Food and Freedom: developing thinking skills for global citizenship in schools

Programme Objectives
In collaboration with Sapere (The Society for Advancing Philosophical Enquiry and Reflection in Education) this project is providing accredited training in 'Philosophy for Children' (P4C) to around 100 teachers in England and 35 in Ghana. The methods of P4C promoted by SAPERE involves techniques of encouraging the children to take a more active leading role in the learning process. The emphasis is more on understanding rather than just knowing. It seeks to develop children's ability to be curious, inquisitive and to question what they are told.

The Food and Freedom project is funded until April 2007 by the Department for International Development’s ‘Development Awareness Fund’.

Programme Activities
Training of the Ghanaian teachers took place during the first two weeks of May, 2005. Thirty-six (36) teachers and three staff of AEB attended the training that was facilitated by SAPERE. The training took place at the Ankasa Exploration Base. Most of the teachers who took part in this training were from schools that have participated in the experiential learning programme.

The teachers and the AEB staff were trained on how to motivate and generate interest in the children, developing their awareness and their ability to question.  This method of teaching is now employed by the environmental education leaders on the experiential learning programme as well as by the school teachers.

Since the course, there has been a series of follow-up visits by LEFG staff to schools that participated in the P4C training to assess the impact of the course on the teachers and the children. Individual interviews have also been carried out with the Head teachers about P4C.

Download the report on the findings here

A Food and Freedom website www.foodandfreedom.org.uk has been developed to highlight the project. This website also hosts a discussion forum to facilitate dialogue between teachers who have been trained in P4C, and also for those who would like to learn more about this approach to teaching. It is anticipated that moderated e-mail dialogue between participating schools on development and wider humanitarian and economic issues will enable pupils to pose thoughtful questions to their peers.  P4C experts will highlight themes, connections, patterns and areas for further clarification.

For more information about this project please visit the Food and Freedom website or contact;

Katherine May - Programme Co-ordinator - Living Earth UK

Fair Trade Website

Living Earth is currently in the process of developing a information portal website, highlighting development issues affecting Africa, in particular fairtrade. The information for this website will be sourced directly from Africa, through LEF partners, thus ensuring that information on the site is directly related to the issues affecting Africa at the grass roots level rather than being sourced - perhaps with value-laden perspectives - from Europe.

The primary audience for this site will be children, up to the age of 16 years and their teachers. Secondary audiences will include, local development charities, Development Education Centres (DEC), community groups as well as other interested parties in both the West and in Africa.

Living Earth would like to receive your comments and input into what you would like to see on the site and what would be most useful for your needs. This will help us to develop the most effective, useful and user-friendly website we can. Please send your comments to Katherine.May@livingearth.org.uk

This website will be launched later this year and will be publicised here so keep your eyes peeled....