Global development education: Czech approach in the spread of global awareness

Abstract

The anchoring of global education (GE) in Central European school practice and in school documents is still in its beginning. Distinctive social development of these countries is the main reason for slower implementation of the GE major themes into teaching. After the Velvet Revolution in 1989, the transformation from a totalitarian regime to open democratic society took place. However, cultural, ethical and value changes have trailed behind the realised changes in political and economic areas. People have become apathetic to the perception of social differences, poverty, problems of marginal groups (Romani population, immigrants), environmental problems, etc. In such a social climate, it is therefore difficult to begin to teach children to think about events in a global scale. In school practice, teachers often face the question of how to grasp the global theme. Grounding GE methodologies in the Czech educational practice is continuously at its beginning. This contribution therefore first examines what global development education (GDE) is, what is its main aim and why it is necessary to use it in teaching practice. It will also mention specific development and application of GDE methodology in Czechia. The contribution therefore introduces examples of good practice as well as case studies mainly from Czechia, with the aim to show that it is not needed to be worried about current global events. On the contrary, arousing the interest of children in events in other parts of the world can be a very useful tool to support active learning and perception of sensitive topics in their surroundings. This contribution will also examine the possibilities of GDE application at various levels of the Czech education system. However, the main attention is devoted to case studies of the use of GDE methods at secondary schools.