Case Study 1

’Earth Summit’ puts pupils on top of the world

Acting out an Earth Summit enables pupils to identify issues and debate social, economic and political issues that affect the world.

Organisation Name: Prestwich Community High School
Region: North West
Topic: Sustainable development
Curriculum: Geography
Type of Organisation:Secondary school

Brief description of the project

This activity was designed to:

* Allow pupils to apply their understanding of global inequalities.
* Develop research skills together with speaking, listening and debating skills.
* Research and debate issues from different global perspectives.
* Challenge prejudice, stereotypes and perceptions.
* Understand some of the links between actions and decision-making on a local and global scale.

The activity took place at the end of a unit of work in Geography on inequalities in global population and development. Each pupil was required to represent a different country, such as Kenya, Brazil or the UK in a simulation of a UN Earth Summit conference, with pupils organised into groups of countries by continent. The year 8 class prioritised what they felt were the most important global problems and issues. This work began with pupils examining their perceptions about the country and continent assigned to them. Pupils researched information and statistics about each country and continent and had to identify the top three issues for the Earth Summit for their country, referring back to their work on migration, use of resources and international trade. The background preparation was very important, helping the pupils to appreciate the range of views and opinions on global issues and enabling them to stay ‘in role’ during the debate.

The Earth Summit debate was controlled by the teacher and observed by other members of the school community during an Ofsted inspection. It provided opportunities for all the pupils to contribute before voting on motions suggested by the pupils. The debate demonstrated the difficulties in reaching agreements between a number of countries, for example, trying to agree on a list of the 10 most endangered species for protection when many plants and animals are interlinked.

The debate revealed some of the social, economic, environmental and political influences on decision making, with the teacher concluding the work by asking the pupils to consider their effect of their actions on sustainability. As part of the teacher’s evaluation of the work, the teacher asked pupils about the results of the debate three months later, with many pupils showing a significant change in their values and attitudes towards other countries.
Outcomes of the project

* An understanding of the inequalities in trade and resources between different countries.
* Improved communication and group research skills.
* Recognition of the difficulties in prioritising global issues.
* Three months after the activity some pupils had taken personal action as a result of their involvement e.g. a conscious effort to purchase fair trade products.

Resources and staffing
Most of the activity took place within normal teaching time. External support came from Manchester Development Education Project.
What’s next?
There are similar ‘model conferences’ for pupils for a range of international organisations, for example the United Nations on human rights and children’s rights, the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings.
Methodology
The activity was planned by geography and PSHE staff after attending an in-service training event by a project worker from Manchester Development Education Project. Pupils spent two weeks of geography lesson preparing, leading up to one day summit (two days with half year group each day).
Context
Prestwich Community High School is a mixed, community comprehensive school with around 800 pupils in an urban area.