Knowledge Dissemination on Teacher Education in Canada and South Africa- Politics4Future

2022-09-05 On Monday, the 5th of September, a virtual meeting took place as a "Learning and Understanding" session with members of the Youth Advisory Board of the Politics4Future project, which consists of members of the German UNESCO Commission, the Earth Charter and student assistants from Leuphana University. The session was facilitated by Deepika Joon. Katrin Kohl from York University in Canada and Dr. Phemelo Hellemann from Rhodes University in South Africa were invited to explain the education system as well as teacher training in their respective countries

The goal of the session was to develop a common understanding among members of Youth Advisory on key the concepts of teacher education in Canada and South Africa and to link these notions to the Politics4Future project.

Through the detailed explanation of the education systems in Canada and South Africa, the participants were able to draw a comparison between the two systems. In addition to some similarities, differences were also highlighted. In the case of South Africa, the inequalities faced by both students and teachers in the education system stood out. In contrast, in Canada, the sexual abuse prevention program, anti-racism activities, and inclusion of indigenous perspectives were emphasized. An intensive discussion followed, with all participants contributing further comparisons from their own experiences with the education systems of the different countries. The importance of global citizenship was then raised and its role in finding solutions was explored.

The session ended with an in-depth and engaged discussion of the topic.

Background: Politics4Future is a teacher education  project aimed to foster capacities of pre-service teachers on SDG 4.7 through development and implementation of curriculum which brings together  Education for Sustainable Development, Global Citizenship Education and political learning. Youth representatives from the German UNESCO Commission and the project partners participate in an advisory group to support the development and implementation of the Politics4Future curriculum. The next regular digital meeting will take place in October.

 

This article was written by Charline Rieffel.

For any queries or further information, please contact pol4fut@leuphana.de