| TEACHERS OVERVIEW |
Education for Development: What is it, and why should I get involved? |
| Education for Development is not an additional school subject to be added to an already overburdened curriculum. Rather, it is a multidisciplinary approach to learning that aims to foster global citizenship in young people. Education for Development helps children and youth to explore the causes of global poverty and inequity and to envision the possibility of a better world. As students wrestle with global issues, they are called upon to look beyond themselves and to engage with others across borders of geography, politics, culture, religion and language. This, in turn, promotes the development of positive attitudes and values in students such as global solidarity, peace, tolerance, multiculturalism, social justice and environmental awareness.
Education for Development does more than just build knowledge, it also empowers young people with the vision that poverty, disease and injustice can be eradicated and that they have an active role to play in creating a better world. Through Education for Development, Canadian young people are encouraged to act as global citizens and to make responsible behavioural choices that promote global development and peace.
Education for Development is an investment in our children and in the future of our world. Teachers can actively contribute to global development by integrating Education for Development into their own pedagogical perspectives and classroom practices.
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Encouraging Global Citizenship in Your Classroom
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Through the unique relationship UNICEF maintains with schools throughout Canada, we provide curriculum-linked educational materials and resources that teachers can use in the classroom. We enhance young Canadians’ understanding of the world they live in, and empower them to effect global change through fundraising, awareness and advocacy.
Keep updated on new curriculum resources, significant upcoming dates and events and opportunities for students and teachers to get involved with UNICEF Canada by clicking on the following link to the monthly newsletter prepared by the Education for Development Manager in your region.
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Attention Teachers! Please complete this short survey and receive a free UNICEF resource.
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We greatly appreciate your taking the time to fill out this 5 minute survey of 10 questions. Your comments and insights will allow us to better meet the needs of teachers and young people in Canada who are interested in classroom based explorations of our global community. We will be pleased to send you a UNICEF video to use in your classroom upon completion of this survey, so please make sure you include your mailing address at the end of this survey. Thank you very much for your time!
Take survey now
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| Charting Global Education in Canada's Elementary Schools: Provincial, District and School Perspectives |
In Canada and around the world, the idea that schools should
equip children with the knowledge, skills and dispositions
required for participation in a more globalized world has become a standard feature of the educational policy landscape. To date, however, there has been relatively little research on how global education is being implemented in Canada, particularly at the elementary level.
UNICEF engaged the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) to undertake a major, cross-country study of the state of global education in Canada to help inform UNICEF’s work with teachers and administrators. Based on interviews conducted at the provincial, district and school levels across Canada, the research draws two important conclusions:
First, there has never been a riper moment for introducing global education in Canadian elementary education: interest and commitment to teaching about global issues is very high. For example, global education is included in the curriculum reaching primary grades in some provinces, and thousands of teachers are leading their schools in cross-curricular and whole-school approaches. However, there are also significant barriers to effective implementation; the dearth of support mechanisms for sustained curriculum development and pedagogical innovation; the fragmented nature of many NGO-initiated activities; and the low priority given to global education as compared to other subject areas.
Authors: Karen Mundy, Associate Professor and Director of the Comparative, International, and Development Education Centre, OISE/UT; Caroline Manion, PhD Candidate, OISE/UT; Vandra Masemann, Associate Professor, OISE/UT; Megan Haggerty, MA Candidate, OISE/UT
Research Design: Karen Edge, Institute of Education, University of London
Researchers: Annick Corbeil, Andrè Gagnè, Angela MacDonald, Kirk Perris, Lynette Shultz
For further information contact:
Karen Mundy — karen.mundy@gmail.com
Lisa Wolff — lwolff@unicef.ca
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Children’s Rights |
| We actively promote the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and encourage children to become more aware of their rights, and how those rights are respected in their own community, and worldwide. |
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UNICEF Canada’s Education for Development programme partners with the Canadian International Development Agency and YouCanTrust.
We are proud to receive support for various activities from:
The Winnipeg Foundation
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