Liverpool World Centre and the EU Get Up and Goals (GUAG) Project-Summer 2020
The Liverpool World Centre (LWC) based in the city of Liverpool in the UK works with various schools, teachers and students through Merseyside to help bring awareness to Global Learning and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in several international projects. One of them being the EU funded Get Up and Goals (GUAG) project which is now in its third year and involves 12 countries. This supports teachers by providing free resources that encourage classroom discussion and active participation [key topics include: Migration, Gender Inequality, International Inequality and Climate Change] and aims to motivate and inspire young people to have a voice and work in their local communities on transforming the world through positive action.
Using the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) to Frame our Work in Schools
Part of the intention of the project is to showcase the value of using the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a school setting and show how these could inspire young people to become active in campaigning to make the world a more just place for all. The teachers working in our 10 pilot schools have been introduced to the idea that the 17 goals can be used to help transform the world and follow one of the UN principles of ‘Leaving No One Behind’.
Resources for Teachers: Teaching and Learning Units (TLUs)/ Lessons on Climate Change, Migration, Gender and Equality, International Inequality
This project has created exciting lessons for Key Stage 3 teachers. In some of our schools these have been embedded into the PSHE/ Citizenship curriculums and in others they have been used by the RE or Geography department. Teachers have commented on the relevance of the resources and their ability to provoke conversations on a range of global issues.
As a result of using these resources I believe our students have developed more empathy towards children around the world.” – C. Whitehead (Head of Life Skills, Rainhill High School)
You can download them here: https://www.getupandgoals.eu/resources/tlus?issearch=1&theme=tlu&category_id=10&xf_4[0]=4
Developing the TLU-Assessment Tool
As part of the project there has been an attempt to measure the impact of these lessons on young people using a baseline and an end line assessment tool. Something that has not been attempted in previous GCE projects prior to GUAG. Key early findings in the UK suggest that this shows that the lessons on the ‘Gender Inequality’ focus have had most impact on the pupils and that this is at its greatest when they are exposed to the lessons at an earlier age. This could be because young people are still more open to think and reflect at this point before they have had time to develop a fixed idea about ‘gender equality’. The resources developed through this project are phenomenal and the feedback from teachers and students has been excellent. To find out more about the project and access more resources follow the EU Get Up and Goals website: https://www.getupandgoals.eu/