EDUCATION campaigners have warned teaching about global issues should not be “sidelined” in the drive for attainment in Scottish schools, arguing it is more important than ever post-Brexit.
The International Development Education Association of Scotland (IDEAS), a network of organisations and charities to promote education on global citizenship, said the Scottish Government’s focus on closing the attainment was welcome.
But it said teaching about global citizenship – which covers issues such as poverty, injustice, refugees and human rights – should not be squeezed out because it is more difficult to ‘measure’.
Dr Tanya Wisely, co-ordinator of IDEAS, said: “Global citizenship is really about enabling young people to explore other ways of living around the world and looking beyond economic status as the marker of life, thinking about what makes a good society and questioning and challenging assumptions about that.
“Now of all times, it is important to reinforce that sense of being outward looking which fortunately is sustained in Scotland.
“It is important global citizenship (education) is not lost.”
Anne Kane, education adviser with Oxfam Scotland, said: “From wee ones, right up into secondary school, the classroom is a safe space to develop skills they need to become critically aware global citizens in what is becoming quite a complex world."
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Raising attainment and closing the attainment gap is a central aim of the Scottish Government.
“Learning for Sustainability and its Global Citizenship theme is taught as a key part of Curriculum of Excellence, which is a broad curriculum designed to equip young people with a full range of skills and capabilities for life.”
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