ABSTRACT
Learning and understanding about the wider world has always been part of the school curriculum, particularly within geography. But what is this learning about and why is it important? Any aspect of human geography that looks at diverse countries and places around the world today needs to locate learning within the context of a ‘global sense of place’. In a globalised society, understanding about the wider world has to make reference to the interconnections of people and places, whether they live in London or Mumbai. This approach to geography builds on the field of learning called ‘development education’ or ‘global education’. This field has predominantly been led by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) such as Oxfam, Christian Aid, UNICEF, ActionAid and Save the Children. Whilst the resources and the projects these organisations have created to support teachers have been well received, a focus on delivery of projects has meant that there has been little research to assess the value and contribution of development education to geographical learning. The inclusion of the ‘global dimension’ to geography brings within it not just a recognition of globalisation and living in an interdependent world, but also – because it addresses issues such as global poverty, social inequalities and social justice – suggests that a key component of teaching about these areas in the classroom requires an understanding and recognition of a diverse range of social, cultural and ideological influences. Andreotti (2006), for example, suggests that from a post-colonial perspective the global dimension needs to include reference to how assumptions of cultural supremacy and NorthSouth power relations are addressed. For example, discussions of poverty in the classroom can often instil perceptions of helplessness and charitable
benevolence, rather than encouraging critical analysis of the reasons for global poverty and inequality. On the other hand, as Standish (2009) suggests, the global dimension can also be perceived as promoting support for the particular ethical and moral positions of organisations such as Oxfam. So how can learning about global issues and forces include not just endorsing moral standpoints such as ‘make poverty history’ or ‘being a global citizen’, but also encourage critical thinking, understanding of different viewpoints and perspectives, and enable the learner to make sense of their relationship to global forces? This chapter outlines the importance of research to teaching and learning about global and development issues, and discusses different theories, approaches and skills that are valuable in understanding processes of learning about the global dimension. It then relates these debates to the practice of development education and its contribution to geographical education. The chapter also argues that key to understanding the impact of the global dimension in the classroom is recognising and analysing the contribution of NGO-led resources and projects. It concludes by looking specifically at the global dimension in secondary geography, and suggesting ways that teacherled classroom research can help teachers to develop a greater understanding of pupils’ learning about the wider world. The aims of this chapter are:
1 to demonstrate the need for classroom-based research that shows the contribution of the global dimension to geography.
