GYW CHALLENGE: Join in the debate

I was at the meeting of the DEA’s (formerly Development Education Association) Advisory Council yesterday and we talked around the results of their new groundbreaking MORI poll that showed that about 1 in 5 English schoolchildren may be left 'globally illiterate' due to the failure to educate them about world events and equip them to live and work in a globalised world.

Despite Government aims to be 'world class', formal education is failing to prepare these young people for the world they face, with 1 in 5 not discussing world problems or world events at school, regardless of proof of the positive effects this has. The research was released just ahead of the G8 summit to discuss major world issues such as climate change and development.

The research also showed that young people themselves want to learn about global issues, and that schools are not currently meeting this demand. Myself and a global youth work colleague from Lincolnshire Youth Service on the Advisory Council argued the place of global youth work to address this. We argued ‘global citizenship’s’ location within the structures and strictures of forced participation in formal education limit its access and utility for marginalised young people.

Hetan Shah, the DEA’s, CEO says,

"The Government wants young people to have a 'world class' education but a key question is whether it is preparing them for the world. Ahead of the G8 meeting to discuss world issues, we need to face reality. An education system that leaves English children globally illiterate, without a basic understanding of world events or problems and intolerant towards those from different backgrounds is one that sets children up to fail.

"We know that employers are no longer interested in those with a 'little England' mentality and parents worry that their children need a wider set of skills for life. Our research shows that global learning helps young people to make sense of the world and their place in it.”

This talks directly to Y Care International’s unique form of global youth work, with marginalised young people in the UK and Ireland who have little existing experience or understanding of global issues, and who have a sense of alienation and being excluded from their local communities.

MY PRE-PRAGUE GYW CHALLENGE IS FOR US TO LOOK AT THE DEA'S 'QUESTIONING EDUCATION' DISCUSSION PAPER AND IDENTIFY HOW AND WHERE GYW CAN PROVIDE AN ANSWER:

http://www.dea.org.uk/uploads/4453d22a64a184b4f76a113996448fcf/Questioning_Education.pdf

MORI poll:

http://www.dea.org.uk/uploads/4453d22a64a184b4f76a113996448fcf/Ipsos_MORI.pdf

Guardian Education article:

http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,,2289322,00.html

I look forward to hearing from you!