Education Canada - April/Spring 2021 (Vol. 61 No. 1)

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TEACHING WITH THE UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS The What, Why, and How of teaching the UN SDGs Régler des problèmes complexes à l’école The UNESCO Schools Network Le travail d’équipe qui propulse vers l’avant A whole-school approach to building a sustainable future

ENSEIGNER AVEC LES OBJECTIFS DE DÉVELOPPEMENT DURABLE DE L’ONU

PLUS: Tips & resources for educators | On protège mieux ce que l’on aime

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March/mars 2021 n Vol. 61 No.1 n www.edcan.ca

Contents

Read the French articles in translation: www.edcan.ca/magazine/spring-2021

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14

Table des matières

5 EDITOR’S NOTE

Real-Life Learning

Lisez les articles traduits de anglais : www.edcan.ca/magazine/printemps-2021/?lang=fr

6 NETWORK VOICES

Educating for a Sustainable World

By Sébastien Goupil

5 MOT DE LA RÉDACTION

7 PROMISING PRACTICES

Pour une planète qui dure

How the UN SDGs Can Support Career Education

By Candy Ho

6 VOIX DU RÉSEAU

Éduquer en vue du développement durable Par Sébastien Goupil

9 VIEWPOINT

Indigenous Justice Means a Sustainable Future for All

By Riley Yesno

28 La pensée design Des solutions durables construites par les élèves Par Diane Pruneau

11 SCHOOL/COMMUNITY

The UNESCO Schools Network

By Isabelle LeVert-Chiasson and Linda Connor 14 UN SDGs in Education The what, why, and how

By Janice Williams

32 Une éducation de qualité dans un environnement multiculturel Se donner les moyens d’y arriver Par Jean-Pierre Bédard, Justine Gosselin-Gagné et Michel Turcotte

19 A Whole-School Approach to Teaching the UN SDGs Making your school culture the catalyst for change

By Susan Elliott

36 Une éducation transformatrice Pour des jeunes au pouvoir citoyen émancipateur Par Marie Brodeur Gélinas et Geneviève-Gaël Vanasse

23 Global Citizenship and the SDGs Discussing global issues in your classroom

By Grace Van Mil

39 PRATIQUE PROMETTEUSE

41 Your SDGs To-Do List Tips and resources for educators ready to #TeachSDGs

By Jennifer Williams

Apprécier la biodiversité pour mieux la préserver Par Jean-Philippe Ayotte-Beaudet

36

44 VOICE OF EXPERIENCE

WEB EXCLUSIVES

www.edcan.ca/magazine Much More Than a Bilingual Country A call for plurilingual education in Canada

By Angelica Galante

PHOTO : LA BOÎTE 7

Shaping a Fairer World

By Ayush Chopra

COVER PHOTO: Courtesy CMIC www.edcan.ca/magazine

Le Réseau EdCan Network | March/mars 2021 • EDUCATION CANADA 3

Executive Editor | Rédacteur en chef Max Cooke English Editor | Rédactrice anglophone Holly Bennett Francophone Editor | Rédactrice francophone Gilberte Godin Art Director | Directeur artistique Dave Donald Digital Marketing and Website Coordinator | Coordinateur du marketing numérique Stéphane Lachance Research Manager | Responsable de la recherche André Rebeiz Research Analyst | Analyste en recherche Sarah Ranby Operations Manager | Responsable des opérations Mia San José Project and Events Manager | Responsable des événements et projets Bineta Diallo Printer | Imprimeur PointOne Graphics Inc. Advertising Sales | Ventes de publicité Dovetail Communications Inc. (905) 707-3526 or/ou advertise@edcan.ca / publicite@edcan.ca TM

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Publisher | Éditeur Canadian Education Association / Association canadienne d’éducation Chair | Présidente Denise Andre Education Canada Editorial Board / Comité éditorial d’Éducation Canada Marius Bourgeoys, cofondateur d’escouadeÉDU, conférencier, coach et consultant, L’Orignal, ON Dr. Curtis Brown, Superintendent, South Slave Divisional Education Council, Fort Smith, NT Dr. Steve Cardwell, Associate Vice President, Academic, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Surrey, BC Dr. Alec Couros, Professor, Information and Communication Technologies; ICT Coordinator, University of Regina, Regina, SK Nathalie Couzon, technopédagogue, Collège Letendre, Laval, QC Grant Frost, President (Halifax County Local), Nova Scotia Teachers’ Union, Halifax, NS Roberto Gauvin, spécialiste de l’éducation et entrepreneur d’école, CyberNB, Lac-Baker, NB François Guité, consultant au ministère de l’Éducation, de l’Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche (MEESR) du Québec, Québec, QC Dr. Michelle Hogue, Assistant Professor and Coordinator of the First Nations Transition Program, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB Stephen Hurley, Education Consultant; Founder of VoicEd Radio, Milton, ON © 2021 Canadian Education Association/l’Association canadienne d’éducation ISSN 0013-1253 Publications Mail Agreement No. 40031215 HST/TVH # R100763416 www.edcan.ca Rooted in the Canadian education experience and perspective, our English and French articles provide voice to teachers, principals, superintendents and researchers – a growing network of experts who examine today’s school and classroom challenges with courage and honesty. Pragmatic, accessible and evidencebased, Education Canada connects policy and research to classroom practice.

Education Canada is published four times yearly by the EdCan Network.

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Address all editorial correspondence to: Holly Bennett, Editor Education Canada editor@edcan.ca Tel: (705) 745-1419; Fax: (416) 591-5345 You are free to reproduce, distribute and transmit the articles in this publication, provided you attribute the author(s), Education Canada Vol. 61 (1), 2021, and a link to the EdCan Network (www.edcan.ca). You may not use the articles in this publication for commercial purposes. You may not alter, transform, or build upon the articles in this publication.

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The views expressed or implied in this publication are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the EdCan Network. Publication of an advertisement in Education Canada does not constitute an endorsement by the EdCan Network of any advertiser’s product or service including professional learning opportunities.

4 EDUCATION CANADA • March/mars 2021 | Le Réseau EdCan Network

Normand Lessard, directeur général, Centre de services scolaire de la Beauce-Etchemin, Saint Georges, QC Jennifer Lewington, Freelance education journalist, Stratford, ON Corinne Payne, présidente, Fédération des comités de parents du Québec (FCPQ), Québec, QC David Price, Senior Associate, Innovation Unit, Leeds, UK Zoe Branigan Pipe, Teacher, Hamilton, ON Cynthia Richards, President, Canadian Home and School Federation, Chipman, NB Sébastien Stasse, directeur formation et recherche au CADRE21, Longueuil, QC Chris Wejr, Principal, Langley, BC Dr. Joel Westheimer, University Research Chair in the Sociology of Education, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON Andrew Woodall, Dean of Students, Concordia University, Montréal, QC Dr. Christine Younghusband, Assistant Professor, University of Northern British Columbia School of Education, Prince George, BC

Ancrés dans l’expérience et la perspective de l’éducation au Canada, nos articles, en anglais et en français, donnent voix aux enseignants, aux directeurs d’écoles, aux administrateurs et aux chercheurs, c’est-à-dire à un réseau croissant d’experts qui se penchent avec courage et honnêteté sur les enjeux actuels de l’école et de la pratique en classe. Pragmatique et accessible, fondé sur des données probantes, le magazine Éducation Canada jette des ponts entre politiques, recherche et pratique.

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Note : Le magazine Éducation Canada adhère à la nouvelle orthographe. Le générique masculin est utilisé sans discrimination et uniquement dans le but d’alléger le texte.

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editor’s note / le mot de la rédaction

BY HOLLY BENNETT

PAR GILBERTE GODIN

Real-Life Learning

Pour une planète qui dure

WHEW. We made it through the winter. For many of you it has been, professionally and/or personally, the hardest winter ever. But with vaccination underway and warm weather ahead, we think we see light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel.

After a year that forced educators to teach, or lead, reactively in response to a mountain of new challenges, we thought it might be a welcome change to look forward to a more aspirational approach to teaching and learning. Yes, there are ongoing and critical COVID issues.

But we can also start thinking about how to re-engage students, build school community and make education the best training ground possible for our future leaders and citizens.

Taking on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), whether as a school or as a class, is an exciting way to address all three of these goals. I like to think of this issue as a seed catalogue.

The catalogue arrives when it’s still too cold to plant, but it conjures up big dreams for gardening season. We hope this issue will sow lots of ideas, and also lead you to the resources to develop them into a real plan. How great would it be to cover the curriculum in a way that engages students in real-world problems, encourages them to claim a stake in making the world a better place, and develops essential competencies in the process?

The authors in this issue are in the vanguard of integrating the SDGs into Canadian schooling, and part of an international network of educators who are helping to achieve these ambitious Agenda 2030 goals while providing their students with a positive, empowering opportunity to learn about and take action on global issues that are also urgent problems here at home, such as clean drinking water for Indigenous communities, homelessness, climate change, food insecurity, and racial inequities. See how other schools have taken on one or more of the goals in our article on UNESCO Schools, from our partners at CCUNESCO (p. 11). Or dive right into the features to learn about what the UN SDGs are, why they present such a great opportunity for educators, and how to integrate the SDGs into your classroom and school.

I hope this issue inspires educators, schools, and school boards to start planning how they might get involved in this world-changing initiative – and sow the seeds for a sustainable future. EC

J’ÉCRIS CE MESSAGE dehors au nord du Nouveau-Brunswick près d’un petit feu de bois. La chaleur et le crépitement du feu, le gazouillis des mésanges, la beauté des arbres et la blancheur de la neige me ravissent. Je me dis que c’est trop de beauté d’un coup!

Devant cette riche nature qui m’enchante, je me mets à penser à nos élèves, souvent paradoxalement confinés (le mot de l’année!) à l’intérieur pour apprendre ce qui se passe dehors.

Deux questions me tiraillent : Je me demande si ces jeunes sauront, plus que ma génération, contribuer à la durabilité de notre précieux environnement. S’ils apprendront par exemple à donner autant à notre planète et à notre société qu’à leur en demander.

Je me demande aussi si le personnel enseignant relèvera le défi d’intégrer dans son enseignement sur une base quotidienne les enjeux humanitaires et globaux, par exemple, la faim qui afflige une trop grande partie de la planète, un travail décent pour tous, l’égalité des sexes. À cet égard, les nombreux articles de ce numéro spécial sur les 17 objectifs de développement durable des Nations Unies me donnent espoir. Notamment, le récipiendaire du Prix Pat-Clifford, Jean-Philippe Ayotte-Beaudet, qui décrit (p. 39) comment et pourquoi enseigner les sciences dehors, me redonne le gout de retourner sur les bancs d’école.

Marie Brodeur Gélinas et Geneviève-Gaël Vanasse (p. 36) décrivent les actions éducatives d’Oxfam-Québec dans leur démarche d’éducation à la citoyenneté mondiale. Les activités et ressources qu’elles proposent visent à valoriser les actions des jeunes et à leur permettre d’influencer les lieux de pouvoir. Alors que d’autres articles adoptent la perspective des programmes d’études et de l’incontournable travail d’équipe des professionnels, plusieurs textes rendent saillants les liens cruciaux entre les objectifs de développement durable, les programmes d’études et la vie de tous les jours.

En fait, ce numéro donne espoir que l’éducation prendra une part active au développement durable… de façon durable et que le dynamisme de nos jeunes, trop heureux de passer en mode action, fera toute la différence pour faire durer notre planète dans le temps. ÉC

Write to us!

We want to know what you think. Send your comments and article proposals to editor@edcan.ca – or join the conversation by using #EdCan on Twitter and Facebook.

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Écrivez-nous!

Envoyez vos commentaires et propositions d’articles à redaction@edcan.ca. Joignez-vous à la conversation en utilisant le #EdCan sur Twitter et Facebook.

Le Réseau EdCan Network | March/mars 2021 • EDUCATION CANADA 5

network voices / voix du réseau BY / PAR SÉBASTIEN GOUPIL

Educating for a Sustainable World Sébastien Goupil is the former SecretaryGeneral of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO (2016-2021). Prior to that, he dedicated most of his career to cultural and social policy development.

Sébastien Goupil a été le Secrétaire général de la Commission canadienne pour l’UNESCO de 2016 à 2021. Sébastien a consacré une grande partie de sa carrière à l’élaboration de politiques culturelles et sociales.

WHEN WE WERE OFFERED the opportunity to partner with the EdCan Network on this special issue dedicated to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we did not hesitate for a moment. When we look to translate our high ideals into concrete action, teachers are natural and key allies.

The Canadian Commission for UNESCO is the link between Canadians and the essential work of UNESCO – the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Through our members, networks, and partners, many of whom are directly linked to the education community, we play an active role in promoting UNESCO’s values, priorities, and programs in Canada. We also help to ensure that the voice of civil society is heard internationally, so that our good ideas and practices also benefit the rest of the world.

While it is states like Canada that are ultimately responsible for implementing the United Nations’ ambitious Agenda 2030, all of us need to commit to sustainable development. Ensuring that our economy and our society develop in a more sustainable and equitable way, while respecting the environment and the limited capacities of our planet, requires thinking globally and acting locally. And this is the extraordinary strength of the networks gradually built up by UNESCO over the decades: they encourage innovation and new forms of intellectual and moral cooperation among peoples, including the advancement of quality education that leaves no one behind, as called for in SDG 4.

Mobilizing the education sector, especially teachers, is critical to advancing the entire set of SDGs. This sector has the unmatched potential to raise awareness and develop the critical thinking skills of young people in relation to the greatest challenges facing our humanity, including the climate crisis. Indeed, the world of education can serve as a powerful lever for changing behaviours and lifestyle habits. The strength of schools also lies in their capacity to act in a very holistic manner, and even extend their reach beyond staff and students.

It is our wish that this issue will inspire you to learn more about SDGs and how you can help our world achieve them. Present and future generations share an interest in – and the right to – successful implementation of the goals.

Thank you in advance for your commitment, and I hope you enjoy reading these pages. EC

6 EDUCATION CANADA • March/mars 2021 | Le Réseau EdCan Network

Éduquer en vue du développement durable LORSQU’ON NOUS A PROPOSÉ ce partenariat avec EdCan pour un numéro spécial sur les objectifs de développement durable (ODD), nous n’avons pas hésité un instant. Les enseignantes et les enseignants sont des alliés de premier plan pour traduire les grands idéaux que nous défendons en actions concrètes sur le terrain.

La Commission canadienne pour l’UNESCO assure le lien entre les Canadiennes et Canadiens et le travail essentiel de l’UNESCO – l’Organisation des Nations Unies pour l’éducation, la science et la culture. Par l’entremise de nos membres, de nos réseaux et de nos partenaires, dont plusieurs sont directement liés au milieu de l’éducation, nous jouons un rôle actif pour promouvoir les valeurs, les priorités et les programmes de l’UNESCO au Canada. Nous aidons aussi à faire entendre la voix de la société civile à l’international, question que nos bonnes idées et pratiques profitent aussi au reste de la planète.

Même si ce sont les États comme le Canada qui sont ultimement responsables de mettre en œuvre l’ambitieux Programme de développement durable à l’horizon 2030 des Nations Unies, notre engagement à toutes et à tous est essentiel. Assurer un développement plus durable et équitable de notre économie et de notre société, dans le respect de l’environnement et des capacités limitées de notre planète, exige de penser de manière globale et d’agir localement. Et c’est là l’extraordinaire force des réseaux patiemment tissés par l’UNESCO au fil des décennies.

Ils encouragent l’innovation et de nouvelles formes de coopération intellectuelle et morale entre les peuples, y compris pour avancer une éducation de qualité qui ne laisse personne derrière, comme nous y invite l’ODD 4.

Mobiliser le secteur de l’éducation, en particulier les enseignantes et les enseignants, est en fait critique pour avancer l’ensemble des ODD. Ce secteur incarne cette possibilité infinie de conscientiser et de développer la pensée critique de nos jeunes par rapport aux plus grands défis auxquels notre humanité est confrontée, notamment la crise climatique. Le monde de l’éducation a en effet cette extraordinaire capacité à servir de levier pour changer des comportements et des habitudes de vie. La force de l’école s’incarne aussi dans cette façon tout à fait holistique de mettre à contribution toutes les personnes qui gravitent autour du personnel et des élèves.

J’espère que le présent numéro vous donnera envie d’en apprendre davantage sur les ODD et sur les façons dont vous pouvez aider les nations du monde à les réaliser. Il en va de l’intérêt et des droits des générations aussi bien présentes que futures.

Merci à l’avance pour votre engagement et bonne lecture ! ÉC www.edcan.ca/magazine

promising practices

PHOTO: ADOBE STOCK

BY CANDY HO

How the UN SDGs Can Support Career Education Encouraging students to consider – and shape – the world they want to live in Candy Ho, EdD, CCDP, is the inaugural Assistant Professor, Integrative Career and Capstone Learning at the University of the Fraser Valley in British Columbia. She is Vice Chair of CERIC, a Canadian charitable organization that advances education and research in career counselling and career development in order to increase the economic and social well-being of Canadians.

THERE IS A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY before us to inspire and mobilize our students to engage with the world’s most pressing issues, as defined in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs provide educators with a wonderful canvas to embed global issues that require collective expertise and solutions into our curriculum. In this article, I share my experience with incorporating the SDGs into one of my courses to help students realize their lifelong mission and career purpose. While the example I provide was used in a post-secondary setting as a career education framework, my intention is to inspire you to consider how you might incorporate a similar approach toward helping your K–12 students connect with these critical topics and relate them to their own career aspirations.

I teach a post-university transitions course at both the University of the Fraser Valley and Kwantlen Polytechnic University in British Columbia. The main course objective is to ensure students are well prepared for their journey after post-secondary graduation. I elected to use the SDGs as a framework to help students consider three ambitious questions that can evoke personal values and their sense of purpose: • What is the world that you want to live in?

• What are the global problems or opportunities that need your attention?

• What are your talents and experiences that may help address these problems, and in turn improve the condition of our world?

Rather than simply pose these questions in a single lecture, I elected to embed them in various

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capacities within assignments and activities throughout the term. In particular, I chose to structure these as “renewable assignments” that aim to provide value and impact beyond the course, as opposed to disposable assignments that students set aside once they are completed.

The results demonstrated immediate impact; students felt that the content was engaging and they immersed themselves into their assignments and activities. As one student noted: “This course [and the SDG components] has me more focused on my dream of being more than a teacher… to ensure children are receiving more than a quality education… [and that they] do not go without food, have access to clean water, are healthy (mentally, physically, and emotionally), have equality, and gain skills to thrive in their community.”

Furthermore, a common insight that many students shared is articulated in this student’s comment about introducing the SDGs within the K–12 system: “I found it surprising that the SDGs… (or the MDGs, which was the earlier version) were not introduced earlier in my undergrad, or even while I was in elementary and high school! Learning about them earlier on would have helped me better connect what I want to know and how I can help my community.”

I agree with this student that the SDGs can and should be introduced at a much earlier age. Three assignments that resonated particularly well with my students are described below, along with ideas for adapting them to suit the K–12 environment:

Incorporating SDGs into career education Occupational research In the course, students are asked to research labour market information related to their career aspirations, using search engines such as the Government of Canada’s National Occupation Code (National) and WorkBC’s Labour Market Information Office (Provincial). What skills, education, and experiences are required to enter the occupation? What might be their career outlook and prospects, provincially and nationally? Having conducted this research, students are asked to consider which of the 17 SDGs their chosen profession or field might help advance and how.

Applicability to K–12: This assignment and its activities are likely suitable to the more senior secondary school years to help students further their research literacy and critical thinking skills. Students may also use this opportunity to explore the types of work – both in terms of paid employment and unpaid volunteer/service pursuits – that directly support or are involved within one or more of the SDGs, to help expand their understanding of how diverse occupations might be.

EdCan Network | March 2021 • EDUCATION CANADA 7

Information interview In the information interview project, students speak with three individuals who may provide insight into a type of work they are considering, and then they reflect on these conversations. One of the questions embedded in the project asks them to consider the common themes that emerged in their conversations, and how they believe these themes and individuals shed further insights into the SDGs. Applicability to K–12: This assignment can be adapted to suit a particular grade level, from teachers providing a list of questions to ask in the lower grades, to empowering students to generate questions on their own in the higher levels. This assignment might be comparable to a career/occupation activity where teachers invite guest speakers to visit the class and talk about their profession, resulting in a group information interview where any students can pose questions. For example, a student interested in pursuing an occupation in trades might interview an electrician and learn that she is either explicitly or unknowingly supporting SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities by sourcing and using local materials in her projects, as well as SDG 5: Gender Equality through her advocacy work as a female in her trade association. If an obvious connection isn’t immediately made, the student and professional can engage in a conversation about how someone working in the profession could potentially align their work with one of the SDGs. This then becomes an interesting two-way instructional opportunity where the student can, in turn, help educate the professional about the SDGs. Mission statement Students develop their mission statement as part of an ePortfolio.

During the development process, they consider: What is the work they

want to pursue? Who are they doing this work for? And how might the SDGs be furthered as a result of their work? In the last question, they are able to again infuse the SDGs and talk about the overarching goal and connect it back to their ideal work and profession.

Applicability to K–12: Teachers can adjust the scope of this project based on the grade level to have students identify what they can do in their own life to help advance one or more of the SDGs; a charter of sorts. This may also align with a research project on how one can make a specific impact in their local (school or neighbourhood) community.

Final advice

Ultimately, the SDGs as a career education framework can be used with students to generate ideas on occupations they’d like to pursue.

Using the UN SDGs as a framework helps them expand their current career aspirations by asking, “Which of the SDGs do you think you can contribute to as you work in your chosen field, and how so?” By doing this they can better connect their work aspiration to a bigger purpose, and that purpose can also be a motivating factor in their coursework and post-secondary options. Additionally, the SDGs can help students who are unsure about their occupational goals answer the question: “What is a cause I am passionate about and how might I contribute to that cause, either through paid work or through volunteering?”

Getting started with the SDGs

Here are some tips for educators who wish to incorporate the SDGs into their curriculum to enhance their students’ career development: • Start small and wherever it makes sense. Start by reviewing your course and program objectives.

• Don’t reinvent the wheel if you don’t need to. There are some excellent resources to help you get started, such as the UNESCO Teachers Toolkit (UNESCO, 2020) and Saskatchewan Council for International Cooperation’s global citizenship education modules (2021).

• Consider if there are particular SDGs that are a better fit, based on the nature of your course or program, and consider focusing on those.

• Conduct both formal and informal evaluations to evaluate whether students found that incorporating the SDGs was helpful to fulfilling your original objective. What would they do differently if they were the educator? How can we better help them think global, and act local?

In the case of my students, the response has been very positive. I’ve had students and graduates tell me they are incorporating the SDGs in their job and graduate school applications and interviews.

This quote from one student reveals the seemingly lifelong impact that embedding the SDGs into my curriculum achieved: “Something that I have learned about myself in relation to the UN SDG(s)… [is] the way I treat others and the actions I take always depend upon peace and justice as everyone should be treated equally and be able to have a second chance to grow from their mistakes.” EC REFERENCES Canadian Commission for UNESCO. (2020). Teacher’s toolkit: UNESCO Schools Network in Canada. UNESCO. https://en.ccunesco.ca/-/media/Files/Unesco/Resources/2020/04/ ToolkitUNESCOSchoolsTeachers.pdf Saskatchewan Council for International Cooperation (2021). Online global citizenship education resources. www.saskcic.org/education_resources_collection

8 EDUCATION CANADA • March 2021 | EdCan Network

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viewpoint

PHOTO: JOSIE DESMARAIS (ISTOCK)

BY RILEY YESNO

A march in Montreal for Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women – one of many justice issues affecting Indigenous peoples.

Indigenous Justice Means a Sustainable Future for All We all have a role in realizing this future

Riley Yesno (she/her/ hers) is a professional researcher, writer, and public speaker with expertise in Indigenous and youth affairs and climate justice. She is Anishinaabe from Eabametoong First Nation and currently calls St. John’s, Nfld., home.

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WHEN I THINK ABOUT the necessary steps to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, Indigenous rights and justice come to mind immediately.

To me, it is clear that there can be no sustainable world without creating the conditions that allow Indigenous people to thrive.

Many of the objectives of the SDGs (such as a sustainable world for future generations to inherit, responsible practices of consumption, strong partnerships, etc.) already align with the values and practices of most Indigenous nations, which, according to a 2018 United Nations report, make up only five percent of the global population, but protect more than 80 percent of the world’s biodiversity (Raygorodetsky, 2018). Not only this, but the emphasis that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development puts on reducing inequalities “is of particular relevance to Indigenous peoples, who are almost universally in situations of disadvantage vis-à-vis other segments of the population” (United Nations, 2018).

In Canada, Indigenous people are grossly overrepresented in every area of inequity.

Despite these clear points of connection, I think for

some people, and certainly for many environmentalists, policy-makers, and educators I have known, emphasizing Indigenous people’s role in the SDGs is approached as an afterthought rather than as a necessity. This line of thinking and inaction is something we must change, especially in Canada, as progress on the SDGs lags – incredibly so when it comes to the state of Indigenous communities.

This is not to say that there has been a complete failure in the conversation about Indigenous people and the SDGs. Indeed, in Canada’s 2018 Voluntary National Review of Implementation, Indigenous people were mentioned under the progress reports for almost every one of the SDGs to date (Global Affairs Canada, 2018). However, I have long maintained that the degree to which Indigenous people are centred in conversations about the SDGs is insufficient. Moreover, I believe the approaches Canada and Canadians have taken to collaborate with Indigenous people thus far, are the wrong ones.

As of 2019, the primary approach Canada had taken to addressing Indigenous concerns regarding the SDGs was to “invest in existing Indigenous-focused programming relevant to each SDG and aim for greater consultation and collaboration with Indigenous people in every sector” (Yesno, 2019). None of these approaches are transformational. Consultation and increased dollars are not enough to bring about the changes Indigenous communities deserve or the impact the 2030 Agenda seeks to achieve; these types of changes necessitate a restructuring of power and jurisdiction; a provision of tools and capacity so Indigenous people can chart their own paths to self-determination.

Why self-determination? Because Indigenous people cannot protect the land if it is always under threat of seizure. They cannot pursue sustainable development practices if threats of mining, damming, pipelines, and other forms of extraction loom without consent.

Indigenous people already have the knowledge to uphold sustainable relationships between ourselves and the natural world; we had been in harmonious relationships with the environment for a millennia before colonization.

It is hard to pursue those ways of living though, ones which would benefit all people living in Canada, when we have to fight for basic rights at the same time. This is where education plays a critical role. As current and future generations navigate sustainability crises into 2030 and beyond, it is important they, too, see Indigenous rights as central to a sustainable world.

One of young people’s greatest strengths, I believe, is their ability to seek and embrace radical change – a skill that can be increasingly challenging for people as they age. Transforming Canada’s relationship with Indigenous people in the ways I have described above is a truly radical and momentous change. It will take an entire coming generation fighting for, and believing in, this change in order for it to be realized. It is up to current generations of educators, parents, thought-leaders, EdCan Network | March 2021 • EDUCATION CANADA 9

and policy-makers to help them understand this, emphasize the importance of building strong relationships with Indigenous people, and ultimately, guide them in this fight.

The SDGs offer a great entry point for discussions about the specific ways Indigenous people are left behind in this country, and how that might be able to change. Discussing SDG 5: Gender Equality? Highlight Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG). There is a whole list of action items necessary to address this inequality.

Tackling SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation? Identify the dozens of Indigenous communities who lack reliable, clean water and the many Indigenous voices finding ways to overcome this challenge. Let young people know that Indigenous people all around them are fighting for their future as well as our own.

I should note that there are individuals all over the country, including educators, who are leading by example and already sharing this information in and out of the classroom. I know this because I have been lucky enough to be taught and mentored by such people.

For those who have the essential job of educating and shaping young people, and want to do more to bring Indigenous justice to their work, the resources are already there – they are just waiting for you to embrace them. (See OISE, 2001; Gamblin, 2019; Yellowhead Institute, 2019, for starters.)

Overall, Indigenous rights and justice, especially the right to selfdetermination, needs to be a major priority as we collectively tackle the SDGs and address what feels like an increasingly precarious world; not only because it’s the moral thing to do, but because it is a critical part of the path forward. It is long time we realize that, ultimately, there is no sustainable future without Indigenous rights, and that we all have a role to play in ensuring that these rights are realized.

The United Nations (2015) said it well when they stated: “The future of humanity and of our planet lies in our hands. It lies also in the hands of today’s younger generation who will pass the torch to future generations. The road to sustainable development is already mapped; it will be for all of us to ensure that the journey is successful and its gains irreversible.”

Indigenous people have long been ready to embark on that journey, it is my hope that we can work together so the next generations will be ready too. EC REFERENCES Gamblin, R. (2019, November 4). LAND BACK! What do we mean? 4 Rs Youth Movement. http://4rsyouth.ca/land-back-what-do-we-mean Global Affairs Canada. (2018). Canada’s implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (pp. 1–148). Government of Canada.

Deepening Knowledge Project.(2001). Best practices for teaching Aboriginal students. Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. www.oise.utoronto.ca/deepeningknowledge/UserFiles/File/UploadedAmina_/Best_ Practices_for_Teaching_Aboriginal_Students.pdf Raygorodetsky, G. (2018, November 19). Can indigenous land stewardship protect biodiversity? National Geographic. www.nationalgeographic.com/ environment/2018/11/can-indigenous-land-stewardship-protect-biodiversityUnited Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. (2015). Transforming our world: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. United Nations. https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. (2018). Indigenous Peoples and the 2030 Agenda. United Nations. https://bit.ly/3qZZ8wm Yellowhead Institute. (2019, October 29). Land Back: A Yellowhead Institute Red Paper. https://redpaper.yellowheadinstitute.org Yesno, R. (2019, June 11). UNDRIP and the SDGs: There’s no sustainable future without Indigenous rights. Alliance2030. https://alliance2030.ca/undrip-and-thesdgs-theres-no-sustainable-future-without-indigenous-rights

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www.edcan.ca/magazine

school / community

BY ISABELLE LEVERT-CHIASSON AND LINDA CONNOR

ALL PHOTOS: COURTESY CCUNESCO

Agenda 2030

Allison Bernard Memorial High: Celebrating Indigenous culture

The UNESCO Schools Network Tackling global challenges locally in the classroom

Isabelle LeVert-Chiasson is the Education Program Officer with the Canadian Commission for UNESO (CCUNESCO).

Her role includes the national coordination of the UNESCO Schools Network, engaging Canadians in UNESCO programs in Canada and abroad, providing advice to various levels of government related to the UNESCO Education Sector, and supporting the Permanent Delegation of Canada to UNESCO. Linda Connor is a Social Studies Curriculum Consultant with Manitoba Education as well as the National Chair of the UNESCO Schools Network and the provincial coordinator for the province of Manitoba.

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THE 17 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS – also known as the SDGs or the Global Goals – offer a blueprint for a more just and sustainable future for all. As many as 193 governments from around the world adopted these goals in 2015 and agreed to implement them in their own countries in order to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Over the coming decade, these countries will continue to mobilize efforts to end poverty, fight inequalities and tackle climate change. These new, interconnected goals build on the earlier Millennium Development Goals while encompassing new priority areas, such as climate change, economic inequality, innovation, sustainable consumption, peace and justice, and others.

SDGs have a huge part to play in today’s classrooms.

As a road map for making the world a better place, these goals can support student engagement and can also inform and influence lesson plans. The Canadian Commission for UNESCO (CCUNESCO) has been supporting students and educators in bringing these global goals to the classroom through the UNESCO Schools Network, a global network of schools contributing to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Here are a few examples of how members of this network are taking action on the SDGs in their schools across Canada.

At Elm Creek School, a K–12 community school in Elm Creek, Manitoba, their UNESCO team of students and lead teachers launched a school-wide project to bring more awareness to, and take action on, the SDGs. The World’s Largest Lesson, launched in 2015 to bring these global goals to children everywhere, was shared with all students in a special school assembly. At this assembly, students were placed into various multi-graded groups.

The school’s UNESCO committee collected various print and electronic resources, and then assigned each of these groups one or two of the goals to research. This research process led to planning that supported the ultimate goal of the entire school working together to implement action projects that could address the SDGs. Action projects that continue to be implemented and sustained include: • an annual food drive to collect non-perishable food items for children and families in need within the school’s community and surrounding areas (SDG #2: Zero Hunger) • an annual drive to collect school supplies, personal care items, and small toys for children in developing countries (SDG # 4: Quality Education) • a school-wide waste composting project using worms to break down food waste into useable compost for the school’s garden, which then raises produce for the school’s canteen (SDG #12: Responsible Consumption and Production).

Elm Creek School: Sustainability in action

SDG #4: Inclusive and Equitable Quality Education for All

In 2020, the CCUNESCO and the Global Centre for Pluralism launched online teacher training on “Talking About Racism in the Classroom” in response to racial injustice in Canada and in our schools. More than 1,000 teachers responded and more than 500 participated in online training. It was clear that teachers and school administrators urgently wished to be equipped and supported to have these conversations and to explore systemic racism within their school systems.

In order to continue this important conversation with students, CCUNESCO partnered with TakingItGlobal EdCan Network | March 2021 • EDUCATION CANADA 11

and the Centre for Global Education to organize an online live video conference for schools across the country titled “#BlackLivesMatter in Canadian Schools.” The two keynote speakers for this video conference were two students from the David Suzuki Secondary School from Brampton, Ontario. As members of the United Souls, a Black student leadership group that shares a common ideal of upholding Black excellence, they were able to share their personal experiences of racism and how we can address systemic racism within our school systems.

SDG #3: Good Health and Well-Being

To promote health and well-being in their community, some of the students at F.H. Collins Secondary School in Whitehorse, Yukon, organized care packages for people in need this winter. Students purchased arm socks and mitts along with personal-care products and some chocolate to be distributed locally. The students enjoyed working together to spread some holiday cheer and work toward SDG #3: Good Health and WellBeing.

SDG #13: Climate Action

Canadian society. The UNESCO Schools Network supports initiatives that promote reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada within UNESCO’s program areas. To facilitate the conversation around reconciliation within the classroom, CCUNESCO partnered with Wapikoni, an organization that works with Indigenous youth through cinema and music to develop their artistic, technical, social, and professional skills, and broadcasts their films to increase public awareness of issues facing Indigenous communities. The result was a teaching guide intended to encourage high-school teachers to engage students in discussions about current issues and to introduce them to the diversity of Indigenous cultures in Canada.

At Allison Bernard Memorial High School, located in Eskasoni First Nation in Nova Scotia, the school uses music and technology to help students engage with, share, and celebrate their cultural identity.

For example, high-school students put Rita Joe’s famous poem, I Lost My Talk, to music. “It’s all about reconciliation through art – that was the overriding idea with this whole project,” says Eskasoni teacher Carter Chiasson. They are also in the process of developing a language app to revive Mi’kmaq.

A global network that supports local

Climate action is essential for sustainable action development, which, at heart, is a way for Imagine more than 11,500 schools in 182 people to benefit from natural resources countries connecting and learning from F. H. Collins Secondary: Sharing and caring without using them all up and depriving one other, where students reflect on global future generations. For example, reducing challenges such as peace, climate action, human carbon emissions is key to living within environmental limits. So is rights, cultural diversity, and sustainable development, while taking being responsible about excess packaging, waste disposal, and how action to contribute to positive changes in their own communities. This we treat the world’s oceans. It is increasingly urgent to preserve the is what the UNESCO Schools Network is all about. Created in 1953, it world’s ecosystems and natural and cultural heritage, and to protect connects schools across the world to promote quality education for the Earth from the most devastating effects of weather extremes, such all in the pursuit of peace and development. There are more than 100 as wildfires, floods, severe storms, and more.

UNESCO schools across Canada.

At Bruce Peninsula District School in rural Ontario, teachers, There is a particularly important role for UNESCO schools in students, and staff have implemented a comprehensive program Canada to take action on SDGs. A Teacher’s Toolkit was recently driving climate action in every classroom, with monthly challenges created to support all educators and students who are interested and tips. As part of this approach, the entire K–12 school completed in implementing UNESCO values at their schools. While all schools ten monthly challenges focused on climate action during the school can access UNESCO and CCUNESCO educational resources and year. The projects supported what students were learning in class and publications, those that are part of the network also get to learn from involved parents and community members. To ensure everyone stayed one another with other schools that are committed to tackling local on track, the school kept tally sheets of climate actions and had one and global issues related to the SDGs, thereby contributing to a better student elected by each class to make sure climate actions were being and more sustainable future for all. Learn more about the SDGs, taken. connect with others across Canada and the world, At École secondaire Cavelier-De and join the movement! EC LaSalle in Quebec, reducing waste is REFERENCES serious business. After installing an Canadian Commission for UNESCO. https://en.ccunesco.ca industrial composter, the school redirected Canadian Commission for UNESCO. (March 2020).

176 kg of waste as compost in 2017, and Teachers toolkit: UNESCO Schools Network in Canada.

200 kg of waste in 2018. The school also UNESCO. https://en.ccunesco.ca/-/media/Files/Unesco/ reduced plastic waste by selling reusable Resources/2020/04/ToolkitUNESCOSchoolsTeachers.pdf water bottles in the 2017–2018 school year, Rita Joe Song Project. Gentle warrior. National Arts Centre. https://nac-cna.ca/en/ritajoesong/gentle-warrior which are fillable at the school’s bottle Global Centre for Pluralism. (2020). Talking about racism École Sécondaire Cavelier-De LaSalle: Waste reduction fountains.

SDG # 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

In order to ensure peace, justice and strong institutions in Canada, Indigenous peoples’ rights must be respected. According to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) is the framework for reconciliation at all levels and across all sectors of 12 EDUCATION CANADA • March 2021 | EdCan Network

in the classroom: Webinar and resources for educators on anti-Black racism. www.pluralism.ca/talking-racism UNESCO Schools Network. https://en.ccunesco.ca/networks/unesco-schools-network Wapikoni. (n.d.) Wapikoni teaching guide: An introduction to the diversity of Indigenous cultures in Canada. www.wapikoni.ca/about/services-offered/wapikoni-teaching-guide World’s Largest Lessons. https://worldslargestlesson.globalgoals.org

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TEACHING WITH THE UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

UN SDGs in Education The what, why, and how

Janice Williams is an Ontario certified teacher and independent educational consultant who specializes in interdisciplinary curriculum design and competency-based education. She strives to foster an understanding of the connections between sustainability, systems, and futureoriented thinking in K–12 education. Her interests include culturally responsive pedagogies and nature-inspired learning.

BY JANICE WILLIAMS Sustainability gives purpose to education.1

THE IDEA OF EDUCATION for sustainable development

is not entirely new. My introduction to it began in 2008, with a simple request. A group of students required a staff advisor in order to participate in the Plan International Canada program, Spread the Net. Co-founded by Rick Mercer and Belinda Stronach, Spread the Net was a friendly national fundraising initiative among K–20 institutions to engage communities in international development actions. As a science teacher, it was not lost on me that malaria had been eradicated in Canada for more than 60 years (70+ years today), yet it remained a challenge for some nations globally. Moreover, due to changing global climate systems, there was the potential for Canada to face similar challenges with malaria in the future.

Months later, I learned that the Spread the Net initiative was rooted in one of the United Nations’ eight international development goals, known as the Millennial Development Goals (MDGs). Spread the Net was my introduction to the world of education for sustainable development (ESD) and the work of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation

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(UNESCO) for global education. Because of this experience, my philosophy for “why I teach” broadened in scope from subject-specific curriculum expectations to a more global perspective: How will students apply this information to address the complexities of today and of the future?

The What: The Sustainable Development Goals

On September 15, 2015 at the UN General Assembly, global leaders unanimously adopted Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a new set of progressive universal and transformative goals for global development. The new UN framework that superseded the MDGs was created so that nations could continue to reimagine and reshape the future, with one major difference – this framework had global significance and was positioned in a way that all nations could plan, act on, and measure their progress over a 15-year period. The resulting 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets were developed with the input of people from all over the world to ensure they represented the needs of the global population. That is why www.edcan.ca/magazine

PHOTO: ISTOCK

the framework has come to be known in education circles as the Global Goals.

Building on the principle of “leaving no one behind,” the new Agenda emphasizes a holistic approach to achieving sustainable development for all. The 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development are integrated and indivisible.

The Why: What does this have to do with education?

The 2030 Agenda is an ambitious plan in which education is mentioned 28 times across six goals (#1, #3, #5, #8, #12, and #13), in addition to Goal #4, which is dedicated solely to education. Education is positioned as both an enabler and a driver of capacity building toward achieving the SDGs. But the SDGs also bring to education systems an exciting new model on which to scaffold teaching through the 17 cross-cutting themes that intersect all societies, all grade levels, and all disciplines.

Using the 17 SDGs as lenses for teaching presents subject-matter conwww.edcan.ca/magazine

tent in a relevant context, helping students to apply what they are learning locally to global conditions and current events.

The appeal of the framework for me is the interconnected, interlinked nature of the goals. At first glance the SDG poster with the 17 tiles, vivid hues of primary colours, and skillfully arranged composite of squares to form a rectangle, looks simple. But it is not. No tile exists in isolation! Once I ventured behind each tile, exploring each indicator (measure of progress) and tangential connection, I realized that in its wholeness these 17 tiles represented life’s challenges and opportunities, which could be investigated and discussed in varying magnitudes/scales, e.g. individual, community, region, country, continent, and the world. I had discovered concrete and flexible ways to actively engage learners in critical thinking and systems practice.

Consider the discipline of science, my playground. It is a powerful tool that learners can use to understand natural and social phenomena in their communities. These phenomena, usually distilled into discrete subject areas, are presented in the SDGs with all their EdCan Network | March 2021 • EDUCATION CANADA 15

beautiful real-world complexities and nuances. Learners are required to mobilize knowledges (from areas other than science), skills, and attitudes – including the pan-Canadian global competencies2 – to identify local problems and action solutions. Since the SDGs serve to spark the problem-finding, the solutions that arise can have global application.

The SDGs position the subject-specific knowledges in their true form: multifaceted, multilayered, and complex. When learners apply subject-specific knowledge in a context that is positioned in local realities, they are empowered to explore, analyze, and engage with their environment, both natural and human-made, and to strengthen skills (global competencies) that will enable them to tackle complex issues that are affecting their communities now and in future.

Strength in purpose

When I agreed to contribute to this publication, I knew that the narrative I would share could not be my story alone. This was an opportunity to serve as a knowledge broker for the SDGs. I decided to provide space for more voices to be heard and posted a call for contributors via a brief survey to the TeachSDGs Ambassador Slack platform. It did not take long for responses to come in – from Greece, Canada, Lebanon, Nigeria, the U.K., the U.S., United Arab Emirates, and France – a global community bound together by their belief in the power of education to transform the world. Formal and informal educators, former teachers, and an administrator responded to the call.

My first question centred on the benefits of membership in a global community of practitioners (Teacher SDGs Ambassadors).

Here are just a few responses: “Sharing of best practices with each other. Networking with likeminded people from across the world. Learning from a global community to help prepare students to think local and act global.”

– Anita Singh, teacher at a Farm School, United Arab Emirates 16 EDUCATION CANADA • March 2021 | EdCan Network

“… collaborating with other educators on ideas to teach the SDGs.”

– Doreen N. Myrie, teacher-educator, U.S. “The main benefits are creating partnerships with each other to increase our implementation efficiency. These partnerships would be in different forms like sharing resources, expertise, affiliation, and all kinds of support.”

– Jinan Karameh, school principal, Lebanon “Access to a community of like-minded practitioners who share the same vision and ultimately the same goal. Sharing best practice.

Kept informed with current initiatives and learning development opportunities.”

– Tim Black, former teacher, France Reading these comments, a proverb came to mind: “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.” Through the global collaboration and partnership enabled by the TeachSDGs Ambassador program, my voice, my work, and my contribution to education benefits many more individuals than I actually see, and every opportunity to collaborate serves to amplify the actions that support desirable practices in education.

Engaged teachers and learners

In order to engage students, teachers must understand the purpose of learning – the collective why – for themselves and the students.

Whether it be social studies, the arts, science, or math, teachers must consider: • Why do students need to know this?

• How will the material support students’ understanding of themselves and of the world, now and in the future? www.edcan.ca/magazine

The 17 Global Goals offer teachers myriad ways to educate students about global complexities through local contexts. Research on Education for Sustainable Development supports this approach for enhancing student self-esteem, character development, empathy, and empowerment. Framing the learning at the community level also provides students the chance to apply knowledge to authentic contexts.

In addition, ESD pedagogies encourage teachers to consider more learner-centred approaches, enabling students to be self-governing in their learning. Schooling must now prioritize the development of competences for sustainability3 that support participatory action of students by identifying alignment between curricula and perspectives that the 17 Goals and 169 targets provide.

Since my induction into ESD, my role in education has shifted from classroom teacher to a curriculum developer working at the ministerial level. To demonstrate the potential for SDGs to positively impact education, I defer once again to the educators from the TeachSDGs community. I asked them to share their insights on how framing subjects through many perspectives of the UN SDGs empowers learners.

Here are a few responses: “When you bring the Global goals to a local level, and the students can make the connection with what you are learning and discussing in class and their life and lived experience, it is a powerful combination. If you can ignite a passion within a student to work to make a positive change in the world, what could be better?”

– Mahfuza Rahman, teacher (Science) and technology coach, Canada “Learners... realize the need for inclusive solutions (Leave No One Behind) and develop their critical thinking, innovation, and creativity trying to help the future of our planet.”

– Stavroula Skiada, teacher (ICT), Greece “Encourages broader thinking. Helps them [students] become global citizens and can inspire them [students] to take action as a global change-maker.”

– Kirsten Thompson, former teacher, U.K. “Learners are empowered to problem solve, to use their voice to teach others to make a change and a difference about issues that they care about. They are empowered to learn about cultures and see the value in learning about other cultures and the world.”

– Lynn Thomas, teacher (English Literature), Canada “Students see and experience the world as an interdependent ecosystem and acknowledge, create, and find their place in it.”

– Julia Fliss, teacher (English Language Arts), U.S. Kristen Thompson summed it up nicely when she reflected that framing subject matter through the many perspectives of the SDGs, “brings education to life for students by focusing on real-world issues.”

The How: Weaving the Global Goals into your practice

Currently, there are many challenges to embedding the Global Goals into our teaching practice – such as communication gaps within ministries and districts/school boards, competing interests and priorities within public education, and a lack of professional development opportunities for interested teachers on SDGs topics. But difficult is not impossible. An important driver for reorienting education is knowledge mobilization, sharing of resources, and professional learning support.

Since the inception of the Global Goals, a flood of resources have www.edcan.ca/magazine

Resources for Educators The What Video: UNESCO: The Lab of Ideas, the Lab for Change! https://youtu.be/zt7l1Ky4-gQ

The Why Teach SDGs Manifesto: https://bit.ly/3tOaAMI

The How These are my go-to resources that I access regularly.

• A Curriculum Framework for the Sustainable Development Goals, By A. Osman, S. Ladhani, et al. (Commonwealth Secretariat, 2017): www.thecommonwealth-educationhub.net/ commonwealth-curriculum-framework-for-sdgs • Climate Action Project: www.climate-action.info • Global Action Project: https://en.unesco.org/globalactionprogrammeon education • Global Goals for Sustainable Development: www.globalgoals.org • Global Schools Program Resources: www.globalschoolsprogram.org/resources • MCIC Sustainable Foundations: http://mcic.ca/sustainable-foundations • SDG Academy: https://sdgacademy.org • SDGs Book Club: www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sdgbookclub • Sustainable Development Solutions Network: https://resources.unsdsn.org/education • Teach SDGs: www.teachsdgs.org • Teaspoons of Change: https://teaspoonsofchange.org/index.php/the-globalgoals • The Goals Project: www.goalsproject.org • The World’s Largest Lesson: https://worldslargestlesson.globalgoals.org • UNESCO Associated Schools Network: https://aspnet.unesco.org/en-us/Pages/default.aspx • Education for Sustainable Development Goals: Learning objectives (UNESCO, 2017): https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000247444 • Education for Sustainable Development: Source Book. 7 (UNESCO, 2012): https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/ documents/926unesco9.pdf

been created by ESD champions and developed by teachers to support related work on regional, national, and international levels. Schools that put the Global Goals at the centre of their approach to education EdCan Network | March 2021 • EDUCATION CANADA 17

are part of a greater whole. There are multiple on-ramps for individual teachers as well as school communities to get involved.

Wondering how you can start weaving the Global Goals into teaching and supporting a sustainability mindset for learning in school communities? Here are a few accessible suggestions: • Commit to becoming a globally competent educator. Strive to value multiple perspectives and promote equity, keep abreast of local and current events, and cultivate a learning environment that values diversity and global engagement.

• Read A Curriculum Framework for the Sustainable Development Goals (Osman et al., 2017) or Education for Sustainable Development Goals - Learning Objectives to identify areas where you can apply theory to practice.

• Start small – examine how you might map your teaching and learning onto the SDGs. • Learn from educators proficient with theory of practice rooted in ESD and SDGs. • Join a community of practice (e.g. TeachSDGs) to share promising ESD practices.

• Scale up when you are ready: involve schoolwide actors, conduct a curriculum audit,4 and evaluate the physical facilities using the SDG framework.

• Create opportunities for students to identify the social, economic, and environmental challenges to well-being in their local community and innovate developmentally appropriate solutions.

Call to action for Global Goals knowledge brokers

My discovery of ESD and the 17 Global Goals has led me to bring a more holistic approach to my practice and served as a window to the

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world by opening my professional community to places and people in ways that I could have never imagined! Good news stories in the education sector (or at least the dissemination of them) are typically in short supply, and I hope that by sharing my story, readers will come to understand the many ways the Global Goals will provide learners – both teachers and students – with on-ramps to meaningful community-based learning that has global significance. Education in 2021 is glocal!

Information about the UN SDGs and their potential to positively impact teaching and learning is sorely required, especially now. September 2020 marked the five-year milestone of the 15-year actionoriented framework and launched the Decade of Action: a call to accelerate sustainable solutions to all the world’s biggest challenges by 2030. The clock is counting down. Let’s continue the good work of making the world a safe, just, and equitable place through education, for everyone. EC NOTES 1 Source: G. Connelly, former Superintendent of Toronto Board of Education.

Education for sustainable development is designed to raise students’ awareness of and encourage them to become actively engaged in working for a sustainable society.

2 Articulated by the Canadian Ministers of Education (CMEC) in 106: www.globalcompetencies.cmec.ca/global-competencies 3 Competencies for sustainability include systems and future-oriented thinking, normative competency, strategic competency, critical thinking, collaboration, integrated problem-solving, and knowledge about planetary phenomena.

4 A curriculum audit involves surveying courses offered to identify which units/ topics currently include sustainability topics and mapping them to the 17 Goals (and 169 targets).

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TEACHING WITH THE UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

A Whole-School Approach to Teaching the UN SDGs

PHOTO: ADOBE STOCK

Making your school culture the catalyst for change

Susan Elliott, PhD, is a former school administrator. She works with Learning for a Sustainable Future, teaches the Environmental Education AQ at OISE/ UT, and is co-author of Connecting the Dots: Key strategies that transform learning for environmental education, citizenship and sustainability.

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BY SUSAN ELLIOTT COVID-19 HAS PUT STUDENTS in a unique situation

when it comes to reflecting on our planet’s future. Difficult as it is, the pandemic has been instructive. It shows how we are interdependent, sustained by nature, and that our actions matter. This experience provides a timely opportunity for students and educators to focus on sustainability action, using the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The UN’s goals, agreed on by Canada and nearly all other countries, are far-reaching and important. They target 17 areas directed toward sustaining life on Earth – human and all other forms – as well as ending poverty and inequity, achieving social justice, and combating climate change.

As sustainability becomes ever more important, strategies are emerging to help schools and educators inspire students to understand that their learning and community action contribute to progress on the Global Goals. These approaches make the goals both real and achievable, as youth begin to see new ideas and progress scale up across nations and regions of the world.

Using strategies to integrate the SDGs within a whole-

school approach is a key focus for Learning for a Sustainable Future (LSF). LSF is a Canadian charity whose mission is to promote, through education, the knowledge, skills, values, perspectives, and practices essential to a sustainable future. Working with schools, school policies, and curricula is a core part of LSF’s activities, explains the organization’s President and Chief Executive Officer Pamela Schwartzberg.

LSF began its whole-school approach with support for Belfountain Public School in Ontario in 2005 and continued with the first Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Lighthouse School project at Stouffville District Secondary School in 2006.

In 2007, in partnership with the UNESCO Chair in Reorienting Education for Sustainable Development, York University’s Schulich School of Business, and its Faculty of Education, LSF began Sustainability and Education Academy (SEdA) seminars to engage senior education officials from school boards across Canada in: • understanding education for sustainable development (ESD) • envisioning how it could be embedded into school board policy, programs, and culture • providing a SEdA framework to assess their current sustainability initiatives • developing action plans for change.

How a whole-school approach can advance the SDGs

The whole-school approach is designed to help students, teachers, principals, staff, parents, and community members integrate the SDGs into school culture, teaching and learning, facilities and operations, and community partnerships. “We get farther, faster if we work as a EdCan Network | March 2021 • EDUCATION CANADA 19

whole school,” says Pamela Gibson, LSF consultant. A whole-school approach helps reinforce engaging teaching methods and moves schools toward practising sustainability. It optimizes learning in synergistic ways and models 21st century skills – collaboration, innovation, and action.

Global Competencies and the SDGs

In 2016, the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) articulated six broad Pan Canadian Global Competencies to: “provide learners with the abilities to meet the shifting and ongoing demands of life, work, and learning; to be active and responsive in their communities; to understand diverse perspectives; and to act on issues of global significance.” With some variation across the provinces and territories, the attitudes, skills, and knowledge needed for 21st century citizens include: • critical thinking and problem solving • collaboration • innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship • learning to learn/self-awareness and self-direction • communication • global citizenship and sustainability.

These Global Competencies support SDG 4.7 (Global Citizenship and Sustainable Development) as well as the education component of all of the other 16 SDGs. By the same token, applying an SDG lens to course content and class work gives students the opportunity to practise all six competencies relevant to school success and their future roles. Any local or school issue embraced by students needs to be supported by specific instruction and guided practice of oral, written, and digital communication skills in order to gain support, design innovations, and find partners for collaboration. Students need to learn methods of collecting, organizing, and critically reflecting on data and research to determine best options for action. Educators have both the curriculum and the instructional strategies to build these competencies and help students practise them on a project that, whatever its size or scope, can contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

Greening a school playground with support from a local plant nursery and hardware store? Think about Goal 15: Life on Land; Goal 13: Protect the Planet and Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.

Taking action involves many stages and steps requiring organization, planning, and self-regulation skills when plans don’t go as expected or take more time. The competencies build core functional skills, a big-picture perspective, strong learning skills, and resources for wellbeing. The SDGs give practice a purpose.

Strategies to engage students with the SDGs Introduce students to environmental, social, and economic issues.

These will vary based on the community, and might include, for example, dealing with single-use plastics, exploring green jobs, understanding food insecurity, etc. Finding community partners is a great first step to making issues relevant and including practical experiences.

Provide context and purpose. Learning is more powerful when it’s

applied. For example, data management comes to life when you step outside the classroom and learn to measure and graph the amount of food waste your classmates diverted from landfill and the compost

20 EDUCATION CANADA • March 2021 | EdCan Network

that resulted. Relating this work to specific SDGs (See Goal 12 and Goal 15, for example) helps make abstract ideas real.

Transform teaching strategies and thinking tools. Using inquiry,

systems thinking, and other tools for student engagement can link curriculum and local issues, leading to action projects that relate to SDGs. This extends learning, develops hands-on skills, provides valuable life/work experiences, and more. For example, researching and planting native plants can be linked to Goal 13 (Climate Action) and Goal 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities).

Use SDGs to guide curriculum and practices. Educators can tap into

nearby nature and the surrounding built, natural, or cultural community to see how their learning can be used to improve or support innovation right where they live. They can embed this process in curriculum learning – for example, integrating environment-based budgeting into math or working on advocacy skills in writing. This place-based approach to learning is applicable to all grade levels.

Adopt inclusive models of planning and decision-making that consider the SDGs. Students, teachers, parents, and community mem-

bers are valued voices in making decisions and problem solving. They can strengthen relationships by consulting each other, through interviews, questionnaires, or small focus groups. Other models include a Council of All Beings, where participants take on roles of different stakeholders in a decision including the people, plants, and animals.

Important to include are Indigenous community partners or Elders as well as local experts. The SDGs gives discussions a wider context that can help build consensus.

A framework for Sustainable Future Schools in Canada

LSF is now piloting a Sustainable Future Schools program (see Figure 1) promoting a whole-school approach using the SDGs and the global competencies as a foundation.

“The program will be a resource for schools to design their own path for advancing the SDGs. It is not set out as a prescribed journey, but rather as a map and set of planning tools using the SDGs as a lens,” Schwartzberg says.

It provides tools and strategies to monitor and evaluate progress, crucial for support from the board and parents.

Outcomes of a Sustainable Future School n Enhanced and diverse learning opportunities n Authentic experiences and action-based learning n Opportunities for students to engage in sustainability projects n Improved educational outcomes n Development of informed citizens for future success n Development of skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary to create positive changes in the school and/ or community.

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TRANSFORMING learning for global competencies SEEKING diversity and justice INCLUDING all voices

ACTING on real world learning

Understanding

Caring

DEEPENING reciprocal relationships

Sustainable Self

Action

Awareness

SUPPORTING wellbeing in a changing world

Belfountain Grade 4 Water Inquiry

EMBRACING systems and future thinking

PRACTICING active citizenship

FOCUSING on place-based inquiry

CONNECTING with nature

Figure 1: LSF’s Sustainable Future Schools Framework The Sustainable Self and Four Human Attributes

The circular structure of the program framework allows schools and classrooms to start anywhere. The “Sustainable Self” is every individual child in our care at school, putting the student’s growth and well-being at the centre of the learning community. Students build awareness, caring relationships with others and with nature, learn new skills and knowledge – all in support of taking action to better their lives and communities.

Ten Elements of Practice

The ten pedagogical elements are cited by research and practice as transformative tools for change. Educators’ depth of understanding and implementation for each practice may vary. Resources and professional learning on each are available and accessible. Teachers can learn independently, or with a teaching colleague, course, local partner, or faculty as a professional learning community.

• Focusing on place-based inquiry Encourage, through placebased inquiry, a shared respect and responsibility for learning, for each other, and for the land.

• Deepening reciprocal relationships Develop and sustain school and community practices by collaborating with others. Schools model interdependent, complementary relationships that are connected, balanced, and mutually beneficial. The key to creating reciprocal relationships is a respect and appreciation for the common goal.

• Connecting with nature Connect all learners to the wonder of the natural world, our interdependence with it, and the skills needed to protect it.

• Supporting well-being in a changing world Maintain physical and mental well-being to build resilience, emotional strength, and self-care in the face of complex challenges.

• Including all voices Foster inclusive, collaborative, and equitycentred leadership in schools and community partnerships. Everyone – students, teachers, parents, and local citizens – has a voice.

• Seeking diversity and justice Show respect for alternative perspectives and diverse ideas; seek to understand and innovate together in the pursuit of social and environmental justice. www.edcan.ca/magazine

GRADE 4 STUDENTS wanted to learn and do something about water. They live in homes with well water, so potable water is important for them. They are concerned about a possible new development in the area and what might happen. SDG 6 is about Clean Water and Sanitation and SDG 14 is about Life below Water, so making the local relate to the global need was a clear imperative.

“Take them to the river,” LSF consultant Pamela Gibson advised the teacher. “I told her that the students are like investigative journalists, finding out what’s important for them and their community. That way they are attached to what they are learning, dialed in.”

The students observed and collected data on the river near the school. They had many questions from this initial visit. What will happen to the water table? Where is the water coming from and where is it going? Is it clean water?

Their questions directed their lessons and research back at school. They learned about artesian wells, surface water, and underground rivers. The students could proceed in many directions with many projects, simply through collecting information and using their learning. The teacher could find many curriculum links through this process across several subject areas. Key to this was the outdoor experience.

It is important that teachers view the process through their curriculum. There were links to Science, Social Studies, Math and Language right from the start. Teachers can see what is possible and can guide learners to the curriculum concepts and the big ideas. Through the river and water experience, the teacher saw how her curriculum, the SDGs, and the integration of new pedagogies could all be linked.

Gibson says, “The idea is to reflect on learning experiences through the SDGs. Ask questions: How does this relate to our own future? To our local community? To global challenges?“

• Embracing systems and future thinking Use systems thinking tools to help students engage with complex questions, leading to sustainable solutions. Including the future as an important voice in all decision-making helps us to “think long” and avoid the problems caused by short-term thinking. This also reflects Indigenous teaching about respect for the land and people, now and in the future.

• Transforming learning for global competencies Build on a strong foundation of numeracy and literacy by incorporating the six global competencies to prepare students for a complex and unpredictable future with rapidly changing political, social, economic, technological, and ecological landscapes (UNESCO, 2020).

• Acting on real-world learning Connect curriculum concepts and knowledge to issues that students have encountered or are likely to encounter in life. This brings relevance, complexity, and motivation to their learning. (Kozak & Elliott, 2012).

• Practising active citizenship Through community experiences connected to their learning, inspire the values and build the skills for active citizenship.

EdCan Network | March 2021 • EDUCATION CANADA 21

The Sustainable Future Schools pilot

LSF launched the Sustainable Future Schools pilot program in 2020, with support from 3M Canada, at Belfountain Public School. In early 2020, all classes at Belfountain learned about the Sustainable Development Goals. Using reflection time over the year, teachers asked students how their course content, information, or projects could be linked to one of the 17 goals. Noting these connections on a learning wall and in class discussions helped teach the SDG framework. It also provided evidence that students were understanding the goals over time. The connections showed the students the relevance of what they were learning at school. Students could link their own assignment goals to a website about an SDG initiative, showing how their work aligns with positive action taking place around the world.

For the 2020–2021 school year, the Sustainable Development Goals have become more integrated in classes throughout the school. The program began with a virtual school assembly in October, with a call to action on food waste and SDG 2: End hunger and achieve food security. In November each class shared their learnings and actions on the SDGs through videos, songs, and writings.

School culture is key

Starting from a shared understanding of a school’s culture and its unique sense of place ensures that success is not wholly dependent on one principal, teacher, or club for leadership and energy! The next step is to link the local action to one or more of the Sustainable Development Goals. Framing school learning to the wider world of the SDGs in school priorities is critical to the success of a whole-school approach. When the school is connected to local partners and tuned into real-life concerns, students, staff, and parents can work together on actions rooted in what matters to them, making acting on learning motivating and sustained over time.

Belfountain Principal Lynn Bristoll says, “When I was new, I sent out a short questionnaire to parents to find out their priorities and concerns and what they loved about the school. Overwhelmingly important for them was the environment and getting students outside.” For many years, Belfountain staff, students, and parents have connected to nature and the community.

“This is a core value of the school and a foundation to its culture.

Students apply their lessons to making a difference, globally and locally,” says Bristoll. “For example, they participate in an annual Garlic Mustard Festival – a program that engages the public to identify and remove invasive garlic mustard from local green spaces. That underscores the importance of integrating the Sustainable Development Goals into our thinking and action.” (See Belfountain Grade 4 Water Inquiry for a class example).

The Sustainable Development Goals also help build awareness and understanding for other important social issues that are school priorities, such as the Black Lives Matter movement and Indigenous knowledge. Bristoll explains, “The goal is that students will leave the school knowing they can act on what they have learned. “

Make it real

Belfountain kindergarten teacher and LSF Consultant Janice Haines has been part of the sustainability culture of the school for many years. “To make the goals understood you have to make them real for children. Big ideas need to be connected to their day-to-day experiences,” Haines explains. “For example, children can grasp a science idea like adaptation when they see the animals outside managing to

22 EDUCATION CANADA • March 2021 | EdCan Network

Resources for Educators World’s Largest Lesson: https://worldslargestlesson.globalgoals.org Posters and Lesson Plans: https://worldslargestlesson.globalgoals.org/resource/ introducing-explorers-for-the-global-goals/ Intro to Goals video: Sustainable Development Goals: Improve life all around the globe https://bit.ly/3rgkNjy Resources from Learning For a Sustainable Future: http://lsf-lst.ca Webinars: http://resources4rethinking.ca/en/outdoor-learning These webinars introduce teachers to the SDGs and provide opportunities to share ideas and resources for integrating key SDGs into lesson plans and action projects.

Resources for Rethinking: www.R4R.ca A free online database where educators and the general public can search, by the SDGs, for the highest quality, peerreviewed, curriculum-matched teaching resources, children’s literature, videos, outdoor activities, and apps/games.

Our Canada Project: www.ourcanadaproject.ca Allows schools to share their sustainability action projects with others to inspire youth agency, access resources, and apply for funding. More than 850 projects are currently posted and searchable by SDG. Youth Leadership Forums: www.Bit.ly/LSF-Forums-2021 These forums engage students in local sustainability issues, equip them with the knowledge and skills needed to make a change, and empower them to take action.

survive in winter. They really get it.” Finding community partners is especially helpful. “A parent got us working on squirrel conservation a few years ago and we continued with it for five years,” she says.

It’s important to offer context and reassurance to students that what they are doing makes a difference. “We don’t stress them with catastrophes, but instead relate it to what is happening in their school playground,” Haines says. “My ultimate vision is of happy kids who are eager to learn and do more in their community. They know they have a voice.” EC REFERENCES Council of Ministers of Education, Canada. (2016). Pan-global competencies. https://www.cmec.ca/682/global_competencies.html The Global Goals. (2015). The Global Goals for Sustainable Development. www.globalgoals.org Kozak, S., & Elliott, S. (2014). Connecting the Dots: Key strategies that transform learning for environmental education, citizenship and sustainability. Learning for a Sustainable Future. http://lsf-lst.ca/dots United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. The 17 Goals. United Nations. https://sdgs.un.org/goals UNESCO International Bureau of Education. (2020). Canada establishes a Pan Canadian Global Competencies Framework for Education. UNESCO. www.ibe.unesco.org/en/news/canada-establishes-pan-canadian-globalcompetencies-framework-education

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PHOTO: COURTESY MCIC

TEACHING WITH THE UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

Students at an MCIC conference play a simulation game centred on the SDGs.

Global Citizenship and the SDGs Discussing global issues in your classroom

Grace Van Mil is a Public Engagement Specialist at the Manitoba Council for International Cooperation, where she facilitates public events, student conferences, classroom workshops, and professional development sessions for educators. Grace has worked with projects as varied as teacher training programs in Rwanda and literacy programs in northern Ontario, and recognizes the power of education to change lives and inspire action.

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BY GRACE VAN MIL SEVENTEEN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS –

also known as the SDGs or the Global Goals – came into effect on January 1, 2016, following a historic United Nations Summit in September 2015. 193 governments from around the world agreed to implement the SDGs within their own countries in order to achieve what has become known as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. To meet these new SDGs, countries are to mobilize efforts to end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities, and tackle climate change, all while ensuring that no one is left behind. To achieve this global challenge, everyone must take action, both here and around the world.

We know that these goals highlight issues that affect our

students and communities as well as the broader world, and offer powerful points of connection to engage students on global issues in the classroom.

Global citizenship, the idea that the actions we take here can affect lives all over the world, is a compelling lesson for the classroom. Engaging students on global issues, and especially taking action locally, can spark exciting projects and build global awareness in students.

Students who understand these local-global connections are building their understanding of issues facing the world today, developing compassion for the world around them, and discovering the power of taking action.

The Manitoba Council for International Cooperation EdCan Network | March 2021 • EDUCATION CANADA 23

Teaching Goal 1: Zero Poverty

For example, how can you teach your students about Goal 1: Zero Poverty? For students in Grades 5–8, consider the lesson “The World is Not Equal. Is that fair?” from the World’s Largest Lesson website and featured in the guide. This lesson highlights different types of inequality and helps students explore the impact inequality has on the wider society and economy. The lesson starts with students receiving an unequal amount of something (candy, stickers, etc.) and moves from fairness to a discussion on equality.

MCIC has also created lessons you can use in your classroom, now available directly on our website at mcic.ca. First, for students in Grade 5+, considering using the “Building Blocks for a Good Life” lesson, where students order a list of items from most important to least important for a good life. This lesson opens a discussion about poverty and what it means to have a good quality of life. Students will explore poverty as a “lack of opportunities” rather than a “lack of basic needs.” Framing poverty this way allows students to appreciate the complexity of the issue and promotes empathy in lieu of judgment.

Students work in groups to decide which items (a range including access to food, a television, cell phones, shelter, toys, health care and more) are most important and which are least important to a good life. Labels are provided that can be placed on blocks so students can build structures, or you can print a list of the items and cut them into individual squares so students can order them individually on their desks or at home.

This lesson has also been successfully used with high-school students, and we recommend leaving more time for older students to discuss differences of opinion and the debrief questions. Many great discussions can arise with all ages, based on student perspectives of the items on the list. There are several discussion questions and

24 EDUCATION CANADA • March 2021 | EdCan Network

PHOTO: COURTESY MCIC

(MCIC) has a long history of engaging students in classroom workshops and student conferences that are focused on educating students about global issues and empowering them to take action. If you need ideas on how to bring the SDGs into your classroom, we’ve developed Sustainable Foundations: A guide for teaching the Sustainable Development Goals, a new bilingual resource for educators that includes multiple lesson plan ideas and action steps for each SDG. The guide includes lesson plans for Grades 2–12, but largely focuses on Grade 5+, where the content around global issues is more relevant to the curriculum.

Taking an inquiry approach, each chapter in the guide offers an overview of a specific goal, including learning objectives, a summary of important international targets, and the ways to tell if we are on track to reach the goals. Each chapter offers inquiry-style questions that connect back to the curriculum, exploring some key questions, such as: Where did this goal begin? Why does this issue matter? Who and what are affected? and What is being done?

The guide explores the interconnected nature of the goals, taking care to highlight, for example, how we can’t reach Goal 1: Zero Poverty, without also reducing inequalities (Goal 10), ensuring decent work and economic growth (Goal 8), protecting life on land (Goal 15), and many others. There are many connections between each goal, and students can quickly begin to see how the success of one goal is tied to another.

Each chapter also highlights the consequences of inaction, sharing what might happen if we do nothing to reach the goal, and offers further reflection questions, inspiring quotes, and more. Of special importance to educators are the sections with resources, including ideas for taking action, lesson plans, activities, and video educational resources for use in the classroom.

Students work on an action plan for furthering their chosen goal.

prompts included in the lesson, such as asking students if everyone needs the same things for a good life, a prompt that can be used to expand the conversation and include global perspectives. Do we need the same things as other countries? Use student answers to these prompts and differences in their prioritized lists to spark conversations about basic needs and lack of opportunities in the world.

Another MCIC activity with more global perspectives is “Breaking the Cycle,” for students in Grades 5–8. In this activity, students learn that poverty is not a result of individual choices alone; it is affected by societal systems. Students travel in groups through four different stations, making decisions about health and the environment inside scenarios from around the world, choosing how to spend their resources to survive. Focused on the themes of poverty and the poverty cycle, barriers associated with poverty, and a lack of access to health care and education, this activity brings home the real-world challenges people can face and opens a conversation about inequality around the world.

Putting learning into action

Learning about global issues is a great start, but true impact and passion can be inspired by taking action on the issues. Students who take action in their communities to effect change become engaged global citizens, learning powerful lessons about how their actions can change the world.

To encourage your students to take action, consider the ideas in the “How to Take Action” section included for each chapter of the guide, or the general tips on taking action in the introduction. For example, students could be encouraged to support a local organization through creating a fundraiser, or writing to their local government representative about the issues. Explore dosomething.org to find an issue your students care about and to find ways to take action on the issues. You can also see examples of how other students have taken action on the MCIC Take Action Blog, or consider connecting with an international cooperation organization working around the world.

You can find examples of these organizations and their work through the case studies in each chapter of the guide or by contacting MCIC or another Council for International Cooperation in your area.

One school’s journey

At our Generating Momentum for Our World student conferences, www.edcan.ca/magazine

and as we share classroom resources, we encourage educators to let us know how their students take action on global issues. Following a student conference in rural Manitoba where students learned about the SDGs and how to take action on the issues, we heard about an exciting project one school had undertaken in their community.

With the support of their teachers, middle-years students created an “SDG Week” where they connected with their peers on a different goal each day. For example, when they talked about Goal 2: Zero Hunger, students baked and offered everyone in school a muffin.

They hosted assemblies, shared information, invited MCIC to lead workshops, and created posters to share. One day they planted fruit trees on the school property, as a way to help reach several goals (no hunger, climate change, life on land, and more). With a new project each day, it was a great way to share what they learned with their fellow students and take action on the SDGs. It was exciting to see how students took the knowledge gained about the SDGs and turned it into action, while sharing with their schoolmates.

AS EDUCATORS, you know that you hold the power to transform

your students’ understanding of the world. As you teach them the universality of the SDGs and the issues facing the world today, we encourage you to also teach your students to be good global citizens who take actions that change the world for the better. Students who understand that they have the power to help reduce inequalities around the world and create a more sustainable future for all, are students who will take knowledge and turn it into action, making a more just world for everyone. EC

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Resources for Educators MCIC offers many free classroom resources at mcic.ca: n Sustainable Foundations: A guide for teaching the Sustainable Development Goals (2018) (English and French versions available) n Online resources for teaching the SDGs at home (or remotely) n Lesson plans, classroom posters, reading lists, and more n Global Citizens, Local Classrooms e-newsletter with monthly resources for educators n Classroom workshop bookings (currently virtual) n Take Action Blog showcasing examples from educators and students taking action on global issues: https://takeactionmanitoba.org See also the World’s Largest Lesson website, with lesson plans and other classroom resources searchable by type of resource, age group, and duration: n https://worldslargestlesson.globalgoals.org

EdCan Network | March 2021 • EDUCATION CANADA 25

ENSEIGNER AVEC LES OBJECTIFS DE DÉVELOPPEMENT DURABLE DE L’ONU

La pensée design Des solutions durables construites par les élèves Diane Pruneau est professeure titulaire, associée la Faculté des sciences de l’éducation de l’Université de Moncton.

Ses programmes de recherche ont porté sur l’éducation aux villes durables, l’éducation aux changements climatiques et sur le développement de compétences de durabilité.

PAR DIANE PRUNEAU ET ÉQUIPE¹ Des déchets destructeurs réinventés en beauté

D’autres femmes ont fabriqué des sacs réutilisables pour emballer les produits de la coopérative. Des assiettes en plastique recouvertes de tissu et de broderies ont aussi été proposées comme solutions. Enfin, à plusieurs reprises, la coopérative a soulagé la plage des déchets plastiques provenant du village, de la rivière et des courants marins. La résolution du problème des plastiques, toujours en opération à Bades, sera terminée quand les prototypes de remplacement et de réutilisation des plas-

28 ÉDUCATION CANADA • mars 2021 | Le Réseau Édcan

La pensée design : porteuse de compétences globales?

PHOTOS : FOURNIES PAR LE GROUPE D’AUTEURS

Dans son petit village de Bades, près de la Méditerranée, Fatima sait que les plastiques rejetés sur la plage finissent parfois dans l’estomac des poulets qu’elle apprête pour sa famille. L’enseignante du projet « Ressacs sans plastiques » (Rahmani, Pruneau et coll., soumis) lui a aussi appris que plusieurs animaux marins ingurgitent ces plastiques et en deviennent malades. Ainsi, Fatima, membre d’une coopérative artisanale locale, cherche et cherche des solutions à ce problème. Le défi est grand car sa coopérative a décidé de créer des produits faits de plastiques usagés qui, en plus, seraient commercialisables. Fatima a pensé à rembourrer des jouets avec des retailles de plastique. Elle publie son premier prototype d’oiseau-jouet sur le groupe Facebook du projet « Ressacs » pour obtenir une rapide évaluation du produit. Pour fabriquer son prototype, Fatima s’est inspirée d’une de ses amies qui avait rembourré des bijoux en tissu avec des sacs plastiques.

tiques auront été évalués et améliorés pour répondre au défi posé par les Femmes Bades : Comment pourrait-on diminuer les plastiques sur notre plage tout en inventant de nouveaux produits commercialisables?

La démarche de résolution de problèmes, vécue dans le projet « Ressacs sans plastiques » avec de jeunes artisanes, se nomme la pensée design. Cette démarche, proposée en 2006 par IDEO, une firme d’innovation en Californie, est une façon créative et collaborative de travailler durant laquelle les solutions sont nombreuses, l’expérimentation arrive rapidement et les besoins des usagers sont pris en compte. Initialement employée pour créer des produits commerciaux, la pensée design est aujourd’hui mise à profit par des organisations (IDEO.org et d.school, aux États-Unis) et à l’école (Design for Change, en Inde), pour inventer des solutions qui améliorent la qualité de vie et l’environnement. Appliquée en sciences, en sciences humaines ou en éducation à l’environnement, la pensée design offre des occasions d’analyser des problèmes locaux et de leur trouver des solutions qui s’arriment avec les objectifs du développement durable (UNESCO, 1995) : créer des communautés durables (objectif 11), combattre le changement climatique (objectif 13), protéger les écosystèmes terrestres (objectif 15), etc. De plus, grâce à la pertinence et à la richesse de son processus, la pensée design appuie l’acquisition de plusieurs compétences globales : pensée critique, résolution de problèmes, innovation, créativité, etc. À titre d’exemple, de jeunes élèves affiliés à l’organisation Design for Change, ont inventé, à partir de matériaux recyclés, des avions téléguidés qui transportent et laissent tomber des graines pour reverdir les terrains voisins de leur école. D’autres élèves, aussi inspirés par Design for Change, ont installé une rampe d’acwww.edcan.ca/fr/magazine

PHOTO : ADOBE STOCK

cès pour permettre aux élèves vivant avec un handicap d’accéder à l’autobus scolaire au lieu de faire appel aux transports adaptés, afin que ces derniers puissent participer aux sorties éducatives. Ils ont aussi aidé les élèves marginalisés à se faire des amis dans l’autobus.

La philosophie de Design for Change est soutenue par le concept de « Je peux le faire! ».

Comment arriver à la pensée design?

La pensée design chemine selon des étapes déterminées mais non linéaires où s’entrecroisent des actions de va-et-vient (itération), avec l’ultime intention d’apporter un changement transformateur.

Les étapes que nous présentons ici (voir figure 1) sont inspirées principalement de Brown (2009) et de Scheer, Noweski et coll. 2012).

Figure 1 : Les étapes de la pensée design Observation - inspiration Définition - synthèse

Idéation

Prototypage

Essais

Communication

Démarche inspirée de Brown (2009) et de Scheer, Noweski & Meinel (2012)

1. Observation-inspiration : Mener une enquête ethnographique

pour comprendre avec empathie les personnes concernées par le problème (les usagers) et la situation. Suivre les usagers dans leur vie quotidienne pour saisir leurs aspirations et leurs besoins non satisfaits (pain points). www.edcan.ca/fr/magazine

2. Définition-synthèse : Définir le problème à plusieurs reprises.

Chercher de l›information et diverses perspectives sur le problème.

L›information est synthétisée pour poser le défi conceptuel en quelques énoncés, souvent à l’aide de représentations visuelles. La visualisation des concepts oriente le groupe de solutionneurs vers un but commun (le défi conceptuel) et favorise l’alignement sur cet objectif.

3. Idéation : Formuler de nombreuses idées et en choisir un certain nombre.

4. Prototypage : Construire rapidement des prototypes illustrant les idées choisies dans le but de partager ces idées avec d’autres et d’évaluer leur potentiel.

5. Essais : Évaluer les prototypes recueillant les opinions des usagers et des experts. Peaufiner les prototypes gagnants.

6. Communication : Faire connaître le produit.

Une approche centrée sur les besoins humains

La pensée design est une approche itérative, centrée sur les besoins des usagers, tout en étant concrète et flexible quant aux essais et erreurs. L’approche mise sur l’empathie et l’optimisme des utilisateurs. Divergent puis convergent, le processus est centré sur les besoins humains. La pensée design n’est pas linéaire puisque l’attention des solutionneurs circule entre l’espace-problème et l’espace-solution, alors que l’empathie pour les besoins des usagers s’accroit et que la solution gagnante se raffine. Comparativement à une approche d’investigation scientifique traditionnelle, la pensée design s’intéresse tant au problème qu’aux solutions. Dans l’espace-problème, on accorde une grande importance à la définition du problème selon le vécu et la situation des usagers. L’équipe des solutionneurs investit beaucoup de temps à observer la situation-problème et les comporLe Réseau Édcan | mars 2021 • ÉDUCATION CANADA 29

tements des usagers in situ. L’approfondissement et la construction des connaissances au sujet du problème sont essentiels à l’efficacité du processus. Dans l’espace-solution, les solutionneurs cherchent une multitude de pistes possibles en élaborant des plans et en façonnant des prototypes. Les prototypes, réalisés rapidement, sans chercher la perfection, agissent comme des « terrains de jeux » pour discuter et apprendre à propos de certaines solutions. Ainsi, le problème et les solutions co-évoluent en constante interaction.

Apprendre sur le développement et la durabilité en classe

La pensée design a été récemment présentée comme une démarche pédagogique motivante et efficace pour résoudre des problèmes locaux avec les élèves du primaire et du secondaire. En réponse à des défis écologiques locaux réels, les élèves profitant de cette démarche pourraient être invités à inventer ou à planifier : • des abris pour la petite faune (lièvres, gélinottes huppées, amphibiens, huîtres, poissons…) conçus en fonction de leurs besoins alimentaires et de leur protection; • de savoureux menus de repas sans viande; • des outils de récupération de l’eau de pluie; • des bains d’oiseaux; • des hôtels pour les insectes utiles : coccinelles, osmies (guêpes solitaires); • des mesures d’adaptation aux changements climatiques : inondations, sécheresses, érosion, fortes pluies…; • des mini-réserves pour favoriser la biodiversité en milieu urbain; • des jouets qui incitent leurs amis à jouer dehors; • des façons de transmettre leur affection à leurs proches tout en conservant la distanciation sociale préconisée avec la COVID-19; • Des techniques de verdissement des bandes riveraines, etc. (Pruneau et Coll., 2019).

En mettant à profit la pensée design, les enseignants participeraient, avec leurs élèves, à la poursuite des Objectifs du Développement Durable (ODD), tels que définis par les Nations Unies en 2015.

Ces objectifs comprennent 17 domaines d’action visant, par exemple, à maintenir la vie (humaine et non humaine), à mettre fin à la pauvreté et à atteindre la justice sociale. Dans le cas de l’exemple du projet « Ressacs sans plastiques », présenté en introduction, le travail des artisanes s’est concentré principalement sur l’Objectif 14 : Conserver et exploiter de manière durable les océans, les mers et les ressources marines. Dans les exemples de problèmes à résoudre proposés ci-haut pour les élèves du primaire et du secondaire, les ODD touchés seraient, entre autres, les objectifs 2 (santé), 6 (qualité de l’eau), 11 (villes résilientes et saines), 12 (comportements soucieux de l’environnement), 13 (changements climatiques) et 15 (écosystèmes terrestres).

La nature du développement durable, sa signification et les actions assurant sa réalisation commencent à émerger. Parmi les initiatives émergentes de durabilité, notons l’alimentation lente (Petrini, 2006), le design de conservation (Arendt, 2010), le Smart Growth (Duany et coll., 2010), les villes écologiques (Register, 2016) et la restauration de la biodiversité (El Jai et Pruneau, 2015). Les praticiens de l’alimentation lente prennent le temps de partager une nourriture locale « propre », avec des personnes de leur communauté. En design de conservation, les planificateurs urbains, en développant un nouveau quartier, répertorient initialement sur le site les trésors naturels et culturels, puis concentrent les bâtiments à l’extérieur des lieux abritant ces trésors. Les tenants du Smart Growth et des villes écologiques emploient diverses techniques pour réutiliser l’eau de pluie, ralentir le trafic automobile, densifier les zones habitées ou favoriser l’accès universel à des parcs. Les mesures de restauration de la biodiversité

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sont quant à elles variées : passages fauniques, murs végétaux, toits verts, haies de biodiversité, écogites pour insectes, batraciens et petits mammifères. À travers ces initiatives de durabilité, les systèmes, les structures et les pratiques sont modifiés par rapport au passé, dans le but ultime de régénérer les systèmes naturels qui assurent la vie des humains et des autres êtres vivants.

La pensée design permet aux élèves de contribuer à ce mouvement vers la durabilité, avec leurs idées personnelles, en collaboration avec leur classe. La nature complexe des problèmes à résoudre en environnement s’accorde bien avec la pensée design. Cette démarche d’investigation se solde par des solutions plus adéquates, car elle invite les élèves à définir des problèmes complexes sous divers angles (sociaux, scientifiques et environnementaux), leur permettant d’élargir l’espace-problème avant de chercher des solutions. Selon nos essais sur le terrain, la pensée design détient le pouvoir de favoriser le travail collaboratif des élèves, tout en développant leur intérêt pour la problématique étudiée et en renforçant leurs compétences de haut niveau : créativité, empathie, pensée critique et résolution de problèmes (Pruneau et coll. 2019). Le processus itératif de la pensée design convie les apprenants à s’interroger, à chercher de l’information, à collaborer avec leurs pairs et avec la communauté, à proposer des idées concrètes, à tester et modéliser des solutions, tout en tenant compte des besoins des usagers. C’est à travers ce processus dynamique que se développent leurs compétences de durabilité.

En outre, si les solutions découlant de la pensée design se concrétisent, les apprenants développent une confiance en leurs capacités d’action. D’autres bénéfices en éducation, surtout pour le travail d’équipe, ont été mentionnés par des organisations spécialisées dans ce domaine : des discussions enrichies par la participation d’une diversité de solutionneurs, une communication améliorée, une compréhension partagée du vocabulaire utilisé et une plus grande cohésion (Pruneau et coll., 2019). ÉC RÉFÉRENCES Arendt, R. (2010). Envisioning better communities. Seeing more options, making wiser choices. New York : Routledge.

Brown, T. (2009). Change by design: How design thinking transforms organizations and inspires innovation. New York : Harper Collins.

Duany, A. Speck, J. et Lydon, M. (2010). The Smart Growth manual. New York : Mc-Graw-Hill.

El Jai, B. et Pruneau, D. (2015). Favoriser la restauration de la biodiversité en milieu urbain : les facteurs de réussite dans le cadre de quatre projets de restauration.

VertigO, 15(3).

Petrini, C. (2006). Slow Food, manifeste pour le goût et la biodiversité. Paris : Yves Michel.

Pruneau, D. (Dir.). (2019). La pensée design pour le développement durable.

Applications de la démarche en milieux scolaire, académique et communautaire.

Moncton, NB : Université de Moncton, Groupe Littoral et vie. Disponible gratuitement en ligne, en français et en anglais : https://competi.ca/ et :https://lel.crires.ulaval.ca/categorie/guidesoutilspedagogiques.

Rahmani, Z., Pruneau, D. et Khattabi, A. (soumis). La pensée design et Facebook comme outils pédagogiques pour accompagner des femmes dans la résolution d’un problème de pollution plastique au Maroc. VertigO. Register, R. (2016). World rescue: An economics built on what we build. Oakland, California : Ecocity Builders.

Scheer, A., Noweski, C. et Meinel, C. (2012). Transforming constructivist learning into action: Design thinking in education. Design and Technology Education: An International Journal, 17(3).

NOTES 1 Abdellatif Khattabi, Zakia Rahmani, Michel Léger, Boutaina El Jai, Liliane Dionne, Vincent Richard, Viktor Freiman, Natacha Louis, Anne-Marie Laroche et Maroua Mahjoub

www.edcan.ca/fr/magazine

ENSEIGNER AVEC LES OBJECTIFS DE DÉVELOPPEMENT DURABLE DE L’ONU

Une éducation de qualité dans un environnement multiculturel Jean-Pierre Bédard était jusqu’à récemment directeur général adjoint et directeur exécutif du Centre d’intervention pédagogique en contexte de diversité au Centre de services scolaire MargueriteBourgeoys. Il occupe désormais la fonction de Directeur général au Centre de services scolaire de SaintHyacinthe.

Justine GosselinGagné est coordonnatrice du Centre d’intervention pédagogique en contexte de diversité du Centre de services scolaire MargueriteBourgeoys. Elle est détentrice d’un doctorat en psychopédagogie de l’Université de Montréal.

Michel Turcotte est directeur adjoint au Service des ressources éducatives du Centre de services scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys ainsi que membre de la Commission de l’enseignement secondaire du Conseil supérieur de l’éducation.

Se donner les moyens d’y arriver PAR J EAN-PIERRE BÉDARD, JUSTINE GOSSELIN-GAGNÉ ET MICHEL TURCOTTE LE CENTRE DE SERVICES SCOLAIRE Marguerite Bour-

geoys (CSSMB) est situé dans l’ouest de la ville de Montréal. Avec plus de 100 écoles et établissements, il s’agit du 2e plus important centre de services scolaire (CSS) au Québec. Notre territoire est divisé en sept réseaux. Chacun de ces regroupements accueille une ou deux écoles secondaires et leurs écoles primaires nourricières. Cette structure assure la cohérence des interventions auprès des clientèles vivant dans des secteurs relativement homogènes. Les cadres et les pédagogues des deux niveaux entretiennent des liens étroits, lesquels facilitent le passage des élèves du primaire au secondaire. Un exemple parmi d’autres dans le cadre de l’activité Amène ton parent au théâtre, des élèves du primaire, accompagnés de leur mère ou de leur père, sont invités à une activité sur la prévention de l’intimidation présentée par des élèves du secondaire.

Le CSSMB compte par ailleurs sur l’éclairage d’une petite équipe de statisticiennes qui suivent de près des centaines d’indicateurs, notamment ceux liés aux 17 cibles inscrites au Plan d’engagement vers la réussite (PEVR). Cette information est précieuse puisqu’elle nous permet d’identifier rapidement les zones de vulnérabilité scolaires et sociales de notre clientèle et d’y réagir.

Les activités réalisées dans les 102 établissements

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du CSSMB recoupent plusieurs des 17 objectifs de développement durable de l’Organisation des Nations Unies.

Dans le cadre de cet article, nous insistons particulièrement sur le quatrième objectif : Accès à une éducation de qualité.

L’accès à une éducation de qualité pour tous

Au Québec, la clientèle scolaire a beaucoup changé au cours des dernières décennies, particulièrement à Montréal. Dans les écoles primaires et secondaires du CSSMB, plus de 80 % des élèves sont issus de l’immigration de première ou de deuxième génération. Cette diversité génère différents défis au regard de l’organisation des services éducatifs. Par exemple, en ce qui a trait aux nouveaux arrivants, bon nombre ne maîtrisent pas le français à leur arrivée, leur nouvelle langue de scolarisation et de socialisation. À titre d’exemple, au cours de l’année scolaire 2019-2020, 4 500 élèves fréquentaient des classes d’accueil, une structure dont l’objectif est de soutenir l’apprentissage du français en plus de l’intégration scolaire et sociale des jeunes non francophones.

Dans l’espoir d’offrir une éducation de qualité à tous (ODD 4), notamment à des jeunes aux bagages culturels et aux parcours de vie diversifiés, il faut repenser la façon de donner accès aux services éducatifs. La démarche www.edcan.ca/fr/magazine

PHOTO : ADOBE STOCK

demande une réflexion de fond, des outils adaptés et, ultimement, une révision des pratiques. Nous avons relevé le défi puisque nous avons atteint le meilleur taux de diplomation et de qualification des CSS québécois. Pas mal pour un Centre où les élèves parlent plus de 150 langues maternelles différentes !

La mise en place de pratiques appuyées par la recherche

Afin de bien orchestrer les actions de tous les experts qui interviennent auprès des élèves, nous nous sommes dotés de référentiels et de cadres de référence qui définissent le rôle de chacun. Ceux-ci sont inspirés de la recherche dans différents domaines afin d’intégrer et d’appliquer les meilleures pratiques. En 2015, nous avons publié le référentiel Vivre-ensemble en français. Celui-ci « présente les principes directeurs qui s’inscrivent dans l’apprentissage du vivre-ensemble en français, il clarifie certains concepts importants et fournit des outils pour mieux orienter les actions » (CSMB, 2015, p.9) en lien avec la prise en compte de la diversité à l’école, un aspect indissociable de l’accès à une éducation de qualité pour tous.

La somme de nos référentiels et cadres de référence permet de mettre en œuvre une vision commune de ce que doit être une organisation qui soutient le parcours scolaire de l’ensemble de ses élèves, soit notre objectif principal. Ces outils instaurent une culture de responsabilisation et de collaboration entre les intervenants qui travaillent à soutenir la réussite de tous. Ainsi, l’enseignement et le suivi www.edcan.ca/fr/magazine

des apprenants ne reposent pas sur les épaules d’une seule personne.

Par ailleurs, certains de nos référentiels s’inspirent du modèle d’intervention en paliers. Cette approche, aussi connue sous l’appellation « Réponse à l’intervention » (RAI), s’organise autour de la prévention des difficultés et d’un système d’identification et de soutien à la réussite pour tous les élèves (Bissonnette et al., 2020).

Un centre de recherche appliquée pour soutenir une réussite durable

La réussite éducative englobe la réussite scolaire. Elle va ainsi au-delà de la diplomation et de la qualification en tenant compte de l’atteinte du plein potentiel de la personne dans ses dimensions intellectuelles, affectives, sociales et physiques. Elle vise l’apprentissage de valeurs, d’attitudes et de responsabilités qui formeront des citoyens responsables, prêts à jouer un rôle actif dans la société (Gouvernement du Québec, 2017).

Comme il a été souligné plus haut, la diversité ethnoculturelle et linguistique est omniprésente chez nos élèves ; notre personnel reflète également cette diversité de plus en plus. Assurément enrichissante, cette réalité soulève différents enjeux au quotidien. C’est pourquoi le Centre d’intervention pédagogique en contexte de diversité (cipcd. ca) a été créé en 2012, s’inscrivant d’abord dans l’orientation « Vivre ensemble en français » de notre Plan stratégique 2014-2018, puis dans l’orientation « Assurer un milieu de vie inclusif et accueillant, ouvert sur le monde et l’avenir » du PEVR 2018-2022. La création du CIPCD Le Réseau Édcan | mars 2021 • ÉDUCATION CANADA 33

constitue une initiative novatrice puisque nous sommes le seul CSS à avoir notre propre centre de recherche appliquée affilié à différents partenaires.

Le CIPCD est composé de six groupes de travail ayant un champ d’action respectif s’intéressant aux enjeux de la diversité ethnoculturelle et linguistique en contexte scolaire. Un chercheur universitaire et un conseiller pédagogique ou un cadre du CSSMB sont assignés à chacun de ces groupes qui poursuivent trois mandats principaux : la recherche, le transfert de connaissances scientifiques ainsi que la formation.

et scolaire de jeunes réfugiés syriens. Des groupes de parole ont été formés dans des classes d’accueil afin de soutenir le développement du bien-être et du sentiment d’appartenance chez ces élèves. À l’issue du projet, un guide qui s’adresse à l’ensemble des praticiens scolaires, Mener des groupes de parole en contexte scolaire (2017), a été publié. À l’heure actuelle, des professionnels de plusieurs de nos écoles le déploient et soutiennent la tenue de tels groupes afin que des élèves puissent s’exprimer sur différents thèmes tels que la mort ou la violence. Ils visent à soutenir le bien-être psychologique des jeunes à l’école et, conséquemment, leur réussite éducative.

Champ d’action 1 : L’enseignement du français en milieu pluriethnique et plurilingue

Depuis 2012, différents projets ont été conduits afin de répondre aux enjeux du CSSMB en matière de diversité. Le groupe 1 a été créé en raison de la grande diversité linguistique parmi nos effectifs scolaires.

En effet, pour plus de 60% des élèves inscrits au primaire et au secondaire, le français n’est pas la langue maternelle. Ce groupe de travail oriente ses activités autour de la problématique générale de l’adaptation des pratiques pédagogiques dans le champ de l’enseignement du français à des apprenants bilingues et plurilingues pour qui le français est la langue seconde, voire la langue tierce.

En 2015, le chantier VII de formation continue Intervenir en milieu pluriethnique et plurilingue auprès de jeunes enfants du préscolaire et des services de garde a été amorcé. Cette initiative a permis, entre autres, de sensibiliser et de former des membres de notre personnel scolaire à l’importance de tenir compte des différentes langues parlées par les élèves (ex. : Festival « Pluri-Pluri »). Ce chantier a modifié nos perceptions en matière de prise en compte des langues d’origine et de pratiques inclusives à cet égard.

Champ d’action 2 : La réussite scolaire et les relations école-famille-communauté

Comme nous l’avons souligné plus haut, plus de 80 % de nos élèves sont issus de l’immigration de 1re ou de 2e génération. Pour différentes raisons liées à leur parcours migratoire ou à celui de leurs parents, ces derniers peuvent vivre un cumul de vulnérabilités sociales ou scolaires. Le groupe de travail 2 concentre ses activités autour d’une double problématique : la réussite scolaire d’une part et les relations école-famille-communauté de l’autre.

Au cours des dernières années, le groupe a conduit différentes activités. Plusieurs chercheurs associés au CIPCD ont mené une étude intitulée L’impact du climat interculturel des établissements sur la réussite éducative des élèves issus de l’immigration. Cette étude visait notamment à évaluer l’état du climat interculturel dans plusieurs écoles multiethniques québécoises (dont deux au CSSMB) ainsi que l’exploration de l’impact de ce climat sur la réussite éducative des élèves issus de l’immigration. Ultimement, il s’agira d’élaborer un outil diagnostique permettant aux directions d’évaluer le climat interculturel de leur établissement, un aspect indispensable à considérer pour soutenir la réussite éducative des élèves issus de l’immigration.

Champ d’action 3 : Les populations immigrantes vulnérables et l’intervention psychosociale en milieu scolaire

À leur arrivée dans le système scolaire québécois, les élèves immigrants récents amènent avec eux un bagage parfois constitué de deuils et de traumatismes. Le groupe de travail 3 s’intéresse à leur bien-être psychologique et à la réussite scolaire, plus particulièrement à ceux qui sont en souffrance psychologique.

Au cours de l’année scolaire 2016-2017, un projet de recherche-action a permis de mieux comprendre les parcours d’intégration sociale

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La démarche demande une réflexion de fond, des outils adaptés et, ultimement, une révision des pratiques.

Champ d’action 4 : l’éducation inclusive et le rapprochement interculturel

Le groupe 4 a été créé parce que la diversité qui caractérise notre CSS suscite des enjeux au niveau des relations interpersonnelles.

Ses travaux se concentrent sur l’actualisation du vivre-ensemble en milieu scolaire, notamment en explicitant les fondements de la perspective inclusive. Il s’intéresse également aux activités dites de rapprochement interculturel et se propose de documenter leur impact.

En 2015, ce groupe de travail a élaboré un guide pédagogique qui offre des pistes au personnel scolaire qui souhaite Aborder les sujets sensibles avec les élèves. Cet outil pratique peut être employé au quotidien pour discuter de thèmes, en lien ou non avec la diversité, qui suscitent des malaises ou des débats parfois houleux en contexte scolaire.

Champ d’action 5 : L’intégration socioprofessionnelle du personnel issu de l’immigration récente et les relations de travail en milieu pluriethnique

De plus en plus de membres du personnel du CSSMB ont été formés ailleurs qu’au Québec, une réalité qui soulève des enjeux à l’égard de l’intégration socioprofessionnelle et du climat scolaire. Au cours des dernières années, des enseignants ont suivi une formation de « pairs mentors » pour soutenir l’accueil de collègues formés hors Québec, puis des directions d’école ont été invitées à une séance de sensibilisation sur cette thématique. Des enseignants formés à l’étranger ont également participé à des entretiens de groupe pour comprendre davantage leur parcours (défis, leviers). Enfin, les travaux ont favorisé la publication d’un guide à l’intention des directions d’établissement pour Faciliter l’intégration socioprofessionnelle du personnel enseignant formé à l’étranger (2019).

Groupe d’action 6 : Les jeunes et les adultes issus de l’immigration en formation professionnelle

La diversité ethnoculturelle et linguistique est aussi de plus en plus présente en formation professionnelle (FP) et soulève différents enjeux propres à ce secteur d’enseignement. Outre l’étude des trajectoires d’élèves issus de minorités ethnoculturelles en FP, les membres de ce groupe s’intéressent aux difficultés vécues par ces élèves dans www.edcan.ca/fr/magazine

l’acquisition de compétence et dans l’intégration au marché du travail. Au cours des dernières années, ce groupe a encadré la réalisation de projets qui ont permis de mieux comprendre la réalité que vivent des jeunes issus de l’immigration et de revoir leurs pratiques d’accompagnement au niveau de l’intégration, par exemple dans les milieux de stage.

EN QUELQUES DÉCENNIES, la composition de nos salles de classe

s’est métamorphosée. Les Bertrand, Roberge et Lauzon côtoient maintenant les Traoré, Chang et Hernandez, notamment en raison de la Charte de la langue française en vertu de laquelle la majorité des élèves nouveaux arrivants sont tenus de s’inscrire dans les écoles francophones. Ces derniers viennent de partout dans le monde. À leur arrivée, bon nombre passent une ou deux années dans une classe d’accueil où ils découvrent la langue de Félix Leclerc, avant de se joindre à une classe ordinaire où ils connaîtront le succès.

Nous nous sommes donné les moyens d’y arriver, notamment en multipliant les alliances avec des milieux universitaires qui trouvent chez nous un vaste champ d’expérimentation et qui, en retour, partagent leur savoir. Les résultats sont éloquents : au terme de l’année scolaire 2019-2020, le taux de réussite et de qualification de nos élèves dépasse par 10 points celui de l’ensemble des CSS francophones du Québec. Il semble raisonnable de penser que nous fassions bien les choses ! ÉC RÉFÉRENCES Bissonnette, S., Bouchard, C., St-Georges, N., Gauthier, C. et Bocquillon, M. (2020). Un modèle de réponse à l’intervention (RàI) comportementale : le soutien au comportement positif (SCP). Enfance en difficulté, 7, 129–150.

Commission scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys (2015). Référentiel d’accompagnement

www.edcan.ca/fr/magazine

Vivre-ensemble en français. Montréal (Québec) : Service des ressources éducatives. https://www.csmb.qc.ca/~/media/Files/PDF/CSMB/veef/Referentiel_Vivre-ensemble. ashx Commission scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys (2018). Plan d’engagement vers la réussite 2018-2022. Montréal (Québec) : https://www.csmb.qc.ca/fr-CA/csmb/pevr.aspx Festival « Pluri-Pluri » à l’école Terre-des-jeunes : https://www.elodil.umontreal.ca/videos/presentation/video/eveil-aux-langues-etaux-cultures-a-lecole-ter/ Gouvernement du Québec. (2017). Politique de la réussite éducative : Le plaisir d’apprendre, la chance de réussir. Québec (Québec) : ministère de l’Éducation et de l’Enseignement supérieur. http://www.education.gouv.qc.ca/fileadmin/site_web/documents/PSG/politiques_ orientations/politique_reussite_educative_10juillet_F_1.pdf Hirsch, S., Audet, G., et Turcotte, M. (2015). Aborder les sujets sensibles avec les élèves – Guide pédagogique. Montréal (Québec) : Centre d’intervention pédagogique en contexte de diversité de la Commission scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys. https://cipcd.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/CSMB_-Guide_sujets-sensibles_ final.-1.pdf Amène ton parent au théâtre : https://www.mfa.gouv.qc.ca/fr/intimidation/prix/Pages/Ecoles-secondaires-SaintGeorges-Saint-Laurent-2018.aspx Morrissette, J. (2019). Faciliter l’intégration socioprofessionnelle du personnel enseignant formé à l’étranger. Guide à l’intention des directions d’établissement.

Montréal (Québec) : Centre d’intervention pédagogique en contexte de diversité de la Commission scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys. https://cipcd.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/GuideFaciliterInte%CC%81gration_VF_ HauteRe%CC%81so_190708_pagesSimples.pdf Papazian-Zohrabian, G., Lemire, V., Mamprin, C., Turpin-Samson, A. et Aoun, R. (2017). Mener des groupes de parole en contexte scolaire. Guide pour les enseignants et les professionnels. Montréal (Québec) : Centre d’intervention pédagogique en contexte de diversité de la Commission scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys et Université de Montréal. https://cipcd.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Mener-des-groupes-de-parole-encontexte-scolaire-Guide-pour-les-enseignants-et-les-professionnels.pdf

Le Réseau Édcan | mars 2021 • ÉDUCATION CANADA 35

ENSEIGNER AVEC LES OBJECTIFS DE DÉVELOPPEMENT DURABLE DE L’ONU

PHOTO : LA BOÎTE 7

Une éducation transformatrice

Pour des jeunes au pouvoir citoyen émancipateur Pédagogue pour une éducation décolonisée et émancipatrice, Marie Brodeur Gélinas se passionne pour les enjeux de justice sociale, économique et de genre.

Diplômée en didactique et œuvrant en éducation à la citoyenneté mondiale au sein d’ONG depuis près de 20 ans, Geneviève-Gaël Vanasse coordonne les programmes d’engagement du public à Oxfam-Québec.

PAR MARIE BRODEUR GÉLINAS ET GENEVIÈVE-GAËL VANASSE ÉCO-ANXIÉTÉ, sentiment d’impuissance, pessimisme

face à l’avenir, individualisme… Alors que l’humanité traverse de sombres tempêtes, plusieurs s’inquiètent du moral des jeunes et doutent de leurs capacités à exercer leur pouvoir citoyen. Oxfam-Québec rencontre des milliers de jeunes chaque année et constate plutôt que leurs actions citoyennes se déploient sur les fronts de la justice climatique, économique et de genre, avec espoir et ingéniosité.

Depuis plus de quarante-cinq ans, notre organisation est présente dans le milieu scolaire pour encourager l’engagement citoyen jeunesse afin de construire un monde juste et durable. Une prémisse : les jeunes possèdent un pouvoir citoyen et il est indispensable de les traiter à la

36 ÉDUCATION CANADA • mars 2021 | Le Réseau Édcan

hauteur de ce qu’ils sont1 – des agents de changement – et de ce qu’ils font – poser des gestes de solidarité pour combattre les inégalités.

Aujourd’hui, pour définir les actions éducatives d’Oxfam-Québec, on parle d’éducation à la citoyenneté mondiale, une démarche éducative qui accompagne les jeunes dans leur cheminement comme citoyennes et citoyens du monde, responsables et solidaires. Ce continuum pédagogique vise à informer les jeunes, à les mobiliser, à leur permettre d’influencer les lieux de pouvoir et à valoriser leurs actions. Les jeunes s’insèrent dans cette démarche par des ateliers offerts dans leur classe : par le biais de la Marche Monde grâce à laquelle plusieurs expérimentent leur première expérience d’action collective; en s’inveswww.edcan.ca/fr/magazine

tissant dans des projets de longue haleine comme des collectes de fonds pour appuyer des projets de développement durable; ou encore en participant à des actions d’influence proposées dans le cadre de campagnes de mobilisation.

Toutes les activités citées ci-dessus répondent à des éléments du Programme de formation de l’école québécoise (PFEQ), tant au niveau de sa mission, des domaines généraux de formation, des compétences à développer que de la progression des apprentissages. Oxfam est d’ailleurs citée comme repère culturel dans le cursus scolaire, dans le thème de la disparité de la richesse du cours Monde contemporain de 5e secondaire (douzième année). Dans tous les cas, nous indiquons clairement pour chaque ressource à quels éléments du programme celle-ci répond. Beaucoup d’enseignantes et d’enseignants, mais aussi de personnels non-enseignants dont les animatrices et animateurs de vie spirituelle et communautaire, utilisent ces ressources en classe ou en parascolaire. Compte tenu de leurs mandats prenants et des horaires chargés2, les membres du personnel scolaire apprécient l’appui de notre équipe qui leur propose des séquences pédagogiques répondant à leurs besoins. Les détails concernant toutes ces ressources sont disponibles sur le site d’Oxfam-Québec, sous la rubrique « Ressources pour les milieux scolaires ».

L’éducation que nous proposons est transformatrice et émancipatrice. Elle permet en particulier aux jeunes filles ainsi qu’aux jeunes issus de minorités d’avoir une voix et d’être entendus dans leur lutte contre les injustices. C’est avec des jeunes mobilisés qui exercent leur citoyenneté mondiale, capables de résoudre des problèmes et solidaires de leurs pairs aux quatre coins du globe qu’un monde juste et sans pauvreté se construit.

En accord avec les orientations de l’UNESCO, la confédération Oxfam considère que les Objectifs de développement durable (ODD) établis par les Nations Unies sont les priorités à mettre au cœur de l’éducation à la citoyenneté mondiale. Dans les paragraphes qui suivent, quatre séquences pédagogiques sont présentées, répondant chacune à un ODD. Ces activités ont été adaptées afin de rester accessibles en temps de pandémie, notamment grâce aux outils de communications en ligne et aux ressources interactives numériques.

L’égalité des sexes et l’autonomisation de toutes les femmes et les filles, l’ODD numéro 5, est au cœur de notre action : construire un

monde juste est impossible si la moitié de l’humanité ne peut s’épanouir dans le respect de ses droits.

Prenons par exemple la campagne « Les tâches ménagères et le travail de soin. Ça compte! » qui dans un premier temps informe les jeunes de l’inégale répartition du travail ménager entre les sexes, notamment grâce au rapport intitulé Celles qui comptent. Un atelier gratuit, « Libres de choisir », amène les élèves du secondaire à prendre connaissance des droits sexuels – qui émanent des droits humains - et à réfléchir aux impacts du non-respect de ces droits, en tenant compte du contexte social et culturel. Le nom de cet atelier, impliquant la question de la liberté de choix, n’est pas anodin : les inégalités de choix vécues par des adolescentes partout dans le monde ont des conséquences importantes sur leurs parcours de vie. Au Québec aussi, les jeunes doivent faire des choix au regard de leurs droits sexuels.

Les jeunes ainsi sensibilisés par cet atelier sont invités à appuyer un projet entrepris en République démocratique du Congo, intitulé Mères et enfants en santé qui vise à améliorer la santé des femmes des adolescentes et des jeunes enfants. Pour les jeunes plus âgés, tout un parcours de mobilisation est prévu, intitulé C’est pour elles aussi, www.edcan.ca/fr/magazine

renforçant leurs capacités à mobiliser à leur tour leur entourage et à diffuser des messages positifs par le biais d’actions concertées, de plans d’action numériques et par la rencontre de personnes élues. « Ma participation à la formation d›Oxfam-Québec « C’est pour elles aussi » m›a permis de comprendre que ma voix est valide et que j›ai le droit de la faire entendre. Les réseaux sociaux sont des alliés de taille pour sensibiliser la population et faire évoluer les discours. […] L’équipe a su me transmettre les notions théoriques entourant le cyberactivisme et me donner le courage nécessaire pour utiliser ma voix! Cela m’a même permis de démarrer mon propre projet de plateforme ressources-inspirations sur Instagram (@lesensduchaos) en réponse à la détresse psychologique générée par le confinement.

– Laurence C. Germain, participante au projet « C’est pour elles aussi » d’Oxfam-Québec

L’urgence de prendre des mesures pour lutter contre les changements climatiques et leurs répercussions, l’ODD numéro 13, occupe

une place importante dans le travail d’éducation d’Oxfam. Cet enjeu recoupe toutes les questions d’inégalités dans le monde : inégalités historiques, socioéconomiques, et inégalités de genre.

La campagne dédiée à ce sujet s’intitule « Climat de justice ». Tout comme le contenu de l’atelier gratuit offert aux jeunes de 12 à 30 ans, la campagne souligne les injustices liées à la crise climatique, comme l’impact démesuré de cette dernière sur les populations les moins responsables des émissions de carbone. Parce que l’indignation peut être un moteur d’action, les jeunes impliqués pourront ensuite participer à la 50e Marche Monde sur la justice climatique Cette Marche constitue le point culminant d’une année d’actions, et pour valoriser celles-ci, l’équipe d’Oxfam-Québec lance aux jeunes qui s’y préparent plusieurs défis, qui vont de la réalisation d’un clip vidéo à des prises de parole dans les médias. Les jeunes peuvent aussi dès la rentrée scolaire organiser une action symbolique et solidaire nommée « Debout pour le climat » dans leur établissement afin de signifier aux décideuses et décideurs leur engagement en faveur de la justice climatique. « À toutes celles et ceux qui disent qu’on ne peut pas accomplir quoi que ce soit, regardez-nous, 6 000 jeunes qui marchent pour le monde!

Moi, ça me rend vraiment fière de voir ça! Une place pour nous dans le fond ça veut dire que peu importe notre âge, notre genre, notre couleur, ou notre religion on a le droit à nos voix. »

– Estelle Lafrance, 17 ans, membre du Siège jeunesse Oxfam-Québec, participante et porte-parole de la Marche Monde Bien entendu, le premier ODD, Éliminer la pauvreté sous toutes ses formes et partout dans le monde, sous-tend tous les autres. Il importe de parler d’économie avec les jeunes et de déconstruire les dogmes qui font obstruction à une réelle compréhension des solutions envisageables pour que tout le monde puisse vivre dignement sur cette planète.

Dans ce cadre, un atelier gratuit est offert aux jeunes sur un nouveau modèle économique créé par Oxfam. « L’économie du beigne » tourne le dos à l’obsession de la croissance infinie à tout prix pour proposer que l’économie cible le bien-être de toutes et de tous - en tenant compte d’une série d’indicateurs sociaux à respecter et des limites terrestres à ne pas dépasser. Ce nouveau modèle est déjà appliqué par plusieurs villes à travers le monde : Bruxelles (Belgique), Amsterdam (Hollande), mais aussi Nanaimo au Canada. Cet atelier fait partie de la campagne « Taxer la richesse : aplanir les inégalités ».

Les jeunes sont invités à signer la pétition qui interpelle directement le gouvernement canadien afin de rebâtir une économie juste qui Le Réseau Édcan | mars 2021 • ÉDUCATION CANADA 37

s’attaque aux inégalités. En prévision des élections municipales à venir, les jeunes pourront interpeller les candidats sur leur intérêt éventuel à appliquer le modèle du beigne à l’économie de leur ville.

Une belle manière de s’initier à la vie politique!

Le modèle économique du beigne renvoie à l’ODD numéro 8 : Promou-

voir une croissance économique soutenue, partagée et durable, le plein emploi productif et un travail décent pour tous.

Un projet novateur d’Oxfam-Québec permet depuis près de 15 ans de transmettre aux plus jeunes les valeurs d’innovation de créativité et de durabilité prônées par le Conseil des ministres de l’Éducation au Canada (CMEC): il s’agit de Magasin du Monde. L’idée est d’implanter dans les établissements d’enseignement des entreprises d’économie sociale vouées au commerce équitable. Les jeunes qui intègrent le Magasin siègent sur un conseil d’administration et se partagent les tâches : études de marché, gestion d’inventaire et des ventes, actions d’éducation dans le milieu, communications internes et externes… Il ne s’agit pas de ventes ordinaires, puisque les produits vendus sont issus du commerce équitable, et qu’une part des profits servira à soutenir un projet de développement durable. Dans certains cas, c’est toute la communauté locale qui prend part au projet et évolue grâce à celui-ci, les marchés agricoles et les agences de tourisme locales s’impliquant aussi dans la promotion de ces Magasins hors norme. « Le travail que nous avons accompli au sein du comité Mont-SaintHilaire Ville équitable alimente mon envie d’influencer le monde dans lequel je vis. Il est la preuve que lorsqu’on y travaille, tout est possible! »

– Émile Chapdelaine, membre fondateur du Magasin du Monde à l’école Ozias-Leduc, membre de l’Observatoire jeunesse d’OxfamQuébec et membre du comité ayant permis à la ville Saint-Hilaire d’obtenir la désignation de ville « Équitable ».

Les recherches et les évaluations portant sur la participation à ces activités dites parfois « d’engagement civique » révèlent de nombreux bénéfices pour les jeunes eux-mêmes3. Les jeunes interrogés ont une meilleure estime d’eux-mêmes et un plus grand sens des responsabilités. On remarque chez eux une augmentation d’attitudes sociales positives et une diminution des conduites à risque. Ceci s’explique notamment par un plus grand sentiment d’appartenance à leur école et par une amélioration des résultats scolaires.

Une évaluation externe d’impact (Sogemap, 2020), réalisée l’an passé, a confirmé cet effet positif de l’engagement citoyen de la jeunesse. Le document affirme ainsi que la programmation en éducation à la citoyenneté mondiale d’Oxfam-Québec permet de développer chez les jeunes une prise de conscience des problèmes mondiaux, mais aussi un esprit ouvert et engagé, ainsi qu’une plus grande capacité à défendre des arguments. Sans surprise, les jeunes ayant participé à ces activités maintiennent un engagement citoyen à l’âge adulte. À la lecture de ces éléments, on comprend combien l’exercice de la citoyenneté par les jeunes est indispensable pour soutenir la vie démocratique et l’atteinte des Objectifs de développement durable.

En 2017, le Fonds des Nations unies pour la population soutenait déjà que sans des mesures courageuses visant à permettre aux 60 millions de filles du monde entier de mener une vie digne, on ne réussirait pas à atteindre les ODD4. En cette période de pandémie, les jeunes traversent avec le reste du monde des crises sans précédent qui menacent directement leur présent et leur futur. Donner à la jeunesse des moyens concrets de surmonter cette épreuve et la soutenir dans la création d’une société plus durable et inclusive en collaboration avec le monde enseignant, c’est le pari que fait Oxfam-Québec. ÉC

38 ÉDUCATION CANADA • mars 2021 | Le Réseau Édcan

Ressources pour éducateurs Ressources pour l’ODD 5 : Campagne « Les tâches ménagères et le travail de soin. Ça compte! » : https://oxfam.qc.ca/reduire-inegalites-travaildomestique/ Atelier gratuit « Libres de choisir » : https://oxfam.qc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/ DescriptifLibres-de-choisir.pdf Projet mobilisateur « C’est pour elles aussi » : https://oxfam.qc.ca/agissez/engagez-les-milieuxeducatifs/post-secondaire/pour-elles-aussi/ Ressources pour l’ODD 13 : Campagne « Climat de justice » : https://oxfam.qc.ca/climat-de-justice/ Atelier gratuit « Climat de justice » : https://oxfam.qc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/ atelier-climat-de-justice-pfeq.pdf Activité « 50e Marche Monde sur la justice climatique » : https://oxfam.qc.ca/agissez/marche-monde/ Activité « Debout pour le climat » : https://oxfam.qc.ca/debout-pour-la-planete/ Activité de laboratoires digitaux en justice climatique : https://oxfam.qc.ca/inscription-cop26-justiceclimatique/ Ressources pour l’ODD 1 : Atelier gratuit « L’économie du beigne » : https://oxfam.qc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/ atelier-economie-du-beigne-pfeq.pdf Campagne « Taxer la richesse : aplanir les inégalités » : https://oxfam.qc.ca/aplanir-inegalites-petition/ Ressources pour l’ODD 8 : Projet « Magasin du Monde » : https://oxfam.qc.ca/agissez/engagez-les-milieuxeducatifs/ressources-gratuites-secondaire/ magasin-du-monde/

NOTES

1 Caron, C. « La citoyenneté des adolescents du 21e siècle dans une perspective de justice sociale : pourquoi et comment ? », mai 2018. https:// erudit.org/fr/revues/lsp/2018-n80-lsp03532/1044109ar/ 2 Gingras et al. « Étude sur les obstacles à la mise en place d’activités d’engagement civique en milieu scolaire au Québec.», automne 2018. https://journals.sfu.ca/cje/index.php/cje-rce/article/view/3177 3 Philippe, F. « Projet de recherche Réussir : 15 constats révélateurs sur l’impact des activités d’engagement civique chez les jeunes de niveau secondaire au Québec », décembre 2019. https://.elaborer.org/pdf/R3.pdf 4 https:// unfpa.org/fr/swop-2017

www.edcan.ca/fr/magazine

pratique prometteuse PHOTO : GRACIEUSETÉ DE JEAN-PHILIPE AYOTTE-BEAUDET

PAR JEAN-PHILIPPE AYOTTE-BEAUDET

LE PRIX PRIX PAT PAT CLIFFORD CLIFFORD LE 2020

Jean-Philippe AyotteBeaudet est professeur au département d’enseignement au préscolaire et au primaire de la Faculté d’éducation de l’Université de Sherbrooke et directeur du Centre de recherche sur l’enseignement et l’apprentissage des sciences. Il s’intéresse notamment à l’éducation scientifique, à l’éducation en plein air et à la contextualisation des apprentissages.

Apprécier la biodiversité pour mieux la préserver LES CHANGEMENTS GLOBAUX ainsi que la perte de biodiversité représentent d’importants défis contemporains. C’est en ce sens que le 15e objectif de développement durable fixé par l’Organisation des Nations Unies en 2015 pour l’horizon 2030 vise à : « préserver et restaurer les écosystèmes terrestres, en veillant à les exploiter de façon durable, gérer durablement les forêts, lutter contre la désertification, enrayer et inverser le processus de dégradation des sols et mettre fin à l’appauvrissement de la biodiversité. » Dans son rapport de 2020, l’Organisation des Nations Unies (p. 55) constate que « malgré quelques progrès, le monde n’atteindra pas les cibles de 2020 pour stopper la perte de biodiversité. »

Découvrir les êtres vivants dans les écosystèmes de proximité

Afin de faire connaitre les enjeux d’importance pour l’humanité, les programmes d’études introduisent généralement ces thématiques auprès des élèves du primaire et du secondaire. On leur présente en bas âge les grandes problématiques mondiales (p. ex. pollution, déforestation, extinction) ainsi que leurs conséquences sur les êtres vivants de la planète. Mais l’école ne devraitelle pas d’abord permettre aux jeunes de découvrir les êtres vivants qui habitent et partagent les écosystèmes qu’ils fréquentent?

Les espaces extérieurs à proximité des écoles représentent de riches environnements d’apprentissage, car la vie y est toujours présente, en ville comme en milieu rural. Chaque milieu est habité par une diversité d’arthropodes, de végétaux, d’oiseaux ou de petits mammifères.

Ces milieux permettent aux enfants dès leur plus www.edcan.ca/fr/magazine

jeune âge de développer des qualités scientifiques comme la curiosité, l’observation et l’expérimentation (Ayotte-Beaudet, 2020a). On peut par exemple vouloir en apprendre davantage sur les plantes que plusieurs qualifient souvent de mauvaises herbes. Sur un trottoir près de l’école, on peut demander aux élèves d’entourer à la craie des herbes qui poussent spontanément et ajouter leur nom à côté afin de renseigner les passants (https:// www.sciencesdehors.com).

Les lieux de proximité hors du terrain de l’école permettent aussi de comprendre les phénomènes naturels là où ils se produisent (Ayotte-Beaudet, 2020b).

Les élèves peuvent adopter un arbre afin d’en faire des observations systématiques tout au long de l’année scolaire. Les jeunes peuvent alors établir les mécanismes d’adaptation et de survie de leur arbre tout en découvrant la variété d’organismes vivants qui entrent en interaction avec cet arbre (p. ex., le lichen et les oiseaux). Ce type de suivi permet de développer un sentiment d’appartenance à l’égard de l’arbre étudié. À l’extérieur, les élèves peuvent également mener des activités de terrain à la manière des scientifiques.

La participation à des projets de sciences citoyennes représente une occasion pour les milieux de l’éducation, car ces projets offrent un cadre d’observation déjà défini ainsi que des connaissances sur certaines espèces locales (Secours et coll., 2020). On peut penser au programme d’observation des oiseaux d’eBird ou aux programmes de surveillances des écosystèmes d’AttentionNature.

D’abord apprendre à apprécier

Les résultats d’une récente recherche devraient nous faire réfléchir sur la manière d’enseigner la biodiversité à l’école. L’étude en question avait pour objectif de mieux comprendre l’impact d’un enseignement contextualisé dans un écosystème à proximité de l’école, soit l’apprentissage des relations entre les espèces (AyotteBeaudet et coll., à paraitre). Les participants, des élèves du primaire (10-12 ans), devaient prendre part à un projet de sciences citoyennes développé pour les milieux scolaires (https:/www.chenilles-espionnes.com) visant à mieux comprendre les effets des changements globaux sur les écosystèmes urbains. Lors des interventions pédagogiques, les concepteurs de la recherche avaient décidé de parler positivement de la nature, sans jamais évoquer de problèmes environnementaux. Or, durant les entretiens qui ont eu lieu à la fin du projet, plusieurs jeunes ont manifesté le désir de protéger les êtres vivants sans que la question ait été explicitement abordée.

Autrement dit, avoir découvert la nature in situ et n’en avoir parlé que positivement a suffi pour sensibiliser les jeunes aux êtres vivants qui les entourent.

Par où commencer?

Si vous n’avez pas l’habitude d’animer des cours sur la biodiversité à l’extérieur, la première chose à faire est probablement de réfléchir à vos motivations et de Le Réseau Édcan | mars 2021 • ÉDUCATION CANADA 39

vous fixer une intention pédagogique claire pour la première sortie.

Cela vous permettra d’orienter la planification de vos activités d’enseignement et d’apprentissage et de convaincre les parents et la direction du bien-fondé de votre démarche.

Les premières fois, il est préférable de sortir pour une courte période afin que vos élèves et vous puissiez vous familiariser avec ce nouvel environnement pédagogique (https://www.sciencesdehors. com). La recherche nous apprend également qu’il est important de bien préparer les jeunes à leurs sorties, de les mettre en action et de leur donner la possibilité de faire des choix (Ayotte-Beaudet et Potvin, 2020; Ayotte-Beaudet, Potvin et Riopel, 2019). Surtout, misez sur la curiosité des jeunes et faites-leur confiance. Et, si vous êtes une direction d’établissement, faites à votre tour confiance à votre personnel enseignant et laissez-lui la chance d’expérimenter!

Conclusion

Alors que les programmes d’études de niveau primaire mettent souvent l’accent sur la gravité des problèmes environnementaux, chaque personne actrice de l’éducation a le devoir de réfléchir aux meilleurs moyens de sensibiliser les enfants à la biodiversité. À partir de quel âge pouvons-nous en toute conscience faire véritablement porter aux jeunes générations le poids des problèmes dont elles héritent? Avant de leur demander de préserver et de restaurer les écosystèmes terrestres, nous avons à mon avis le devoir de leur apprendre à apprécier la diversité de la vie dans les écosystèmes qui les entourent. ÉC RÉFÉRENCES Ayotte-Beaudet, J.-P. (2020a). Éveiller aux sciences de la nature à ciel ouvert.

40 ÉDUCATION CANADA • mars 2021 | Le Réseau Édcan

Revue préscolaire, 58(4), 36-38. http://aepqkiosk.milibris.com/reader/9d1311ef-ccbb-4df1-af16ebc7f44582ae?origin=%2Frevue-prescolaire%2Frevue-prescolaire%2Fn584-2020 Ayotte-Beaudet, J.-P. (2020b). Regarder dehors pour apprendre et enseigner les sciences. Vivre le primaire, 33(3), 38-40. https://aqep.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/D-Regarder-dehors-pour-apprendre. pdf?fbclid=IwAR248QqdERwurwv755FVeGYMItC61bYxQ9GOjs4hbwxSiUN_-fT45NxlV8k Ayotte-Beaudet, J.-P., Chastenay, P., Beaudry, M.-C., L’Heureux, K., Giamellaro, M., Smith, J., Desjarlais, E. et Paquette, A. (2021, à paraitre). Exploring the impacts of contextualised outdoor science education on learning: The case of primary school students learning about ecosystem relationships. Journal of Biological Education.

Ayotte-Beaudet, J.-P. et Potvin, P. (2020). Factors related to students’ perception of learning during outdoor science lessons in schools’ immediate surroundings.

International Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 16(2), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.29333/ijese/7815 Ayotte-Beaudet, J.-P., Potvin, P. et Riopel, M. (2019). Factors related to middleschool students’ situational interest in science in outdoor lessons in their schools’ immediate surroundings. International Journal of Environmental & Science Education, 14(1), 13-32. http://www.ijese.net/makale/2100.html Chenilles-espionnes (https://www.chenilles-espionnes.com) est un site Web dédié à un projet de sciences citoyennes développé par un partenariat entre Les Clubs 4-H du Québec, l’Université du Québec à Montréal et l’Université de Sherbrooke.

Des sciences dehors (https://www.sciencesdehors.com) est un site Web québécois de partage développé par et pour les personnes qui sont intéressées et passionnées par l’apprentissage et l’enseignement des sciences de la nature.

Organisation des Nations Unies. (2020). Rapport sur les objectifs de développement durable 2020. ONU. https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2020/The-Sustainable-Development-GoalsReport-2020_French.pdf Secours, É., Paquette, A., Ayotte-Beaudet, J.-P., Gignac, A. et Castagneyrol, B. (2020). Chenilles-espionnes, un projet de sciences citoyennes pour sensibiliser les jeunes à la biodiversité. Spectre, 50(1), 27-31. https://fr.calameo.com/aestq/read/00518148392339471f721

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PHOTO: ISTOCK

Your SDGs To-Do List Recognized as a transformational leader in education, Jennifer Williams, EdD, has spent 25 years in education through her roles as an education activist, professor, school administrator, and classroom teacher.

As the co-founder of TeachSDGs and the Take Action Global nonprofit, and author of the ISTE book Teach Boldly: Using Edtech for Social Good she champions teachers to take action for the planet and its people. Connect @ JenWilliamsEdu, and check out her nonprofit work at www. takeactionglobal.org.

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Tips and resources for educators ready to #TeachSDGs

BY JENNIFER WILLIAMS FOR YEARS, I thought I was checking all the “global edu-

cation” boxes. Committed to diversity, building global competencies, and supporting my students to seek out different perspectives and viewpoints, I was set on making sure my young students were preparing for a world that would require them to work and live as global citizens. We placed emphasis on reading about cultures different from our own. We learned about holidays and customs of people in distant lands. Daily language prac-

tice included English, Spanish, and Mandarin Chinese.

As early adopters with technology, we aimed to make connections to global issues and current events around such topics as the environment and human rights.

Then, around 2010, I realized that though I had been checking boxes, my instructional to-do list as a global educator needed to move students beyond simply learning about the people and issues of our world to a new level of action.

EdCan Network | March 2021 • EDUCATION CANADA 41

The Four Domains of Global Competence offered by the Asia Society (2005) (See Figure 1) showed me that globally competent students need the knowledge and skills to: • Investigate the world • Recognize perspectives • Communicate ideas • Take action

Figure 1 : Four Domains of Global Competence The first three domains – that was where I was existing. Take action – that was where we needed to go.

Looking back, I would say that was the first defining moment that changed my course as a global educator. The next was in 2015, when I met the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“The Sustainable Development Goals are humanity’s to-do list for a sustainable planet, a roadmap for a better future.”

– United Nations Office at Geneva The 17 Global Goals that our world together agreed to reach by 2030 cover critical topics such as life on land, climate action, gender equality, clean water, and food security. We in education even have our very own Global Goal in SDG 4: Quality Education. As I explored the SDGs, I started to see how we as educators can fit into this global conversation and universal call to end poverty, protect the planet, and improve the lives of all people.

Over the years, I have gathered with like-minded educators from all over the world who are also committed to bringing the SDGs to our classrooms and schools. Mobilized as a professional learning network and coming together in collaborative spaces such as Twitter and with projects such as the Goals Project (www.goalsproject. org), we see education as one of the greatest paths to achieving the SDGs, with teachers and students working together in solidarity and with purpose.

The TeachSDGs community

the idea that the goals could be the roadmap for teachers seeking new ways of teaching and learning.

I remember sitting with my global education friends Alice McKim of New Brunswick and Amy Rosenstein of New York, and thinking together that the goals were what we had been searching for – the bridge to connect the work happening in classrooms out to the world and to industry. For us, the goals became the entry point into how we as teachers, along with our students, could join the conversation and have a “seat at the table” – be it in New York City at the UN headquarters or at the level of local policy or projects. The Global Goals, in our minds, laid out the plan and also the pathways into the work.

After being tasked by the UN to organize as a Global Goals Task Force, we knew we needed to move beyond being a handful of North American educators. We set out to invite in our global colleagues, many of whom we had never met and only knew from social media. We did what we knew best – we created a hashtag (#TeachSDGs) and a simple website (TeachSDGs.org), and we got to work. Soon after, we went from being a few educators to 17 to now tens of thousands, all working for this shared purpose – to support and empower students and teachers to take action for people and the planet through the work of the SDGs. And now that we have entered this Decade of Action, with less than ten years left

Create your to-do list for action in the classroom For K–12 educators ready to dive into the Global Goals today, here are five tips to help you take action on the SDGs in classrooms.

1. Clearly identify your own instructional goals and bring the Global Goals in naturally.

2. Consider your own interests, skills, and curiosities.

Your excitement around specific goals and targets can inspire and motivate students!

3. Keep your to-do list short, specific, and manageable.

Focus on collective action over time, and build action into your routines and even lesson plans.

4. Connect to events and organized projects. Check out the SDG Planning Calendar (see Resources for Educators), established global collaboration projects, and even local community events, and align with activities happening throughout the year.

5. Share with a friend – near or far. As you take on this new challenge, invite a teacher from your school (or find someone from another part of the world) to join with you as you jump in and start checking things off!

The start of TeachSDGs, now a community of more than 50,000 international educators taking action for the Global Goals, really came from

42 EDUCATION CANADA • March 2021 | EdCan Network

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until 2030, we are all operating with urgency and a clear vision of what we can do to help.

Why the SDGs? Why now?

So why the Global Goals? Why now? We seem to be at a pivotal moment in education. We are seeing students rise up as activists to inspire and create needed change based on their viewpoints and the needs of our world; we as citizens of planet Earth are tackling climate change and combating human rights violations and global pandemics; we are seeing new technologies change the way we live and work at just the time when we are also prioritizing the human part of living and working, with emphasis on social-emotional learning, well-being, empathy, and design thinking. We as educators have been on the front lines of the change – seeing the shift as it occurs and pivoting and advancing right along with it.

The Sustainable Development Goals bring opportunity. They bring hope and a guide to get us there. Within classrooms, I see how the goals allow for collaboration and interdisciplinary work. Just as

We went from being a few educators to tens of thousands, all working to support and empower students and teachers to take action for people and the planet. the goals are for everyone, everywhere, they also see no boundaries within curricula, allowing us to cross content areas and work as teams toward a common purpose. The Global Goals are the sciences and the arts; they are language and humanities. They are our history and our future, and for us as teachers, they can be the “today” of our teachings.

Goals Project: One way to jump in

After several years of our work in building awareness of the goals, we started to hear teachers saying, “Now we see the ‘why,’ but what about the ‘how’?” In 2019, I was inspired by one of my former university students, who shared with me a project she did with teachers around the ABCs. If a project around 26 letters of the alphabet could work, I thought, why not build one around the 17 SDGs? I decided to see if teachers from the TeachSDGs community might be interested in joining me for a short project on the goals.

Once again, I created a name (Goals Project), a hashtag (#GoalsProject), and a free website (www.goalsproject.org), and started to share it on Twitter. My original stretch goal was finding 16 other classes.

Within weeks, more than 350 people had asked to join, and in that first year of our Goals Project we had nearly 2,000 classrooms participate. The 2021 Goals Project kicked off on January 25, welcoming in nearly 3,000 classrooms from more than 120 countries. Students aged three–20 are joining in to take on the SDGs in a six-week project of solutions. For us, it is a space for exploring of ideas and building hope for a better planet as stewards for the environment and for the goodwill of people. EC www.edcan.ca/magazine

Resources for Educators Free printable classroom resources • Print out and post the SDG Poster or the individual Global Goals: http://bit.ly/SDGposter • The Lazy Person’s Guide to Saving the World (UN, 2019) suggests SDG actions you and your students can take from your couch, your home, your community, and your work/ school: http://bit.ly/LazyPersonsGuideSDGs

• Download and share infographics, GIFs, and translations for inspiring action in your school and community: http://bit.ly/SDGinfographics • Create your deck of action cards with the 170 Daily Actions to Transform our World resource from the UN Office at Geneva: http://bit.ly/170actioncards Activities and lesson plans • Download the annual World’s Largest Lesson and access videos, printables, and other resources: http://bit.ly/worldslargestlessonSDGs • Do you work with students ages 4–8? The Explorers for the Global Goals lessons are a great place for you to start.

Learn more at: http://bit.ly/SDGexplorers • Gamify learning with the Go Goals! SDG Board Game for Children offered in 21 languages: https://go-goals.org • Help end hunger by playing the Freerice online learning game by the World Food Program. For every correct answer, five grains of rice will be donated to people in need of food: http://bit.ly/playfreerice Opportunities to connect and collaborate • Connect with thousands of educators from around the world who teach the Global Goals in their classrooms.

Visit www.teachsdgs.org and follow the #TeachSDGs conversation on social media.

• Join the annual Goals Project to be a part of a six-week online experience to learn about the goals and collaborate with classrooms from more than 120 countries. Visit www.goalsproject.org and follow #GoalsProject on social media.

• Check out all the events and international days on the SDGs Planning Calendar: http://bit.ly/SDGcalendar

EdCan Network | March 2021 • EDUCATION CANADA 43

voice of experience

BY AYUSH CHOPRA

PHOTO: COURTESY AYUSH CHOPRA

Shaping a Fairer World How students and schools can be part of achieving the UN SDGs Ayush Chopra is a Grade 12 student in Ontario. He is the founder of SDGs For Children and has been recognized with the Diana Award. Ayush is a Student Ambassador for both TeachSDGs and the Goals Project. He is the author of Shaping A Fairer World with SDGs and Human Rights and also has his own podcast titled Shaping A Fairer World. Ayush is a Youth Ambassador for Ariel Foundation International and their representative for children at the United Nations.

LET ME INTRODUCE the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also referred to as Global Goals. We have 17 goals with one global aim: to make this world a better and peaceful place. We have to achieve these goals by the year 2030, also known as Vision 2030. We need to act right NOW. If we don’t waste food, water, and electricity that will help save the Earth. If people are treated fairly and respect each other, these small efforts will make a big difference too.

As a student activist and a community worker, human rights and the empowerment of the girl child are the areas closest to my heart. The first time I became aware of the UN SDGs was in 2016, when I was 13 years old and studying in Grade 9. I participated in an exhibition by my school, Ahlcon International in India, which was solely based on the SDGs. Inspired by the exhibition’s message to spread the word about SDGs, I created short YouTube videos on each of the 17 goals for sustainable development that addressed various social issues like girl child education,

44 EDUCATION CANADA • March 2021 | EdCan Network

bullying, and climate change. I also hosted various talk shows, ran campaigns, hosted Skype sessions with students in different countries and motivated them to take action at local and global levels.

I founded a Twitter community – @SDGsForChildren – in 2016 to provide a unique platform for children across the globe to connect, create, and collaborate for a better and sustainable world. Since then, the community has not only impacted millions of children and youth, but also inspired many educators to initiate their journey of SDGs in their classrooms. SDGs For Children is now incorporated under the Canada Not-ForProfit Corporation Act to support Agenda 2030 globally (www.sdgsforchildren.org). Many schools and children around the world are now part of this community and collaborating wholeheartedly in spreading awareness about basic human rights and global goals.

My experiences organizing the collaborations, both in India and here in Canada, have been life-changing.

However, I am not special. There are hundreds of youthled organizations that are working for climate change.

The people leading such initiatives are all incredible teenage activists. Zero Hour, Sunrise Movement, Fridays for Future, School Strikes for Climate are just a few of many organizations that take our concerns to leaders worldwide. We young world-changers are noisy and can change the conversation. We are sharing our emotional sides when we are writing essays or doing rallies, interviews or strikes, or even speaking or writing on platforms like this. It’s next to impossible to ignore our noisy voices. Social media has given us exposure to what is happening around the world. I have learned so much on these digital platforms. Instagram may be a tool to share selfies or food for many adults, and a lot of people say Facebook is a parents’ app, but many of the youth of my age have a different experience on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook. There are thousands of accounts spreading awareness and knowledge about the Global Goals.

And, as youth activism becomes more popular, sharing information gets easier and is ever increasing.

Serving the community has really developed my sensitivity to the requirements of others and has transformed me completely. I believe that success isn’t in only winning alone, but taking people along and winning together. The Sustainable Development agenda is not about my issue or your issue. These are global issues and we need every one of the 17 SDGs to be achieved.

The 2030 Plan for Sustainable Development offers a historic chance for Canada and the world to positively shape how tomorrow’s economies can evolve and thrive sustainably and inclusively for the mutual good of all. It is a chance to make a more resilient society by leaving no one behind.

In Canada, a number of schools are taking a leadership role in supporting sustainable development across the www.edcan.ca/magazine

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country. Some of the academic institutions undertake activities and studies that enable students to make informed decisions in favour of sustainable development. But this is not enough. There are many more schools that still do not understand the importance of the SDGs or are still exploring various options to apply them and integrate them into their daily curriculum.

There is an opportunity to continue building awareness, partnerships, and collaborations with other global educational networks and to learn from their best practices and success stories of working on the Global Goals. This is what SDG 17, “Partnership for the Goals,” is all about. In the official words, “Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.” We need to create a specific and trained task force of educators, students, and parents to work toward incorporating SDGs not only in policy and governance documents across all educational institutions in Canada, but also in supporting their implementation at the grassroots level. The work needs to be measured by defined key performance indicators (KPIs) for this project.

A new vision for education

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our lives forever. We take stock of what is necessary when we experience a loss. We appreciate the things that maybe we took for granted. We revisit our values and our relationships, and we think about how we might honour them if we had another chance.

COVID-19 is not only a health crisis or an economic crisis, it is an education crisis as well. As per UNESCO, “290 million students are out of school due to COVID-19.” It’s time we take stock of what’s important. We must review what is good in our education system and what we must leave behind now.

This is a time when a lot of standardized curriculum and tests are going to be set aside.

All the schedules have been turned upside down. Let’s change this uncertainty in school systems into an opportunity. This is a chance not only to reform education but also to bring reform through education.

SDGs are not just 17 goals with 169 targets. When these goals are brought into classrooms, they become the launchpad or the framework for collaboration in problem solving. Entire communities of students and teachers then become part of the solution by adding their action plans to make a difference in the world. SDGs have the power to integrate academics with activism. They are the tools for students to recognize they have a seat at the table and that their voice matters. SDGs let students explore what they are curious about, and they can pursue that curiosity with the help of their educators.

Let’s bring reforms in our education system and let’s address these basic questions through our curriculum: • How to become self-directed learners?

• How to be media literate?

• How to be responsible consumers?

• How to support neighbours who do not have access to technology?

• How to share our resources with the community?

• How to create and maintain sustainable cities where we want to live?

The SDGs should become the language of any conversation within the class. Let’s design an open-ended, self-directed, inspiring research-based curriculum that allows our students to attempt the impossible. There are two possibilities when we take this approach: 1. The students fail to solve the problem but learn a lot of valuable lessons along the way.

OR 2. They surprise us all and actually solve the problem at hand.

Remember, everyone wins when we include failure, resilience, determination, persistence, and reflection as our learning outcomes.

I AM HAPPY that children are now mobilizing globally to own up to their responsibility and inspire adults to protect their future. Social distancing may have caused us to stay physically apart from each other, but the spirit of humanity cannot be restrained. We must prepare students as global citizens who are inclusive, informed, and engaged globally. We need to knock down walls so that students can learn to go beyond “me,” “my place,” and “my time,” and use the world as the biggest context for daily learning. EC 46 EDUCATION CANADA • March 2021 | EdCan Network

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