Oxfam GB

Oxfam UK improving youth participation in European school education

Thanks to an Erasmus+ project, Oxfam UK receives almost half a million euros in Erasmus+ funding. A group of five organisations from across Europe came together to develop methods and support for improved youth participation in global citizenship in European school education, providing young people with new skills, self-confidence and inspiration.

The project, called Schools for Future Youth (SFYOUTH) is a cross-sector strategic partnership, comprising Oxfam GB (UK), the lead organisation, Oxfam Italia (Italy), Polish Humanitarian Action (Poland), CARDET (Cyprus) and the Institute of Education (UK). SFYOUTH is supporting schools in the European Union (EU) interested in increasing their provision of global citizenship education in both formal and informal environments.

Being part of the project has given me confidence to speak out, not to be afraid to speak my opinions and to just be myself - participant, Woodside High School

Keeping it relevant

At the start of the project, each partner recruited a ‘hub school’ to develop and test their ideas and resources to ensure they are innovative and relevant for the target audiences in each project country and across the EU. The hub schools include Woodside High School in London; Zespół Szkół Handlowych in Katowice, Poland; Liceo Artistico in Arezzo, Italy; and Gymnasium Stavros in Nicosia, Cyprus.

“Working with SFYouth has been an amazing experience and has allowed me to explore global issues with students sharing our knowledge and experiences. It also gives our students a place to learn about the world, voice their opinions safely, and give them the confidence to speak out and grab important people's attention, making them realise that they have a responsibility to listen.” explains Alison Preston, a teacher from the UK hub school, Woodside High School.

Tools to engage

In an increasingly globalised economy, it is becoming more and more important for schools to nurture their students as global citizens. In order for schools to facilitate this approach, SFYOUTH created a number of tools and resources to equip young people with the knowledge, understanding, skills, values and attitudes to participate fully in a globalised society. Based on the partners’ considerable experience, they believe that young people’s learning, thinking and actions are integral to the achievement of a just, secure and sustainable future. Through the creation of thought-provoking resources and education toolkits for teachers and young people, the partners are aiming to create a more engaging curriculum for teachers using real life issues such as the right to education, or access to healthcare.

Benefits for pupils

Schools will be able to engage and motivate their young people to develop key skills and competencies such as critical thinking and communication as well as personal development, improving confidence and self-esteem. The project will also help schools to increase young people’s engagement within their own school and wider community, taking actions on issues they feel passionately about. 

I’ve gained leadership skills, learnt how to work in a group and learnt more about global issues - participant, Woodside High School

Ms Gerry Robinson, Co-Headteacher, from the UK hub school, Woodside High School tells us: "I was extremely keen for Woodside High School to be involved in the Schools for Future Youth Project as it was an opportunity for our students to look outwards, beyond Tottenham and London. Engaging in SFYouth encouraged students to challenge themselves by developing research skills and questioning the information that is available to them. It is easy for young people to become wrapped up in their own lives and their own experiences, but SFYouth challenges them to think about global issues. The real strength of SFYouth is that it allows young people to see that they can influence change; that their actions can really have an impact.”  

Support for teachers

The project also seeks to influence school leaders and school systems across Europe to increase the opportunities to bring global citizenship into more classrooms. To be effective global citizens, young people need to be flexible, creative and proactive and need to be able to problem solve, make decisions, think critically and communicate ideas effectively. The project aims to use active learning methods to develop these skills which involve teachers implementing more ‘learning by doing and collaborating with others’ elements into their classes.  SFYOUTH also aims to make more teachers aware of where they can make global connections.

SFYouth has been a really enlightening experience as a teacher that is incredibly valuable in education both for the pupils as well as the teachers involved. It has also given me excellent ideas for future lesson plans that will no doubt help to enrich the learning both inside my classroom as well as out - Nathan Watson, teacher at Woodside High School

Activities undertaken

Since the project began in September 2014, the hub schools have all undertaken interesting global citizenship actions within their Youth Ambassador Groups (YAGs) which were set up in each school as a voluntary, extra-curricular group which would meet outside of the formal school curriculum. Each group is student-led with a teacher overseeing the actions and activities of the young people. The Youth Ambassador Groups follow a ‘learn-think-act’ process and provide opportunities for young people to develop leadership, voice and participation. Some of the highlights of the SFYOUTH YAGs so far include a Hunger Banquet and Flash Mob at the Expo Milan 2015 in Italy raising awareness about inequalities in the global food system; a student led fundraiser in Cyprus to raise awareness about the broken food system and the impact of climate change; a “Speak Up on Climate” event in London to ask British MPs to do more to tackle climate change where over 9000 people attended and over 300 MPs were lobbied; and participation in the Fair Train Game in Poland which promotes responsible consumption, human rights and sustainable development.

Self-reflection

The project has already shown that young people feel impassioned to learn and act on global issues when provided with the opportunity and support to do so.

Being a Youth Ambassador makes me and my friends more determined to take action to make the world a better and fairer place - young person, UK Youth Ambassador Group

Second phase

Now in the second phase of the project, each of the partners have recruited an additional 8-10 ‘trial schools’ in their respective countries to further test the resources for teachers and young people. They are also encouraging young people to share ideas, post photos of the projects they are getting involved with and interact with other young globally minded individuals on the online networking space - SFYouth Wall.

“Joining the SFYouth Project has been an exciting and rewarding experience. Not only have I met many interesting people from different countries, but I have also learned a lot about global issues and being a global citizen. Last year, I enjoyed working with students to prepare our food bazaar in order to raise money for the Red Cross, as well as teaching students about global issues. This year, my trip to Poland was very productive and stimulating because of the different activities teachers, students and partners of the project engaged in. It was a great opportunity for all of us to come together and share ideas and insights that would inspire us to become global citizens.” Kalia Argyrou, teacher, trial school, Cyprus.

Read the report and access the tools

As part of the project’s initial scoping activity to determine the importance and relevance of a youth participatory approach to global citizenship education in Europe, a major report was published in January 2016. The report, produced by Dr. Douglas Bourn, Director of the Development Education Research Centre, Institute of Education, University College London, reviews current literature, policy and practice across Europe on how educational institutions are addressing the engagement of young people in global issues. It looks in depth at the evidence from the four partner countries in the project. 

A main theme of the report is the call for policy-makers and civil society organisations to recognise the different ways in which young people wish to engage in learning and taking action on global issues. Whilst there has been considerable activity across Europe in encouraging youth engagement in democratic institutions, this report suggests that insufficient attention has been given to the linkages young people make between their outlook on the world, their personal and social identity and the ways they use areas such as social networking to engage in societies.

The report is free to download and you can also access the current trial resources for the project; the Teachers Toolkit and the Youth Toolkit which are also downloadable as an app for Android phones. Final versions of the Toolkits will be available in early 2017 along with the final Academic Report and Policy Recommendations.

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