Development Education is an ideal way to engage with global issues such as war, health, human rights, inequality and poverty, and gain a valuable insight into world affairs
DEVELOPMENT EDUCATION, or Dev Ed as most students call it, is now a stalwart of Transition Year. From its humble beginnings as a subject whose status or very existence in schools depended largely on the interest of individual teachers, DevEd is now being taught in one form or another across Ireland.
"Taught" is probably the wrong word, though. The very nature of the subject allows for as much input and participation as students are willing to give.
"In our class, we might get a little bit of background on a development subject and then we would discuss the topic for the rest of the class," explains Sean Farrell of CBS Carlow. "It's good because you take a direct role."
Student participation is a common thread to Dev Ed. But the subject is still very much in its embryonic stages.
"The way it works is very much down to schools themselves," says Colm Regan, national coordinator of educational charity 80:20. "There is an informal coalition of those of us involved where we try to support each other, share modules, send reference points back and forward, but there's no real structure to it." The fact that Dev Ed is being incorporated into subjects as diverse as Art and Science is testament to this.
In association with a number of organisations, The Combat Diseases of Poverty Consortium (CDPC), based in NUI Maynooth, has helped to draw up a syllabus which is now being used in 30 schools nationwide. It has also helped to inspire applicants to the BT Young Scientist's Awards. Some suggested applications for this year's competition included: "Analysis of Malaria using genomic data and Bio informatics"; "Could GM food be a solution to global poverty?"; "Cystic fibrosis - why is it so prevalent in people of European origin and not in those of African origin?"
SITTING COMFORTABLY alongside science-based DevEd projects are artistic activities with development as their inspiration. The TY students of Seamount College, Kinvara, Co Galway, designed a thought-provoking mural, the result of a one-week workshop facilitated by celebrated Zambian artist, Stary Mwaba.
"Some animals are more equal than others", a quote from George Orwell's book, Animal Farm, was the title for their mural exploring inequality.
"We started the project by thinking of a theme," says 16-year-old Caitie Keane. "We discussed several topics and tried to find one that inspired us all. 'Inequality' was picked as it represented the whole class."
The students gathered together a number of images to trace onto the mural. "One image is of a white woman gagged, to represent gender inequality, and behind her stands a black man shouting abusively," explains 15-year-old Georgina Forde. "This was to show how domestic violence is everywhere, both in developed and developing countries.
"Another image was that of an eye with the reflection of a fist in its pupil. We thought this showed how eyes tell us most about ourselves. Above that we also showed a hut made out of bread with one side collapsing to represent the inequality of food trade between developed and developing countries."
Do the students see inequality around them closer to home? "We're young women so we face inequality regularly in our lives," argues Caitie Keane. "Men still feel superior to women. There are plenty of professions where women are not traditionally welcome - in the Army, the Garda and politics.
"To be honest, I noticed inequality more when I was younger, though," she adds. "I remember thinking it was weird that when we elected our first female Irish president, Mary Robinson - everyone thought it was such a big deal. Now it's normal."
DevEd modules can also be found within Geography, CSPE and English. Wherever it is being applied, Colm Regan hopes it is challenging established wisdom about development.
"We need to challenge old approaches and move away from a 'welfarist' attitude to everything, to a rights-based approach," he says. "We want students to understand that there are human rights and human wrongs, and that human wrongdoing should be subject to the law. When it comes to an issue like world poverty, you won't find anyone telling you they're not willing to help, and while charity collections and non-uniform days are the normal response, educationally they are of no use to anyone. Students need to be analysing, thinking and arguing about development issues.
"If they do, they will also be gaining the skills needed for political education," he adds. "Ideally, we hope they get the opportunity to see how our political structures work, the various points of intervention, and also how to intervene effectively. It's a very good way to practice politics with the right to make a mess of it."
For some, political education has gone far beyond the classroom. One group of students recently went to New York to lobby at the United Nations general assembly. Plus a group of students travelled to Brussels to remind all politicians at European level of their commitment to the Millennium Development Goals drawn up in 2000.
"You'd be surprised at the degree to which TY students have the capacity to participate at this level," says Regan.
Eight steps UN goals
The UN Millennium Development Goals to end poverty by 2015
1. Poverty and hunger Cut by half the number of people who live on less than $1 per day and who suffer from hunger
2. Education Make sure that all children start and finish primary school
3. Equality Ensure that as many girls as boys go to school
4. Infants Cut back by two-thirds the number of children who die before they reach the age of five
5. Mothers Cut back by three-quarters the number of women who die in childbirth
6. Disease Stop diseases such as HIV and AIDS, Malaria, TB from spreading further
7. Environment Cut in half the number of people who lack clean water, improve the lives of people who live in slums and promote policies that respect the environment
8. Global partnership Promote greater cooperation among all nations with special concern for fairer deals for poor countries in trade, aid, debt, new technologies etc.
Full details of the Goals can be found at http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/poverty.shtml
The Development Education for Transition Year Students programme in association with CDPC provides a guidelines booklet, student workshops, inter-school activities, teacher support and resources from NGOs involved in development education.
For more information you can contact: Patsy Toland, Development Education Coordinator, Self Help Africa, Annefield House, Portlaoise, Co.Laois.087 2849244, E-mail: patsy.toland@selfhelpafrica.com
