A Multi-Cultural Facilitated Online Course
Organized by UNESCO UNITWIN Network on Education for Sustainable Development and Social Transformation
28 February to 6 June 2023
The landscape of education for building 21st century skills is changing significantly in the wake of climate emergencies combined with the exponential growth of youth population, digital mediated communication and most recently the disruption caused by COVID-19 pandemic. While the role of politics and political participation for sustainable development has been a well-researched topic, there is a lack of learning material and teacher training aimed at understanding the role of political education towards creation of a just, sustainable and peaceful world, the key ideas central to the discourse of Global Citizenship Education (GCED) and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).
Politics4Future curriculum has been developed and designed to address the gap based on the experience and research of the project partners in the field of teacher education and sustainability learning. Overall, the course will serve as a guide for pre-service teachers or teacher trainees to understand the interconnections between Education for Sustainable Development, Global Citizenship and Political Learning.
Objectives
- Develop common understanding of key concepts of GCED, ESD and political education and their interconnections
- Foster awareness on individual and collective worldviews regarding global citizenship, sustainability and political engagement
- Develop abilities to implement key concepts of GCED, ESD and political education into teaching practices
- Enhance their capacities as agents for transformative change.
Course Modules
- Sustainability, global citizenship and political engagement
- Ethical Framework for global citizenship and sustainability
- Education as key enabler of Sustainable Development Goals and Education Goal 4, Target 4.7
- Theories and methods of education for sustainability and global citizenship education
- Whole Institution and Whole System Approach
- Educational approaches for political engagement and advocacy
- Contextualizing and localizing global sustainability agenda
- Cultural theories and politics of change: Towards regenerative futures
- Skills for effective social change: Theories of change
Methodology:
This is an online course with 9 modules spread over 14 weeks and delivered through asynchronous (self-paced) and synchronous (facilitated live sessions) learning format.
The course will involve university students in 5 countries
Students would be required to complete the course work which includes individual and group work on the topics.
Between 25 April to 30 May 2023, the synchronous (or live sessions) will occur, and this will be the time where students from the five countries will interact. The live session will take place over 90 minutes duration on Tuesdays at 8:00am Costa Rica time (4:00pm CEST).
Target Audience
The target audience for the course are pre-service teachers or teacher trainees studying in the partner universities and who have interest in the topics of Education for Sustainable Development, Global Citizenship Education and Political Learning.
Facilitators
Partners of the UNITWIN Network on Education for Sustainable Development and Social Transformation (UNiESD&ST):
Matthias Barth and Deepika Joon
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Charles Hopkins and Katrin Kohl
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Mirian Vilela and Alicia Jimenez
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Alexander Siegmund and Max Spiegelberg
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Vassilios Makrakis
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Heila Lotz-Sisitka, Injairu Kulundu, John Bhurekeni, Phemelo PJ Hellemann
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Eligible participants from Costa Rica
Ten students from National University of Costa Rica, studying Education (Basic or Secondary education of any specialization) will be selected to participate in this course.
Participants need to have excellent English skills (writing and speaking)