Education experts and trainee teachers at the University of Worcester have created learning resources to help schoolchildren have a greater understanding of the Commonwealth.
Trainee teacher delivering session about the Commonwealth to pupils at Christopher Whitehead Language College and Sixth Form
Lecturers in secondary education training have been working on a Commonwealth project, which approaches the topic from a wide variety of subjects and topics.
Their students trialled some of the teaching materials at a school during the recent Commonwealth Day, and now these and other resources have been made available to more than 100 of the University’s partner schools.
Rebecca Davidge, Senior Lecturer in PGCE Religious Education, who is a co-leader on the project, said: “Educators are agents of social change and at a time of low confidence in communications and dialogue, perhaps due to a fear of difficult conversations, we need to consider our role in developing young people that are able to actively participate in modern British society.”
The resources are the culmination of a collaboration between the University of Worcester PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate in Education) tutors, trainees and mentors in partnership schools who have been working on a project to decolonise, democratise and diversify the PGCE secondary curriculum for the last 18 months. They include articles written by lecturers in the Education team that reflect on the Commonwealth, but also link to resources that have been developed for teachers to use in their own classrooms.
Twenty-five PGCE students, from either RE, Geography or History, delivered lessons to Year 11 and 12 pupils at Christopher Whitehead Language College and Sixth Form. These explored the concept of the Commonwealth from different angles, drawing inspiration from the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Students delivered an RE lesson exploring how Sikhs are represented in the UK; History trainee teachers explored the importance of memorials and what First World War recruitment posters reveal about the motivations of volunteers from around the British Empire; while the Geography session explored biodiversity in the Commonwealth, the Commonwealth in the Climate Emergency, development and the value of the Commonwealth.
Student Stellah Kuteesa, who delivered an RE lesson, said: “It was an honour to be able to impart knowledge that most of the pupils hadn't come into contact with. This lesson highlighted the importance of celebrating the differences of our lived experiences and how they can be a positive influence in our multicultural communities.”
Ellie Bullock, a PGCE Secondary Geography trainee, said: “I relished the opportunity to teach students about social and economic development in Commonwealth countries. Personally, there is great value in looking at the Commonwealth from this perspective, since students were able to reconsider common misconceptions of ‘rich’ and ‘poor’ countries and evaluate the extent to which countries need the Commonwealth for sustainable development. I have improved my own knowledge about the Commonwealth, as well as developing my teaching practice.”
Chris Flanders, Geography and Law teacher and Values and Ethics Coordinator at Christopher Whitehead Language College and Sixth Form, said: “The delivery of lessons on the Commonwealth gave our students an opportunity to learn more about the story of modern Britain and its place in the world. The topic is truly cross-curricular and addresses a number of current issues. Our students benefited from being taught by a range of different PGCE teachers and hearing about their different experiences.”