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This section of the GDE project website outlines details of events
held in the College by the Global Dimension in Education Steering
Group. Events such as training days, conferences, seminars, speakers,
and many more are planned throughout the duration of the project.
The links to the left provide the titles of the events, click
on each of them to read the summary details and to view some photographs.
Below are some additional items of interest relating to the Global
Dimension in Education Project. |
St Mary’s
staff member in Zambia
Dr Gerard McCann from the Global Dimension
in Education Project was recently on a partnership and linking
visit to Zambia to enhance the relationships which have been built
up by St Mary’s College with various academic departments, community
initiatives and NGOs in Zambia. While there he was working with
Mr Chrispin Matenga, the Head of Development Studies at the University
of Zambia, and Mrs Angela Miyanda, the Director of Angels in Development
(AID). While in Lusaka principally to encourage academic partnership
and educational linkage, Dr McCann was also able to address school
pupils in St Catherine's Community School, Misisi Compound, Lusaka,
meet with various business leaders and assist in the fieldwork
of the Lusaka based charity Project Zambia. Along with Project
Zambia's Dr Aidan Donaldson he met with the French Ambassador
to Zambia, Mme Françoise Le Bihan and assisted in
the discussions regarding private sector involvement in development
initiatives.
Dr Gerard
McCann (Academic Manager of the Global Dimension in Education
Project) with Mr Peter Tembo (Director of St Catherine's Community,
Misisi Compound)
on a site visit to the
Zambian-Zimbabwean border. |
Launch of
Global Dimension reference guide
A new reference guide
entitled "The Global Dimension in Initial Teacher
Education" was launched in St Mary’s University
College on Thursday 26th June 2008. Staff and students from
the College were joined by key stakeholders and many of the organisations
who have been involved with the DFID funded Global Dimension in
Education Project from the outset. The launch provided opportunities
to reflect on the relevance of the global dimension and how best
to integrate it into the study programmes of student teachers.
The Global Dimension guide has been created
to assist those involved in embedding global dimension concepts
into teacher education programmes. It features various aspects
of the Project including college-wide activities, local and global
links, development of undergraduate and postgraduate level courses
and the certification process. It shares the College's experience
of how to incorporate values and attitudes related to social justice,
diversity, interdependence, global citizenship, sustainable development
and conflict resolution into teaching and learning in the classroom.
The event also showcased research findings from an evaluation
of the impact of the Global Dimension Project on St Mary’s students
and examines attitudes, knowledge and interest in the global dimension
for children at various key stages in schools.
Angela Miyanda, Director of Angels in Development and former
Deputy First Lady of Zambia, presented the Chengelo award to Declan
Byrne for his significant contribution to international solidarity
through his work in the College. See below for further details.
Bronagh Crummey-Bryan from The Cultural Exchange
and Róisín Shannon from St Mary’s looking
at a display board about the Global Dimension Project’s
Local and Global Links |
Former
Deputy First Lady of Zambia Angela Miyanda visits
Angela Miyanda visited St Mary’s
as part of the Global Dimension Project’s international
exchange programme at the end of June. She is currently Director
of Angels in Development, a home for children (many of whom have
been orphaned by AIDS) in Kabwata near Lusaka, Zambia. Angela
and her team provide a home, medical support and education for
up to 90 vulnerable children. She is also a key partner in the
development of Old Kabweza Village in the bush outside Lusaka.
This project includes building borehole water systems, school
rooms, and support to teachers, accommodation and medical facilities
for the children and local community. St Mary’s has
had links with her work since 2005 and a number of staff and students
have made educational visits there and have taken part in fundraising
activities locally. During her visit, Angela’s inspirations
talks provided valuable insights into the situation for many Zambian
children and encouraged further involvement in the work there.
In addition to her involvement in the Chengelo Award mentioned
below, Angela visited various development NGOs and was hosted
at Stormont by Carmel Hanna, Chair of the International Development
Committee. She also worked closely with the Project Zambia Charity
in Belfast.
Stella Murray, Global Dimension Coordinator,
and Angela Miyanda, Angels in Development Director with Carmel
Hanna, Chair of the International Development Committee during
a visit to Stormont |
PGCE
Global Dimension in Education Certification
The end of year celebration for the PGCE
course took place on Thursday 5th June. In addition to Certificates
in Bilingual Education and Religious Education Certificates, 13
PGCE students received a Global Dimension in Education Certificate.
The aim of the Global Dimension Certificate is to develop and
assess students’ knowledge, understanding, skills, values
and attitudes in relation to the main Global Dimension concepts.
These include Global & Local Citizenship, Peace & Conflict
Resolution, Diversity, Human Rights & Social Responsibility,
Interdependence, Equality & Social Justice, Sustainable Development,
Values & Perceptions and Poverty Reduction. In doing so, students
are encouraged to take responsibility for bringing the Global
Dimension into their current and future teaching practice. This
is done through the completion of a portfolio of evidence demonstrating
that they can appropriately address the key concepts in their
teaching. The certification process includes use of the Global
Dimension Resource Office, accessing of information on lesson
plans and schemes of work at the Global Dimension section of the
St Mary’s website, consultation with staff, and final portfolio
evaluation. |
Pre-departure
workshop
A ‘pre-departure’ workshop
organised by the Global Dimension Project took place on 5th March,
2008 at St Mary’s University College. Seamus Farrell, an
expert in Conflict Resolution with 25 years' experience in overseas
development work facilitated. Seamus has been very active in the
development of conflict resolution skills training programmes
for schools in Northern Ireland; he has also been involved in
‘Initial Preparation and In-service Professional Development
Training’ for overseas development workers – including
courses in Mediation and Conflict Transformation. Participants
at the workshop included Project Zambia volunteers travelling
to Zambia in July, as well as a teacher and pupils from St Mary’s
Christian Brothers Grammar School travelling to Zambia in the
next few weeks. St Mary’s staff members taking part in
international field visits also took part. Activities and discussions
were designed to raise awareness about development work and to
encourage reflection on cultural differences and expectations.
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Work Based Learning
in the Global Dimension Office
St Mary’s student Donnchadh Murphy began a work based learning
placement on Monday, 3rd March in the Global Dimension Project
office. Donnchadh is in his final year of a B.A. in Liberal Arts,
majoring in English. This placement is an integral part of the
degree programme providing students the opportunity to engage
actively in an employment context to relate their academic studies
to the work environment. During his three-week placement, he will
be working with the Global Dimension team on a variety of projects
and taking part in Global Dimension activities. Work will include
updating a database of resource materials and the creation of
information packs for students encouraging online research. He
will also be contributing to discussions on ways to promote Global
Dimension activities within the College. |
Chengelo
Award 2007 presented to St Mary’s graduate
Sean Mullan, a graduate of St Mary’s
University College, was presented with The Chengelo Award on Monday
3rd December, 2007 for outstanding contribution to International
Solidarity through the Global Dimension in Education. The Chengelo
Award is supported by the Department for International Development.
The word ‘Chengelo’ means ‘Light’ in Bemba,
one of the regional languages of Zambia. The title was chosen
by the children of Kabweza Orphanage which has links with the
College. The award symbolises the key values of solidarity, empathy
and respect for our shared humanity. During his time in St Mary’s,
Sean played an important role in raising awareness of international
development issues. He was elected Global Dimension Officer in
the Students’ Union and organised a range of activities
for staff and students throughout his final year. He helped establish
the College’s Global Group, made up of students who were
involved in taking action on issues such as climate change and
poverty. He was involved in setting up the College’s Fairtrade
campaign and recycling initiative and contributed much to the
College’s activities during Human Rights Week. Along with
fellow students, Sean organised a resource fair for student teachers
to help them incorporate global issues into their teaching during
school experience. |
Global
Dimension Guest Speaker: Professor Marina Sitrin
Writer, teacher, student, dreamer and self-described
militant, Marina Sitrin gave a talk for students and staff
on 11th October 2007, supported by the Global Dimension
Project at St Mary’s. Having participated in numerous anti-capitalist
and visionary movements and groups, she led an interesting discussion
on her latest activities and publications. She is the author of
Horizontalism: Voices of Popular Power in Argentina (AK
Press, 2006) and is currently working on a new book, Insurgent
Democracies: Latin America’s New Powers (Citylights
Press, 2008). She is a Professor at the New College of San Francisco
in the Activism and Social Change Program. |
Global
Dimension Project Staff
The success of the Global Dimension Project
within St Mary’s and its links outside the College has
seen an expansion of the Global Dimension Team. Three new
appointments have joined Stella Murray, the Global Dimension Coordinator
since September 2007.
A new part-time Project Administrator, Emily Park
will maintain the newly refurbished Global Dimension Resource
Room, liaise with partner organisations, update the Global
Dimension web pages and assist with events and conferences, as
well as other administrative duties. Emily spent many years
teaching and working overseas as a language teacher and also worked
in Harare, Zimbabwe with the US Agency for International Development
(USAID).
In order to support certification in the Global Dimension, uniquely
on offer to St Mary’s students, an On-line Course Organiser,
Róisín Shannon has been appointed
for a 6 month period to create a course through LearningNI, the
web portal for all schools in Northern Ireland. The course
will bring together information and allow easy access to resources
within St Mary’s and externally, needed to successfully
attain certification. Róisín has worked in international
development for several years, returning recently from a year
in Sudan where she worked with Irish humanitarian agency GOAL
and the Danish Refugee Council.
Ian McCutcheon has also been appointed as Project
Research Assistant for a 6 month period. Ian completed his
Masters in Leadership for Sustainable Development at Queen’s
in 2006, and has been involved in development work through Project
Zambia of which he is currently Chair. His research will
evaluate the impact of the Global Dimension Project on St Mary’s
students and staff and lead to recommendations for further actions
within the College to ensure St Mary’s graduates are fully
prepared to incorporate a Global Dimension into their teaching.
Ian is also completing research carried out in the first year
of the Project which examines knowledge, attitudes and interest
in the 8 concepts of the Global Dimension at Key Stage 2 and 4
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