Description
The project addresses the need to introduce the so-called global education in the secondary school curriculum. The project aims at gaining support for global education by raising the awareness of students and boosting teachers’ competence. First, global education will be presented to the Regional education Inspectorates and school management in the cities of Sofia, Varna and Plovdiv. Then 10 pilot schools will be identified to take part in the project. Second, the attitudes of students and teachers in the 10 schools will be studied in depth through focus groups and interviews. Third, 30 teachers will be trained in global education and teaching techniques. Fourth, 40 lessons will be held to introduce global education in extracurricular activities. Finally, the school teams will be provided with supervision. The project will benefit the students and teachers involved, the school management, education authorities and the public in general.
Summary of project results
Global education has been growingly recognized as an alternative to the mainstream education system. Global education aims at developing critical thinking in young people to enable them to establish links between various global processes, promoting empathy, tolerance and personal involvement. This is how an active civil society is formed. The project aimed at boosting the competence of teachers in 10 schools related to teaching global education subjects and creating efficient models for teaching and involving young people with issues relevant for the global world. The goals were achieved and teachers raised their awareness of global education as an innovative teaching method and involved young people in various activities demonstrating thematic or regional interconnection of the modern-day world. Various alternatives were tested which showed different efficiency and thus contribute for future related activities. The project covered 10 schools in Bulgaria (Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna). 3 training sessions were held on global education topics and the main target group were teachers (32 in total). These teachers were also the main driver for the implementation of various school activities: conferences, model extracurricular activities, thematic discussions and lectures, environment protection activities, etc. (134 in total). The number of activities carried out exceeded many times the planned number because the schools involved had the autonomy to decide when and how to organize various events. The project also helped include global education as a theme in the School Education Act adopted even though that was not a goal set for it.
Summary of bilateral results