topic for young children. I do believe it can be introduced slowly, with simple issues like recycling and food around the world things like that, I even think these could be introduced to children in preschool settings as they become more independent.

I will go about the research in different ways I think, conducting primary research in the form of my next placement actually trying to teach some aspects of the global dimension (teacher allowing) and also hunt down more schools that are already doing so. There’s a long way to go yet, but it is interesting. Many thanks for your insight, been a big help!

[HappyMaz]

Might be worth looking at the Eco schools initiative too - they may be able to point you in the direction of schools who are incorporating this throughout their curriculum.

 

Maz

[Rock Chick]

My LA have been working on bringing the Global Dimension to our Early Years settings, we have recently put on a training which included sessions on building small world islands with the children problem solving when someone wanted to build a motorway through their idyllic island, or when the turtles were having their eggs stolen, or when a hurricane destroyed part of the island. Another workshop focused on recycling and sustaining our environment, another on carrying babies using fabric, another on using music as a starting point. We also looked at quick tips such as having multicultural items as part of your everyday resources, such as gourds and baskets. Using positive images of children from around the world. Using different objects for counting such as indian bangles, making alphabet and number lines with photos of items from around the world.

EEDEN have a website which should be having some case studies soon for Early Years.

The key I think is not to treat it as a bolt-on but to try and put an element of the Global Dimension into all your practice.

'Begin at the Beginning' is also a good publication.

[Guest]

I believe we can we try to with our children we use cultural folders, our curriculum has a cultural area which filters down into everything else within our day and the children are taught about the world around them from around 2 years we have links with other early years settings around the world. The children have a copy of national geographic on the book shelf which is a great starting point for discussions. I would say its about a whole approach to what you do, showing children how they fit into the world around them.

jojom

[mundia]

Hi there Reezaree, sorry I didnt read this before now, and yes yes yes would be my answer. I hope that your studies are going well, Id be really interested to hear what you have found out by now.

 

I'm sure you have come across the book 'Growing up Global' published by OXFAM, well worth a read if you havent seen it yet. Also Kate Lea's article 'its good to get global' is packed with loads of ideas for resources. You can find that here

 

I think jojom and rock chick have some good ideas, it isnt about 'today we're going to talk about global citzenship' its about introducing things that become every day and starting with experiences children are familir with. Food is a good starting pint, but it can be extended to not just what we eat but HOW we eat. What about how we keep clean, where we sleep, how we play (that's my favourite). And linkng with an overseas school is great too.

 

Good luck with it all.

[cinderella1]

Hi there was some great stories in nursery world 2yrs ago with activities and ideas to support global citizenship, we covered these in mini topics within our nursery and have continued to use stories from around the world to support development and early global citizenship within our setting. Do a goggle as there are a few great sites full of resources. It sounds like a really interesting dissertation. What I would find interesting is how this supports further development as the children move up the School, does it make any difference?

 

oral story telling using first stories from around the world from tribes and other cultures before books existed or were accessable. Our children loved sitting in a circle with a pretend fire in the middle listening to oral stories and learning about tradtions/and/ in other cultures incidently