In global network. Development challenges for Central Asia

Nom du partenaire

St. Stanislaus Kostka Public Junior High School in Cracow
35th Wojciech Bednarski Secondary School of General Education in Cracow
Junior High School at Królowa Jadwiga School Complex in Żegocin
Jan Matejko Secondary School of General Education in Wieliczka

Role:

Autre
Autre
Autre
Autre

Autre:

Partner/Beneficiary
Partner/Beneficiary
Partner/Beneficiary
Partner/Beneficiary

Name of establishment / organisation

Association Instytut Wschodnich Inicjatyw

Contact person

Agnieszka Słomian

iwi@iwi.org.pl

Address

Instytut Wschodnich Inicjatyw, ul. Salwatorska 5/10

30109 Cracovie

Poland

Start date and duration of project

01/09/2014 to 05/12/2014

Level

High school
Middle school

Number of pupils, teachers and staff involved

129 students, 42 teachers, 3 trainers/experts

Topics

Climate change, Environment and natural resources, Intercultural understanding, Migration, Other, The economy

Subject areas

Geography, History, Languages, Other

Please specify how the project was carried out

Classroom work. Interdisciplinary project: school games, seminars, workshops, meetings

Teaching and learning objectives

Main objective: raising the level of knowledge of young people concerning social and economic issues in Central Asia by spreading information about development dilemmas of this region.
Detailed objectives:
- increase of knowledge and awareness concerning global problems occurring in Central Asia among approximately 60 junior high school students and 60 high school students in the Małopolska Province,
- combating stereotypes concerning the Central Asia region,
- raising the awareness of the role of global education and occurrence of global challenges with reference to the societies in Central Asia with 42 teachers who will take part in the meeting for teachers in particular partner schools,
- establishing and maintaining cooperation between the Eastern Initiative Institute and schools,
- increase of the activity of students and teachers in the field of global education, encouragement to individual development of knowledge about the subject,
- demonstrating teachers the possibility of including global education in systematic subject teaching.

How did the project originate? What needs does it address?

The reason for the implementation of the Project was the need to promote selected social and economic aspects of Central Asia among students of junior high schools and high schools. According to the Eastern Initiative Institute (IWI), many teachers from schools in Małopolska have no knowledge or competences in the field of global education, which would enable them to include it in programme teaching. Moreover, there are no trainings or access to didactic materials. On the basis of the conducted research and previously implemented projects, IWI is of the opinion that there is a large demand for such type of projects in small towns, e.g. Żegocin and Wieliczka, which do not have such access to education or culture as large cities do, but on the other hand, they are buoyant centres whose inhabitants are involved in many local activities, and schools support interests of their students. In the opinion of the society, there were no initiatives concerning global problems of Central Asia in the territory of Cracow either. Due to the specific character of the society, the project entitled «In global network. Development challenges of Central Asia » was supposed to be a response to the above needs.

Summary

1. Organisation of activities (including development of a management plan and project promotion; preparation of materials; organisational meetings at schools).
2. Educational workshops (4 workshops at 4 schools entitled: « Map of Problems in Central Asia », « Problems related to Water and Natural Disasters », « Ethnic and Cultural Diversity », «Economic Migration and Economy »).
3. Briefing for school subject teachers, i.e. social studies, history, geography, biology, basic entrepreneurship.
4. School game and seminar (within the framework of Global Education Week: 2 school games for students of junior high schools and high schools plus 2 seminars summarising the project, during which tasting of traditional dishes from Central Asia took place).
5. Evaluation and completion of the Project.

Did your project have a final outcome ?

- 1 evaluation report,
- 4 workshop scenarios,
- 4 statements concerning the workshops and 1 statement on the meeting with teachers,
- approximately 50 materials prepared by the participants of workshops (posters),
- 6 Power Point presentations presented during workshops for students,
- 2 Power Point presentations presented during meetings with teachers,
- distribution of 10 animated films about problems and challenges concerning Central Asia,
- 4 papers written by volunteers and students,
- 2 files with school game results,
- 2 school game scenarios,
- over 100 chronicle photos.

http://iwi.org.pl
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLswt3u5P0z5NiKdyCQsTafek6pGpDo5tr

What communications and dissemination strategy was used for the project ?

Close cooperation was established with 4 schools which the Eastern Initiative Institute provided with 4 sets of books concerning the problems of Central Asia, which are in school libraries now. The Project website contains an account of the Project and didactic materials used during classes. The Project results were promoted on the Facebook profile of the society, and there was a chance to win a book in a knowledge competition about Central Asia. In August 2015, one of the partner schools (in Żegocina) took part in students' exchange within the framework of another IWI project entitled « Polaka z Kazachem rozmowy » (Talks between Poles and Kazachs).

What outcomes and changes did the project generate ?

There has been an increase of the dynamics of educational activities to the benefit of global education in 4 schools in Małopolska Province. The awareness of approximately 129 students from Małopolska concerning global problems in Central Asia was raised. There was an increase in the activity of 42 teachers, which may result in introducing elements of global education in curriculum-based teaching. Moreover, 5 volunteer students originating from Central Asia and 2 students of pedagogic courses were involved in Project activities.

What difficulties did you encounter when implementing your project ?

- In some schools workshops could not take place as extracurricular classes, because students would come to classes from smaller towns, therefore, a particular class was covered by the project and the workshops would take place during an obligatory geography or social studies lesson. Students from other classes interested in the subject were unable to participate in the workshops, while at the same time completely disinterested students were "forced" to take part in workshops, which had an impact on the reduced motivation of other participants.
- In the schools where the Project took place during non-obligatory extracurricular classes, despite high motivation and interest of participants, the problem was the lack of regular participation and attendance at all workshops, which resulted in incomplete understanding of the subject and gaining knowledge in a selective manner.
- Another problem was to determine the dates of workshops and meetings at schools due to the tight schedule of various initiatives, obligatory actions and classes at schools.

What factors made it easier to carry out your project ?

The implementation of the Project was facilitated by the willingness to cooperate and openness to our suggestions on the part of school headmasters, as well as involvement of certain teachers. During the workshops, we could see how the subject was interesting for the majority of participants, and the additional motivation for students was the vision of participating in the educational game and seminar summarising the Project, which were practical applications of the newly-gained knowledge.

Which factors are most related to global education ?

- Subjects of workshops : « Map of problems in Central Asia », « Problems related to water and natural disasters », « Ethnic and cultural diversity », «Economic migration and economy ».
- Multidimensional illustration of the problems of the Global South, close relations and interdependencies occurring in the contemporary world, by presenting social, economic and cultural challenges faced by 5 countries in Central Asia.
- The opportunity to talk and meet young people from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan studying in Poland (elements of live library) within the educational game summarising the Project.

How did you assess the project ?

Evaluation report was prepared for the purpose of evaluation of the Project. Trainers prepared statements concerning workshops for students and meetings with teachers. The school game was evaluated. The schools were provided with certificates, gadgets and book prizes. The most important tool for evaluating the workshop part was the school educational game, which allowed to consolidate and check the gained knowledge in practice.

Any comments

The Project has a very big potential and a database of didactic materials, and it should be developed in the future.

Contact

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