The following explanation is from the DfID (Department for International Development) Global Dimension website
Education plays a vital role in helping children and young people recognise their responsibilities as citizens of the global community, it equips them with the skills required to make informed decisions and take responsible actions. By including the global dimension in teaching, links can easily be made between local and global issues and young people are given the opportunity to:
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- Critically examine their own values and attitudes
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- Appreciate the similarities between peoples everywhere, and learn to value diversity
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- Understand the global context of their local lives
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- Develop skills that will enable them to combat injustice, prejudice and discrimination
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- Such knowledge, skills and understanding enable young people to make informed decisions about how they can play an active role in the global community
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The actions of all people impact on others throughout the world. For example, the direct and indirect effects of environmental damage such as land degradation and greenhouse gas emissions do not stop at national boundaries. Equally, economies around the world are more interdependent than ever, reliant on both trade with, and investment from, other countries. What a consumer in one country chooses to buy affects a producer in another country. The solutions to many global problems, whether climate change or inequality, are more likely to be realised through genuine understanding of our mutual interdependence, and of that between humans and the natural world
Eight Key Concepts
The global dimension can be understood through the 8 key concepts: global citizenship, conflict resolution, diversity, human rights, interdependence, social justice, sustainable development and values & perceptions
Learning across the curriculum can be an important way of supporting children and young people to understand global issues and to make links between their learning in different subjects. The eight concepts shown below provide a conceptual framework for thinking about the global dimension and building it into the curriculum
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Global Citizenship
Gaining the knowledge, skills and understanding of concepts and institutions necessary to become informed, active, responsible citizens
Conflict resolution
Understanding the nature of conflicts, their impact on development and why there is a need for their resolution and the promotion of harmony
Diversity
Understanding and respecting differences and relating these to our common humanity
Human Rights
Knowing about human rights including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
Interdependence
Understanding how people, places, economies and environments are all inextricably interrelated, and that choices and events have repercussions on a global scale
Social Justice
Understanding the importance of social justice as an element in both sustainable development and the improved welfare of all people
Sustainable development
Understanding the need to maintain and improve the quality of life now without damaging the planet for future generations
Values and perceptions
Developing a critical evaluation of representations of global issues and an appreciation of the effect these have on people's attitudes and values |
To find out how
the global dimension can fit into every subject of the school's curriculum
visit the above DFID Global Dimension Website:
www.globaldimension.org
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