Minister for Schools and Skills Maureen Watt
International Education
April 24, 2008
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Presiding Officer. Today I am delighted to be able to introduce this debate on International Education.
As members know this Government is ambitious for Scotland's young people. Part of building a smarter Scotland and a thriving economy is giving our next generation the skills for learning, skills for work and skills for life to succeed in the globalised economy in which we now live.
I am sure this is something all members can agree.
One of our aims within the Smarter objective is to ensure that all our young people are outward looking, confident about themselves and their nation and have a modern, enterprising, world view.
In order to achieve this aim, our education system needs to provide them with a knowledge and understanding of the world and Scotland's place in it - a thread that runs through Curriculum for Excellence for all young people, at all stages of their learning.
We need to ensure our young people can understand and respond to the challenges presented by globalisation. If the curriculum is to be excellent it needs to incorporate an international perspective; if not, our society and economy will be poorer.
The Government is therefore committed to ensuring that an international education is part of the experience for young people in all our schools. What we are doing
So we are taking action on three main fronts:-
· Firstly: We are changing learning and teaching - International education is not an "add-on". Curriculum for Excellence is the ideal vehicle to deliver international education in schools and equip young people with a modern enterprising Scottish world view.
The experiences and outcomes which are currently the subject of engagement and trialling in schools around Scotland have been written in a way that will provide ample opportunity for learning and teaching from an international perspective. For example, one the draft social studies outcomes is
"Having explored the globalisation of trade, I can explain the interdependence of different parts of the world and assess the impacts for providers, consumers and the environment".
This provides opportunities galore to examine the scientific, ethical and human issues connected with global trade and sustainable development.
· An understanding of linguistic diversity is an integral part of what we mean by an International Education. This is not just about learning modern languages in a traditional sense, although, as our commitment to introduce a Scottish baccalaureate in languages demonstrates, we want Scottish young people to be ambitious in this regard. If we don't similarly prepare our young people, they will be at a disadvantage when it comes to being prepared to make positive transitions to work in an international arena. I hope that the new curriculum will enthuse young people and teachers alike in exploring the riches of language as a tool to understand the world better.
· Secondly: We are Simplifying the institutional and policy landscape - We want to ensure that coherent and concise advice is provided to schools and teachers - rather than a myriad of competing messages from different bodies causing confusion in schools. We are making explicit the linkages between International education, education for Sustainable Development, Citizenship, and modern languages.
· Thirdly: Partnership working. There are many bodies involved in this area and we need to ensure they work together and in partnership. The Government has charged Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS) with the lead on this work; they have key responsibilities for developing and supporting Curriculum for Excellence and they run the Scottish Continuing International Professional Development scheme. LTS are working in partnership with COSLA, HMIE, GTCS and SQA, as well as the British Council and the Scottish Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Research to deliver this vision
. China
No one can doubt the importance of China in today's world and I'm pleased to say Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS) recently signed an agreement with Hanban - the Office of Chinese Language Council International which includes the setting up of 8 "Confucius Classrooms" or "hubs" serving 14 Local Authorities. These will enable Scottish pupils to gain a greater appreciation of Chinese heritage, language and culture, thereby enhancing their capacity to become international citizens
Yester Primary in East Lothian has links with Kuvansin koulu [pronounced Kuvansin kulu] Primary in Central Finland. They discuss Health, Eating, Leisure and climate change both directly through a blog and through discussions with their Finnish friends In one particular case, a Yester pupil who has additional support needs has been motivated to write long comments to the Finnish class, something that he would not have attempted before.
Grantown Grammar School in Highland has started joint curriculum projects with Xinying Middle School in Kunming, China. They have chosen to concentrate on music, art and English as these are subjects in which both schools have an interest and means they do not rely too heavily on written communication.
Fintry Primary school in Stirling has established a school link with the Gambia and uses cross-curricular learning to enrich learning and teaching. When asked the difference between us and the African children, a P7 pupil responded that African children were "rich in happiness but poor in money, whereas we were rich in money but poor in happiness".
I'm sure members are aware of many other inspiring examples of links and international education in schools in their constituencies. But it's essential that this happens in all our schools; all young people deserve these opportunities - not just some of them.Conclusion
Presiding officer. The world in which our young people are growing up in is very different from the time when you and I were at school.
It is essential that young people have opportunities to develop an international perspective in their education and the chance to develop the cultural insight, confidence and linguistic skills that will help them to understand and respect other peoples, and to seize opportunities in a rapidly changing world.
We strongly believe that the Curriculum for Excellence is the ideal vehicle enabling teachers to use international education to enrich young people's learning. Pupils are inspired and interested in these issues - they are enjoyable, different, stimulating and cool. If they are engaged they will more likely prosper and become effective contributors, responsible citizens and confident individuals as well as successful learners.
We need that if we are to achieve a Smarter Scotland. But more importantly, young people deserve this for themselves, to improve their self esteem, life chances and opportunities in this globalised world.
Thank you.