International exchange workshop - French delegation

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International exchange workshop Saturday, October 17th 2015

Venue: Expo Milan 2015 Cascina Triulza / Civil Society Pavilion –Workshop Room 100

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French delegation

• Sustainable Food Systems and Global Education: priorit ies for teachers in addressing global food issues at school (topics and main challenges) + examples of Global Learning Units

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Institutional framework and context

• Context: since 2004, sustainable development is part of all school programs (all subjects, from primary to secondary schools).

• We can benefit from different initiatives in Basse-Normandie such as Eco-schools and Agenda 21 schools.

• Some students choose to become Eco-representatives of their school.

• Since 2009 (in Normandy), a steering committee made of local NGOs and institutions has also implemented a label for schools developing a sustainable development approach.

• Since 2011, the French Education Ministry asked counties to implement the same label (10 000 schools must be labeled in 2018).

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Examples of activities and educational practices

• Innovative features and lessons learnt:

• Our 6 teachers have worked on different topics using different methods:

• Food waste, Honey (bees and environment), Vineyards, Food habits (Nutella), Sustainable Fishing.

• Teaching methods are very different: partnership with local actors, direct implication of the children, visits, role play, collaborative games.

An example of Global Learning Unit implemented: Vineyards

An example of Global Learning Unit implemented: Beehives

Sustainable fishing

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1 - B i g g e s t c h a l l e n g e s i n addressing such issues with our students• How does it work ? We try to develop diversity

and interdisciplinarity (one theme, various subjects). Nowadays, the new educational reforms imply more and more interdisciplinarity.

S t u d e n t s c a n b e n e fi t f r o m h o u r s o f inderdisciplinarity in high and primary schools. Next year it will also start from middle school, 4 hours will be dedicated to interdisciplinarity per student.

We also tackle Sustainable Development issues within our classes directly.

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2- Biggest challenges in addressing such issues with our students (referring to different age groups)

• Checks and balances: lack of time dedicated to the coordination of interdisciplinarity within all subjects, reforms face resistance from some teachers, all these activities lead to extensions.

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The most relevant Global Education topics addressed by our classes/schools related to the sustainable food systems within the Eathink Project?

• Impact of teaching on students’ daily life, how to link theory to reality.

• Important skills enhanced: cooperation, taking responsibility, autonomy, project management, becoming an active citizen, develop critical thinking.

• Students should realize that the knowledge acquired in class can be applied in the real world.

• BUT: do we all have the same definition of what Global Education is ?

Thank you for your attention