Blog archive
Achieving universal primary education across the globe. Simple? Far from it.
I was due to take part in a TV debate last week about the likelihood that the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) on education will be missed. I’d thought about what I wanted to say, considered the likely perspective of the other debate participants, and jotted down the questions we might be asked. Then, at the last minute, it was cancelled! Well, such is life – but I thought I might as well put the thinking I’d done to good use by penning a blog post on the subject.
Business, development and education
The Global Business Coalition for Education launched its ‘Business Backs Education’ campaign last month at the Global Education Skills Forum (GESF) in Dubai. The campaign challenges business to commit 20% of its philanthropic spending to education projects by 2020. The campaign has sparked a number of different conversations around the Think Global community.
Public understanding of the causes and solutions of international poverty
I attended an interesting presentation recently given by BOND, the organisation for UK-based NGOs working in international development. BOND will shortly publish new research exploring the UK public’s understanding of the causes and solutions of international poverty.
Grey area of supply chains is a kaleidoscope for learning
The World Economic Forum (WEF) - best known for its annual meetings in Davos – uses the strap line, ‘Committed to Improving the State of the World’. It is under this strap line that it published a report recently called, “Building Resilience in Supply Chains”.
6 in 10 young think NHS is a club drug
The headline is completely false - a shameless lie – entirely made up by me. In my defence, I am being provocative to make a point. If you are not too offended and read on you will receive a full and humble apology.
The point is about how media stories about young people tend to demonise, patronise, sexualise or more commonly just cast them as idiots – perhaps because it catches our attention?
The ‘democratic deficit’ in Cuba – what does it mean for the people?
I was fascinated to read Tom Franklin’s blog posting about the struggle between the Red Shirts and the Yellow Shirts in Thailand and his insights into some of the different opinions around the development of democracy more generally. Frankly, until I read his first-hand account of the situation there, I was under the impression that the Yellow Shirts were championing the cause of democracy. I now appreciate the greater complexity - that some people see them as fighting for the narrower interests of the urban population.
Global Schmobal – It’s the thought that counts
Recently, I was describing my work here at Think Global to a friend. She listened attentively, and nodded along, and I thought all my enthusiastic extolling of ‘intercultural awareness’, ‘critical thinking’ and ‘social justice’ was going down a treat. Suddenly she stopped me and said “Ok, hang on. I’m really sorry but I actually have no idea what you’re talking about. What do you mean by ‘globalisation’?”
What makes a great global learning resource for use in schools?
The good news is that teachers are showered with classroom resources, from both businesses and charities, on all manner of topics. The bad news (for those people who are devoting their time and money to produce these resources) is that many of them are hardly used.
A popular uprising – against democracy?!
I’ve just returned from travelling in Thailand and Cambodia over the New Year break. My adventure started in Bangkok – and I found it certainly lived up to its reputation for being overwhelmed by traffic jams and associated pollution. My adventure also ended in Bangkok, last week – and it was a very different city. Major roads were covered in tents, I could have lain down in the middle of the flyovers such was the lack of traffic, and the biggest road junctions had been turned into open-air pop concerts and markets. It felt like the city had been taken over by a mixture of Reclaim the Streets and the Occupy Movement.
Ten Questions for Global Learning
At Think Global, we work to support critical and creative learning about our complex, interdependent world. A global learning approach recognises a range of perspectives on any situation or issue, questioning and exploring why different individuals and organisations hold the views that they do, the evidence on which those views are based, and the values that underpin them.
How many interconnections?
Global interconnections reach all parts of our lives, and that includes our Christmas festivities.
In the UK, we collectively sat down to consume several million turkeys this yuletide, so it is a sobering thought that most of the new diseases that have emerged in humans over recent decades have been transmitted to us by animals. What’s more, a recent FAO report links the emergence of diseases such as HIV, SARS and new influenza viruses, with the human quest for meat, including how we farm to feed ever growing human populations.
Should charities work with profit-making businesses? I think the answer is yes.
The issue of whether charities should work alongside businesses whose primary goal is to make profit has been in the news recently. The recent BBC Panorama programme alleged that some charities might have reined in their campaigning in order to protect financially lucrative corporate partnerships.
What makes a great global teacher?
I see that the Varkey GEMS Foundation will be launching a competition to find the world’s greatest teacher in 2014. The competition is intended to recognise the importance of the teaching profession in the same way as the Nobel Prize recognises achievement in other fields. The prize is – wait for it – a cool $1 million!
Getting ahead in maths and science
It has, of course, been PISA publication time here in the UK, with all of the attendant angst about falling standards which always seems to accompany PISA. (Actually, I know someone who monitors the European press as part of their job, and the angst isn’t only ours – in Spain the headlines were ‘Spain slips’ and in France the headlines were ‘France slips’ and so on.)
Tesco: 1/3 of food is lost or wasted
It is good to see Tesco tackle head-on the issue of food waste. Visiting its website I was greeted by the headline, “Around a third of the world’s food is lost or wasted.”
Using universities to drive economic growth…and drive global answers?
Interesting report out today from Sir Andrew Witty, the boss of GlaxoSmithKline, proposing a £1 billion fund....
How High-Performing Nations Teach Global Skills
An interesting article comparing how some of the best education systems in the world have implemented reforms specifically so that their next generation is ready for the global economy.
Department for Education timeline for schools reform
The Department for Education (DfE) has over the past year announced a range of reforms to the education system in England. The department has now produced a helpful timeline for 2011-12.
‘Outward-facing’ schools outstanding to Ofsted
A new research report by Owen Education for CfBT called, To the next level: good schools becoming outstanding, has aimed to analyse the processes by which good schools move on to become outstanding.
Citizenship Foundation: “Teachers welcome the duty to promote community cohesion”
New research conducted by the Citizenship Foundation on behalf of CfBT Education Trust suggests that “nearly all teachers and schools welcome community cohesion and agree personally and professionally with its underpinning values, although they interpret the duty very differently, according to their school context and present practice.”
House of Lords highlights limitations of 'nudge'
A new report from the House of Lords argues that 'nudging' people to change their behaviour will have limited impact in isolation.
Survey highlights that racism continues to be ‘a real issue’ in schools
New research has found that 83% of teachers have witnessed jokes, name-calling and stereotyping in schools.
Labour sets out its view of 21st century education
In a speech on 21st century education this week, Andy Burnham argued that the government is in danger of preparing young people for a world that no longer exists by focusing on rote learning and valuing subjects such as Latin above Engineering, Business Studies and ICT.
Fairtrade Foundation is consulting on opening its membership to the grassroots
A consultation process has recently started to explore opening membership of the Fairtrade Foundation to the grassroots. This builds on the organisation's stated commitment to ‘work closely with the thousands of supporters and their networks who have been so vital to the growth of Fairtrade, giving them more say in shaping its future and holding it to account’.
Decline in TV programming on development issues according to new report
International Broadcasting Trust, a member organisation of Think Global, has just produced a new report Outside the Box. The report updates a longitudinal study which has been running since 1989, looking at the level of international factual programming in the UK.
DfE report: Critical thinking is crucial to prevent extremism in schools
An in-depth research study, conducted by the Office for Public Management (OPM) and the National Foundation for Education Research (NFER) and published by the Department for Education (DfE), has found that “skills in independent and critical thinking are the key to helping students resist the pull of violent extremism” (Sec Ed, 8th June).
Employers dissatisfied with international cultural awareness
The CBI’s new Education and Skills Survey 2011 shows that employability skills are the most important factor considered when employers recruit. 4 in 5 employers (82%) value these skills.
The survey showed that amongst the poorest performing of the so-called employability skills exhibited by school-leavers were international cultural awareness skills.
Living Below the Line - Team Think Global
From 2-6 May Team Think Global are going to Live Below the Line - trying to live on £1 a day for food and drink over five days. Team members will add posts to this blog about their progress. Read how they are getting on so far...
Living Below the Line
This week two Think Global staff members will Live Below the Line on £1 a day for five days. Others in the team will follow in May. Staff are doing this to better understanding the challenges faced by 1.4 million people living in extreme poverty, and to raise funds for anti-poverty initiatives. Max and Michaela will be limiting their food and drink to £1 a day, and adding occasional postings. Here is how they are getting on so far.
Sustainable Schools Alliance launched to help young people make a difference on sustainability
As we watched the catastrophic events unfold in Japan in recent weeks it is easy to feel powerless. Following one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded and a truly devastating tsunami it is hard to know what we can practically do from the other side of the world.
Aid stuck in the 1980's?
An important new report for the development community was launched this week - Finding Frames (http://www.findingframes.org/). The report provides an excellent analysis of the level of public understanding of development and argues that it is stuck in the 1980s. It shows that much of the public believes that poverty in poor countries arises from internal causes such as corruption or famine or natural disasters. The report argues that development NGOs have contributed to this lack of understanding through their fundraising models which have focused on heart rending imagery but with little context.
Please respond to the National Curriculum review before 14th April
Please take five minutes to respond to the national curriculum review, which is open for consultation until 14th April 2011.
What kind of education enables us to cope with an interconnected world?
This was the topic of conversation at a Cambridge Assessment yesterday, exploring what employers and learners consider vital skills for the 21st century.
Education key to food security: Foresight report
An unsettling new report from the Foresight project and Chief Scientific Adviser, Sir John Beddington, grapples with how we feed the world as the climate changes, resources dry up yet the number of mouths to feed increase. The report, also supported by DFID and Defra, points to education and awareness of citizens in prosperous countries being a critical feature of achieving sustainability and supporting the world's poorest through their daily decisions.
David Attenborough declares his support for global learning
We were pleased to read in a recent Guardian article that David Attenborough thinks lessons on the environment are as important as the three Rs.
Theatre Fundraiser tonight: Call Mr Robeson
The team at Think Global are to attend the award-winning play, Call Mr. Robeson this evening which will be raising funds for our charity. The play is showing at the Theatro Technis on Crowndale Road, near Mornington Crescent Tube Station.
UK Development performance beyond aid
Discussions about development have recently been very focused on aid - almost as if the two are synonymous. But of course they are not.
New research report on the response of FE to the challenges of globalisation
A new research report argues that the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) has an important role to play in promoting international strategies within colleges, and highlighting the links between the global dimension and skills and employment agendas.
Big Lottery podcast on international funding
Hetan Shah, DEA's CEO recently spoke at a Big Lottery Fund event for the UK's international funders about why it's so important to maintain support for overseas causes in the difficult financial climate.
Africa United in cinemas 22 Oct
The launch of Africa United the movie is fast approaching. Films can be a great way to engage learners.
Champion for children's issues and international development issues wins MP of the Year
An MP who champions children's and international development issues was recognised as MP of the year at a ceremony in London last night.
Annette Brooke, MP for Mid Dorset & North Poole received the award for MP of the Year from the BBC's Chief Political Correspondent Laura Kuenssberg at the Dods & Scottish Widows Awards.
Global Student Forum gives young people the confidence to engage others on global issues
The Global Student Forum, held on 29th June 2010 in London, has given a boost to sixth-formers' confidence in engaging politicians, peers and the media in global issues.
New Guardian Global Development website
The Guardian, with support from the Gates Foundation, has launched a new Global Development website.
What does the UK public think about aid?
A new report from the Institute of Development Studies explores the UK public's attitudes to aid.
How does social change happen?
A rich new report from NCVO considers a wide range of questions about how social change happens. It considers the differences between incremental and radical change, different theories of change, different routes to change and the different strength and weaknesses of social marketing and participatory educational approaches. The report will be rewarding reading for those working in a range of settings to create change.
Education for Sustainable Development in the UK in 2010
As the second half of the UN Decade for Sustainable Development unfolds the UK National Commission for UNESCO reports on Education for Sustainable Development in the UK in 2010. The report finds that in 2008 and 9 there were signs of substantial progress in embedding policies and practices in support of ESD in the UK across a wide range of sectors.
Communicating climate change to the mass public
A new report reviews how to communicate climate change to the mass public. It makes seven recommendations:
The role of the UK in global poverty reduction
A new paper by Chatham House written by Kevin Watkins looks at the role of the UK in global poverty reduction. Their research shows that whilst half of ‘opinion-formers' see increased aid as part of an ethical foreign policy for achieving influence in the world, only 29% of the public endorse the view that the government is right to protect aid from public spending cuts.
New DFID research on public attitudes to development
The Department for International Development (DFID) has recently released a report of its latest wave of research into public attitudes to international development, conducted in February 2010.
If I look at the mass, I will never act
I recently came across a compelling paper by Paul Slovic, which explores why the public finds it so hard to respond to genocides and other mass events. He reviews the research which shows that people find it very hard to get their minds around abstract large numbers.
For example, he talks about an experiment where people were given the opportunity
How to encourage greater compassion?
An interesting article in the Economist argues that the poor are more compassionate than the rich. What is particularly interesting is that the rich can be made to be more compassionate through helping them empathise:
New research on young people's interest in global issues
The results of a new survey from DEA member GLEAN (the Global Learning Network South West) offers an interesting picture of young people's interest in and knowledge about global issues.
The complexity of aid
In an interesting article in the Guardian, Madeleine Bunting outlines the backlash against aid. She says "Aid cynicism is on the rise, boosted by the work of people such as US economist Bill Easterly, with his influential Aidwatch blog, and Dambisa Moyo, whose book Dead Aid attracted much attention despite the inadequacies of its proposals.
From Hot Air to Happy Endings
An interesting report from Green Alliance considers how to inspire public support for a low carbon economy. There are some fascinating chapters in this book. George Lakoff shows how the very way we frame the environment means we think of it as 'other' to ourselves. Tom Crompton from WWF and his co-authors Tim Kasser and Joe Brewer note that ultimately the values that organisations appeal to are critical, and that organisations that appeal to narrow self interest may ultimately promote values which undermine a more sustainable society.
Big Global Society?
David Cameron has relaunched the Big Society idea this week. The concept of unlocking social action by the public is something that is dear to our hearts at DEA, and fits very much with the sentiment in our Global Learning Charter which had over 200 organisational signatories.
Sustainable schools report published
A new research report is available from the University of Bath's Centre for Research in Education and Environment (CREE). This research, funded by the Government Office South West (GOSW), and carried out by William Scott, is a response to a call from DCSF (now DfE) in 2009 for more research into the link between the work of sustainable schools and national Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) indicators.
Africa United
Last week I went to a special screening of a forthcoming film called Africa United. The film is from Pathe - the same stable as Slumdog Millionaire. It is a very watchable story - about a set of young people from different parts of Africa who wish to travel to South Africa to get to the World Cup.
'nudge' and 'think' to influence public behaviour
I've just come back from a policy roundtable looking at 'nudge' and 'think' as alternative ways of influencing public behaviour. 'Nudge' has become fashionable in policy circles recently as a way of getting people to do the right thing by steering them in the right direction. (See a publication I wrote several years ago about this way of thinking: http://neweconomics.org/sites/neweconomics.org/files/Behavioural_Economics_1.pdf). But nudge is limited in many ways.
Organisations call for halt to political short-termism
DEA has, in conjunction with other civil society organisations, called upon the new government to tackle political short-termism through developing new democratic initiatives such as an annual "State of the Future" speech.
DCSF report on the positive impact of sustainable schools
A new report from the Department for Children, Schools and Families summarises available evidence for the educational and social benefits of learning in a sustainable school, highlighting the impact on young people's learning, attainment and well-being.
