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Climate change is having visible impacts on Wexford’s coastline. Erosion is evident, especially in places like Rosslare and Courtown. Sea levels are rising and low lying areas are more liable to flooding every year affecting homes and businesses.
Storms are also more frequent and more severe in recent years affecting transport and homes. There are also more droughts in the summer affecting farming.
Pupils could explore climate change more through monitoring weather patterns over similar periods of time and record their findings.
Going on field trips to coastal areas around Wexford to observe erosions for themselves would make them more aware of them impact of climate change.
Taking part in Wexford’s Tidy Town’s competitions would be helpful and increate the sense of citizenship, encouraging children to take pride in their local area -creating posters to be put up in local shops/ planting flowers / trees, picking up litter, etc.
A guest speaker could be invited into the school highlighting the effects of climate change and listing ideas of what the children can do to help reduce the effects.
As part of SSE, the Green school team could assign a month each year to revisiting the green schools initiatives such as litter, energy, water, travel, biodiversity along with climate action.
Hi Maria,
The idea of a junk couture competition is brilliant. They do that in secondary schools here but not in primary schools. Could definitely be something we could try, particularly in the senior end. Thanks
The story about the 6th class student in your school is really inspiring – well done to everyone in the situation. I think Nurture Rooms (if available) are so important for refugee children in our schools as they need huge social and emotional support as well as making accommodations for them academically. Great to hear how a pupil can succeed despite awful circumstances when everyone works together.
Organisations and Services in Wexford that support refugees would be Wexford County Council – Local Authority Integration team (LAIT). This organisation provides locally based integration support for refugees by offering guidance on housing, employment, welfare, health, education and legal services. There is also a small grants scheme that funds community initiatives and cultural integration events.
Wexford Education Centre promotes inclusive, refugee –welcoming environments in local schools. 8 secondary schools in Wexford have achieve Champion School of Sanctuary status.
Ways that my own school and students could support and welcome refugees would be to host Cultural Days, inviting the refugees to discuss / bring food / clothing / items from their country and share songs / stories / games / traditions from their own country too.
Integrating support for refugees into our SSE would be a great way to make inclusion meaningful and put the focus on wellbeing and school culture.
A focus group of refugees could be used to gather evidence to inform the school of its progress. Using a peer buddy system and translated communication for newsletters would also help to create a sense of inclusion.The SDG that I would choose to focus on is Climate Action (13). This topic is probably one that children are most familiar with, especially in areas such as Africa where children are hugely affected by droughts that cause crops to fail, resulting in malnutrition. Other children, particularly those living on an island, face the worry of losing their homes or schools due to rising sea levels that cause floods.
While, here in Ireland, we are not directly as affected by climate change as some other countries, it is still evident in the changing seasons and how farming has been affected here.
Development education teaches children about sustainability and active citizenship. Linking it to SSE ensures it’s integrated into the whole school plan improvement plan. This can be done by encouraging student led projects on climate action and holding awareness campaigns. These could be organised and led by the Green School Committee.
The SDG that I would choose to focus on is Climate Action (13). This topic is probably one that children are most familiar with, especially in areas such as Africa where children are hugely affected by droughts that cause crops to fail, resulting in malnutrition. Other children, particularly those living on an island, face the worry of losing their homes or schools due to rising sea levels that cause floods.
While, here in Ireland, we are not directly as affected by climate change as some other countries, it is still evident in the changing seasons and how farming has been affected here.
Development education teaches children about sustainability and active citizenship. Linking it to SSE ensures it’s integrated into the whole school plan improvement plan. This can be done by encouraging student led projects on climate action and holding awareness campaigns. These could be organised and led by the Green School Committee.
Hi Ann,
I agree that responsible consumption and production is an appropriate SDG to explore with 6th class. More than ever, tweens and teens are now in control of their own buying between revolut cards and access to inexpensive online shopping such as Shein and Temu. It is important to highlight to this age group that there is more to consider when purchasing than just a price tag, ie; looking into where the items come from and working conditions of the employees.
Hi Amanda,
I also thought of the novel Bill’s New Frock when reading this module. It definitely highlights the different expectations for girls / boys and the how peers treat each other based on their gender. It is a great book for children to read to make them more aware of these behaviours that are often done subconsciously.
Gender stereotyping can be defined as general beliefs about what is considered appropriate interests / behaviours for boys / girls. This can range from academic beliefs, ie: boys are good at maths and girls are good at art. It can also apply to expected gender behaviours, ie: boys are expected to be active while girls are expected to be quiet and enjoy more ‘sit down’ activities. If this gender stereotyping exists from a young age, it can have a huge impact over a person’s choice of career due to these limiting beliefs about what girls / boys can / can’t do.
An example of gender stereotyping that I encountered in the classroom was during a P.E lesson when the class were picking teams for a soccer game. It was obvious that the boys were being chosen first. When one of the girls pointed this out, a boy remarked that ‘Girls can’t play soccer and are only good at playing with dolls’. This highlights the fact that gender stereotyping still exists in the classrooms and we need development education methodologies to help combat these stereotypes.
Some methodologies that could be used would be; Role plays in drama where boys role play girls roles and vice versa. Other options might be doing project work where the boys choose a female role model for their project and the girls choose a male. Having class discussions and debates about gender equality during the ages, exploring how it has evolved over the years and to discuss how it may evolve going forward.
Hi Maura,
I think your idea of ‘International Week’ would be great. It would provide an opportunity for the whole school to get involved in some form or other – be it project / fairs / cooking various dishes from around the world, etc. We do an Erasmus exchange programme in our school so we could incorporate International Week with the visit from the students and teachers on Erasmus here. It would really highlight development education in the school.
Ehigie’s paper; The Role of Global Citizens in Today’s World, highlights how in our interconnected world, global citizenship is essential. It emphasizes our shared humanity and the need to address global challenges together. Global citizens advocate for justice, sustainability and peace beyond national and cultural boundaries.
Development education is crucial in fostering global citizenship to help students to develop awareness, empathy and critical thinking skills that are necessary for addressing global issues.
To integrate development education into my teaching, here are some activities that would be applicable for primary schools;
Cultural Exchange Projects; Students each choose a country and do a project based on that country, highlighting their traditions, food, customs, etc and share these with their classmates.
As a way to collaborate with colleague, a cultural fair could be organised at a whole school level or junior / senior end level whereby children present their projects to their peers, providing a wonderful learning opportunity and creating awareness.
Global Storytime – Reading stories / class novels from different cultures and discussing the similarities and differences in values, traditions and lifestyles. This can be done right from Junior Infants up to 6th class with age appropriate texts.
Eco- Friendly Projects; Engage students in activities like recycling initiatives – junk art projects / creating a school garden to teach sustainability.
Pen Pal Programme – Pupils could be given the opportunity to connect with a classroom in another country to exchange letters / emails, helping them to learn about different perspectives and make new friends on a global level.
Global Issues Discussions – Issues such as climate change or poverty could be discussed followed by brainstorming sessions and possible debates about how best to address these issues.
Development Education could be be incorporated into SSE by including it in monthly newsletters to parents, discuss it at school assemblies and have it as a regular feature on the agenda for Croke Park meetings to ensure all staff and pupils are familiar with the topic. Setting up a committee for Development Education and having monthly meetings to discuss ideas / reflections would also be a good target as part of SSE.
